A utopian new year

An optimistic essay on all that a new year could bring to Kathmandu

Jan 03, 2025

Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening from Kathmandu. This is Issue 170 of KALAM Weekly, the only newsletter you need to keep updated with everything happening in Nepal.

A very happy Gregorian 2025 and a happy Tamu Lhosar to all of you constant readers. Thank you for coming with me thus far. I hope you have enjoyed this newsletter and will continue to do so in the years to come. A great big thank you to my newest paid supporters, Avash KC, Simrika Sharma, and Karma Lama Tamang. Your support allows me to continue writing this newsletter week after week. Thank you so much!

Not much has happened this past week so this newsletter will be shorter than usual. Still, let’s look back at the week.

In this newsletter:

Bhim Rawal expelled from UML, two others suspended
Jimmy Carter dies at 100 years
Child singer Sachin Pariyar dies at 15
Recommendations
The deep dive: A utopian new year

Bhim Rawal expelled from UML, two others suspended

Last week, on December 25, Bhim Rawal, a senior politician from the ruling UML party, was expelled for criticizing party chair and prime minister KP Sharma Oli. Two other politicians — Binda Pandey and Usha Kiran Timilsina — were suspended for the same reason. The party argued that the three had publicly contradicted the party’s official stance on certain issues and were thus liable for disciplinary action. In truth, all three had opposed Oli’s acceptance of a donation of land worth billions of rupees from controversial businessman Min Bahadur Gurung. The land will be used to build the UML’s new headquarters with the construction costs too borne by Gurung, who was charged with fraud in the Lalita Niwas land grab.

Rawal, who has long been a thorn in Oli’s side, has not taken the expulsion lying down. On Wednesday, January 1, Rawal held a press conference, vowing to start a new nationalist movement and continue to oppose Oli’s “autocratic” actions. Rawal has always been outspoken, especially on issues that he believes harm the national interest. He is not always right and often promotes conspiracy theories, especially regarding the Millenium Challenge Corporation, but he is not seen as a corrupt figure. For the UML, his biggest sin has been challenging Oli’s dominance in the party.

The UML’s retaliation against Rawal, Pandey, and Timilsina does not bode well for others in the party. Oli has long been consolidating the entire party around his figure, and it appears that any criticism of the chairman will now result in expulsion or suspension. While many might say that such intolerance is the hallmark of a communist party, I would retort that for true communist parties, self-criticism is a virtue and should always be indulged in. In practice, of course, this is not often the case.

Jimmy Carter dies at 100 years

Jimmy Carter, the 39th president of the United States of America, died on Sunday, December 29, at the ripe old age of one hundred. Carter was seen domestically as a weak and pliable president but went on to leave a grand humanitarian legacy that established him internationally as one of the few US presidents who were decent human beings. He brokered the Camp David Accords to sue for peace between Israel and Egypt; he handed over control of the Panama Canal from the US to Panama; and he presided over the disastrous Iran hostage crisis.

After losing to Ronald Reagan, Carter went on to do what he did best — try and help people. His work with Habitat for Humanity was legendary. Although a former president with a Secret Service detail, Carter could often be found building homes with his hands. He also established The Carter Center to “wage peace, fight disease, and build hope.” The Carter Center brought the former peanut farmer from Georgia to Nepal. The Carter Center observed both of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly elections and Carter himself gave the elections his stamp of approval as “free and fair,” legitimizing them internationally. Although there has been some revisionism regarding just how free and fair those elections were, Carter played a critical role at a crucial time. I don’t subscribe to the emerging narrative that the Maoists stole the first Constituent Assembly elections, but I will admit there were instances of fraud, intimidation, and ballot stuffing. But, let’s also remember that Pushpa Kamal Dahal won handily in Kathmandu, and he didn’t need to resort to any shenanigans. Carter was essentially correct. Both Constituent Assembly elections were free and fair.

Carter was a complicated man, and the post-office celebration of his life shows just how few US presidents come close to being as beloved as Carter was. Even Barack Obama, arguably one of the most popular presidents in US history, does not have the kind of admiration Carter did. Still, he was not all peanuts and houses for the poor. For a more sobering assessment of his life and presidency, read this piece by CK Lal.

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Child singer Sachin Pariyar dies at 15

Fifteen-year-old Sachin Pariyar, who came to fame as a child singer on social media, died on Thursday, January 2, due to pulmonary complications. Pariyar was very popular on social media, especially TikTok. He sang professionally and was even featured in a music video alongside Nepali icon Rajesh Hamal. But Pariyar had long suffered from pulmonary issues, which were reportedly complicated by his inability to adhere to a strict medical regimen. He had been admitted to the ICU on December 21, suffering from seizures, and eventually contracted pneumonia, sepsis, and encephalopathy.

Pariyar’s death should lead to a much-needed conversation about child actors, singers, and performers. Ever since Pariyar became famous via TikTok, his life has been turned upside down. His family, particularly his father Tejendra ‘Kaloutey’ Pariyar, has exploited him to fund his own lifestyle. There are even reports that Pariyar was found on the streets of Kathmandu, begging for money from passersby. Even those who supported him financially did so as an object of amusement, not as a child who needed a childhood of his own. His medical condition was congenital but instead of getting the treatment he needed, he was busy singing and performing in music videos.

