Want to choose the right leaders for Nepal ? Check their DNA…

environment, governance, leadership, politics, ,

Check their DNA !
If an elephant,  a tiger, a fish and a monkey were all told to climb a tall pipal tree which of them can? Only the monkey would, right? The question we now face in choosing leaders for Nepal is similar: what kind of leadership will deliver a prosperous Nepal within our lifetime?

नेपालीमा पढ्नुहोला 

Every political force is born with a specific mission and molded with specific values and systems to deliver that within a certain timeframe. It’s actions would be based on its unique culture and systems it has built and practiced to fulfill its primary mission. Lets call this them its ‘DNA’.

In Nepal, political forces like the Nepali Congress, UML, Maoists and their multitudes of splinter groups were formed to get rid of one or all of following: the autocratic Rana family Regime of the 19th century, the single party panchayat system of the 20th century and the absolute monarchy of the 21st. They were built specifically to rid Nepal of autocracy and introduce democracy and were successful. But in the 21st century, after having achieved all this we are in a

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What is the role of citizens & institutions in holding ‘aid’ accountable?

accountability, campaigns, failure, leadership, responsibility, thought provoking
This is transcript of my talk at Harvard University (Chan School of Public Health) on Sept 26, 2016 on the topic of Monitoring disaster response: Aid accountability & the role of citizens & institutions.

On April 25, 2015 at 11:56 am, I was on top of our office, an old building when the earth shook massively. It is probably one of the most helpless feeling I ever got in my life. I couldn’t move, couldn’t run. I froze there for few seconds before getting out of the building. I was lucky but thousands were not.

As soon as that minute was over,  I remembered our disaster preparation protocol, we had built just months ago: In case of a massive earthquake, first check on your family members safety then gather in the nearest hospital and start organizing to help the staff and government.

In less than 30 minutes, I along with other members of BibekSheel Nepali party, we assembled in front of Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, one of the biggest hospital in Nepal. It was chaos there – patients and relatives along with staff trying to handle scared patients as well as

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We live in a Loot-tantra (Blunt truth)

accountability, change, environment, governance, leadership, politics, responsibility, thought provoking

Attention Nepal lovers,

We now live in a Nepal where our rulers openly practise Loot-tantra (Thugocracy) in the name of Lok Tantra (democracy). It is imperative we protect our newly born republic from the corruption that has even engulfed the best and brightest of Nepal. Only by realizing this reality that is creeping its evil roots onto every facet of our society, can we start to begin uprooting the roots of evil!

In essence,

  1. We live in a loot-tantra (लूटतन्त्र) where the most powerful anti-corruption chiefs & Justices of the supreme court and top leaders of constitutional bodies are themselves suspected of being the most corrupt. Evidences about these officials abusing power with such impunity that even parliament refuses to investigate them and the country’s most powerful intellectuals cower with fear. What good is any ‘great’ system when run with “bad” intent? What good is any constitution, when laws are distorted by the very who swore to protect them? 
  2. We live in a “baal”-tantra (बालतन्त्र) where much of the parliament are so

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Dealing with stuff

tips
Here are a few disciplines that have helped me (so far) 🙂 in dealing with Nepal’s cynical, hostile environment where there are much expectations by so many.
What to share in public (group emails, Facebook groups, twitter) 
  • Thank you,
  • sorry,
  • praise,
  • happy news,
  • raising hope,
  • showing unity,
  • share positive accomplishments,
  • acknowledgements,
  • public appreciations
  • BibekSheel 6 core values: Empathy, Humility, Integrity, Excellence, Transparency, Courage
in private ( Meeting face to face, on phone, one on one email/chat, “small (less than 3 people) chats, sms, small tea meetings outside office, go for a walking meeting, go on a hike to untangle difficult problems, use facebook voice/skype/viber for distance problem solving)
  • conflict resolution,
  • share bitter news,
  • share confusing thoughts,
  • share / listen to frustrations,
  • build personal relationships,
  • big thank you’s,
  • to delegate work,
  • rejections / to say No
  • BibekSheel 6 core values: Empathy, Humility, Integrity, Excellence, Transparency, Courage
Lets keep our “listening” mode on.
Listening doesn’t mean we agree .. it means we empathize and are willing to hear their point of view..
It seems

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Helambu Trek diary: Spiritually awakening travel in Nepal

places and travel, tourism, travel diary

Helambu - Gosaikunda

So close, yet so far! Helambu region just north of Kathmandu is home of the Hyolmo Sherpa community that very few Nepalis have traveled to. Every year, me and my family, try to trek to one of the remotest regions of Nepal to enjoy and learn more about our nation with its bountiful diversity. This time, we chose the beautiful Helambu region.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
– Mark Twain

Day 1: Sundarijal in Kathmandu (1300 m) to Chisapani (2154 m)

We took a taxi (cab) to Sundarijal through Chabahil- Boudha and started our big climb up stairs just besides Sundarijal hydro (built in 1934 AD). Our climb took us to Mulkharka village inside Shivapuri National Park. We climbed in steps like paths until the very top of Shivapuri hill (we term 2000 meter mountains actually hills in Nepal). As we descended on to the other side towards Chisapani, rain started pouring. As we reached our hotel hailstorm started pouring and we considered ourselves lucky to have

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