climate change

There is no denial about the planet’s changing climate. Over the past hundred years, the earth’s average temperature has increased by 0.74degrees Celsius. Scientists predict that the global average temperature in 2100 AD is likely to increase by 1 degree Celsius to 6.3 degree Celsius. The increase in earth temperature, mostly prompted by the emission of greenhouse gases, has led to frequent events like drought, floods and other adverse climatic situations, and poor countries like Nepal are likely to be affected the most.

Almost 67 percent of the glaciers in our Himalayas have retreated, as rapid as 10 meters a year. Scientists believe that most of the glaciers in the Himalayan region will vanish within 40 years as a result of global warming, increasing the mass in glacier lakes and ultimately increasing the risks of catastrophic Glacier Lake Outburst Flood. Equally threatened by climate change is our traditional agricultural pattern. Due to dependency on rain for agriculture, production has been severely affected by unwanted rain and prolonged drought. This in turn has further hiked the already prevalent food shortage in the far western regions of Nepal.

Nepal is ranked sixth in the Climate Risk Index (CRI) though our contribution on global carbon emission is only 0.025 percent. Developed countries along with the big emerging economies like China, India, Russia, and Brazil have large and growing emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. There are therefore responsible for the climate change threatening the planet Earth. Unfortunately, the impact of climate change has already taken its toll on the poor and vulnerable majority of the developing countries. With no safety nets, they are left helpless at every strike of nature year after year. More than anyone, it is the big economies that thrive on industries, which need to get their act together to alleviate climate change. They also need to help the developing countries with greater financial and technical means to cope with the climate change and its consequences.

Climate change is here and its impact on our lives is going to be a part of the whole environmental picture. Challenges have increased alarmingly in matters of food security, water supply, outbreak of diseases and bio-diversity. As long as big and emerging economies of the world are reluctant to commit to reduce their emissions, countries like Nepal will continue to live at the mercy of the Mother Nature.

London Dreams come to life

Skyscrapers give way to lush green hills that slowly seems to fade as the jet plane inches closer to the haphazard settlement of Kathmandu. Soaring above 11000 feet, the urban settlement in Kathmandu looks like chunks of matchboxes thrown blindly in all directions. As the plane descends, stupas, rivers and the buildings become more vivid. Arrival at the Tribhuwan International Airport is announced but the passengers seem to be in no hurry to release their seat belts.

Amongst the economy class passengers is a tired face that looks around discreetly, flashing a half smile to the fellow passengers. The tired face belongs to Sunita Rai who has come all the way from London. Travelling in jet planes across countries isn’t new to her, thanks to her marriage to a British Gurkha sergeant courtesy whom she has been to almost all the East Asian countries. However this journey she made from Heathrow to Delhi to finally Kathmandu has been etched onto her heart. It is the time she flew across the borders, alone.

Kathmandu looks all the same to her. After all it is her second trip to Kathmandu in two months. When she left for London after a relaxing vacation with her children last September, she knew she had to wait for another few years to make a trip like this one. Merely the thought of the long working hours at the factory she worked in London made her cringe. Fortunately unfortunately, her mother’s death brought her back to Nepal and allowed her body to switch to a relax mode that she was yearning for.

The British Government’s decision to allow Gurkhas to settle in the United Kingdom in the year 2004 was applauded by the British Gurkha families in Nepal. And in no time hundreds of British Gurkha ex-servicemen along with their eligible dependents made preparations to head to the United Kingdom. Sunita like many lahureni, British Gurkha’s soldiers’ wives, was elated at the prospect of residing in London. She had been to Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and a host of other Asian countries before her husband’s retirement. But had only heard of how wonderful the United Kingdom was. She had always wanted to step on the land that people sang praises of. Finally, she felt her dream was coming true.

“It was chaotic when we were making preparations to leave for London”, she recalls. “Since my husband was working for a cruise line back then, legal procedures were hassles for me”, she adds. Apart from the legal hassles it was her changed routine that dampened her spirit to go London. On her friends’ and husband’s suggestion to brush up her English she joined a language institute. And the when some of her friends joined beauty parlor trainings she couldn’t resist doing the same. “Everyone told it was the need of the hour to learn some skills so I joined the herd”, she says. “But it was really frustrating at times since I was so used to doing only household chores. I had to go to the classes on time, complete assignments and then come back home and feed my children”, she says in a single breath. Although she spent months brushing up her skills she feels it all went away in vain. “Neither did the training get me a job nor did the English I learnt help me find my lost baggage at the airport”, she says in a matter-of –fact tone. However the training period in Nepal did teach her a thing or two about time management she says.

The lazy afternoons she spends in Kathmandu gossiping with her sisters almost seems surreal to her at times. Climbing the stairs to go to the kitchen from her bedroom at her sister’s place, reminds her of the dingy apartment at London that only allows few footsteps of walking around from one end to the another. Having maids prepare the food, bring it on to the table and being addressed as didi with respect in her sister’s house makes her feel no less than a queen. The load shedding hours and the dirty roads of Kathmandu do remind her of London’s subways and her centrally heated apartment. But the very thought of London takes her back to the monotonous life that she is compelled to live. Working 8 hours each day standing, six times in week has taken a toll on her once manicured feet. “The area near the ankle gets swollen”, she complains.

