Deuda dance faces threat from insurgency

By Raghunath Lamichhane

MARTADI, Bajura, Jan 2 - Tan ghumya mero man ghumchha, na ghumyai Karnali. Roughly translated it means - if thou move so sharply, so does my soul. So, don’t swirl, Karnali.

This is a piece of Deuda song, which has an emotional attachment with the serpentine snow-fed mighty Karnali River. The Karnali curves and twists through its course and the people feel disgusted.

The Deuda dance, popular in the far-western hill region, is on the verge of extinction due to the Maoist insurgency.

The folk dance, usually done at night, is facing hard times these days after the Maoists warned the locals not to hold such functions especially at night.

The Deuda is played between the participants from different villages at a secluded place - like a sheep-shed. It is an appropriate occasion to fall in love between a chhoratta (boy) and chhoratti (girl), possibly ending in tying a nuptial knot.

The Deuda dance is also equally popular even among the married couples, as this is a part of the culture.

"If it is only for the boys and girls to fall in love, why to play Deuda at night?" a Maoist cadre told The Kathmandu Post, "What’s wrong to have a love marriage?" However, the Maoist cadre claimed that his party has not imposed a ban on playing Deuda among the same sex and married couples.

So much so, people at Jagannath VDC have stopped organizing the dance since last year when a chhoratta was killed after he fell-off a steep rock on being chased by people from the Chhoratti side.

A businessman at Kolti said that, in June, the Maoists forced a chhoratta and chhoratti of a Deuda group to get married within three days. They got married within the period as the rebels warned them of breaking their hands and legs.

Although Deuda is played during the festival, people can be seen playing it all the time in Martadi and its neighbouring villages.

The dance is performed standing in a circle with hands held together. The group that fails to reply in the Deuda tune is defeated. During the Maghe Sankranti ( which usually falls in the second week of January), Deuda is played even at day-time.

A teacher at Bahrabis, Chandra Bahadur Saud, says that it is automatically understood as an invitation to the dance if a person offers some gifts such as a hanky or a ring.

The Deuda dance has a dark side, too. Prem Bahadur Karki from Kolti says, "It is in no way good for boys and girls to be together at night." So much so, the growing participation of the married men has added a polygamous problem in society, Karki added.

Mane Majhi from Gujada, however, seems quite happy with the Maoist ban on playing Deuda at night at a time when locals are also worried about the "perverted" Deuda tradition. He says that even the school children have no habit of studying due to the Deuda. Local teachers say there are some students who attend classes after playing Deuda throughout the whole night.

Nari Thapa from Martadi says, "We told them not to waste their time playing Deuda, but nobody obeys us". Thapa is of the view that teachers can play a leading role to correct the bad habit of the children.

There are examples of a number of couples, who never knew each other before, got married after attending Deuda. The couples, who get married without properly acquainting with each other, will have to face social ostracism if such marriage takes place between the touchable and untouchable castes, Dipak Bogati from Thanti bazaar says.

A local Shyam Fadera recalls an event from Kalika VDC in Humla, a neighbouring VDC of Bajura, how the villagers forced a couple to leave the village.

An untouchable boy got married with a Brahmin girl while playing the Deuda last year. They were forced to leave the village as the marriage was against the social norms and values.

Deputy Superintendent of Police in Bajura, Shiva Lamichhane, says he has so far received no information of violence related with Deuda. DSP Lamichhane says that since Deuda has a deep rooted culture in the region, nobody feels otherwise to participate in the play.

However, the locals are of the view that the play should be preserved after removing the existing anomalies in the tradition rather than impose a total ban on it.

Kharkhadai fest not in favour of wildlife

Post Report

MAHENDRANAGAR, Jan 2 - Kharkhadai (dried straw) festival has been a tradition here from time immemorial. A large number of people entre the Shukla Phanta Reserve every year during this season to cut high-rise grass to be used as thatch, putting their lives at risk from wild animals.

Locals cut the high-rise grass in the reserve to use it as thatch.

On the other hand, endangered wild beasts feel themselves encroached upon their habitats by thousand of people. Studies reveal that the Kharkhadai festival is basically a painful one even for reptiles.

Apart from this, the leopard which occupies a certain area as its empire feels human presence extremely intolerable. Two people were attacked by a leopard on the first day of Kharkhadai, near Bhalumela checkpost. They have now returned to their homes after undergoing treatment at local health post.

The reserve administration is fearful at the thought how many people will be attacked by wild beasts during the five-day festival.

Conserver of the reserve, Megh Bahadur Pandey, says that people have been warned not to go near the areas where the rhino and the tiger usually reside. The tiger population is more as compared to the total reserve area. People cut the hay up to the Barkola jungle, chief habitat of the tiger. In case of any human disturbance to its habitat, the tiger can lose its patience. In the previous years, some of the people who entered the jungle for cutting hay were attacked by the beasts.

This year, four rhinos have been translocated to the Shukla Phanta reserve from the Chitwan National Park. They have been wandering into the jungle as they have yet to adjust to the exotic area.

"The rhino can attack people who approach to it," says chief warden Pandey. It is the reptile that suffers the most during the grass-cutting period. Last year, a fully grown-up python was killed by the locals, who surround the jungle from all directions like the army during its search campaign.

The reserve has yet to develop a strategy that may help reduce the dependency of local people largely on the reserve. Chief warden concedes that the Kharkhadai festival was, on the whole, not in the favour of wildlife habitat. However, the reserve cannot ban abruptly against the traditional practice that supplies thatch to the locals.

