Wuhan is the epicentre of the coronavirus outbreak that has gone pandemic today. But that’s not all, Wuhan also became the epicentre for a new trend of livestreaming, especially by singers, artists, and celebrities. Nepal has been on lockdown since Tuesday, combating against the fear of the coronavirus outbreak here; and some artists here are […]

The coronavirus pandemic has now reached over 168 countries with around 459,800 cases. Though Nepal has recorded only three cases so far, in its bid to control the spread, the government has taken the country on lockdown. Other countries in the world have adopted different measures to control the spread. Many governments have imposed a […]

Regarded as one of the busiest, crowded areas of the Kathmandu city, Ason today has thinned out amid the fears of coronavirus. On the second day of Paachahre, one of the important festivals celebrated by the Newari community in Kathmandu, the city usually would have the streets abuzz with people, music and other celebratory activities. […]

Almost everyone who knows there is the Taleju Temple in Hanumandhoka of Kathmandu also knows that the temple opens for the public only once a year, on Mahanawami (ninth day) of Dashain festival. But, there is a group in Kathmandu that has access to the interior of the temple every fortnight, 24 times in a […]

Pushpa Basnet’s Putali ko Ghar, Sushila Karki’s Nyaya, Parijat’s Adhyayan Ra Sangharsha, and Jhamak Kumari Ghimire’s Jiwan Kaanda Ki Phool–they all talk about women and their struggles in life, roads to success, morality for women, and their way of living from their own perspectives. However, such works of art have somehow been restricted to the […]

At 7:57 am on Tuesday (March 3), some hundred people will be gathering at Basantapur to erect a wooden pole, named Chir, to mark the beginning of the annual festival of Holi/Phagu Poornima. Whereas the wooden pole heralds the spring festival every year, for a community in Ason of Kathmandu, it is an embodiment of […]

With a participation of over 60,000 people, the latest edition of Itilahne Samyak Mahadaan concluded at Nagbahal of Patan on Thursday. The festival takes place every five years, meaning the next will happen in 2025. Samyak Mahadaan is a collective event where the people from all over Kathmandu Valley, mostly Newars, come together. The festival […]

The god of rain, Rato Machhindranath, perhaps would not bless the traditional farmers of Kathmandu Valley with good harvest and prosperity this monsoon also–for his house, the Rato Machhindranath Temple, located in Bungamati of Lalitpur, has not been rebuilt yet. Nearly five years have passed since the 2015 earthquake, but one of the key cultural […]

White hairs, wrinkled face, a cane for walking and a slouched-over body; that’s what most of you associate the old age with. But when you see a group of senior citizens practising t’ai chi, you will feel shocked, right? There are a lot of stereotypes associated with old age. Now, there is a group of […]

Three months ago, a group of citizens in Kathmandu launched the Occupy Tundikhel campaign with the overwhelming participation of people in Khulamanch, an open ground in central Kathmandu. The citizen-led three-month campaign advocating the need for open space in Kathmandu and urging the concerned parties to stop the encroachment of Tundikhel, which also includes Khulamanch, […]

For most of the Hindu households in Nepal, the Swasthani Brata Katha needs no introduction. This religious text, a compilation of mythological stories about the goddess Swasthani and other Hindu gods and goddesses becomes a part of daily life for an entire month every year. Whereas the monthlong ritual is quite popular in Nepali villages, […]

Every year, around 300 people stay on the bank of Shali Nadi in Sankhu of Kathmandu to observe the monthlong Swasthani brata festival, in the hope of having their wishes fulfilled. Whereas the sojourn itself is full of hardship, the devotees also travel miles on foot as a continuity to the centuries-old tradition. Devotees consider […]

Whereas the monthlong Swasthani Brata, a religious ritual observed in the month of Magh (January-February), is a fun affair for many locals of Sankhu, an ancient town on the eastern side of Kathmandu, it means something different from Jeevan Shrestha. In the past two decades, he has been considered a living god himself every fourth […]