Le MoMo

MoMo was Fiona's son. He was a fine above-average Siamese, with an above-average face about the size of a platito, and had buff meat from Kathmandu Cold Storage, and rice for his nutrition. 3 or 4 x a day. Was he spoiled, ever. He is the first cat we know, who was dog friendly, and slept with our Lhasa Apsos in their own "Doggie Hotel", a sort of tool shed renovated into a designer canine residence: brick floors, jute carpeting, khasto canopy and fluffy cushions from the Dilli Bazaar cotton man, and the tri-colour Brit flag on the door. The adoption papers came, along with Dr. Shrestha's certificates of vaccination, changing his name from MoMo VanderVeen, to MoMo Domingo-Barker.
Since he was a male cat, he spent a lot of time outdoors: sometimes on his nocturnal visits away, he brought a lot of sorrow to Maheshwori and Gyano who would canvass the neighborhood looking for him. And was sighted once atop a tall pine tree in front of our residence and could not climb down, for two days. We could not call on the Fire Department, they probably would not have a ladder high enough.
David was converted from a non-cat, into a cat person. MoMo's favorite perch was on David's lap, or on top of his briefcase as he came home from a hard ICIMOD day. When we had the fireplace going, he would join us and curl up as comfortably as he can. Or walk along the fireplace front, causing once to burn the tip of his tail was he was wagging it in a relaxed way but caught on one of the log's licking flames. Or when David was snug under the double duvet and reading Rising Nepal, MoMo would push his way in between the paper and David's face, and plant himself firmly there, staring at David's eyes, daring him to move him away from his warm spot. And during the night, when he was allowed to sleep with us, he would push and push David off his space, to define his territory.
(to be continued in part 2)

Rajput - Rana Wedding

One of the major authors of the book, Kathmandu Valley Style is Gautam Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana. He was also known as GeeTwo or something that sounds close. Their residence (almost next to Singha Durbar) was always buzzing with handicraft and art activities, our connection was through my work with Products of Nepal, a World Bank project. GeeTwo's cousin is married to Nitti, daughter of Preeti Singh.

Anyway, his special interest in traditional jewellery and costumes, has brought him the job of overseeing his son Virat's traditional wedding suit made by a rising Nepali designer. (Could be similar to the wedding outfit of Bollywood heart throb Hritik Roshan - with Aishwarya Rai, above, in a Mumbay filmi called Jodha Akbar which GeeTwo claims is in the Nepalese style). The wedding held in August 2008 was between 27-year-old Virat Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, great-great-grandson of Chandra Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana, who was the longest ruling Rana prime minister of Nepal; and 26-year-old bride Himani Katoch, who works for the Deutsche Bank in New Delhi, is the daughter of Col. M. Katoch, who heads India's seniormost Rajput clan.

One of the most spectacular society weddings in the subcontinent, the groom's bridal procession included an elephant, four horses and four camels.The groom's breathtaking jama (Note this, Jama!) - long kurta - embroidered with gold thread, the embroidery alone costing Nepali Rs.200,000. US$5,000. A lot of rupiah, that.

KATHMANDU VALLEY STYLE Book

This coffee table style book was written with the collaboration of several authors, including Lisa Choegyal and Gautam SJB Rana. Those of you who have used the services of Tiger Tops at Durbar Margh will recall that tall unsmiling English lady in a khaki suit, riding in a battered Land Rover, an authority on Nepal’s nature and adventure tourism. Her husband is a Tibetan “prince" from Kham, the same area as Karma, husband of Margot Bolton. (Karma and Margot ran a successful Tibetan antique shop just above Sunkosi Resturant, some of our Tibetan artifacts were sourced from there.)

