Gujarati colours in capital

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KATHMANDU, Dec 16 – The Indigo Gallery brought the rich Gujarati traditional heritage, full of vibrant colours, to Kathmandu.

The collection that is displayed in the exhibition focuses mostly on the style of the Rabari, pastoral nomads from the Kutch region of Gujarat, India. The collection was completed by James A. Giambrone, director of the Gallery in January 2000, just one year prior to the devastating earthquake that hit Bhuj.

Giambrone’s motive is to make people aware of the skills that the women there possess and save the slowly dying tradition of the work of the daughters in the region, creating such items relating to their wedding.

Needing to respond only to familial needs and tastes, this folk art evolved into a number of styles, each demonstrating highly evolved skills and sophisticated repertoire of patterns. The embroidery styles express the identity of communities, which were diversified due to a combination of physical and cultural influences upon different ethnic communities.

The exhibition has brought a great collection of colourful hand made fabrics mostly embroidery. The works presenting skills of women from the sparse population of herder, artisans and subsistence farmers, for themselves and their families are well presented in the gallery.

Some of the presentations are regional and some ethnic, expressing identities of many isolated people living symbiotically in the region. Historically, this tradition of Gujarat societies associates the girls with their marriage. The girls are required to produce embroidered items specified by the community, which is exchanged with their future-in-laws at the various rituals during the ceremony.

The embroideries that the girls present show their care and creativity that is informed to her in-laws. The bride wears her own creations during her wedding. This is regarded as one of the sacred rites. This tradition is now passing from one to another as villagers have less leisure time to comply with the tradition.

The Ghagara- Choli, one of the lovely displays shows a typical Gujarati work embellished with mirrors. The door hangings and the baby suits are well decorated as well. Organisers hope that the exhibition is, to some extent going to help in preserving the embroidery traditions of Gujarat. The show will continue till 12 January, 2002.

Villagers attack several kilns in Bhaktapur

By Ganesh Rai

BHAKTAPUR, Dec 16 - Locals of different villages attacked several kilns Saturday as their requests to stop baking bricks and producing harmful smoke around densely populated villages were not given due reaction.

Around six million bricks ready to be baked were destroyed in the incident, however, nobody was injured.

Five kilns, two from the municipality area and three from villages were dismantled and a machine used of making bricks was badly damaged in the attack, the locals said. The kilns were Tripurasundari, Phaitaka Ganesh, Byang Ganesh, Barahi, Saraswoti and BM Klin.

The kilns affect around 6,000 residents living in Madhyapur Thimi Municipality -3 and Ward Nos. 1,7,8 and 9 of Duwakot VDC.

"We demolished the kilns as the last way to get rid of the unhealthy smoke that has been the cause of different diseases seen among the children and elder people," said Ram Krishna Karki, the co-ordinator of Environment Conservation Action Committee.

He said the locals submitted signatures of 434 villagers to local Village Development Committees, District Administration Office, Department of Special Police, Cottage and Small Industry Division, Department of Revenue Investigation, Ministry of Population and Environment and Commission for Investigation on Abuse of Authority to dislocate the existing kilns and to prohibit any new kilns in the area two years ago.

Local farmers claimed the villagers who live near the kilns suffer from asthma, caught and their roof, rooms as well as the vegetable in the fields get a thick layer of black due to the smoke the kilns hurl.

"The washed clothes get black layers even before they are dry," said one among the farmers.

They said they took the hard step of demolishing as they heard that six more kilns were being established in Jkaukhel VDC soon.

The VDC decided not to give permission for new kilns and to dislocate the old ones. But, according to the locals, some people were hard to establish new kilns in the area.

Jayaprakash Jaki, the owner of one of the kilns said around six to seven hundred men, women and children came without notice and attacked their kilns and demolished.

"I have got the license to run the kilns and also pay income tax and other revenue to the government," said he.

Jaki said even the municipality have not informed him about the plans to stop the kilns.

"The matter could have been solved by table talks. Had any formal requests came to us or municipality informed us about the new developments, we would not have prepared for this new lot," said he.

He said each kiln costs around Rs 40,000 to operate.

