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Bam Dev Poudyal is a well-known writer. Photo: LB Thapa By writing the draft of the Nepali constitution, I wanted to prove that the writing of the constitution may be difficult but not impossible. In fact, by writing the draft of the Nepali constitution, I deliberately lampooned upon CA members' pseudo commitment of writing a constitution of the country," said Poudyal sarcastically. By LB THAPA Ever since time immemorial, Pokhara has been the epicenter of knowledge. In the past, aspirants of true knowledge would invariably come to Pokhara and quench their thirst for knowledge. In the passage of time, Pokhara has already produced many acclaimed literary figures and great scholars of note.  Continuing the rich tradition of knowledge and wisdom, recently one name has drawn everyone's attention. He is a Pokhareli scholar, Bam Dev Poudyal. Mr. Poudyal is a lecturer in English and teaches at some reputed colleges in Pokhara. He holds three master's degrees for his credit...

A magnificent view of old Bandipur. Photo: LB Thapa By LB THAPA in Bandipur (This article was originally published in The Rising Nepal) Bandipur has attracted more domestic and foreign tourists today than it would in the past. A hilltop settlement, Bandipur is a perfect destination for those visitors who prefer peace, nature and tranquility. Bandipur is about 148km away from Kathmandu and 80km from Pokhara. To go to Bandipur, a sharp turn should be taken from Dumre bazaar to scale rising mountains. An 8km long serpentine road from Dumbre bazaar passes through several jagged turns to reach Bandipur. More we rise with each turn; the better view unfolds before our eyes. Bandipur should not be compared with Thamel of Kathmandu and Lakeside of Pokhara. Bandipur is different in the sense that this old town has not been polluted by the meddling crowd, dance bars, and gazal nights. The town is quiet and therefore those tourists who like no cacophony will always find Ban...

Child labour has become a serious problem before many countries in the world. Photo: scannepal.blogspot.com By LB THAPA  (This article was originally published in The Rising Nepal) It is quite unfortunate that despite spending so much money and time, the child related cases such as exploitation, physical torture, child trafficking, sexual abuse and so on are on the rise. In recent time the cases of child exploitation has dramatically increased in urban areas. However, the situation of child labor and their exploitation  in rural areas is also not good. This presents a bleak picture of the future of Nepali working children. It seems that either the government has taken the matter of child labor for granted; or the government has not put all its efforts to battle against child labor. The matter of child labor should be taken with utmost seriousness, because children are physically weak and therefore they are susceptible to all kinds of exploitation . Most of t...

By LB THAPA Sometime in the past, we had lost a brave blogger. He always advocated freedom of speech through his popular blog Mukto Mona. He was a writer and a campaigner of free-thinking. Avijit Roy was born and had his early education in Bangladesh. He came to the limelight with his eight books in Bengali. He was also writing articles on science, skepticism, and rationalism. He founded Mukto Mona (free thinkers) in 2001. Through this blog, he sharply criticized religious practices which were based on superstitions and discriminations. His prickly criticism of Islamic practices which he thought based on hollow principles made Islamic zealots hungry for his blood.  Jamaat-e-Islami , a radical Islamic group, had issued death threats to Avijit Roy. They were waiting for an opportunity when Avijit Roy comes within their range. When Avijit Roy reached within their striking zone, they destroyed him. As long as Avijit Roy was writing his blogs from America, he was out of reach o...

He purchased an old bus, modified it to make his home, and started living in it for the last 25 years…Meet the man he is Keith Levy of New Zealand Keith Levy and his old bus as his sweet home.  By LB THAPA Keith Levy is the modern-day Robinson Crusoe of New Zealand. Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe lived on an island after the shipwreck, but Keith Levy, born and raised in Wellington, lives on his bus and he is always mobile. He had purchased an old bus from Lloyd Kahn, who is the editor-in-chief of Shelter Publications in New Zealand. Keith Levy is an amazing man who has hardly lived in apartments; most of his life has been spent off the grid. When asked how he modified the whole piece of a bus into a luxury house, he began explaining as if he was telling one of his adventure stories. ‘I used to work in the day time to make money and with that money, I would purchase necessary materials to give the bus the shape of a house. I took no help and worked all alone. I was...

Famous British author and retired Colonel CP Cross and editor & publisher RD Sharma jointly launch the book. By LB THAPA My recently published book "The Pokhara valley: A Traveler's Guide" published by Nirala Publications, New Delhi, India, was my first serious project. After the success of this book, I wrote "Pokhara and the Annapurnas". This book was published by the Himalayan Maphouse, Kathmandu, Nepal. So far, this book has been translated into seven languages. Interested readers can buy all my seven books from www.amazon.com .   It took more than 3 years to complete the book 'The Pokhara Valley'. When I completed the first draft of the book, I was lucky enough to show it to none other than Dr. Harka Gurung---he had been my mentor for a long time. He kept the book for about a week, then one day he called me to receive the manuscript. He advised me to add one more chapter to make the book more readable and exciting. I was curio...

CORY WALLACE: THE WINNER OF ‘THE YAK ATTACK RACE’  Winning ‘The Yak Attack’ race in Nepal gives me a real sense of pride and satisfaction :  Cory Wallace, world champion mountain biker, Canada Cory Wallace Photo: konaworld.cog.home By LB THAPA Cory Wallace is perhaps the only cyclist in the world, who is treated like a Hollywood star. And why not! His long list of achievements speaks volumes. There is hardly any cycling championship in the world that Cory Wallace has not won. He has cycled in the coldest areas of Europe, the hottest deserts, the Mongolian plateau, Australian outback, Japanese jungles, and the majestic Himalayas of Nepal.   Only last year Cory won the Canadian Marathon title then straight he also won the Mongolia Bike Challenge and took 2 nd place at both the Trans Rockies and the Crocodile Trophy. Wining the Australian Marathon series was just another win for Cory. Cory himself thinks that his unflinching dedication to cycling is a driving ...