Sunita spent most of her married life as a spend thrift laureni. But now that she lives in one of the most sought after shopping destinations in the world, she cannot afford to shop like in her heydays in Nepal. Yes London is the capital of high end shopping, but not for migrants like Sunita. “Going to the high end fashion stores needs a lot of courage and deep pockets”, informs Sunita. “First of all the stuff there is way beyond our reach and second of all our broken English give us a complex in such stores. So it is better for us to stick to down town shops with plenty of sales”, she adds. However, once in Nepal she goes on shopping sprees without any hesitance. She shows her sister the list of things she needs to take back to London. The list has things like beaten rice, dalle khursaani, wai wai, jhoos -home made body scrubs, sel rotis etc. Most of the things on the list needn’t be purchased her sister says.

Ironically her spirits are high as she looks forward to the 45th day ritual of her mother’s death. With a cup of tea in her hand she basks in the sun at the balcony of her sister’s house. Looking over at the Shivapuri hills from the balcony she can’t help feeling nostalgic about their home that was almost as fancy and huge like her sister’s. She recalls her eight year old daughter complaining how she disliked living in matchbox like apartments in South London and missed her bungalow like home back in Nepal that they recently sold. It is only three in the afternoon and the wafting smell of matar paneer fills the balcony signaling her snack time. Making her way to the kitchen downstairs, she is carried away by the thought of doing the same in the new house her husband promised to buy in North Hall by the next Christmas.

Dream driven

I weave the same dream each day
But I am awoken the next moment
Fulfilled unfulfilled my dreams may remain
Yet I continue weaving the same dream

The dream tempts me
And I chase the dream
Running past the obstacles,
I inch closer to the dream

Lost in the thoughts of my dream
I fear what if…
Stretching my rusted limbs,
I step closer to my dream

Crying and screaming
I shout at the top of my lungs
And then I calm down
Striving for my dream to come true
Mind starts racing and feet quiver
Yet I don’t deter from the path
Sharing my dream with the world
I dream of living the dream

Frail eyesight have taken its toll
Yet I dream of this dream so old
Same eyes revisit our past so glorious
Same eyes dream of reviving the lost glory

Every breath resonates my dream’s tune
Wish the tune echoed far and wide
In the smoke like life that goes up in air
I pray to go in ashes with my dream

I am a common Nepali
And I dream of PEACE
Devoting my life for it
I continue dreaming about peace

Significance of mass media research

Research may evoke pictures of scientists working in a laboratory. So the very meaning of research needs to be clarified before proceeding to the significance of mass media research.
Research refers to scientific method of investigation. Research uses concepts like objectivity of approach and the acceptability of the results hence it is called as science. Objectivity indicates to observe things as they are and Acceptability is judged in terms of the degree to which observations and experiments can be reproduced. The findings should not be altered by the mere alteration of the investigator, and then only it is termed as objective. Research is also called as science because it is less prone to errors.

There are two major types of research:
1. Natural science research
2. Social science research

All the academic field of study needs research and a media study is not an exception. Media research is a part of communication research and falls under social science research. Media research does the scientific study of mass communication and media and its interaction with the people as individual and as group.Survey conducted to investigate what segment of consumers read which periodicals and/or listen to or watch which radio or television programs is Media Research. Media research mainly concerns media content and activities of media professionals, media owners and audiences. Media research may be media centric or society centric.
Every time “who, what, when, where, or why” question when using the mass media arises, you have raised a question that can be investigated.

For instance, why is a certain magazine popular amongst youngsters and why more people tune into the eight o’clock news of only certain television channel? How has the use of internet shaped the traditional media viewing practices, why are some television soaps more popular than the other? All such questions raised can be answered through media research. Therefore, mass media research is all about trying to find answers to mass media questions.

Different types of media form use varying research techniques to investigate. Some of them have been discussed here below.

Print Media: In print media, these types of research that have gained most attention in the past several years:

Readership: the most widely used of all print research procedures including research in areas such as reader profiles, item-selection studies, reader-nonreader studies, editor-reader comparisons, and psychographic and lifestyle segmentation studies.
Circulation: research about who reads the newspaper or magazine, how can circulation be increased, and what the readers want to have included in their newspaper or magazine.
Management: research concerning goal setting by management, employee job satisfaction, and effects of competition and ownership on newspaper content and quality.
Readability: research on all the elements and their interactions that affect the success of a piece of printed material.
On-line media usage: research concerning the Internet and how it affects newspaper and magazine reading.