Environment Conservation Regulations states that kilns should be at least 2 kilometres away from jungles but here the jungle and temples of Changu Narayan lie least than one kilometre away.

According to Jaya Ram Thapa, the co-ordinator of Environment Conservation Forum, only 13, out of 18, had licenses and cases also had been filed against the illegal ones.

According to the data made available by the Cottage and Ssmall Industries Division, there 45 kilns are registered in the whole Bhaktapur district.

"And none of the new applications have been sanctioned," said Chief of Division Dhruba Raj Joshi.

Deuba releases book on Ram Lal Golchha

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KATHMANDU, Dec 16- Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba released a book titled ‘Karma Bir ko Katha’, written by well-known industrialist Hulas Chandra Golchha amid a function held here today.

The book attempts to portray concise history of Ram Lal Golchha, grandfather of the author.

"The contribution of Ram Lal Golchha to the Nepalese economy should not be forgotten and emerging businessmen should take him as an inspiration," said Deuba, addressing the function organises to mark the 103 rd birth anniversary of Ram Lal Golchha.

Deuba added, "His contribution to the social service sector of the country is really commendable. He devoted his half of life to develop the social service sector of the country."

Likewise addressing the function, author of the book Hulas Chandra Golchha briefly summarised the book.

"I wrote the book because I thought it was really necessary," said Golchha. "The book describes how my grandfather started business from the scratch. The book also says how self-confident and a devoted person my grandfather was in the field of social service arena.

I want my son become a Mantri: Rasaily

Lighting his bidi (a kind of cigarette) from a butt, Dhan Bahadur Rasaily, 27, a rickshaw-puller stand gazing at the cold hazy street as he waits for fare. It is six in the morning at Hetauda. The winter Street is full of idle drivers and rickshaw pullers in stuffy jeans.

Rasaily was 17 when he first came to Hetauda from his home Dang. Soon he took to rickshaw pulling in a town where there are too many rickshaws and too many rickshaw-pullers. Rasaily thinks that the ensuing emergency in the country that has forced him go home early has further shaken his profession.

Seema A. Adhikari of The Kathmandu Post, had an hour-long chat with Rasaily on Thursday. These are excerpts from what Rasaily had to say about his life and dreams.

Why did you choose Hetauda?

This job is a compulsion not a choice. I fled Dang at 17 hoping to find a decent job. My friends had told me that Hetauda offered many opportunities to young and uneducated people like me. But that just turned out to be a rumour, I found no jobs. My pocket had dried up but returning home was impossible. You know I had run away from my parents so I was really afraid that they would punish me. One scorching summer day I was just loitering around in the street when I met this man who offered me this job. Now it has been ten years pulling this rickshaw.

When do you start work every day?

I normally come out at six in the morning and work until midnight but now with the emergency situation, I start half-an-hour earlier and work till seven in the evening, after which we are not supposed to move about.

How much do you earn?

There were times when I could earn 350 rupees a day but now I earn less than a hundred, out of which I have to give something to the owner of this rickshaw. Just imagine taking care of four children and a wife on such a small amount.

What are your wife and children doing?

My wife works at various houses cleaning dishes and washing clothes. My two sons are in school, while the two daughters are too small, they can only crawl (laughs). I myself have never gone to school, that’s why I am a rickshaw-puller now. But I want my eldest son to become a Mantri (minister) and the second one to be pilot. Then my dream to fly will be fulfilled.

What does it take to be a Mantri?

A little education, but also money I think. I hear that a good number of Mantris are making big money, they are moving around in shining bideshi gadi (foreign cars) with guards in them. I hear they have a lot of fun.

Have you ever been to Kathmandu?

I have never been to ‘Nepal’ (meaning Kathmandu). I have heard ‘Nepal’ is a big bustling place, I might get lost in such a place. I will only visit Kathmandu when my son becomes a Mantri (a minister), then I won’t get lost.

Tell us about your dreams...

Today I am dreaming, tomorrow it might come true, who knows. The work is tiring, ke garnu je bhaye pani kam nagari mam khana paudaina (but without work one cannot have bread).

