- Monday, 25 August 2025
The Rising Nepal
Trimming tipless bamboo once a year during Ubhauli
The famous Budhasubba temple complex in Dharan is the only place in Nepal where tipless bamboo is found. One has to wait for the Ubhauli festival to cut this bamboo. There is a tradition that even if the bamboo dries, falls and breaks apart for a year, it cannot be removed, touched or cut until the festival. Bamboo branches and pieces are distributed to devotees as offerings after the puja of the Ubhauli festival, according to Uttam Ale Magar, the present priest of the seventeenth generation. There is a belief that keeping pieces of bamboo in the house protects from evil. The Budhasubba’s tipless bamboos are cut in a sign of preparation for the Ubhauli festival.
Comedian ‘Dittha Sab’ now ward member
Popular comedian and director Kishor Bhandari, popularly known as ‘Dittha Sab’, has been elected a ward member in Tarkeshwor Municipality-2, Kathmandu. Bhandari was a candidate of the Nepali Congress for the post. According to Bhandari, he won the election securing double of the votes secured by his rival candidates. Bhandari received 1156 votes. Bhandari has been active in entertainment industry for a long time. He has become popular as 'Dittha Sab' from the tele-serial 'Dittha Sab' which was aired on Kantipur Television.
1.5 quintals waste collected from Shivapuri
The European Union in Nepal and Clean-up Nepal have collected 1.5 quintals of waste from Shivapuri National Park. About 130 individuals from different social organisations participated in Shivapuri Clean-up Campaign jointly organised by the two organisations in the framework of Europe Week 2022 on May 14.
Suspended vote counting in Achham to resume today
Vote counting in two polling centres of Achham district will begin on Monday. Vote counting in the poling centres was suspended due to a dispute between political parties. After the polling was disturbed, Election Commission had instructed to cancel the poll and conduct it again on a suitable date.
Army-led track opening to Kimathanka moving fast
The work of opening the track handed over to the Nepali Army is in full swing after a private construction company failed to connect Kimathanka under the North-South Koshi Highway. The Nepali Army is working to open a 10.5 km track from Chyamtang to Ghungapa in Bhotkhola rural municipality. By the end of the previous fiscal year, the army team had cut five metres of rock and opened the track.
President wishes peace, prosperity on Buddha Jayanti
The nation is marking the 2566th Buddha Jayanti by organising various programmes in Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha on Monday. On the occasion of the 2566th Buddha Jayanti, President Bidya Devi Bhandari has expressed best wishes for happiness, peace and prosperity to all Nepalis at home and abroad. She has urged one and all to take the lead in building greater national unity by enhancing the spirit of mutual harmony, tolerance and brotherhood among religious, social and cultural diversity by embracing the timeless teachings and guidance of Gautama Buddha. Since the birth of Gautama Buddha on the Baisakh Shukla Poornima (full moon day of Baisakh) is a triple coincidence of birth of Buddha, attainment of knowledge and Mahaparinirvana, this day is celebrated by the Buddhists around the world as a holy day of reverence and devotion to Gautama Buddha.
Embassy in Yangoon organises alms-offering programme
On the occasion of Buddha Jayanti, the Embassy of Nepal in Yangon organised an alms-offering programme on Sunday. The monks preached a 'dharma deshana', teachings of dharma and prayed for peace and prosperity of people, the embassy said in a statement. Charge D' affaires of the embassy Khuman Singh Tamang and other staff offered robes, umbrella, sandals and alms bowls to the monks. Nepali food was also served to the monks. Nine monks from Baranasi Bihar, a Nepali Monastery in Yangon were invited for the offerings.
Teachings of Buddha still relevant: PM
Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that life should be made happy and peaceful by putting into practice the teachings and messages given by Gautam Buddha. In a message issued on the occasion of the 2566th Buddha Jayanti on Monday, PM Deuba has urged one and all to work towards making the society prosperous by following the teachings of the Buddha.
Winning Voters’ Trust
The local election, which was successfully conducted nationwide in a single phase on Friday, marked another democratic feat for the country that embraced the federal system through the promulgation of new constitution in 2015. Now all eyes are focused on the results of elections that are pouring in. The vote counting in metropolises, sub-metropolises, and urban municipalities are still in initial phase. The ruling Nepali Congress (NC) has led in most of the places followed by the CPN-UML and CPN-Maoist Centre. If we analyse the preliminary outcomes of vote counting, it provides changing voting pattern. The UML that emerged as the biggest winner in the local polls held in 2017 is now trailing behind the NC in the vote counting while the Maoist Centre is making steady rise. Other parties are trailing behind these three forces.
In Manila, A Marcos Again
Thirty-six years after his father Ferdinand Marcos was compelled to step down and live in exile in Hawaii, his son triumphed in the presidential election last week. Popularly nicknamed Bongbong, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, 64, will become the 17th president at Manila’s Malacanang Palace next month, reviving to millions the memories of the Marcos decades at the sprawling mansion, when power was exercised and exhibited with ostentatious abundance.
The Far-right Vs. Women’s Rights
On 2 May 2022, Americans learned that the US Supreme Court is poised to overturn Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that has safeguarded an American woman’s right to an abortion for more than forty years. The magazine Politico published a leaked draft of a majority opinion written by conservative Justice Sam Alito, which would unequivocally strike down Roe v. Wade.
What Bothers Mothers Most ?
My mother is eighty-two now and is living a ‘new’ life in Kathmandu. Just about six months’ back, she had fallen seriously ill. Nobody believed she would survive. So, all the family members were called in Pokhara. She had a desire to go to her village. If she died, it was very important for her to do so in the home where she had spent most of her life. Further, she would like her final rites to be carried out at the place where her ancestors, neighbours and relatives were cremated. She was completely bedridden and she couldn’t walk even to go to bathroom. Some relatives who could manage their time came to the hospital with their eyes welled up with tears to say ‘final goodbyes’. There were exchanges of tears as we left the hospital.
Fishing livelihood in deep water in Koshi
For Gulabi Mukhiya, a 50-year-old of Ward No. 3 of Koshi Rural Municipality of Sunsari district, fishing has been a major facet of his life. He says that fishing has been his source of livelihood for as long as he remembers. While fishing had been enough to earn the livelihood for him and his family for years, Gulabi says that it has not been easy nowadays.
Voters wait anxiously for local poll results
Voters across the country are anxiously awaiting the results of the local level election held on May 13. The public are updating themselves through media, social media, media personnel and election experts to find out whether the candidates they voted for have been elected or not. They have been predicting about the winners in the district. They have been waiting to welcome their elected representatives.
Baacha Vayo: Swoopna Suman’s wedding revealation
Suman Thapa a.k.a. Swoopna Suman is one of the leading faces of the contemporary Nep-pop scene, with over a dozen singles released under his belt. The singer has a loyal fan-base, as like prominent international artists: Army for BTS or Blink for Blackpink; Swoopna’s fans are labeled as “Swoopners”. They are collectively dedicated to promoting and genuinely supporting all his artistic endeavors.