Advertising and Public Relations: Just as with the other media, research in advertising and public relations includes a variety of topic, some of which include:

Copy Testing: research on the effectiveness of advertising.
Reach and frequency: how many people are exposed to advertising?
Internet-related: research on how the Internet affects advertising and public relations.
Campaign assessment: research on the success of an advertising campaign.
Public relations: applied, basic, and introspective research to examine specific practical issues.
Public relations audit: a comprehensive study of the public relations position of an organization.
Social audit: a small-scale monitoring program to measure how well a company is living up to its public responsibilities.
Internet: The Internet has quickly become a mass medium, and it is changing every day. However, one thing is certain about the Internet, and that is it will provide a countless number of research possibilities for mass media researchers. Consider some of the possibilities:
On-line research: respondents answer questions using Internet-based questionnaires.
Web site research: what makes a good web site? How can more people be attracted to a web site?
Music testing: radio stations and music companies test short segments of songs.
Advertising testing: respondents provide reactions to audio, video, and print advertising.
Broadcast media: Ratings and non ratings research is used in broadcast media. This type of research provides information about what the audience likes and dislikes analyses of different types of programming, demographic and lifestyle information about the audience.

Out-of-home media: They are also known as place-based media. This includes billboards, outdoor boards, transit posters, theater and video ads, product placements in movies, aerial advertising. Research helps in coming up with effective placement of ads in this form media.

Mass media research in the contemporary society

Mass media industry has grown by leaps and bounds and is now considered as big bucks churning industry. At the end of the business is what matters to the people who own media houses. Therefore it all boils down to numbers be it the audience size, profits or unit sales. In order to extract such statistics, researches have become inevitable.
On the other hand, the proliferation of new media technologies and devices is empowering people in more than just one way. These changes create an increasingly challenging environment for capturing a greater share of market and monetizing your audience effectively.

To extract more value from the content and optimize ad sales yield. To measure the quality of the audience, not just the quantity and to adapt to the dynamically changing marketplace in advance of the competitors. To help understand viewers or listeners - and the industry - in new and more profitable ways. To understand consumers so that their next move can be anticipated, mass media researches are significant.

love Aaj Kaal

No matter how good a movie is, it lingers only for a while. Rarely do I sit down to write about the after effects of any movie. But after watching the recent Bollywood flick Love Aaj Kal, I couldn’t help pondering and wincing at the state of romance of Gen Y.

The movie has beautifully blended the love stories of couples of yester years and the couples of today. Couples back then chose to love their beaus trusting their gut feeling. But the present lot of romantic couples let “rational” thinking override most of the time. While trying to think and act too rationally, so that our lives don’t get messed up, the essence of love in lost in most couples. Gone are the days when love stories began with chasing the girls, stealing loving glances every possible time, meeting secretly, making vows to stick through thick and thin, so on and so forth. That was how love bloomed. However, things have changed 180 degrees today. I’d like call our generation the “making out” generation. We go out on dates, do the deed and after few months or so we realize we aren’t compatible enough and start running in opposite directions. If that’s not the case, citing our career goals and the most widely sought after reason; distance factor, we choose to part ways.

We call ourselves practical like the young couple in the movie does. We are yet to reach the state of throwing break up parties like them, but we sure have become pro at getting through with one relationship and moving on to the next ones. My mind is racing with examples of so many couples who have gone through similar break ups citing distance factor. A friend of mine fixed a final date with her then boyfriend to part ways. Wishing each other all the best they stepped out as single individuals who were more than ready to mingle with the probable crowd of singles in the city. As of now, my friend is in a ‘steady’ relationship.

Unlike the elderly couple in the movie who represent the forever kind of love, we are far from reaching even the first year mark. For many of us, the whole idea of being in a relationship for more than a year or so with the same person is in it self is very boring. To curb this boredom issue, my friend suggested us to date the seniors at college. That way, she says, we’ll have high chances of reaching the one year mark and when the guys graduate breaking up will probably remain the only option. Win- win situation, I guess. Therefore, it comes as no surprise when even the seemingly most compatible and adorable couples of the college decide to part their ways once they are done with their convocation ceremony.

The scene in the movie where the young couple decides to break up citing long distance relationships and the stress baggage it brings along with is very apt for people of today’s generation. The reasons are same. Long distance relationship equalizes to higher probability of misunderstandings. Granted we live in the era of communication, but when the person in question is physically absent, no means of communication seem to help the relationship work. Eventually people in long distance relationship give up and walk around like a free bird.

I am the kind of person who appreciates people moving swiftly from one relationship to another sans the emotional baggage. However, the whole idea of high school and college sweethearts getting married always appeals to my old fashioned romantic heart. But it seems the forever kind of love is hard to find these days. The best example is that of my friend who broke up with her boyfriend of two years citing stress and miscommunication due to the distance factor. The distance: 28 kilometers from Kathmandu to Dhulikhel.

Development Journalism

The term development journalism first appeared around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in a sense that it contributes positively to development of the country concerned. Its main focus should not be on day to day m news but on long-term development processes. The term “development journalism” emerged in Asia, more specifically in the Philippines, through the efforts of journalists such as Juan Mercado and Alan Chakley.

The term “development journalism” is used to refer to two different types of journalism. The first is a new school of journalism which began to appear in the 1960s. The idea behind this type of development journalism is similar to investigative reporting, but it focuses on conditions in developing nations and ways to improve them. The other type of development journalism involves heavy influence from the government of the nation involved. While this type of development journalism can be a powerful tool for local education and empowerment, it can also be a means of suppressing information and restricting journalists.

