Less people swinging to the tune of ‘ping’

By Perina Pathak

KATHMANDU, Oct 23 – People in Naikap village, in the outskirts of the Kathmandu Valley, collected money with the villagers there to put up a ping, a traditional swing played during the festival of Dashain.

People here collect fund to put up a linge ping every year, says one of the villagers, making a swing. "We are doing this just to preserve the age-old tradition of playing ping during the festival, so that the coming generation do not forget this typical way of celebration."

Swinging on the ping with friends and neighbours is still one of the favourite past times for many villagers during Dashain. But the people in the urban areas have totally forgotten this traditional way of celebration.

Even the few pings built in the nearby villages are different now. Modern pings have replaced the traditional wooden pings. But one can still find traditional Nepali pings in far away villages of the Valley. And this traditional form of celebration is still found more in remote villages throughout the Kingdom where the modern means of entertainment are yet to make inroads.

Dozens of villagers in Naikap waited for their turn to swing on the ping as people of different age groups gather there every day to enjoy the celebration. One of them was 61-year-old Maya Devi Pradhan who still enjoys the ping whenever she gets the chance. "I play ping every year," says Pradhan. "If the ping is not installed here then I go to some other places to play."

Pradhan recalls her younger days when people used to install pings in many places much before Ghatasthapana, the beginning of the 10-day festival. "But, these days very few pings are made and that too depends on the villagers’ donation."

She blames modern entertainment options for waning popularity of this traditional form of entertainment. "It is due to modern entertainment means that people have been distracted from this kind of traditional celebration," says Pradhan.

There are basically four types of ping – linge ping, rote ping, jaate ping and lathare ping. Linge ping is the most popular form of traditional ping as it is also very easy to install. To make a linge ping, four strong bamboos are erected and rope made from Babiyo grass is hung to the bamboos.

Another form is rote ping, which usually has four sitting places and is rotated up and down in a full circle. Though this too is a traditional ping, this has already gained popularity in different fairs in the Valley and even the present-day people are seen enjoying this ping.

Similarly, a jaate ping has two and some also have four sitting places, which moves in a circle. And the lathare ping is hung on tall trees, which is more or less similar to linge ping.

There is no information available when and how the tradition of playing a ping was introduced. But it is believed that once a year a person has to leave this earth and lift the body weight. "There is a saying that if a person leaves the earth once a year, he will go to heaven after his/her death," says Subi Shah, a cultural expert. "This is why people play pings during the Dashain festival."

And it has a more scientific and pragmatic reason as well. As fun, food and fare are the main attractions, people generally eat more during the festival. And it is believed that playing a ping helps one to digest the food.

His Majesty confers medals on Royal Family members

KATHMANDU, Oct 23 (RSS) - His Majesty King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev has conferred medals on members of the Royal Family and other distinguished persons making special services during the reign and after the demise of His Late Majesty King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

His Majesty the King has conferred the Jyotirmaya Subikhyat Trishakti Patta (First Class) medal on Her Royal Highness Princess Prekshya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Omram Patta on Her Royal Highness Princess Helen Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Jyotirmaya Subikhyat Trishakti Patta (First Class) medal on Her Royal Highness princess Shobha Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and Suprashiddha Prabala Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (First Class) medal on His Royal Highness Prince Paras Bir Bikram Shah, Her Royal Highness Princess Himani Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Her Royal Highness Prerana Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Her Royal Highness Princess Shitasma Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah, Her Royal Highness Princess Dilasa Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah and Her Royal Highness Princess Puja Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah.

His Majesty has conferred the Maha Gauravmaya Tejaswi Tribhuvan Prajatantra Sripad (First Class) medal on private secretary to Her Majesty the Queen Mother Kaji Madhusudan Rajbhandari (Royal Palace Service), Ujjwal Kirtimaya Nepal Sripad (Second Class) medal on General (Retd) Nara Shumsher J. B. Rana and Om Rampatta medal on Chief of the Royal Household Sardar Sharada Prasad Pradhan (Royal Palace Service), Honorary ADC Major General Bharat Keshar Singh, Royal Physician Dr. Mrigendra Raj Pandey and General (Retd) Arjun Narsingh Rana.

Likewise, His Majesty has conferred the Jyotirmaya Subikhyat Trishakti Patta (First Class) medal on Maheswore Kumar Singh, Deputy Chief of Master of Ceremonies Chiran Shamsher Thapa (Royal Palace Service), Honorary ADC Lt. General Shanta Kumar Malla and Major General (Retd) Tara Bahadur Thapa.

His Majesty has conferred the Suprashiddha Prabala Gorkha Dakshin Babu (First Class) medal on Supreme Court Chief Justice Keshav Prasad Upadhyaya, Speaker of the House of Representatives Taranath Ranabhat, Chairman of the National Assembly Dr. Mohammad Moshin, Chairman of the Rajparishad Standing Committee Dr. Keshar Jung Rayamajhi, Kumar Gorakh Shumsher J. B. Rana, Kumar Mohan Bahadur Shahi and Ketaki Chester.

