| Sajha.com Archives | |
| Username | Post |
| crazyeyez | Posted
on 08-Sep-03 07:36 PM
" "It could all go up in flames," wrote the Nepali Times in a business commentary last week. " http://www.time.com/time/asia/magazine/printout/0,13675,501030915-483345,00.html by Alex Perry. |
| Bhunte | Posted
on 08-Sep-03 08:26 PM
thx ashu for sharing very useful info. things as described are what i observed during my short trip to nepal. resturants in ktm were just empty even at day time and foreign looking people in Thamel's gullies was kind of rare birds, 90% of the people are usually at home after 8pm. the nepali economy must already be into recession as all the dev works have been stalled. the big question is what happens next when Nepal is declared a failed state. so called major political forces in nepal are less concerned of the seriousness of the current situation in nepal. |
| Bhunte | Posted
on 08-Sep-03 08:34 PM
kya classic foto choose gareko... 
|
| ashu | Posted
on 08-Sep-03 09:02 PM
Thank you Crazyeyes (whoever you are!) for posting this. Yes, that is how I had concluded my last commentary on business for The Nepali Times weekly. Trishna Gurung, who edits my pieces at The Nepali Times, selected that photo. On another note, given the sheer amount of uncertain and senseless violence all around us in Nepal these days, working for/in Nepal's private sector is starting to feel like continuing to play the violin on the deck of the Titanic. The TIME article is very good. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| Garibjanata | Posted
on 09-Sep-03 08:08 AM
Ashudai, You yourself are telling the world that your recent article in Nepali Times is 'very good'.Let the readers make the judgement, not you. yours uhi pyaro mela ma haraeko bhai Garibjanata |
| tabasco | Posted
on 09-Sep-03 08:22 AM
oh mr. dumbhead garibjanta aashu is talking about the article written by alex perry and not his. how dare you .......##@%^^&^% :) |
| cardinal | Posted
on 09-Sep-03 08:24 AM
wtf! Ashu said "TIME article" - I repeat "TIME article" - is very good. He even capitalized "TIME", and its a single line paragraph. How could you miss that? |
| Dilasha | Posted
on 09-Sep-03 08:48 AM
A good article by Mr Perry. The following paragraph depicts a Dark Future. "They say they are now embarked on the final phase of Mao's revolutionary timetable: eliminating all enemies of the revolution, bringing a terrorized capital to its knees and, eventually, overrunning the city and seizing power. "We control all the countryside," gloats Maoist political officer Ram Lohani Chaudhray. "The government and most of the army hide in Kathmandu. But we have many fighters there. We have them holed up and we will wipe them out." ******** A result of not solving the problem long before when the so called netas HAD the power to do so who instead focussed their energy in Kursi tanataan. Well, there it is! The deadly VIRUS slowly entering into the bigger system i.e the heart and boy do we know what will happen when the HEART stops to breathe! Very sad... |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 04:16 AM
Ashu Dai, Congrats! |
| ashu | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 05:30 AM
Hey IF, It was NOT an interview or anything like that. TIME cribbed a line off my NT piece, and, now, I shudder to think how many potential foreign investors and visitors it must have scared away. Oh well. Such is life in this yam between two stones!! oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| Ruby | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 01:00 PM
Ashu ji, What is the protocol when you quote someone(you) a major publication like TIME, which millions are people read? Does TIME have to ask you or the Nepali Times before using your words? Did you know about this before it went on print? |
| ashu | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 03:36 PM
>>>What is the protocol when you quote someone(you) a major publication like TIME, which millions are people read? <<<<< I have no idea about the protocol. I suppose there was technically nothing wrong with what TIME did, as long as there was some kind of attribution. >>>>Does TIME have to ask you or the Nepali Times before using your words? <<< I don't think so. >>>Did you know about this before it went on print? <<<< No. I found out about it on Sajha, after reading Crazyeyes posting (see above). oohi "The curfew in Kathmandu (11 pm - 4 am) ended half-hour ago" ashu ktm,nepal |
| kahatimro | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 03:52 PM
OOHO ASHU ASH HOOOOOOOOOOO ASH ASS ASH MY ASS OOHI ASHI |
| ashu | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 03:57 PM
Somehow, with a title like "Time quotes Ashu", I had expected the backlash to start a bit earlier than now, Kahatimro. But, hey never mind. Carry on with your fine work!! oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| kahatimro | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 04:54 PM
TEARS means ashu right? |
| ashu | Posted
on 10-Sep-03 05:27 PM
