READ 2B HAPPY

In the photo, late Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat is seen presenting a memento to the erstwhile Nepal Army chief General Purna Chandra Thapa in New Delhi, India.    By LB THAPA , a special report Indian army chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat is no more with us. Though he was an Indian army chief, his connection with Nepal and Gurkhas was deep-rooted. First to begin with General Bipin Rawat had become the Vice Chief of Army Staff before becoming the fourth officer from the Gurkha Brigade to come to the COAS.  Let’s not forget that General Bipin Rawat was also an honorary Chief of the Army Staff of Nepal Army. General Rawat was very close to the Gurkha Brigade. He would never miss any opportunities to attend Gurkha’s traditional celebrations. In recent times many of you might have watched a viral video post on YOUTUBE where General Rawat is seen dancing with the Gurkhas.  In such a tragic chopper accident, we Nepalese have also lost a true friend of Nepal. General

A headless chicken has survived for a week after being decapitated and has now been adopted by a vet who calls the bird 'a true warrior. Photo: Courtesy.    By LB THAPA   It is impossible to think of a life without the head. The Head is the most important part of the body as it controls the whole system of the body. In brief, when the head is severed off the life is gone once and for all.   Well, this is what many of us think of the head, but this is not always true. Because this blogger is going to write about two bizarre cases, where two chickens in different times had lost their heads but refused to die. The first case was reported in 1945 while another one took place quite recently in March 2018 in Thailand.   So, let’s start with the first case which was first reported in 1945. It was 10 th September 1945 Lloyd Olsen and his wife Clara were busy killing chickens. Olsen decapitates the heads of the chickens and his wife would clean them to sell them on a local market. It

The farmers in fancy dress up getting ready to entertain the public. Photo: Organizer   By LB THAPA At a time when Nepali youths look for foreign employment as the only way to uplift their living standard, many people have stayed back home and turned to farm. After having toiled on foreign soil, some youths have learned a lesson that the amount of money they earn abroad can also be earned at home.  The recent 8 th Hemja Potato Festival-2017 has been an excellent example of farming success. There are over 400 houses, which are professionally involved in vegetable farming in Hemja. The interesting thing is that many youths in this village who previously worked abroad but now are full-time vegetable farmers.  Meet Rishiraj Timilsina, a local man who had spent over five years abroad, now he is a full-time vegetable grower. “I had spent nearly seven years abroad. I had to work hard to earn a few bucks and on top, there was no respect for immigrants. Then I decided to leave abroad to

Photo: brett-jordan-unsplash By LB THAPA   Originally this story was published in The Kathmandu Post Bishal was raised by his single mother, Chandramaya. Chandramaya never spoke about his father. What Bishal knew about his father was from the elderly people of his village. They told him that his father had abandoned his mother when he was a year old. And when Bishal asked them that why his father had deserted his mother; they told him that their parents would constantly quarrel with each other.    “Many times your mother had called for panchayat (the village council) to hear her plea. We did warn your father a number of times for mending his ways but he was adamant. He was such a drunkard that it was absolutely impossible to find him standing on his two feet---he would always lurch from wall to wall. Well, then one day all of a sudden your father disappeared. Your grandmother went straight to a local police station and filed a case against your mother. Your grandmother was absolutely s

Ratnaman Bajracharya is working on an enlarged table which was ordered by a foreign tourist. Photo: LB Thapa By  LB THAPA The history of Nepali woodcarvings was extremely rich during the Licchavi period (300-897AD). Wang Hsuan Tsang, a great Chinese monk and traveler, had visited Kathmandu during the reign of Licchavis. He had documented the richness of woodcarvings in Kathmandu. He wrote in his memoir in AD 643, “The people of Kathmandu are skilled in arts. Their houses are made of wood and richly carved” Through his description, it is evident that woodcarvings in Kathmandu were ahead of time. Historical facts suggest that Kathmandu was much ahead in the art of woodcarvings in the region. The rich history of woodcarvings took a flight from the 13 th to 18 th century Malla period. There was a time when woodcarvings in Kathmandu had attracted many artisans and scholars across the world.     In the course of time, many outstanding pieces of woodcarvings were lost by fires, earthquake

Photo: the-anam-unsplash By LB THAPA After the retirement from the 6 th Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1991, I joined hotel Derek in Goa. There I worked as security in charge. Derek Santiago, a Portuguese descendent, was the owner of the hotel.   The hotel was running well. Over the years, the hotel earned enormous name and fame and it became the first choice of many visitors. Many guests who once stayed in this hotel would never think of going to any other hotels.   One day in the late evening, a teenage girl checked into the hotel. But the next day her dead body was found hanging to the ceiling. The door was broken to bring her dead body down to the floor. The police had tried their best but they couldn’t establish her identification. After three months, her dead body was cremated as an unidentified body.   The very room where the girl had stayed was room No. 205. After three months, the hotel got permission to allow the room for the guests. Room No. 205 was a suite room and it