The first type of development journalism attempts to document the conditions within a country so that the larger world can understand them. Journalists are encouraged to travel to remote areas, interact with the citizens of the country, and report back. This type of development journalism also looks at proposed government projects to improve conditions in the country, and analyzes whether or not they will be effective. Ultimately, the journalist may come up with proposed solutions and actions in the piece, suggesting ways in which they might be implemented. Often, this type of development journalism encourages a cooperative effort between citizens of the nation and the outside world.

The second type of development journalism can walk a thin line. On the one hand, government participation in mass media can help get important information spread throughout the nation. Governments can help to educate their citizens and enlist cooperation on major development projects. However, a government can also use the idea of “development” to restrict freedom of speech for journalists. Journalists are told not to report on certain issues because it will impact the “development” of the nation in question, and therefore citizens are not actually being given access to the whole picture.

As a tool for social justice, development journalism can be very valuable. By speaking for those who cannot, a development journalist can inform the rest of the world about important issues within developing nations. Looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a country may also help identify ways in which the nation can be helped. This style of development journalism is a tool for empowerment.

The term development journalism first appeared around 1967 to define a notion of journalism according to which reporting events of national and international significance should be constructive in a sense that it contributes positively to development of the country concerned. Its main focus should not be on day to day m news but on long-term development processes. The term “development journalism” emerged in Asia, more specifically in the Philippines, through the efforts of journalists such as Juan Mercado and Alan Chakley.
Development communication is understood as the communication strategy related to an entire society, respectively a comprehensive national development plan. In ideal case development journalism is to be oriented to the needs of the population. It neither aims in endangering the manageability of a state nor being able to be misused to legitimize obviously unjust structures of rule. This notion of development journalism proceeds from the normative assumption that the people affected must be actively involved in the decision- making, planning and implementation of development projects. With that, apart from dissemination of information, two functions of development journalism are particularly emphasized; the motivation to active co operation of the people affected and the active advocacy of their interests Vis a Vis the planners, respectively the government.

Thus development journalism is imbedded in the context of a general management concept of the planning and implementation of development programs, that is, it is ascribed a quite instrumental, socio-technological character. The journalists working within these prescribed norms will become comparable in aspects of one’s profession with the on-site leader of development projects. Development journalism is the synonymous with a “grass root approach”, that is, it is decentralized and participatory. It must not limit itself to the communication channels of the mass media alone but also use the traditional communication media. This development journalism is primarily “local journalism” in the sense that the journalist should be rooted in the local culture concerned.

Enchanting Radio Nepal

Among many facts and events about our country we learnt in our Social Studies class at school, Radio Nepal is one of them. Although many of us admit to have never been keen on listening Radio Nepal, being a media student the importance of Radio Nepal can never be overlooked. But after visiting Radio Nepal, the seemingly gloomy sounding voice –“Namaste yo Radio Nepal ho”-that reminds us of Radio Nepal, changed for better.

Radio Nepal was established on 1st April 1951. Initially, the transmission covered duration of 4 hours and 30 minutes through a 250 Watt SW transmitter. Over the years, Radio Nepal has strengthened its institutional capacity considerably and diversified itself in terms of programme format, technical efficiency and coverage. Radio Nepal airs programmes on Short Wave, Medium Wave and FM frequencies. Regular broadcasts cover duration of 18 hours everyday which includes about 2 hours of regional broadcasts 09:45 hrs. to 11:00 hrs. in the morning and 18:00 hrs 18:30 hrs in the evening. FM Kathmandu, the first FM-Channel covering Kathmandu valley and adjoining areas was started in 1995 from its premises at Singh Durbar, Kathmandu.

As we made our way inside the music studio of Radio Nepal, photographs of music legends welcomed us. The mere sight of such a jaw dropping music studio brought out the singers in each of us. There were pianos, harmoniums, guitars, sitars, even vibraphone (the only vibraphone in Nepal) and a host of other instruments that we laid our hands on. This is the place where the songs are recorded, many of which have ended up becoming classic in the Nepali music fraternity.

Next we headed to one of the many state-of-the-art studios of Radio Nepal. There was live program being aired in one while there was another studio that was studio cum news room. None of us could help laying our hands on the microphone in the recording studio where we got totally lost hearing our own voice.Then we made our way to the music library that probably boasts of the largest Nepali music collection in Nepal.

As we were scribbling notes of everything we were being told, everything that caught our fancy, we were led into a room for a pleasant surprise. There we were greeted by the legendary singer Meera Rana. Everyone was totally in awe of her presence and then began the photograph and autograph session. There could not have been a better end to our visit to Radio Nepal.

Dry spell at 13th Educational Book Fair

Nepal Educational and Book Fair, Nepal’s largest educational and book fair, concluded its 13th edition last Saturday. Unlike last year, when the presence of Bollywood veteran personality Dev Anand in the inauguration ceremony created quite a buzz, this year’s event didn’t stand out in the media which affected the number of visitors and book sales. According to the organizer, Global Exposition and Management, more than a hundred thousand people had visited the fair last year.

Although there were more book activities to cover this year, it didn’t generate much media coverage. Writers Karna Shakya, Jagadish Ghimire, Sushma Joshi, Krishna Dharabasi, Krishna Thapa signed their books at the fair. However, publishers blamed the political scenario, economic recession and the coinciding of exams for the decreased turn out this year.