No. The word "Ashu" in Sanskrit means: fast, quick. Examples: i) ashu-kabi = a poet who composes poems quickly, fast. [ii) ashu-poster = one who posts stuff on Sajha quickly. :-)] [The word "tosh" in Sanskrit means: content or happy, as in "santosh".] Hence, in Sanskrit, Ashutosh = one who is made happy quickly. Aanshu, with a chandra-bindu over aa, means tears. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| Ruby | Posted
on 19-Sep-03 07:46 AM
CK Lal criticizes Perry for the article he wrote. (he also uses the ashu's quote) Time to get the story straight The present reality is bleak, but the Nepalis belief that things will get better seems to endure. They are widening the road to Budhanilkantha, and contractors are trying to frantically finish the work before Dasai. A roadroller takes up half the road, the other half is taken up by vehicles waiting to be checked by a lone security man. Kathmandus SUV-set driving to suburban mansions and commuters crammed inside vintage vans jostle to get ahead at the bottleneck. It takes 30 minutes to cover a distance of 12km. At the end of it, Budhanilkantha School stands in its austere majesty. Built by the British to groom Nepals best and brightest, the school has now become the cradle of the Nepali diaspora: every year, more BKS graduates go abroad than stay in Nepal. In the shadows of Shivapuri, private promoters have built Siddhartha Colony, a haven for the citys upwardly mobile. It has some of the most expensive dwelling units in Kathmandu, and is a cacophony of architectural styles that cry for attention: a Rana-Roman palace here, a mock-baroque villa there and a faux-White House tucked in between. This is where Kathmandus movers and shakers increasingly move and shake. Here live the people who read Time magazine and watch Star News to find out what is happening in their own country. However, nothing in Budanilkantha gives the impression that it could all go up in flames . People are building new houses as if there were no tomorrow, and building a house is the biggest endorsement of faith in the future. The present reality in the Valley may be bleak, but the Nepalis belief that things will get better still seems to endure. Imagine if there were a long-term truce. The management and the staff of the elegant Park Village Hotel here arent as worried as Gautam Rana, who is featured in last weeks issue of Time, worrying about his personal safety. Times are bad, there are very few tourists around, but the Parks lobby is bustling with Nepalis attending this seminar or that workshop. When asked how is business, a staffer is frank: Not all that good, but we are hoping it will get better soon. If she harbours any fears of her world falling apart, she isnt showing it. She is paying closer attention to getting the ashtrays emptied before the next lot of seminar participants arrive. It would be foolish to pretend that its business as usual in Nepal, but how did Alex Perry of Time get the impression that Kathmandu is in danger of rejoining the rest of the country in the Dark Ages ? Perrys story isnt his personal failure. It is generic to all ambulance-chasing journalists who hunt in packs and have to either trash a place or praise it to high heavensnothing in between. There are no greys in the black-and-white world of parachuting media mercenaries. You jet into town, not seeking a story but confirmation of a preconceived script, meet the people who are waiting to meet you, mangle the copy of the local stringer, liberally sprinkle hyperbole, and then file a feature that refracts reality. All of this wouldnt have mattered if this particular multinational newsmag werent distributed free in every hotel and airline in the region. We hear some sightseeing tourists even cancelled their Nepal trip after they got to Bangkok airport! But how do you explain the Australia-based Asia-Pacific Human Rights Forum cancelling its annual meeting which was to be held 22-24 September in Kathmandu? They probably read Time. Spooked by Perry and warned off by knee-jerk embassy travel advisories, we can understand tourists cancelling, but human rights activists fearing for their safety? Dont they listen to their contacts in the United Nations in Kathmandu? In this sad and costly seven-year war, it is ordinary Nepalis who have suffered and died. They are the ones who face threats, extortion and fears of safety every day. Not foreigners. Not tourists. And especially not international human rights activists meeting in an international hotel. When will the Nepal Desks at overseas ministries so quick to put out travel advisories to protect their behinds understand this? When will South Asia correspondents in Delhi stop behaving like birds on a wire? There is a moral in this for our own paranoid elite: next time be careful what you tell parachutists. They care not for the truth and will twist your words to suit their script. |
| Ruby | Posted
on 19-Sep-03 07:49 AM
here is the link http://www.nepalnews.com/ntimes/issue163/? |
| Chordaku420 | Posted
on 19-Sep-03 10:56 AM
Ashu is none but right winger Whoochi mama. He is all about Gyane and Parase. |
| ashu | Posted
on 20-Sep-03 01:00 AM