Wild elephants destroy 7 houses in Jhapa

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BIRTAMOD (Jhapa), Dec 16 - A flock of wild elephants that entered here from the Indian jungles have caused damages to seven houses in Surunga VDC and destroyed standing crops and fruit worth thousands of rupees over the last 24 hours, locals said.

Prabin Raut, one of the victims of the elephant rampage from Surunga VDC-1, said that half a dozen of the elephants pulled down the wooden-houses of Krishna Giri, Purna Kumari Limbu of the VDC-1 and other houses belonging to Ram Kumar Shrestha, Hari Bahadur Raut, Ganga Poudel and a retail shop at the VDC-3 on Friday and Saturday night.

Locals were panic-stricken after the wild elephants went on the rampage, who entered the area from the frontier VDC of Bahundangi via the Prajapati forest in the Indian state of West Bengal. People say that the elephants take a rest in a nearby jungle at day-time and sneak into the villages at night. Locals chase away the wild animals with torches and fire-crackers but in vain.

The police in Surunga also confirmed about the rampage of the wild animals but said they were yet to assess details of the property destroyed by the elephants. The area is a major corridor of the wild elephants, who often come out of the Indian jungles in search of food in the neighbouring villages in Nepal and India. The police said that about a dozen people have lost their lives and a number of families have rendered homeless due to the attacks by the wild elephants in the past. But the local administration has come up with concrete plans to prevent the wild elephants from entering into the Nepali territories from the Indian jungles.

Landslide victims yet to receive relief

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KAVRE (Dang), Dec 16 - It has been six days since Dangbang village of the Kavre VDC of this district caved in followed by a huge landslide in a nearby mountain, victims of the natural disaster have not received any relief from the government, locals said.

Around 300 people of the village have taken refuge in nearby villages after the entire village caved in about 15 metres followed by a landslide in a community forest. A local, Narayan Bhandari, said that the village is now in ruin after the plain land caved in.

Asked about the immediate relief to the victims, Chief District Officer, Madhav Prasad Sharma, said that a government team would visit the site by Monday and assess the details of the damages caused by the natural catastrophe. Sharma said the administration would provide them with relief materials as recommended by the inspection team.

An emergency meeting was held today in the district headquarters of Ghorahi to take stock of the situation in Dangbang village. Locals said that they cannot resettle there as the area is very much fragile and can cause heavy losses to lives and property.

It was only last year, a technical team from the Department of Geology, after inspecting the area, had advised the government to relocate the villagers because the area is fragile and unsafe to live in.

More Maoists arrested in various districts

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KATHMANDU, Dec 16 - A large number of Maoists have continued to surrender to the government authorities in various districts since the state of emergency, reports received say here Sunday.

Deputy Superintendent of Police in the far-eastern mountain district of Taplejung, Dan Singh Bohara, said that 21 Maoists gave themselves up before the local authorities today. He said the number of the Maoists surrendering to the government has reached 60 since the last
three weeks. Two Maoist have been sent to jail and the another one is in the process of investigation.

Meanwhile, our reporter from Dang said that the bodies of two suspected Maoists were recovered today from the rubble of a house that collapsed after a powerful bomb exploded accidentally on Wednesday night. Six people, five of them from a single family, died instantly after the bomb, they were making inside the house, went off suddenly.

One of the bodies recovered today is believed to be Shiva Kumar Chaudhary, who was an underground Maoist cadre. With the two bodies recovered, the death toll in the explosion has climbed to eight, according to a local, Sher Bahadur Dangi.

Our report from Rajapur, the Karnali delta of Bardiya district, said that the rebels on Saturday night looted all the property of Deepa Rana in Patabhar VDC-7. Yagya Bahadur Shahi, a domestic assistant of the landlord, said that the armed rebels made off with 600 sacks of rice. CDO Dilli Raj Joshi said a reinforcement of the Royal Nepal Army and Nepal Police have been dispatched to the site to flush out the "terrorists."

Likewise, in Kavre, 13 people, who are reportedly associated with the CPN-ML, issuing a joint press statement today, said that they were inducted in the Maoist organisations at gun point. CPN-ML’s Kavre district committee secretary, Bhairabh K C, said that they were still loyal to the party and would not surrender to the government.