The book focuses on Nepal's architecture and decoration into new buildings and private houses. Examples include Patan Museum housed in the restored and partly rebuilt Keshar Mani Narayan Chowk, Babar Mahal (Gautam Rana's ancestral home) a shopping and restaurant complex recently constructed in the Rana style of Nepal's 19th Century ruling prime ministers. It also features the Choegyal residence in rural Budhanilkantha (can be viewed from Ring Road, I think, and past the Budhanilkantha School). Using traditional designs and building techniques in historic and new buildings has breathed fresh life into Kathmandu's rich living cultural heritage.

Kathmandu Valley Style demonstrates how Nepal's vernacular styles of architecture can be used successfully in today's changing world. The book illustrates how design themes from the Malla, Newar and Rana periods have been revived and expressed in present day buildings and lifestyles. It will appeal to visitors, tourists and all who love Nepal, as well as those interested in general art, architecture, gardens and interior design.

Makes you think of a Kathmandu trip soon, to visit the Patan Museum (along the river, near the bridge at Kupondol), Babar Mahal and its shops and possibly meet GeeTwo Rana; and re-visiting our old haunts too.

* Publisher: Serindia Publications Date: November 2008 £40.00

Where are they Now? JAN SALTER

And where do you keep your Jan Salters?

At our Seattle home, we have six of framed portrait sketches in our living room. They are well-admired by our family and visitors, and we do enjoy them all these years . These are so precious to us, we commissioned specially a bamboo frame-style consistent with all the ones we have, through a framing shop in Bangkok.

Jan is also author of Faces of Nepal, in collaboration with the famed Nepali scholar, Dr. Harka Gurung (Himal Books, 1999, Rs 2,1502).

Three years back, Dr. Gurung died in a helicopter crash in Taplejung District in Eastern Nepal. He was born in the shadow of the snow peaks of Manasulu and Himalchuli looming large just 24 kilometres north of the village Taranche. This natural landscape of birthplace not only developed in him a sense of "belongingness" to the location throughout his life but also opened up the path to becoming a good geographer in the future. His Ph.D. dissertation, was on "The Valley of Pokhara: Prolegomena to a Regional Study" at the University of Edinburgh. His writings crossed disciplinary boundaries, including contributions to sociology, anthropology, population, economics, history, political science and development studies.

David met him when he was associated with ICIMOD, in the early eighties. I had occasion to assist him in 2000 as a fresh Chief Librarian of ESCAP, and he was doing a number of research projects as Director of the Asia and Pacific Development Centre based in Kuala Lumpur.

Jan Salter's work focuses on faces of Nepal. They are truly a reflection of the diverse faces, castes, tribes, and other categories found in the country, as a function of its geography and history. Dr. Harka Gurung knows those faces better than most of us. He has the viewpoint of a geographier, planner, a politician and an intellectual.

.

USAID to provide $205m to Nepal

USAID, will provide a total of $205 million over the next five years through an agreement signed on 22 September. These funds will be used to build peace, strengthen democracy and governance, improve health services, support economic growth and education, and assist with humanitarian crisis.

$82.5 million will go to provide quality health services to its people, particularly the poor, and to pursue achievement of its 2015 Millennium Development Goals for health.

$12 million will support peace-building at the national and local levels, including activities that bring together communities, civil society, and government to repair damaged infrastructure and encourage dialogue about the peace process.

$53 million is for programs that strengthen democracy and governance.

USAID will provide $56.5 million for economic growth programs. Programs will support the government, the private sector, and civil society organizations to improve the business environment for private sector-led growth; encourage competitiveness and exports; increase agricultural productivity; and strengthen microfinance policies and institutions.

Humanitarian assistance and recovery programs, including flood recovery in the Terai, with $1 million in funding.

A special focus is on social inclusion and support for Nepal's youth, recognizing the critical importance of the broad participation of all members of society, particularly youth and historically disadvantaged groups. It is one of the highest priorities to involve these groups through all USAID programs.

http://www.nepalnews.com/main/index.php/news-archive/19-general/1589-usaid-to-provide-205m-to-nepal.html