Let's just say that CK Lal, my fellow senior columnist at the Nepali Times weekly, is an immensely fascinating character. If he didn't exist, one would have to invent him!! And I mean that as a compliment. While TIME's Alex Perry put together his story through the lens of Gautam Rana and Sanjiv Rajbhandari, C K Dai made his rebuttal through the stories of "elegant Park Village Hotel" [which, by the way, puts out advertisement on The Nepali Times ko front page on a regular basis] and Siddhartha Colony, where -- rather than Kathmandu's "upwardly mobile movers and shakers" -- staid heads of diplomatic missions and country chiefs of various INGOs live off their generous housing allowances. I was quite surprised to read about "Park's lobby . . . bustling with Nepalis attending this seminar or that workshop." So I called up the Hotel and requested relevant information for the months of June, July August and September, which -- without getting into specifics here, and that's because I don't want to divulge sensitive information -- led me to conclude that business, even the seminar/workshop business at Park, is ACTUALLY getting worse in stark number terms. I don't know how CK Dai reached his conclusions about Park's lobby . . . bustling with Nepalis", but as someone proud of his engineering training, he'd do himself a service if he analysed the numbers before delivering a verdict. ****** CK Dai further scolds Perry about "[Perry's] personal failure . . ." and uses that as a launching pad to grandly observe that such a piece of biased reporting is "generic to all ambulance-chasing journalists who hunt in packs and have to either trash a place or praise it to high heavens". That's all very fine, but for an inconvenient fact. And that is, one of Nepal's top journalists -- Yubaraj Ghimire, the editor of Kantipur daily himself -- ASSISTED Perry to put together the TIME story. My question is simple: How does the fact that one of Nepal's top journalists helped write that story sit in with theory of ambulance chasers? I could go on, but it's time to stop, and drink some Muna Gold Premium Tea [no, I don't receive any commission for saying "Muna Gold Premium Tea"!!.] oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| Ruby | Posted
on 04-Oct-03 07:24 PM
" I find CK Lals critics of us as scare-mongering, badly-informed journalists a little rich (Getting the story straight, #163). Firstly, the quote he homes in on: it could all go up in flames is, as you know, taken from the column Strictly Business by Ashutosh Tiwari published in Nepali Times (#160). Secondly, the idea that he could write accurately about my poor skills as a reporter when he, er, failed even to contact the central figure in his thesis (me) or any of the people I interviewed, displays an extraordinary hypocrisy and, as any media professional should know, is a fundamental violation of the basic journalistic tenet known as checking. Pots and black kettles anyone? Finally, as for parachuting in, yes, I am based in Delhi, but shall continue to keep a very close watch on developments at this tragic time for Nepal and parachute in as often as I can. " Alex Perry South Asia bureau chief, Time Magazine from nepali times |
| kalekrishna | Posted
on 05-Oct-03 04:34 AM
Ashuji, badai cha hai, yeah I read it and your comment was rightly placed to stressed the feeling of someone from within the country. Anyway, ashuji, a personal question,(not related to the thread), what do you think about the economic developement of Nepal? Is it very disappropriate and hence should be let to stand still for sometime before equal opportunities arise. Second is about the development in Nepal, are they having sustainable approach to it. One must know that the cycle of life is going round. By this I mean, the lifestyle of ultra rich in developed countries is the way it is now for the ultra poor in porrest country. I mean organic farming, voluntary starvation, simplicity and like of. Do you think development in Nepal should stop for sometime and pick up from where those developed countries are currently passing through. Alternative energy, organic food, sustainable development and sustainable medicine. Well, the million dolar question here is how to control the population, (thanks to our comrade and senas half the population is destined to die anyway). Sorry folks, these questions is mainly targeted to Ashuji, but others are free to post their comments, keeping the respect of the thread in consideration. |
| kalekrishna | Posted
on 05-Oct-03 04:37 AM
Sorry folks, typos error and wrong choice of words, I intended to say Ashuji's comment in the forume always reflects as some one from within the country unlike most of us. |
| ashu | Posted
on 05-Oct-03 04:44 AM