His Majesty the King has conferred the Subikhyat Trishakti Patta (Second Class) medal on nine persons, Prasiddha Prabala Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (Second Class) on 20 persons, Bikhyat Trishakti Patta (Third Class) medal on 65 persons, Suprabala Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (Third Class) medal on 114 persons, Prakhyat Trishakti Patta (Fourth Class) medal on 18 persons, Prabala Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (Fourth Class) medal on 85 persons, Trishakti Patta (Fifth Class) medal on three presons and Gorkha Dakshin Bahu (Fifth Class) medal on 257 persons.

This is stated in a notice issued today by the Principal Press Secretariat of His Majesty the King.

Phidim-Phallot road under construction

Post Report

PHIDIM, Oct 23 – Excitement has begun showering on the remote villagers of this district as the construction of road linking different Village Development Committee (VDC) of the district to Indian border is accelerating faster. After the completion of the Phidim-Phallot road, the seven VDCs of the district will be connected to the district via network.

With the present pace of road construction, the villagers are optimistic that the project will end soon and vehicles will start speeding through the villages of the district adding ease to the lives of people who are compelled to live in hardship. However despite the every effort from the villagers government has set the road in minimum priority project and has allocated negligible amount to it.

"Before I die I will for sure ride a vehicle in my village," said Sancha Rani Meyangbo, 67, who like other elderly people have joined their hands to construct the road called by the Nagin VDC. "I am here to materialize my dreams", adds Meyangbo.

District Development Committee (DDC) since past one year has allocated budget for the construction of the 50km road. According to Hasta Raj Thamsunhang, President of Users Group more than 1.5 million rupees has been expended so far since the commencement of the project. "This year 8 million has been allocated under the District Based Road Programme. And so far 10 km of road has been dug out making the road accessible to tractors and jeeps ", said Thamsunhang.

The villagers are also equally confident that road will pave a way to economic growth of the villages as the road will facilitate on exporting goods produced locally directly into the nearby Indian towns. Likewise local authorities are equally hopeful that road will help boost tourism in the district.

"We are hopeful to sell agricultural items and livestock into the nearby Indian towns and various parts of the district", said Devi Prasad Nepal, VDC Chairman who had time and again raised his voice for the construction of the road.

However locals feel that government should in advance move ahead with the diplomatic efforts to open the Indian border town before the end of the road construction. "Government should work now in order to avoid the complications that may arise", said Kamal Khapangi of Prangbung-3.

As per the "Red Book" published by National Planning Commission an amount of Rs 3 million has been allocated for the construction of the road this fiscal year 2058/59. The locals feel that government has given less priority to the road, which can determine the faith of the villages. "Government has set minimum priority to the road that literally means that we are neglected", said Rajendra Jabegu, President of Yangnam VDC.

Maoists abduct mother, son over property

Post Report

DANG, Oct 23 - Underground Maoist rebels today abducted Tarapati Oli and her 19-year-old son, Gokarna, from their home at Dudhena of Tulsipur Municipality-8, according to the family source.

Locals, however, said that they were abducted as per a complaint filed by the first wife of Gokarna before the rebels. His first wife filed the complaint after her husband remarried going against her wishes.

The case was earlier settled in the presence of the rebels and Gokarna and his mother had agreed to provide the victim her share of property.

Later, she was denied the right to use her share of property even after the dispute was settled.

A Maoist source said that the abducted mother and son would be set free from captivity before the Dashain festival by resolving the family dispute.

Jajarkotis long for Karnali highway as Dashain begins

By Yagya Bikram Shahi

NEPALGUNJ, Oct 23 - People of Jajarkot district in the mid-western region feel urgency of the proposed Chhinchu-Jajarkot road, especially during the Dashain festival. A large number of people of the district return home during the festival to get together with their family members but find it very difficult to get home.

Construction of the 107 km long road, also called as the Karnali highway, was started about 10 years ago, but it could not be completed due to the government’s least priority to the project.

Development experts believe that the proposed road will play as a backbone to the entire Karnali region, which is the most backward north-western part of the country.

As the entire district is not connected with road, people of this poverty-stricken mountain district largely depend either on foot or on expensive but irregular air service. The government had planned to construct the road from Surkhet to the district during the fiscal year of 2048/49 but its construction is on snail’s pace with no more budget available for its timely completion.

The people who migrate in India and other parts of the country return home during the Dashain festival, which is also marked as a festival once a year for getting together with their nears and dears. But they have to bear countless hardships after they land in Nepalgunj, the border city and the gateway to India from the mid-western region.

They keep on waiting for days hoping for rarely available air tickets to their home district at the Nepalgunj airport. But there are quite a few lucky folks who would be enjoying the quickest means of transport during the festival. Others are disappointed, only to languish in the border city during the festival. "It is very difficult to get air tickets. All cannot trek for a couple of days with their heavy loads on their back. I am afraid I will not be able to get home before Dashain," said Prasad Shahi of Paink VDC-8 of Jajarkot, who was waiting for an air ticket at the airport.

