दमक चोकका केही फोटोहरू

TOP CHINA BLOGGER SHUTS DOWN MAGAZINE

One of China's most popular bloggers announced Tuesday he was forced to shut down his freewheeling print magazine after just one issue because government officials appear to have blocked the printing of any new editions.
Han Han, a novelist and race car driver, has amassed a huge readership with his sly online critiques of China's social problems and hoped to tap that audience with an arts and literature magazine, Party.
Han wrote in a blog post that it appeared that the government was behind the closure, but he was unsure which department and why they had objected to the magazine.

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HAS ASKED THE INDIAN JUDICIARY

Amnesty International has attacked the Indian judiciary for sentencing a doctor to life imprisonment on charges of helping Maoist rebels, warning the verdict could further stoke unrest.

Binayak Sen, arrested in 2007 in the state of Chhattisgarh and accused of waging war against the country, was convicted and given the life sentence by a local court on Friday.

Amnesty said it considered Sen a "prisoner of conscience" and added the jailed paediatrician had been "convicted under laws that are impermissibly vague".

Nine dead in Bhutan accident

Eight, including three children under 14 years, were killed on the spot while one died on the way to Thimphu hospital.
As of 12:30 pm 25 passengers including the driver were evacuated to Thimphu hospital and four are believed to be in critical condition.
The 22-seater Pelyab bus was reported to be carrying 35 passengers including the driver and his assistant. The cause of the accident is being investigated. The bus is reported to have rolled backwards on a climb before plunging 519 feet below the road at around 9:30 this morning.

OBAMA CONGRATULATES IRAQ ON NEW GOVERNMENT

US President Barack Obama congratulated Iraq after parliament endorsed a new government, saying the move was a "significant" historic moment and represented a rejection of extremism.

"Today's vote in the Council of Representatives is a significant moment in Iraq's history and a major step forward in advancing national unity," Obama said in a written statement.

"I congratulate Iraq's political leaders, the members of the Council of Representatives, and the Iraqi people on the formation of a new government of national partnership."

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden both spoke to Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki personally by telephone to offer their congratulations, the White House said.

The president said that the Iraqi people and elected representatives had shown, with the long-delayed move after elections in March, that they were committed to democratic means to ease differences and shape Iraq's future.

थाई अधिराजकुमारीको लडेर खुट्टा भाँचियो

थाइल्यान्डकी अधिराजकुमारी चुलाबर्नको विश्वविद्यालयमा पढाउन जानेक्रममा आज एक्कासी लडेर खुट्टा भाँचिएको समाचार छ ।
थाई राजा भूमिबोलकी कान्छी छोरी चुलबर्न उनले पढाउने विश्वविद्यालायमा कक्षा लिनका लागि आज जाने क्रममा बाटोमै लडेर देब्रे खुट्टा भाँचिएको थाई राजदरबारले जनाएको छ ।
५३ वर्षीया अधिराजकुमारीले थाई सरकारद्वारा सञ्चालित विश्वविद्यालय कासेर्टार्समा लेक्चररका रूपमा काम गरिरहेकी छिन् ।
उनको बैंककको चुलान्कोर्न अस्पतालमा उपचार भइरहेको र हाल त्यस्तो कुनै पनि जटिल समस्या नदेखिएको सो दरबारद्वारा आज जारी वक्तव्यमा जनाइएको छ ।
समाचारमा थाइल्यान्डका राजा भूमीबोल अद्युल्यादेज पनि स्वासप्रस्वाससम्बन्धी समस्याका कारण विगत दुइ वर्षदेखि अस्पतालमै रहेर उपचार गराइरहेका छन् ।

RUSSIA INDIA DIPLOMACY

Russia and India agreed Tuesday on a series of defence and nuclear deals potentially worth billions of dollars and pledged to deepen cooperation on counter-terrorism and regional security.
The agreements surrounded talks in New Delhi between visiting Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Indian Premier Manmohan Singh, during which both sides set a target of doubling bilateral trade to 20 billion dollars by 2015.
They also signed a contract envisaging the joint design and development of fifth-generation fighter aircraft with stealth capabilities.
Although no figures were mentioned, experts say the final fighter deal could be worth close to 30 billion dollars, with India planning to induct up to 300 of the aircraft into its air force.
The two leaders also discussed plans for Russia to build two additional generating units at a nuclear power plant in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where it is already setting up two reactors.
Energy-hungry India is one of the world's biggest markets for nuclear technology with plans to reach a nuclear power capacity of 63,000 megawatts by 2032, from the current level of 4,560 megawatts.
Hailing what he described as a "special and privileged" strategic partnership, Singh said Russia was a "time-tested friend ... that has stood by us in our times of need in the past."
Medvedev arrived in India on Tuesday, seeking to fend off growing international competition for lucrative Indian defence contracts that were once monopolised by Moscow.
His trip capped a flurry of top-level diplomatic activity that has seen the leaders of all five permanent members of the UN Security Council beat a trade-focused path to India's door over the past six months.