According to Anjan Shrestha of Educational Book House the number of vistors has gone down by one fourth compared to the last year. He also expressed his worry regarding the future of the educational fair if such trend continued.

Another reason for the less turn out was the lack of new books. Most of the stalls were selling the same books that could have been bought at the bookstore itself. Unlike last year where Penguin had put up a wide range of books, its stall this time around seemed almost deserted. Similarly, Oxford University Press’s stall also had similar picture. There weren’t enough books to fill the stall’s space. Sales manager of these stalls blamed the Terai bandas for the unavailability of new books.

Saurav Rai, an engineering student, said that this year’s fair was lack lustrous compared to last year. “Except for Paulo Coehlo’s Winner Stands Alone I couldn’t find any new book”, he whined.
“Participation of educational consultancies did help in bringing more visitors in the first few days but after they removed their stalls, the number of visitors declined visibly”, said Pravin Bista, one of the volunteers at the fair.

Blame it on the organizers’ mismanagement, the political scenario or the growing inflation, the number 13 seems to have actually brought in plenty of setbacks in this edition of Nepal Education and Book Fair.

The Sky Isn’t Falling

It certainly looks like another example of crying wolf. After bracingourselves for a global pandemic, we've suffered something more like theusual seasonal influenza. Three weeks ago the World Health Organizationdeclared a health emergency, warning countries to "prepare for a pandemic"and said that the only question was the extent of worldwide damage. Seniorofficials prophesied that millions could be infected by the disease. But asof last week, the WHO had confirmed only 4,800 cases of swine flu, with 61people having died of it. Obviously, these low numbers are a pleasantsurprise, but it does make one wonder, what did we get wrong?

Why did the predictions of a pandemic turn out to be so exaggerated? Somepeople blame an overheated media, but it would have been difficult toignore major international health organizations and governments when theywere warning of catastrophe. I think there is a broader mistake in the waywe look at the world. Once we see a problem, we can describe it in greatdetail, extrapolating all its possible consequences. But we can rarelyanticipate the human response to that crisis.

Take swine flu. The virus had crucial characteristics that led researchersto worry that it could spread far and fast. They described—and the mediareported—what would happen if it went unchecked. But it did not gounchecked. In fact, swine flu was met by an extremely vigorous response atits epicenter, Mexico. The Mexican government reacted quickly andmassively, quarantining the infected population, testing others, providingmedication to those who needed it. The noted expert on this subject, LaurieGarrett, says, "We should all stand up and scream, 'Gracias, Mexico!'because the Mexican people and the Mexican government have sacrificed on alevel that I'm not sure as Americans we would be prepared to do in theexact same circumstances. They shut down their schools. They shut downbusinesses, restaurants, churches, sporting events. They basicallyparalyzed their own economy. They've suffered billions of dollars infinancial losses still being tallied up, and thereby really broughttransmission to a halt."

Every time one of these viruses is detected, writers and officials bring upthe Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918 in which millions of people died.Indeed, during the last pandemic scare, in 2005, President George W. Bushclaimed that he had been reading a history of the Spanish flu to help himunderstand how to respond. But the world we live in today looks nothinglike 1918. Public health-care systems are far better and more widespreadthan anything that existed during the First World War. Even Mexico, adeveloping country, has a first-rate public-health system—far better thananything Britain or France had in the early 20th century.

One can see this same pattern of mistakes in discussions of the globaleconomic crisis. Over the last six months, the doomsday industry has movedinto high gear. Economists and business pundits are competing with eachother to describe the next Great Depression. Except that the world we livein bears little resemblance to the 1930s. There is much greater and morewidespread wealth in Western societies, with middle classes that canwithstand job losses in ways that they could not in the 1930s. Bear inmind, unemployment in the non-farm sector in America rose to 37 percent inthe 1930s. Unemployment in the United States today is 8.9 percent. Andgovernment benefits—nonexistent in the '30s—play a vast role in cushioningthe blow from an economic slowdown.

The biggest difference between the 1930s and today, however, lies in thehuman response. Governments across the world have reacted with amazingspeed and scale, lowering interest rates, recapitalizing banks andbudgeting for large government expenditures. In total, all the variousfiscal--stimulus packages amount to something in the range of $2 trillion.Central banks—mainly the Federal Reserve—have pumped in much larger amountsof cash into the economy. While we debate the intricacies of each and everymove—is the TALF well -structured?—the basic reality is that governmentshave thrown everything but the kitchen sink at this problem and, takinginto account the inevitable time lag, their actions are already takingeffect. That does not mean a painless recovery or a return to robustgrowth. But it does mean that we should retire the analogies to the GreatDepression, when -policymakers—especially central banks—did everythingwrong.

We're living in a dangerous world. But we are also living in a world inwhich deep, structural forces create stability. We have learned fromhistory and built some reasonably effective mechanisms to handle

Style check meter

Given the long hours of load shedding, bumpy dusty narrow roads, frequent stikes, fuel shortage etc etc, we are bound to cringe at the sorry state of our country. But when I look at our ever stagnant Nepali film industry and the lack lustrous fashion scene, I find one more reason to cringe even more.

