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By BINIT GURUNG Imagine an inhabitant of another planet left stranded in a deeply religious society on earth by accident. He is compelled to learn the ways of the world to survive and in doing so, encounters a range of competing religious beliefs and traditions that mark his newfound world. This scenario is actually portrayed in the recently released Amir Khan Starrer movie “PK” directed by Rajkumar Hirani who has a reputation for making excellent movies. The movie raises some plausible questions on ‘religion’ which holds sway over the lives of millions of people in India. The centrality of religion in people’s lives is not characteristic of Indian societies only. Rather, this is common to all societies in varying extents across the world. Against this background, let me dwell on the different facets of religion which we often take for granted. The good side The functionalist analysis of religion sees religion as contributing to the functioning of the whole social syst...

The office of Modern Era Tours & Travels at zero km. Photo: LB Thapa By LB THAPA The other day I happened to travel to Delhi by bus. Since I did not have enough time to book a train ticket to Delhi, I looked for other possible options. Traveling by air was expensive so finally I decided to go to Delhi by bus. Because some time ago I knew about the bus service from Pokhara to Delhi. I drove to the office of Modern Era Tours & Travels at Zero kilometer. After a brief conversation with a lady staff, I came to know that mostly two buses leave to Delhi every day. The first bus leaves at 7 o’clock in the morning and the next bus leaves at 12 o’clock in the afternoon. The first bus was of Nepal Bharat Maitri Bus Sewa that leaves at 7 o’clock in the morning. I chose to get a ticket for the same bus, because it would drop me in Delhi at around 2 to 4 pm. So that it would be easy for me to reach my destination before sun sets. The lady staff prepared my ticket and ga...

Nepal government did launch Visit Nepal 2020 without paying attention to improve the condition of public toilet in major cities. Photo: Gabor Monori-Unsplash By LB THAPA Many times when we think big, talk big, and hold big ambitions, we ignore some small things of greater importance. Yes, I am talking about mega tourism campaign the country has launched with the onset of January 2020. The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has officially launched ‘Visit Nepal Year-2020’ campaign with a target to bring in two million tourists. The government has also set to promote People & Heritages, Nature & Wildlife, Culture & leisure, Religion & Pilgrimage and Adventure and Outdoor ---sounds great! In these days the government is busy in campaigning about Visit Nepal Year-2020 at home and abroad---in fact, due to increasing threat of coronavirus (COVID-19), the government is mulling over temporarily halting rigorous campaigning of VNY-2020 abroad...

Photo: Beirut tourism board. By LB THAPA My stay in Beirut during 2005-6 was full of excitement. I had been to Beirut with two obvious intentions. First, to complete my debut novel…this was all set in my mind. And the second was to do some freelance writing. My freelance writings were published by one national daily and a weekly newspaper in Kathmandu. The last chapter of the novel was penned down in the early dawn we left Beirut abruptly. The whole night I was writing my novel. My dropping eyelids would get a sudden lift by the sound of bomb that Israeli jet planes dropped around the airport, Antilles and Marina. At 4 o' clock in the morning, the last chapter of the novel was written…I took a sigh of relief. The Pandora's Box was opened when Hezbollah militia seized two Israeli soldiers in July 2006. Israeli troops came upon heavily with all their might. A bloody war ensued that lasted for about 34 days. The war ravaged the property beyond calculation and kil...

Asare Ropain is a paddy plantation that is observed with lots of fanfare in Pokhara. Photo: jukson.com   By KESHAV PATHAK "Hario Danda Mathi Halo Jotne Sathi" this melodious song conjures up a sweet memory of Dharma Raj Thapa, a legendary poet of Pokhara. His scintillating Asare songs have not only immortalized him but also included Asare ropain (Paddy plantation) in the menu of Pokhara tourism. Today Asare Roapin Mahotsava is celebrated with much agog and excitement and participants are not only Nepalese but also foreigners who enjoy wallowing in the mud and taking part in various events for fun.  Pokhara Tourism Council (PTC) has been regularly organizing Asare Ropain Mahotsava over the last decade. PTC has been preparing to celebrate '12th Asare Mahotsava-2015' on 15th Asar.  Asar 15 is an important day for Nepali farmers as they swing into action in their respective fields. The PTC is going to celebrate this year's Asare Ropain Mahotsava with the slogan ...

Fatta Bahadur Gurung and his Shito Ryu Karate Academy in Pokhara, Nepal By LB THAPA Nepali martial artists have always made the country proud by winning medals in various international competitions. Among the branches of martial arts, the performance of Karate at the international level has been outstanding for years. Karate is not only a sport but it is also a way of self-defense. At a time when life has become increasingly unsafe, the best way to protect ourselves is through the use of karate. This is the message Pokhara-based Fatta Bahadur Gurung and his wife Sushma Gurung, both are professional karate coaches, spread around. Fatta Bahadur Gurung, Black Belt 5 th Dan, is a karate coach and Asian Karate Federation (AKF) judge. He has spent over one and half decades enriching karate in Nepal. “My wife and I have dedicated our lives to the service of karate. By teaching karate, we want to make our students able to defend themselves from bad people. However, our spe...