Thanks Ruby (whoever you are) for posting Alex Perry's letter. Appreciate it. ********** CK Lal dai is an excellent writer. I envy his erudition, his wide-ranging interest and his high levels of energy. As someone who respects him but is not afraid to tell him like it is even to his face (and he is welcome to do the same to me), my only request is that he -- please, please and please -- make sure that his facts, when challenged, stand up to verification. I think that's the minimum that any reader can and should ask of any columnist, myself included. [CK Dai once wrote that singer Narayan Gopal used to be a taxi-driver, a fact that intrigued a die-hard NG fan like myself greatly. But so far NONE of the NG contemporaries I have spoken to -- such as NG's wife Pemala, Bacchu Kailash, Ratna Sumsher Thapa, Gopal Yonzon's wife, Naati Kazi, Kali Prasad Rizal and others -- have any recollection whatsoever of NG's ever being a taxi driver at any time. I don't know what the truth really is, but I do find it quite odd that not even the best friends and indeed the wife of Narayan Gopal seem to corroborate that NG was once a taxi-driver.] Finally, I am really sorry to see CK Dai, through that relatively weak piece, providing a vulnerable opening for Mr. Perry to exploit, with a perceptible dash of arrogance, to his advantage (see the letter above!). Surely, CK Dai, you could have done better. But, hey, one lives and learns. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| noname | Posted
on 05-Oct-03 05:26 PM
Ashu, Lately PeterJ Karthak is writing immemorial anecdotes in TKP about NG, Saran Pradhan and others. Regarding that article, Peter did not post any comment (at least i did not see in the Nepali Times, where as Pemala and NG foundation had made a strong protest). He may give an accurate idea. If you ever come across anything revealing from him - or anyone for that matter - do care to inform us. |
| ashu | Posted
on 05-Oct-03 07:05 PM
Noname, I have not spoken to Peter Karthak yet. But will do so one of these days, and will try to find out whether he knows NG ever drove a taxi or not. Personally, I could care less whether NG was indeed a taxi-driver at one time or another. I am just quite amazed and amused by how incredibly hard it has been to prove that CK Lal was right about this "fact". That's all. ****** Kalekrishna asks: "what do you think about the economic developement of Nepal?" My answer: I think it's a good idea. But seriously, economic development encompasses so many things and factors that I really don't know where to begin from. There have been efforts at organic farming and creating alternative sources of energy and things like that, but not in a major way. oohi ashu ktm,nepal |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 06-Oct-03 09:18 AM
But seriously, economic development encompasses so many things and factors that I really don't know where to begin from. There have been efforts at organic farming and creating alternative sources of energy and things like that, but not in a major way. Peace, security and consistency, as evident by the Chinese example. |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 06-Oct-03 09:34 AM
here's an interesting artcile from the Guardian on China's growth: Shanghai sinks to new lows Jonathan Watts, Beijing Monday October 6, 2003 The Guardian China's development is weighing down Shanghai to such an extent that the city is sinking by an inch a year. New skyscrapers are rising so quickly and groundwater being pumped out in such huge volumes that the earth under China's biggest city is giving way, Xinhua news agency said. In a potential halt to two decades of runaway development, city authorities are drafting plans to limit construction to prevent worsening subsidence. Shanghai has led China's spectacular but unbalanced growth. Although its 17 million people represent just 1.5% of the national total, the port attracts 10% of foreign investment and generates 5% of GDP. But the land, which includes the former marsh of Pudong, is groaning under the 3,000-plus buildings over 18 storeys. Most, including China's tallest building, the 88-storey Jinmao, have been built in the past 10 years. The increased population and pollution have put pressure on the city to pump from deeper underground to find good quality water. This has increased the risk of subsidence. This summer a pedestrian tunnel caved in, causing an eight-storey building to collapse in the Bund district. Soft riverfront soil and poor construction were blamed. Faced also by skyscraper-related problems of overcrowding and dangerous wind tunnel effects, Shanghai has had enough. Xinhua said city planners would draft new rules to discourage new skyscrapers and has increased the space set aside for parks. Just as big a risk is the property speculation bubble, which threatens to undermine the financial foundations of China's towering ambitions. |
| Bhunte | Posted
on 06-Oct-03 02:01 PM
Ashu: ".......seriously, economic development encompasses so many things and factors that I really don't know where to begin from....." Isolated Freak: "Peace, security and consistency, as evident by the Chinese example. " I couldn't disagree with IF's opinion. YES, they r prerequisites before any real developmental activities occur anywhere anytime. That has been my concern and had written in another thread as: " ......I also found plenty of opportunities in Nepal. But it is meaningless when most of the development activities in the country has virtually stopped because of the security situation. One may see development in paper, but doubt if it has reached to the target population for most part of it. It would be tautological to say security is the priority before development. But the pooint is still valid. Otherwise why USA would have spend trillions of dollars to strengthen its internal and external security after 911? ....." One may still refute this hypothesis on the basis of argument of who came first -- Chicken or Egg. As for the current situation, Peace/Security is precurser to Development. |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 07-Oct-03 07:02 AM