Come Friday and we have people of all ages thronging at newspaper stands to get their copy of a very popular Nepali weekly tabloid. I myself was one of its avid readers until a few years back. As a kid I used to read its kid section and my mom used to force me to fill out the crossword puzzle (which I never won). I even used to paste pictures of the featured models. Those were the days when pretty faces (sans the hideous dress) used to adorn the coveted page. Then began the time when girls of all sizes (including the hideously bulky in the most fitting dresses) began making rounds in those very pages.

The number of girls dying to get into the field of glitz and glamour are on the rise. Rising number of fashion columns in print media, astounding number of websites dedicated to promote fresh faces, numerous beauty pageants have definitely been a boon for aspiring models. However, the competition has become tough. Fresh faces vying to get noticed seem to have been living by the mantra of ‘lesser the better’ when it comes to clothes and ‘more the better’ when it comes to skin show. Our numerous websites and tabloids are testimony to it.

There are plenty of aspiring models who pose and expose hideously. “Eww !” is the first reaction when we look at those scantily dressed girls. But since there are plenty of them we forget them soon after. And then we have our most talked about actress Rekha Thapa whose style quotient overpowers every hideously dressed model. She would probably be the first person fashion police would get hold of. Lord help that lady with a sensible stylist! Totally understandable is their not so celeb status with just an okay paycheck. But hey, style doesn’t always have to equalize to more moola!

Giving everyone a fair chance is something good, but just because someone is ready for plenty of skin show with the most (disgustingly) suggestive poses doesn’t mean the paper needs to compromise with its standard. The same thing applies for a host of up and coming and even the most established websites. Maybe because we are so used to seeing the picture perfect images adorning the pages and screens of international media, we totally freak out and are embarrassed beyond words by our local models and celebrities who seem to have lost their mind. Ladies (and sometimes even gentlemen) please check yourself out in the mirror before coming in the public eye

Worshipping gods in the chemical age

Rhino, tiger and elephant are the images we have when we are said to picturise 100, 500 and 1000 rupees Nepali notes respectively. But what about the 10 rupees Nepali note? Does it evoke any picture? Probably not. However, upon closer look it has a sculpture of Lord Vishnu riding on Garuda.

This sculpture is one among the many inside the Changunarayn temple’s complex. This complex falls under the World Heritage Site list. In spite of holding such great archaeological and religious importance the sculptures, like the one in 10 rupees Nepali note, and many others within Changunarayan’s complex are in dire strait.

A life size 5th century statue of Garuda, the carrier of Lord Vishnu kneels with his hands folded before the temple. Besides Garuda is one of the oldest Licchavi stone inscriptions. In front of the temple here is a statue of kneeling King Bhupatindra Malla and his queen.

There is a 6th century stone statue of Vishnu Viswarup, the universal form of Lord Vishnu that Lord Krishna showed Arjuna while speaking the Bhagavad Gita. On the Lakshmi Narayan Temple there is an 8th century statue of six-armed Trivikratha (Lord Vamana), and next to it is a statue of Lord Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Behind the last two statues is a little black slab that has an image of Narayan lying on the traditional serpent Ananta and above it Lord Vishnu with 10 arms and heads.

All these sculptures have started showing signs of wearing out with cracks and stains all over them. Sculputers of such significance have all been kept outside the temple without any attempt of preservation. Pandit Rajopadhya of Changunarayan expressed his concern regarding the worsening condition of these sculptures. He says that not only the heat and and rain but also the chemical filled tika and other ingredients that people throw at these idols, albeit in the name of worshipping, have to be blamed for the sorry state of these sculptures.

He further elaborates that earlier idols were worhipped with panchamrit that was benificial for these idols. But now panchamrit has long been forgotten and the only resort is the chemical mixed worshpping ingredients. If the idols are worshipped in such a way that harms them then such act instead becomes misdeed.

Seems like its best to just stick to offering prayers with folded hands and set aside all those chemical filled puja ingredients.

Bitter-sweet truth about Changunarayan

Ever heard of Dolashikhar Swami?? No thats not the name of some saintly figure. Its the original name of one of the most oldest temples with great archaeological importance- the Changunarayan. Situated on a ridge overlooking the Kathmandu Valley, Changunarayan is one of the oldest and most impressive examples Lichachhavi period's astounding architecture in Nepal.

Changunarayan which was called Dolashikhar Swami in the Lichchhavi period was reanamed as Chaugunarayan in Nepal Bhasa during the Malla period. Also known as Champa Narayan in Sanskrit, the present Changunarayn temple is most widely popular for it has the probably oldest inscription in Nepal's history. Changunarayan's complex is a World Heritage Site, and is known for its incredible woodcarvings, metal inscriptions and stone statues, which adorn the courtyard, all dating between the 5th and 13th centuries.

This impressive double roofed temple is said to be the most ancient Vishnu temple in the Kathmandu Valley. The original temple was built around the 4th century. Although history books have it that king Manadeva built the temple, the reality seems far from it. according to the temple's priest, Chakradar Ananda Rajopadhyay, King Haridatta Varma who is supposed to have ruled nine generations ahead of Manadeva was the first person to built the temple. The inscription at the temple says nothin about King Manadeva buliding the temple, rather it has been mentioned that the very king only donated land for the temple's guthi.