FACEBOOK'S ZUCKERBERG STARTS CHINA VISIT

Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has started his visit to China with a tour of the offices of the country's top search engine, while his own social networking site remains blocked on the mainland.
Photos of Zuckerberg's visit to Baidu Inc. on Monday morning were posted online. Baidu's director of international communications said he wasn't going to deny what was in the photos. Kaiser Kuo said Zuckerberg was meeting with Baidu CEO Robin Li, but he didn't know what they were discussing.

CHRISTMAS ISLAND BOAT DEATH TOLL LIKELY RISES TO 48: AUSTRALIAN PM

The final death toll from the Christmas Island boat disaster is likely to rise to about 48, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said on Monday.

The latest estimates suggested that 90 people were on board the Indonesian fishing boat when it crashed last Wednesday. The suspected asylum seekers onboard includes Iraqis, Iranians and Kurds.

So far, 42 having been rescued. However, 30 people, including 13 men, nine women, four children and four babies, have been confirmed dead. It means there are about 18 people went missing. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has formally acknowledged there is no hope of finding any further survivors, but the search will continue for the victims of the disaster.

Gillard told reporters in Canberra that it may not be possible to ascertain exactly how many lives were lost, and it was possible that some bodies may never be recovered.

"We are, of course, talking about very rough seas, very rocky and difficult coastline and so it may be that there are bodies of people who traveled on the boat that are never recovered," she told Australia Associated Press on Monday. "That is obviously very, very grim news." Gillard also said the government had no plans to lift Australia 's humanitarian intake in order to reduce the numbers resorting to people smugglers.

कुटेर श्रीमतीको हत्या

झापा शनिश्चरे-९ का एक व्यक्तिले कुटेर पत्नीको हत्या गरेका छन् । आइतबार अपरान्ह स्थानीय पूर्ण कुमार उराउले पत्नी लखीमनि उराउको हत्या गरेका हुन् ।
आइतबार बजार भर्न गएका उराउ दम्पतिबीच बजारदेखि नै विवाद शुरु भएको थियो । बजारदेखि नै कुटपिट गर्दै घरतर्फ ल्याएका पूर्णकुमारले पत्नीलाई घरमासमेत थप कुटपिट गर्दा उनको मृत्यु भएको हो ।

Bhutanese refugees: American dream tantalizes, deceives

Members of the Bhutanese Club at David Douglas High School discuss the Dashain Tika Festival held recently at the high school. Most of the students in the club grew up with refugee status in Nepal and now are learning to live in a new home here in Portland, where they learn English and try to adapt to American ways.

I am a refugee from Bhutan. In the early days after my arrival to Portland, I would call friends and family in the refugee camps in Nepal, telling them the United States is close to heaven and they should try to come as soon as possible.

Now, nearly two years later, I see those newly arrived struggling; they question me about my "heaven." Some say they would return, if it were possible, to their dark refugee camps rather than face their desperate situations in Oregon. I have come to feel that "the American dream" is dangerous, because people come here with great expectations. I have stopped calling the camps in Nepal.

अव भेडेटारमै प्याराग्लाइडिङ

रमणीय दृष्यावलोकन, पिकनिक र डेटिङ स्पटका लागि पूर्वाञ्चलकै प्रख्यात भेडेटार अव थप नयाँ कामका लागि परिचित हुने भएको छ । आजसम्मको आफ्नो गरिमामय परिचयलाई एक खुड्किलो माथि उकास्दै भेडेटार अव प्याराग्लाइडिङ स्थलका रुपमा समेत प्रसिद्ध हुने भएको छ ।