Member of the National Planning Commission (NPC) Dr. Jagadish Chandra Pokharel said last year that the road would be connected with the district headquarters of Khalanga by end of this fiscal year. But it did not materialise due to delayed work.

Initially, estimated cost for the road was Rs. 900 million. By the end of the fiscal year 2057/58, around Rs. 250 million has been spent. The government had decided to construct about 25 km long road and the rest from a loan assistance of the World Bank.

According to engineer of the road project, Ram Bahadur RC, about 56 km long section of the road falls within Surkhet, 14 km within Salyan and the rest within Jajarkot district.

Although the government has allocated around 130 million rupees during this fiscal year for the construction of the backbone highway, local representatives and even the project officials are skeptical about the completion of the road on time.

The project officials said one of the major reasons for the delayed construction of the road was insecurity in the working areas. The construction work came to a halt after the underground Maoists looted explosives and construction equipment from Aul Jhyam last year.

Two big bridges will have to be built over the two big rivers, nine other small bridges and more than 8,500 culverts on the road. The road will be four to seven metres wide depending upon the requirements. Contractors said they were facing security threats from the Maoist rebels previous year. But they hope that the rebel Maoists would pose no more threats to the construction sites following the government’s cease-fire announcement followed by the rebels.

To date, all weather public transport is available up to the 45 km long section of the road or up to the banks of the snow-fed Bheri River and 65 km long tracks have been drawn up, according to the project officials.

The long cherished dream of the road would become a reality within a couple of years provided that there is no more security problem and the government allocates enough budget for the project.

Upendra Gautam, Accountant of the project, said that tenders for the 86 km long section of the highway have already been awarded during this fiscal year. "If everything goes as planned, transport service will be available from the district headquarters," said Gautam. It is the only hill district in Bheri zone which is yet to be connected with road.

Jajarkot District Development Committee chairman Bhairav Sundar Shrestha said that the government has to put the road on its top priority to bridge the gaps of regional imbalance.

"The government cannot remain aloof from providing social justices to the people living in the most backward region of the country," said Shrestha.

Magar community warns to boycott Dashain

Post Report

HETAUDA, Oct 23 - The Magar community of Makawanpur district has decided not to worship the goddess Bhagawati, put jamara and take tika during the Dashain festival in order to maintain its own separate indigenous identity.

A village level meeting of the Nepal Magar Association in Bhaise took this decision recently saying that the Dashain was not their own festival. Makawanpur district chairman of the Nepal Magar Association Tularam Thapa said unlike the previous years, the Magars have given up putting jamara and worshipping goddess Durga from this year.

Researcher of the Magar community M S Thapa claimed that the Hindus mark the Vijaya Dasami as a victory day when they killed Bidal Magar, a powerful King of the Magar majority region, as a Mahisasur (demon). "Why should we celebrate the day and honour the deity who killed our own king?" asked Thapa. Chairman Thapa said that rather than worshipping the deity and putting jamara, the Magar community would worship their clan deity and put other flowers on the forehead. The community has also decided to worship their clan deity only for three days and they would gradually cease to take tika in the days ahead.

Tulasi Thapa, the headmaster of Shri Krishna High School and former chairman of the district association, said that though the religion, language and culture of the Magar community were attacked for a long time, they were forced to mark the Dashain festival especially during the Rana regime.

Tulasi Thapa said that the people who were reluctant to mark the Dashain festival used to be punished by the state. The then rulers introduced a tradition of putting impression of blood-contained palms on walls of houses. Thapa said that the Magar also followed the tradition to be safe from punishment.

The Hindu society, which divides itself into four caste system, treats the Magar community as sudra (lowest caste). Central member of the association Beli Thapa said that they were organising themselves to preserve and protect their own indigenous language, religion and culture. Beli Thapa said when the Magars rulers were the follower of the Buddhism and champion of non-violence.

According to the national census, five per cent of the total population in Makawanpur district is inhibited by the Magar community.

Pharmaceutical industry in limbo

Post Report

BIRGUNJ, Oct 23 – The construction process of one of the largest pharmaceutical industry adopting the latest technology and investment of 200 million has been stalled after the undue demands of the workers working at the construction of the company.

The construction of J.D. Laboratory was halted since the last month after the workers working at the construction demanded their permanent appointment to the company. The construction of the company commenced in the year 2053 BS after it was legally registered in the Department of Industry and so far 90 per cent of the work has been accomplished.

According to the operators of the industry the workers came into strike demanding a permanent appointment into the company, hampering the construction works as they learned the company would be in operation by three months.

The operators of industry say that they have knocked the doors of every concerned authority to bring the workers into work but all in vain. "We corresponded asking for help with the District Police Office and Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Birgunj but no one has acted so far", said Mahabir Chachan, one of the operators. We cannot just start appointing everyone if they go onto strike, adds Chachan.