A Toast to tea

Tea reduces risk of heart diseases and many types of cancer and even promotes oral hygiene. Whatever its therapeutic or medicinal values, to innumerable people around the world, drinking tea is a way of life. With almost religious regularity, many greet new morning each day with a cup of tea

A cup that cheers needn’t inebriate. And a cup of tea does that exactly without intoxicating you. Drink it plain or with milk, chilled with ice cubes or hot it will drive away your fatigue and lift your spirits. No wonder it’s one of the most popular beverages in the world. People drink it worldwide brewing it differently to suit their taste.

In our Himalayan nation also, people from all parts of the country from the cold mountain region to the hot terrain of terai relish this drink. Tea in Nepal carries a 138-year-old history. Tea seeds were first brought by Junga Bahadur from China. He had in fact received them as souvenir from the Chinese emperor. Under his instruction his son in law Colonal Gajraj Singh Thapa set up two plantations, the Ilam and the Soktim tea estates. Thus began the tea industry in Nepal.

Though Nepali isn’t one of the notable tea producers and exporters in the world, the orthodox tea produced here is well liked by people in different parts of the globe for its flavour and aroma. Nepal produces both black and green orthodox tea. Green tea is drunk plain where as black tea is taken plain as well as with milk and sugar. Good quality orthodox tea produced in Nepal sell for as high as 5000 rupees per kg. L.P. Mainali, executive chairman of Himalayan Shangri-la tea producers says that C.T. C tea is most popular among the local consumers. " C.T.C. granular tea does not taste and smell as good as the orthodox tea but its good for quick brew. Most of the local consumers prefer the mixture of orthodox leaf tea and C.T.C. tea," says Mainali.

Mainali calls tea (both orthodox and C.T.C.) as something fickle natured. "There is even a term called tea character coined after the mercurial nature of tea. Tea deserts its natural aroma and partakes the essence and flavour of whatever matter that comes to its contact or proximity," he says and further adds "This is the reason why tea should be stored in an air-tight tin box."

When asked what’s required to concoct a perfect cup of tea he says, " The mantra for a great tasting cup of tea is not boiling the tea leaf while preparing tea. Tea leaf should be added to previously boiled milk and water and kept for full four minutes before straining the tea. And the type of water you use for making tea also determines its taste. " He explains that if tea leaf is boiled, tannic acid comes from the leaf which causes acidity. One can drink as many as ten cups of tea a day without getting the heartburn if the tea is prepared without boiling the leaf.

Tea experts and researchers talk about innumerable benefits of this beverage called tea. They say tea has anti oxidant properties, it reduces risk of heart diseases and many types of cancer and even promotes oral hygiene. Whatever its therapeutic or medicinal values, to innumerable people around the world, drinking tea is a way of life. With almost religious regularity, many greet new morning each day with a cup of tea.

Hemp is hip

Hemp always grew in abundance in Nepal from earlier days. They just grew in the wild and people made plentiful use of this plant. They got the high smoking marijuana, hemp’s psychoactive cousin. Prepared pickle from hemp plant seeds. In addition to this, wore clothes woven from fibre extracted from this plant. But the cloth made from hemp was held in very low esteem by people in the society. Only the very poor wore them. There is even an expression in Nepali " thulo bauko ke gati kancha bauko bhangra ko dhoti." which refers to hemp cloth or ‘bhangra’ as something worn by someone reduced to poverty.

Little did the people who coined this expression know that one day hemp would be one of the most popular and sought-after dress materials in the world. These people must have never imagined even in their wildest dreams that the lowly bhangra would one day become the fabric of the haute couture worn by the rich and the sophisticated. There are many things which make this material popular among the connoisseurs of fine fabrics. First of all, hemp is a natural fibre thus earth and environment friendly. It’s very warm, absorbent and durable. Unlike other natural fabrics like cotton and silk, sweat does not eat or discolour hemp cloth easily.

Though Nepal does not produce wearable quality of hemp fabrics, bags, purse, shoes, bottle bag and various dress accessories are made from hemp grown here. Bone and bead ornaments combined with hemp strings twisted and knotted in different patterns are also available in the market. Since cultivation of hemp is illegal in most of the countries in the world including Nepal, those who make hemp fabrics must depend on the plants that grow in the wild. Due to this reason, hemp is a scarce and expensive commodity. Counterfeit hemp items made from nettle fibre fabrics and jute are found abundantly in the market here. But there is a method of finding out whether your hemp item is genuine or not. If the pure hemp fibre is put to flame, it leaves white residue whereas residue from adulterated or nettle fibre fabric is black.

Next time when you decide to do some eco-friendly shopping, you can try picking hemp bags, slippers, purses and bone and beads ornaments to go with your outfit. When you go for hemp, you will not only be opting for trendy items but also supporting the handicraft industries.