I’m not saying children cannot be actors or musicians or performers. But we need to understand that they are children first and artists second. Children need the time and space to be children and have a childhood. The money and adulation that comes with fame can be intoxicating, not just to the children but to their parents. We’ve all seen how Michael Jackson, a performer who never got to have a proper childhood, turned out. Proper laws and policies need to be put in place so that children are not exploited by their parents and guardians. As a society, we also need to stop making children famous. They are children, and we have collectively decided that children cannot consent. Why are we allowing their parents to treat them like accessories and golden geese?

Recommendations

Film: The Shrouds by David Cronenberg

Article: Why make art in the dark? by Izzy Wisher, Aeon Magazine

Short story: I won’t let you go by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Allison Markin Powell, Granta

The deep dive: A utopian new year

Image generated by Leonardo AI

The year begins anew, shedding the shackles of the past.

The skies are bluer than they’ve ever been. There’s no haze, no smog, no smoke. Seen from Kathmandu, the rolling hills give way to high mountains wrapped in a deep shroud of snow. Down on the streets, people walk more than they bike. The pavements are wider than the roads, and each car and motorbike stops gently at the zebra crossing to allow the press of people to cross. Traffic lights function like clockwork, and buses arrive at designated stops every few minutes. No one yells, no one pushes, there is space enough for everyone.

You go to work on one of those buses. It is cheaper, easier, and more comfortable than driving your car or motorbike. On the ride to work, you pull out a book you’ve been meaning to finish. The mobile phone, with its million unplayed YouTube videos, remains safely in your pocket. When it is time to get off, you hand the conductor your fare and he hands you back exact change. You both smile and thank each other. You remember a time when you both greeted each other with hostility, not allowing yourself to recognize the humanity in the other. You are glad those days are long gone.

You usually arrive on time for work but sometimes, you are a little late. No one threatens to dock your pay. Everyone recognizes that as long as the work gets done and no one else is inconvenienced, lateness is not a problem. You sit at your desk; you stand every half hour or so and walk around for a few minutes. You drink coffee, tea, and lots and lots of water. You get an hour’s lunch break, and you use it to eat your food leisurely. You sit with your colleagues, and you talk while you eat. You get to know each other. You don’t like everyone, but you know that’s okay. You are cordial and respectful to everyone, and everyone is cordial and respectful towards you.

On your way home, you stop at a park and sit on a bench, watching people go by. There are couples in love and the elderly out for an evening stroll. There are trees and greenery around you, an oasis of calm in a city of chaos. You peel oranges and shell peanuts. You eat leisurely, surrounded by the sounds of children playing. It is a moment of respite for you, after the drudgery of work and before the comfort of home. It is a third place, one where you can put your mind at rest and experience some joy in just being alive in the present.

At home, you read the news on your phone. Thousands of Nepalis no longer leave the country every day. There are jobs to be had, and the pay is fair and equal. There are no major corruption scandals, and the government is well-liked, if not loved. Everyone knows politicians and bureaucrats are only doing their best and it is enough. There is still death, for that is a fact of life. But at least it is no longer born out of carelessness and apathy. Not everything is positive, for you still do not live in a perfect world, but you believe that this is as close as you can get to the best of all possible worlds.

When you get into bed, you are no longer crippled with anxiety. You sleep well, the sleep of the just. Your dreams are uneventful and when you wake, it is not from nightmares but from sunbeams filtering through the slats in your curtains. Another day begins and instead of dread, you are filled with possibility. What can this new day bring?

On the weekends, you go to museums where entrance is free and art lines the walls. You take walks along the Bagmati river. The waters are bright and blue and sometimes, you can even glimpse fish leaping through the waves. You go to events in the city where people gather to talk about their passions instead of reasons to leave the country. You join a book club. You go to a dohori show. You attend a mehfil. If there is a jatra, you climb a nearby building and watch from the rooftops. You live in Kathmandu, and you take in all that the city has to offer.

Sometimes, you go on dates and meet for coffee and tea. You get to know each other. You hold hands while walking, and your bodies gently bump off each other like boats in water. You talk to each other about cricket, football, the latest computer games you’re both playing, that Kendrick Lamar album, and that Bollywood film you both hated. Sometimes, things go a bit further. But even if they don’t, you’re both okay. When you want to take your time, not rush into things, and your date agrees and understands. There is no resentment, and no one feels like they owe each other anything.

Once a week, you call your mother. She tells you about her work and how your father has been outdoing himself in the kitchen. Sometimes, your father will take over while your mother does the dishes. Theirs is a relationship that is wholly mutual. They give and they take, but no one feels like they’ve given too much and not received enough. You talk without judgment, without pretension, without expectation. They are your parents, after all. And through them, you realize love is in abundance and that joy is not a crumb.

But still, some days, you lie in bed, and you yearn. You want things, people, lifestyles, money. You want more than you have and maybe more than you need. You envy others, their joy, their faults, their desires, and their small lives. You want what you can’t have and it stings. But you tell yourself, what is life without desire? What is abundance without lack? Then, it’s better again and you can sleep. Outside, the night lengthens and the moon casts shadows. The city slumbers but many are awake, toiling. Their lives are just as rich as yours, this you know, and it brings you comfort. You are not alone, and there is always possibility in dreams.

That’s all for this week. I will be back next Friday, in your emails, for the next edition of KALAM Weekly.

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