If we go by History books, they say alot of insanely wrong things about Changunarayan. For instance, eigth grade EHP book published in the year 2052 had it that the Changunarayan jatra takes place in the month of Magh. But it actually takes place in the month of Baisakh. Similarly, it also writes that Changunarayan is called Maghman Narayan which is absolutely false. It is infact not none by any other name except for Chagunarayan, Champanarayan and Garudnarayan.

So, the next time you visit places of archeological importance don't just go by what the history books say.

Why journalism and democracy are considered inter dependent?

Democracy has always been hailed as the form of government that is of the people, formed by the people for the people. Democracy is a form of government in which power is held indirectly by citizens in a free electoral system. The popularity of democracy is evident primarily because citizens enjoy universally recognized freedom and liberties. On the other hand journalism, most popularly referred to as press, has long been recognized as that part of social activity which is concerned with the dissemination of news and views of the society. Journalism primarily functions as a watchdog and it bridges the government and the public. The very nature of journalism requires absolute democratic environment for it cannot fulfill its functions in the absence of freedom of expression and opinion. Journalism helps people fully exercise their right to get information and express their opinion. Had it not been for press, people would not have been living in a democratic society rightfully.


Journalism for democracy

As John Stuart Mill stated reading newspapers, and perhaps writing to them, public meetings, and solicitations of different sorts addressed to the political authorities, are the extent of the participation of private citizens in general politics during the interval between one Parliamentary election and another, the role of journalism is more than evident in a democratic society.
In democratic societies the press is acknowledged as the fourth state. Government is the most powerful entity. Government is the only such party which can work for the public or against the public. Power may corrupt, therefore government need to be scrutinized. Government runs the country, so journalists need to co operate with the government. Press needs to deal with government due to its watchdog function and mediating function. Government needs to communicate with the public through press. Since democratic government is supposed to put the people first, the role of press is inevitable in constantly letting the people about the government’s doings. Had it not been for press, the government would have never been watchful enough to let democratic values and practices prevail in any state.


Democracy for press and journalism

Press is also subjected to be regulated and government is the regulatory body. Only a democratic government ensures the proper regulation of the press through which the press can function smoothly and provide citizens with the information required. Only a democartic government can ensure pres freedom. Government can even sue the press in matters of violation of rules or irregularities in the court. Government also provides facilities by regulating advertisements, providing incentives and huge source of news content etc to the press. Government is a major source of advertisements. Press is also an industry. So, it cannot remain aloof. Government can hinder or facilitate the press in many ways as per its own wish. Since legal provisions regarding every institution including journalism are made by the government, it can hugely influence the state of journalism in any country. The very essence of journalism lies in the democratic principles and ideologies which shows how inevitable democracy is for press.

Inter dependence of journalism and democracy

The history of journalism can be traced back to those days when anti-colonial freedom fighters started revealing the unjust activities of the colonizers in front of the mass people through the use of pamphlets. This message disseminating activities were intended to obtain independence and sovereignty of their nation and also get rid of slavery.

Whenever there is any attempt against democratic principles, ideology and system of government, the first attack is seen on press. If we see the case of military system of Junta in Union of Myanmar, the censorship, restriction and ban on broadcasting all news of public concerns characterizes the media system. Which is also proved by very less numbers of radio, television and newspaper houses? On the others side while if we see the state of media in our own country Nepal, freedom of press and publication, right to expressions etc are highly emphasized. This proves that democracy and journalism are like the two sides of a same coin.

The political history of Nepal, during the people’s revolution, the liberation force (Mukti Sena) established radio-broadcasting station at Bhojpur which was shifted to Biratnagar later. The active role of that radio-station and distribution of message through pamphlets to gather mass for protest against tyrannical Rana-regime to establish Democracy for the first time in Nepal can never be forgotten. Similarly the role mainstream media during Jana Andolan II to uproot tyrannical Monarchy system of government and restore Democratic system of government is considered very crucial. During the April uprising, only the private media houses were giving the factual news. On the other hand, the state media was giving false news so as to supress the people's movement.

Gyanendra's step of dissolving the parliament and taking the power in his hand was first evident when he intervened in the operation of press. There were news censorhip and army personnels were on duty inside the newsroom. This was the then monarch's first step in curbing democratic spirit of the press.

Thomas Jefferson’s famous saying of choosing press over government illustrates power of press. Like people’s representatives journalists are also in many ways people’s representatives albeit non elected. They have earned this status out of their work. Press as an institution maybe considered as alternative government/parliament/court.

Due to its very nature government and press don’t get along very well. They are almost always at conflicting/confronting situation. It is so because press acts as a watchdog but the government wants press to be its lapdog.

Worldwide press has been time and again criticized for focusing on government’s criticism only. Reconciling is done by the press through objective/ balanced reporting. Government on its part should allow judiciary to watch over the press and act as the regulatory body. Maintaining transparency would also silence all the confrontation and conflict. Antagonism can be reduced if the government understands journalists’ objective coverage of both positive and negative aspect of government.