Imre Kertesz 
A chronicler of pain

Bikash Sangraula

The winner of Nobel prize for literature for the year 2002, seventy-two year-old Emre Kertesz  was born in November 9, 1929, in Budapest, Hungary. Early in life, he became a victim of the persecution of Jews in Hungary that began in 1944. The 14-year-old lad of sharp sensitivities was sent to a concentration camp in Poland. Later, he was sent to a concentration camp in Germany, from which he was released in 1945.

The writings of Kertesz are essentially based on his experiences at the concentration camps. His first novel Fateless, published in 1975, is a glorious yet immensely painful story of a youth who never allows the Nazi excesses to rule his thinking, even while suffering at their hands in a concentration camp. In the novel, that has a largely autobiographical narration style, a 15-years-old Jew finds himself the witness and victim of ever escalating forms of cruelty in a Nazi concentration camp. Surprisingly, the boy has no complains. He learns to live amid suffering and says, "Nobody can start a completely new life. Everyone has to continue with the old life. I will continue with my painful existence in the concentration, though it might not be worth living."

This attitude of defiance, courage and acceptance of what life has to offer, is equally relevant in the present world where human sensitivities are stagnating and going through slow but certain death in the fatal grips of mechanization and consumerism. Kertesz’s works teach us to stay aloof from dehumanizing forces.

Kertesz continued his studies after his release form the concentration camp. At the age of 19, he started off his writing career as a journalist. He was soon fired by the communist government that came to power in 1951 in Hungary. Kertesz realised that the communist government of his country was no better than the Nazis. Both were at heart fascists. Disillusioned by this realization, he pursued a quiet and independent career, writing fiction and doing translations.

The authoritarian communist rule in Hungary lasted for 4 decades. This period markedly influenced his writings and thinking. Crushed by deprivation of all forms, many Hungarian writers metamorphosed into political hypocrites and intellectual puppets of the communist government. Kertesz denied to compromise his beliefs and continued a detached existence.

Fateless, completed in1965 but published a decade later, failed to attract readers. However, critics maintain that this is his most important work and puts forth his view of life. Fiasco, published in 1988 and Kaddish for a Child not Born, 1990, consolidated his position as a writer.

Fiasco is a sequel of Fateless and presents the same protagonist, now an aged man, reminiscing his dark past. He is worried about the delays in the publication of his reminiscences. When it finally gets published, he feels an emptiness descend on him, as if he lost all his valued possessions. Similarly, in the final novel of the trilogy, Kaddish for a Child not Born, the protagonist performs the Jewish prayer, Kaddish, for the child he refuses to beget in a world dense with human miseries.

Other prose works by Kertesz are The Pathfinder, 1977, and The English flag, 1991. In 1992, his fictional diary, Galley Diary, was published, that covers the years 1961–1991. Similarly I – Another : chronicle of a metamorphosis, 1997, is a moving monologue in the form of notes made during the years 1991–1995. After the political upheavals of 1989, Kertesz grew into a more private person. His lectures and essays have been collected in The Holocaust as Culture, 1993, Moments of silence while the execution squad reloads, 1998, and The exiled language, 2001.

Meet the   events manager

Prabhat Rimal. Mr. Voice. He is no doubt one of the most liked FM radio jockeys who entertain and inform thousands of listeners. It’s not that good voice alone can take you places but you need brains to match and Prabhat has both. But this versatile man hasn’t limited himself to just F.M. programs and emceeing in events like beauty pageants and concerts. "I also work as an events manager for Vogue and events management company.," says Rimal.

When asked what an events manager does, he says, "An events manager is responsible for running programs smoothly. Take for example a contest like Sikhar Beat Contest where sponsors do not have time to make arrangements for things like acoustic, venue, lights etc. We hire the service of providers for such things and help run the program. It’s like the job of a wholesaler who gathers goods from retailers and sells them to people."

Prabhat says that there is tremendous potential for growth of music industry in Nepal. " Lot can be done in the field of music and glamour here. Managing music events is challenging as well as rewarding. I can say this from my personal experiences in the hugely successful events like Sikhar Beat Contest, San Miguel Music Awards," he says. About the recent music event ‘Rock Yatra’ which the audience have dubbed ‘Rock Jatra’ Prabhat says, "Rock Yatra was the first of such big events that happened after the Royal Massacre. We had made arrangements for around 8 to 10 thousand people but the crowd turnout exceed 30 thousand. When this happens you can imagine the pandemonium that broke lose in the Dashrath Rangashala. The actual chaos was created by the last minute ticket buyers." "I sincerely apologize the audience for what has happened," says Rimal who was the events manager for that program.

"There is a tremendous scope for people who would want to take up the profession of events manager. Since this is a relatively new concept in our country, there are many challenges in this field," says Prabhat. Who knows one day there will come a time when events manager will organize functions like wedding and bratabandha.

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