The Age Of Aquarius

As usual, 1970 crept in after 31 December 1969 quietly without any fanfare. The decade of the 70s, named The Age of Aquarius, signifying change, would be a remarkable decade for the world, and Nepal would not be untouched.

The first event of 1970 was King (then crown prince) Birendra's marriage to Aishwarya Rajya Lakshmi Devi Shah on 27 February. One of the guests for the marriage was Dev Anand, the Bollywood actor who incidentally was the first star to ever step into Nepal. The royal marriage helped Nepal to be focused, and next year Dev Saab came back with the shooting unit of Johney Mera Naam, the first-ever Bollywood movie to be shot in Nepal. The movie was a super hit. Dev Anand later came back with two more movies in the 70s. Hare Ram Hare Krishna and Ishq Ishq Ishq. Hare Ram Hare Krishna was based on the hippies, and Ishq Ishq Ishq was on trekking and mountaineering in Nepal.

On 31 January 1972, King Mahendra died of a heart attack in Bharatpur, and the Crown Prince Birendra was declared the king.

On 9th July 1973, the Singha Durbar, which held all the government ministries, burnt down. Cannons were fired to separate the burning wing from the non-burning section, and this resulted in the spreading of government papers flying all over Kathmandu. This could have been the greatest loss for Nepal, as original copies of important treaties, maps and files were burnt down with the building.

King Birendra's coronation on 24 February 1975 was another occasion when the international attention was drawn to Nepal. These ceremonies helped boost tourism in the country, and a few infrastructure projects came up during this time. Durbar Marg was built for marriage during 1970, and some hotels opened up, including Hotel Crystal in New Road.

Nepal was known as a destination for hippies. Due to peace in Afghanistan and Iran, it was possible to drive straight from Europe to Nepal, and the Basantpur area was crowded with these campers portraying foreign number plates. It took about 67 days to reach Kathmandu, and the vehicle owners would sell everything, including the vehicle, before flying back home from Kathmandu. There was a special tax for vehicles, and they were purchased by Nepali businessmen and used for plying the Kathmandu-Bhaktapur route. There were several buy-and-sell shops that sold other things like second-hand gas stoves, cooking ware and even clothes like jackets and jeans. Jeans were unavailable in the market, and it was only at the end of the decade that new jeans and sneakers could be freely bought from retail shops. Until then the second-hand jeans were purchased by the interested from these shops.

Restaurants came up catering to tourists, of which Om Restaurant and Aunt Janes were famous for their food. In 1976, the late Shyam Sundar Kakshapati, a business entrepreneur, opened the Nanglo Restaurant in Durbar Marg, targeting the Nepali citizen. This was the first effort with a typical Nepali name, and the staff of airlines and travel agencies located in Durbar Marg thronged the eatery after office, getting high on Rs. 3.50 for a large peg of Khukuri rum. Shyam Kakshapati never ran out of ideas. He would later spread out with branches of Nanglo, some having hearing- and speech-impaired waiters.

Drugs, especially hashish and marijuana, were legal and free. Shops openly displayed their wares. Swayambhu was another hippie destination, and every full moon they held a drug party. The surprising issue was that despite the free flow of drugs, Kathmandu could be branded as one of the safest cities in the world. Violent crime was relatively rare and unknown until Charles Sobraj reminded Kathmandu public that it is possible. He murdered two hippies and burnt their bodies in an open field on the way to Bhaktapur. While this was the talk of the town for days, Kathmandu was still branded as safe. The drug sale was banned in 1976 after continuous US pressure, and the hash shops started closing down.

The world fashion scene was dominated by bell-bottom pants, tight printed shirts, long hair and droopy moustaches. The youth of Nepal were no exception. Attired in the latest fashion, you could see them queuing in front of Druk, the first discotheque in Kathmandu, located in Durbar Marg a few metres away from the Royal Palace. Later, more discotheques would open, but regardless of the venue, female participation was limited. The few women who did attend were often in high demand as dance partners. The Age of Aquarius would influence in other ways as well. Junior Statesman (JS) and Stardust were high favourites of the youth of Kathmandu. Published from Calcutta, JS, edited by Desmond Doig, a Britisher, was about Indian rock bands, fashion, etc., and targeted the hep youth of the 70s. They promoted models, and Kabir Bedi was one of the products of JS search. Shashi Tharoor brushed up on his writing skills via JS. The magazine had given very nice coverage of King Birendra's coronation.

Stardust, edited by Shova De, a 21-year-old model, was a film magazine published from Mumbai. "We make stars bite the dust" was the punchline on which the magazine flourished. Scandals, fights between stars, and party stories were all highlighted in Hinglish, which was a mixture of English and Hindi and immensely funny and witty. For example, "She then said, Chalo, Na, please." Through Stardust we gained knowledge of who had an affair with whom, who started the fight, who abused whom, etc., in Bollywood. Written in that racy style, it provided fuel to our laughter and wit.

The younger generation of traditional farmers started selling off the land and buying a Toyota Starlet, which was then priced around Rs. 150,000. The car was then used as a taxi for taking tourists on sightseeing tours. Kathmandu started losing its agricultural land and took the first step of making the valley into a concrete jungle. This was one of the reasons why Nepal, a food-exporting nation, became an importer of food.

Tourism picked up in the 70s. However, Nepal still did not have the basic infrastructure. After the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway was opened in 1973/74, a few hotels opened up in Pokhara. Kathmandu was also short of hotels. There were no private airlines then. RNAC in charge of domestic flights was irregular and short of seats.

1979, the last year of the decade, was the year of final change. A violent revolution in Iran under the leadership of Ayatollah Khomeini saw the dethronement of Reza Shah Pahlavi. In Afghanistan bordering Iran, King Zaheer Shah was overthrown by the Afghan communist party under Nur Muhammad Taraki. The overland journey from Europe to Nepal stopped completely, as these countries were no longer safe. The cult of hippies was also dying out as a passing fad. Kathmandu would also see a violent clash of students in 1979 against the ruling Panchayat system, as a result of which the king declared a referendum in 1980.

The decade of the 70s finally ended, and the only sign remaining is Jhocheno still being called Freak Street, a name given lovingly by the hippies 50 years ago due to the myriad of lodges and drug shops on the street.

(The author is a history buff and freelance writer.)