Time and again it has been proved that the role of press becomes more than evident when democracy needs to be ushered in or needs to be protected in any country. Similarly, press freedom can only be ensured when there is a democratic government fully supporting the journalism's genuine cause for serving the citizen by letting them exercise their right to opinion and expression. Thus, journalim and democracy can grow from strength to strength when both walk hand in hand working for the upliftment of the country and its citizens.

Community Journalism

Community journalism is locally oriented, professional news coverage that typically focuses on city neighborhoods, individual suburbs or small towns, rather than metropolitan, state, national or world news. While prioritizing news stories, proximity factor is taken into consideration in community journalism.

If it covers wider topics, community journalism concentrates on their effect on local readers. Community newspapers, often but not always published weekly, also tend to cover subjects larger news media do not, such as students on the honor roll at the local high school, school sports, crimes such as vandalism, zoning issues and other details of community life. Sometimes dismissed as "chicken dinner" stories, such "hyper local" coverage often plays a vital role in building and maintaining neighborhoods.

Leo Lerner, founder of Chicago's erstwhile Lerner Newspapers, used to say, "A fistfight on Clark Street is more important to our readers than a war in Europe."

In the United States, about 97 percent of newspapers are classified as "community" newspapers, with circulations below 50,000. Their combined circulation, nearly 109 million, is triple that of the combined circulation of the country's large daily newspapers. An increasing number of community newspapers are now owned by large media organizations.

Community journalists are typically trained professional reporters and editors. Community journalism should not be confused with the work of citizen journalist, who are often unpaid amateurs, or with civic journalism although many community newspapers practice it.

Attacks on Delhi Public School, Dharan by the Maoists in the year 2003 wasn’t given major coverage in the national media but the local paper ‘Blast Daily’ had made it the main new story. People residing in and around Dharan would be more interested in knowing what has been happening around their town rather than a huge event taking place in the capital or other place.

SLC and all that fuss!!!!

SLC- the most dreaded and the most talked about examination more often referred to as the Iron Gate has once again begun to take center stage in Nepali households. From the year students in our country are promoted to the grade when they start using ink pens, SLC begins haunting them. Everything that they are forced to do, right from the cut down on leisure periods( that is if they had any) to the increasing hours of extra classes are all tried and tested methods of SLC preparation practiced in abundance. Students are no longer just mere students; they are almost like soldiers being prepared to face the monster that has been the hovering around every tenth grader for decades. As if parents’ and teachers’ constant reminders about SLC weren’t enough, everyone under the sun who is aware of your SLC candidacy makes it to a point of reminding you how much of a big deal SLC is.

But all the SLC fear is long thrown out of the window by the candidates all thanks to the pleasant experiences shared by their seniors who have been there and done that. For private school students (educated in English medium) the first paper of English is bound to be a cakewalk. However, the scenario is poles apart for the government school counterpart (now that’s a different sad story). Easily comprehendible texts and equally easy grammar questions await them. So the invigilator swears by his duty on the first day. The next day and the days that follow will probably be the most memorable days for most of the SLC candidates since there isn’t any examination that’s more dreaded yet so loved by the students for more than just one reason.

Plenty of students who have appeared for the exam in the past will have one or other incident related to cheating full throttle in the examination hall. My cousin was more than elated to have SLC invigilators who would direct them to maintain silence and do anything they wanted (that included passing answer sheets to changing seats albeit temporarily). The cherry on top, as per my cousin’s say, used to be the daily newspaper spread just perfectly covering his face averting direct encounter of things happening inside the examination hall.

Not all are blessed to have such understanding invigilators who believe in doing their job in the most “student friendly” manner. But then SLC invigilators’ one or the other lenient methods of invigilating make us realize that there are still plenty of Samaritans around us. Except for the super studious lot, who probably loath about the board first declaration being removed, most of them tend to study lesser and lesser as the examinations approach near. Not because of the overly good preparation. Rather they are consoled time and again about how fun it’ll be cheating right under the invigilator’s nose which but obviously lifts their long tired spirits.

Private school students are blessed to have their courses completed on time; actually way before the stipulated time. You see, the faster the better is the mantra private schools abide by to proudly announce the whole world their astounding number of distinction holders. The two shifts of coaching classes (irrespective of students’ personal requirements) are followed by endless revisions, tests, mock tests, and the list goes on. Most of the straight A students by heart almost all the past SLC questions. They almost become maniacs till they are done with the SLC exams. Students are forced to eat breath and sleep the SLC model questions. SLC candidates’ parents find plethora of reasons to not allow their children from taking a break from the academics throughout the tenth grade. After all their kids’ SLC results are crucial in making or breaking their social status.

With so much of overwhelming preparation done just to get past eight subjects teachers and parents should learn to stop pestering the students regarding SLC examination. Yes getting past school is a big deal but what is the whole point of bidding adieu to the golden years of school life with so much of fear embedded in students. For god sake, students who are used to giving three terminal examinations annually need not panic about SLC at all. Only if school officials and parents understood, the whole fuss surrounding SLC would have long disappeared.