I totally agree with you, bhunte. Shanti, Sthaitwa tatha Ek Rupata are the most important factors, maybe more important than the political system(s) for any country to fa da (develop). I say this because seeing China's impressive growth of the last 25 years, I seriously think that investors--both foreign and domestic--look for continuity of the government's investment policies, and for that you need stability and consistency, and the only way to achieve this seem to be peace. No agitation, no violation=smooth running of the governmnet= no change in policies= development. |
| isolated freak | Posted
on 07-Oct-03 07:12 AM
agitation, no violation= ... no violence |
| Bilbo Baggins | Posted
on 07-Oct-03 03:21 PM
Nepal does not need a new political system ... Nepal needs new politicians ...or maybe we need apolitical leaders ... Kaso Ashutosh Ji, Bhunte JI, and the rest of the Nepali intelligentsia!! |
| Bhunte | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 02:35 AM
Biblo baggins ji, I agree with your opinion. I do not see a need to introduce a brand new political system there. The current system is accomodative for what one want to achieve if properly executed. However, there are many loopholes that need to be amended for the system to function properly. A simple example could be the case of acts/laws related to road, sewerage, drinking water, etc. They just don't synchronise. Many of us have observed road dept makes a road, and next day water department ditching it. We just need to unravel the contradictory laws...and so so. Unless one wants for absolute republicanism or communism, the current political political system is by the choice of representative population of the time. The current politcal system was formulated by democrats and moderate communisits. As you know human mind is dynamic and are influenced by situation and contexts. Our Sajha political analysts and correspondants like IF, Nepe, Biswo, Ashu, Echoes, and other intelligesia may better be able to explain those stuffs. YES, Nepal needs new politicians. The new politicians I envision would be visionary, possess fine leadership qualities, they listen to personalities of different professions, well educated, updates himself with external affairs, and what not! Unfortunately I hardly believe that they are there yet. Most probably some of the future leaders are in this Sajha who are closely survelling people like you to put in his roaster of leadership....who knows! People groomed with old tricks has lesser value in the days ahead. The dynamic leadership has to come from younger generation. Ofcourse there is a generation gap. In the Western politics you will rarely see a prime minister or president reappearing in the same position after two or three dacades later unlike in Nepal. To my view this trend must go. More importantly, the leaders must be well educated to lead the country. In USA, I see most of the senators, governors, mayers have very good university education (mostly law or public administration background). Pls correct me if i was superficial... About apolitical leaders....Ummm .... Thats fine to lead technical ministries like DrDevkota or BKGyawoli did lead ministry of health and water resources, respectively. Ultimately leaders have to go to the people to win their support and heart. A leader may try to remain apolitical but the system and most janata are not... I may have done a better job addressing the issue you assigned to one of us above had i become a political sc student... but, i declined PhD pol sc fellowship offer by one of the past president of american pol sc association sometime ago....eheheh |
| Bilbo Baggins | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 08:24 AM
Excellent analysis Bhunte Ji. Thank you for it. We do need a leader that will unite the whole nation. We need someone who can comprehend the changes that have taken place in the world in recent times. The older generation of leaders need to gracefully retire and let the younger, maybe even western educated leaders take over. From what I've heard from some of the travelling ministers and public officials in the last few years, Nepali political environment is setup so as to stiffle the development of new and visionary leaders. Ek choti haath ma power aaye pachi chappa samatera chodne nai hoina ... come hell or high water!! Nepali elder leaders need to change that sort of attitudes. Be advisors to the youngsters and do good for the country and not simply do good to your family and friends. Just some thoughts!! BB |
| rbaral | Posted
on 08-Oct-03 10:18 AM
Why are not the new (and younger) leaders replacing the old ones? --They are too faithful to their seniors --It is too early --They don't want --Being leader is being corrupt --The old ones are still too competent and energetic --And, the final one, the younger ones simply can't replace the oldies for good. What do you expect? Namaste, Rishi |