NEW BANESHWAR CHOWK – It was a dusky, drizzly evening and I was returning home from my office. I had just passed the crossroads at New Baneshwar Chowk when I noticed a huge crowd blocking the road in front of Everest Nursing Home and chanting slogans, “Doshi lai karbahi gara. Pidit ko pariwar lai kchyatipurti deu. (Prosecute the culprit. Compensate the victim’s family.)” Curious as usual, I mixed into the crowd to learn more about the hullabaloo.
Mina Kumari, a live witness to the fatal incident, described fretfully, “I was strolling with my young daughter when I saw this old man, sheltered by his big black umbrella, crossing the road. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the umbrella and propelled it to the middle of the road. A speeding blue Mitsubishi Pajero ran over the poor umbrella and the vehicle screeched to a halt. While the bruised umbrella lay motionless on the road, the Pajero backed and crushed it three times with its rear wheels. Then the Pajero fled. The coward.”
The teary old man who was squatting under a nearby lamp post was being consoled by a few men. A gentleman offered his raincoat but the old man pushed it away, “Mero barha barsa ko pyaro sathi ko badla maa yo naathe raincoat? Khisi nagarnus malaai! (This paltry raincoat in exchange for my dear friend of twelve years? Do not ridicule me!)”
Inspector Bikash Malhotra said that the police is already on the culprit’s trail. Its tracks, heading to Baluwatar, have been identified at Bhatbhateni and search is on. An unidentified person who noted the runaway vehicle’s number plate is being interrogated but he has revealed only the first two numbers so far – he is demanding ten thousand rupees per rest of the numbers. The revealed numbers so far are 5 and 5.
Dr Suman Sharma, after examining the road kill said, “I am sorry, there is no hope of recovery. Its ribs are broken, runner is displaced, springs have spilled out of the tube, crook handle is fractured and ferule is missing. There is not a single breath of life.”
Later, the police took away the dead umbrella and the weeping old man in their van. As darkness fell, the crowd dispersed and I headed home, appalled by the grisly incident. No doubt, Kathmandu, once an abode of gods and goddesses, is turning into one of the most dangerous cities in the world.
To live without killing is a thought which could electrify the world, if men were only capable of staying awake long enough to let the idea soak in. – Henry Miller
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Woman pulls Prachanda’s whiskers, gets arrested
ROLPA /KATHMANDU– While Pushpa Kamal Dahal, alias Prachanda, was greeting a jubilant crowd in remote Rolpa, a woman clad in a red sari positioned herself directly in front of him and pulled his bushy mustache with her two hands. Prachanda yelled ‘Ouch, Ouch, Ouch!!!’ and collapsed. His bodyguards immediately pounced on the woman and dragged her out of the crowd. The woman is currently in custody and under interrogation.
The tree plantation ceremony, which was to be later inaugurated by Prachanda on the premises of Jana Chetana High School, was cancelled. Prachanda was rushed to Kathmandu in a helicopter and admitted to Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni. Dr Gobardhan Singh said that four strands of mustache were missing but the general health condition of the PM was good and there was no need for panic. He further revealed that Prachanda has been discharged from the hospital and he is on his way to Bebo Salon for further treatment.
The capital is currently abuzz with speculations as to who could have been the ones behind such a horrific and cowardly act. The Nepali Congress has already issued a statement denying any charges that the woman who pulled Prachanda’s whiskers is affiliated to their party. Al Qaeda’s Nepal Office at Tripureshwar has also pasted a notice saying that they were not involved in the incident. Asif Khan, the spokesperson for AQN, hinted that the culprits could be either the US or India. Neither the US embassy nor the India embassy could be reached for their comments.
Hom Nath Bhandari, the editor-in-chief of Pahile Kai Yug, expressed anger, “This incident places the nation’s security and sanctity at jeopardy. What was Bame [Bam Dev Gautam, the Minister for Home Affairs] doing at that time? Chasing those poor dancers while the PM’s security is so flagrantly being violated?”
A witness to the incident, on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the woman in fact appeared in front of Prachanda with the intention of touching his feet but Prachanda lunged forward to deny her that privilege. When Prachanda instead proceeded to hug her, she got scared and inadvertently pulled those whiskers. The so-called security breach is Maoist propaganda, the witness confides.
Meanwhile, the ousted king Gyanendra Shah is reported to have been frequently coming out of his dwelling at Nagarjuna and roaming the streets of Thamel; incognito and inebriated.
The tree plantation ceremony, which was to be later inaugurated by Prachanda on the premises of Jana Chetana High School, was cancelled. Prachanda was rushed to Kathmandu in a helicopter and admitted to Birendra Military Hospital, Chhauni. Dr Gobardhan Singh said that four strands of mustache were missing but the general health condition of the PM was good and there was no need for panic. He further revealed that Prachanda has been discharged from the hospital and he is on his way to Bebo Salon for further treatment.
The capital is currently abuzz with speculations as to who could have been the ones behind such a horrific and cowardly act. The Nepali Congress has already issued a statement denying any charges that the woman who pulled Prachanda’s whiskers is affiliated to their party. Al Qaeda’s Nepal Office at Tripureshwar has also pasted a notice saying that they were not involved in the incident. Asif Khan, the spokesperson for AQN, hinted that the culprits could be either the US or India. Neither the US embassy nor the India embassy could be reached for their comments.
Hom Nath Bhandari, the editor-in-chief of Pahile Kai Yug, expressed anger, “This incident places the nation’s security and sanctity at jeopardy. What was Bame [Bam Dev Gautam, the Minister for Home Affairs] doing at that time? Chasing those poor dancers while the PM’s security is so flagrantly being violated?”
A witness to the incident, on the condition of anonymity, revealed that the woman in fact appeared in front of Prachanda with the intention of touching his feet but Prachanda lunged forward to deny her that privilege. When Prachanda instead proceeded to hug her, she got scared and inadvertently pulled those whiskers. The so-called security breach is Maoist propaganda, the witness confides.
Meanwhile, the ousted king Gyanendra Shah is reported to have been frequently coming out of his dwelling at Nagarjuna and roaming the streets of Thamel; incognito and inebriated.
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