A local tourism entrepreneur, Hikmat Bahadur Bista, gets surprised at seeing the growing number of people every year during the Kharkhadai festival. "People have shifted to tiled or concrete homes with fear of fire, but the number of people cutting the hay has not decreased yet," Bista says. The reserve records show that more than 30,000 people received entry cards every year. Not only the locals entre the jungle for cutting hay, they also collect firewood during the Kharkhadai season, a local told The Kathmandu Post.

The reserve has thought of distributing entry cards from different check posts so that influx of people could be reduced. However, it is yet to be brought into action.

FEPN flays gov for harassing media

Post Report

KATHMANDU, Jan 2 - The Federation of Editors and Publishers Nepal (FEPN) has condemned the government for questioning Managing Director of Space Time Daily, Jamim Shah, yesterday, over the anti-Hrithik protests that has brought the capital to a standstill for the last few days.

"The government has without reasons and thorough understanding of the seriousness of the issue had banned Hrithik Roshan movies...And now the government is trying to shift the responsibility by questioning the media and the newspapers," states a press release issued here today.

Shah is asked to present himself at the Kathmandu District Administration Office again on Monday.

Lalitpur submetropolis dismantles illegal construction

Post Report

LALITPUR, Jan 2 - Lalitpur Sub-Metropolitan City (LSC) today at noon dismantled the illegal house being constructed in front of the LSC office and next to an ancient stupa.

Lalitpur Mayor Buddhi Raj Bajracharya said that he decided so when he realised that the house was going on against the map approved by LSC and the concerned person did not appear in the LSC office for clarification.

An emergency board meeting was called upon Tuesday morning which gave go-ahead to the mayor to take that harsh step.

"I had to obey to what the board decided. It was just a challenge to this local body," said Bajracharya.

According to him, the concrete basement -- which was not there in the map proposal -- was made on Saturday night from 11 pm to 5 am of the next morning. "Everything was going on fair earlier. The owner asked for an underground tank and I compromised on it. But I never imagined that he would take advantage of the riot and tow-day holiday in that way," he said.

LSC Legal Officer Khagendra Wasti said that no legal contract had been made between the parties that the houseowner would correct his mistakes so far and the concerned person was said to be absent from the city when LSC sought him.

Acting engineer at LSC Map Approval Department, Badri Tamrakar said when the house owner had his map approved from LSC, it was a simple brick house with 4 feet foundation.

After the locals’ protest, a report was prepared by LSC technical team on Jan 1, which asserted that the construction did not follow the LSC approval. In the map, its length was only 27 feet whereas it turned to be 42 feet and it also has a 9 and a half feet hight basement with a flat foundation. As per the report, the mayor sent his security force Monday evening to dismantle the construction but came back after a short dispute with the house owner, LSC staff told The Kathmandu Post.

On the other hand, the house owner, Anil Rajbhandari said whatever he was constructing underground was only a watertank. He added, "We intended to cover up the underground with earth but the mayor took his action suddenly, without giving us time for clarification."

The houseowner’s lawyer Kumar Karki said the law abides the mayor send written notice and to the housewoner should be given chance to present clarification before dismantling begins.

In addition, Karki claimed that the construction has followed the guideline of the approved map. Dil Bikas Rajbhandari, Anil’s father, had confessed that some mistake had been committed from his side, regarding the construction of the basement, while discussing with the mayor, today morning at the latter’s office. He had said, "The contractor did so despite I forbid him. I beg your pardon for that."

When asked why the house was being built with pillars which was not mentioned in the map, Samir Rajbhandari, Anil’s brother said, "Concrete pillars are essential in modern buildings to save them from earthquake. But when he proposed a map with pillars at LSC, it rejected the map.

He added that he wanted to build a nursing home in that 4 ana (324 sq feet) area.

Mayor Bajracharya said that there are over 200 houses built against the approved map in the city area but he could not take action because he lacked sufficient force.

Earlier, Lalitpur Baudha Bihar Association held a meeting Monday which asked Bajracharya, the chairman of the association too, to take action against it, said Prof Asharam Shakya, the vice-chairman.

New lito achieves success in market

CHITWAN, Jan 2 (RSS)- Annapurna Swasthakar Lito Udyog (Healthy Baby Food Industry) is reported to have achieved notable success in marketing its baby food "lito."

Manager of the industry Angit Nakarmi is now a happy man because his product is selling like hot cake. Its markets span Surkhet, Dhanagadhi, Butwal, Dang, Bardiya and other places in addition to Nepalgunj.

The industry has received significant help from the Gaon-Nagar Sajhedari (Village-Town Partnership) programme in expanding its market though there is a long story behind its success, he says.

He further says his product had to compete with Cerelac, Lactogen and such other baby food imported from India and once it bogged down for being unable to pay enough attention to packaging.

Just at the critical moment, the Gaon-Sahar Sajhedari programme get off the ground at ward No. 13 of Nepalgunj. Manager Nakarmi got orientation on the programme from its co-ordinator Saraswati Parajuli and formed a group under the programme with a loan assistance of Rs 25,000.

After receiving necessary management training from the programme, he addressed to improving the packaging of "lito"
porridge) and the programme also extended its help in market promotion and expansion. "This in nutshell is the success story behind "lito," he says.

The product which is a mixture of soyabean, wheat and maize is now finding its way to Pyuthan and Surkhet districts also.