मिनी म्याराथन सम्पन्न

शान्ति, एकता र मित्रताको नारासहित आज झापाको दमकमा मिनि म्याराथन प्रतियोगिता सम्पन्न भएको छ ।
प्रख्यात क्लब बार्सिलोनाको सहयोगमा क्यारितास नेपणलले आयोजना गरेको प्रतियोगीतामा पुरुषतर्फ लक्ष्मण मल्ल र महिलातर्फ सुष्मा राई बिजेता भएका छन् । उनीहरुले जनही २०/२० हजार रुपैयाँ जितेका छन् ।

सन्दर्भ - भुटानको राष्ट्रिय दिवस

अभिभावकत्व पुगेन

भूटान शरणार्थी प्रतिनिधि स्वदेश फिर्ति समितिका अध्यक्ष डा. भम्पा राईले भूटानी शरणार्थी अगुवाहरुको कारण स्वदेश फिर्तीको आन्दोलन सफल हुन नसकेको बताउनु भएको छ ।
भूटानको १०३ औं राष्ट्रिय दिवसको अवसरमा शुक्रबार झापाको दमकमा आयोजित अन्तरक्रिया कार्यक्रममा बोल्नु हुँदै अध्यक्ष राईले अहिले भुटानी शरणार्थीहरुमा अभिभावक संस्थाको खाँचो रहेकोले पहिला अभिभवकको चयन गर्नु पर्नेमा जोड दिनु भयो ।
कुनै पनि कुरा सफल हुनको लागि अभिभावकको भुमिका महत्वपूर्ण हुने तर्क राख्दै उहाँले भुटान प्रतिनीधि स्वदेश फिर्ति समितिलाई नै अभिभावक संस्था मान्न सकिने तर त्यसको लागि सबैको समर्थनको आवश्यक रहेको कुरा बताउनुभयो ।
त्यस्तै, कार्यक्रममा भारत बाट आउनुभएका भूटानी स्वदेश फिर्ती आन्दोलनका सहयोगी तथा नेपाल भारत भुटानका बुद्धिजिविहरुको संगठन साप्पेका सदस्य शैलेन्द्र अरोराले भूटानीहरुको तेस्रो मुलुक पुनर्स्थापनालाई मानव तस्करीको संज्ञा दिदै उक्त मानव तस्करीमा भूटान, भारत र नेपाल तीनैवटा देशहरु संलग्न रहेको आरोप लगाउनु भयो । उहाँले यसरी खुलेआम भैरहको मानव तस्कारीलाई रोक्न नेपालका मानव अधिकारवादीहरुको ध्यानाकर्षण गराउनु भएको थियो । नेपाल भारत र भुटानको संबन्धलाई अझ सुमधुर बनाउन पर्ने कुरामा पनि अरोराले जोड दिनु भयो ।

यो विवाह केका लागि ?

प्राणघातक सरुवा रोग लागेपछि केटा वा केटीले ढाँटेर विहेगर्नु उचित हुन्छ होला ? त्यसमा पनि विहेपछि आमा र नावालक शिशुलाई समेत त्यही रोग सर्यो भने उनीहरुको स्थिति के होला ? पक्कै पनि उनीहरुको जीवनमा नसोचेको असहज परिस्थिति आईलाग्ने निश्चित छ । अहिले यस्तै परिस्थितिको सिकार भएकी छिन् मोरङ माईती भएकी झापाकी एक महिला ।
मोरङको जाँते वार्ड नम्वर ३ माईती घर भएकी कल्पना ढकाललाई तोपगाछी ८ का तुलसी सिटौलाले २०६५ सालमा मागी विबाह गरेका थिए । विहे भएको २ वर्षपछि एक सन्तान (छोरा) पनि जन्मियो । तर छोरा जन्मिएको केही महिनामा नै सिकिस्त बिरामी भएर विराटनगरस्थित कोशी अञ्चल अस्पतालमा भर्ना भएका तुलसीको ३ महिनाअघि मृत्यु भयो । तुलसीको मृत्यु न कर्तब्य नत भवितब्य, उनको मृत्युको कारण थियो प्राणघातक सरुवा रोग एड्स ।

भुटानी राजालाई दश शरणार्थी नेताको चिठी

भुटानको १०३ औं राष्टि्रय दिवसका अवसरमा दश जना भुटानी अगुवाहरुले हस्ताक्षर गरि भुटानका राजालाई एक पत्र पठाएका छन् । पत्रमा तीर्थयात्राका क्रममा नेपालमा भएको हवाइ दुर्घटनामा मारिएका १८ जना भुटानी नागरिकहरुप्रति समवेदना प्रकट गर्दै राष्ट्रप्रति सम्मान व्यक्त गरिएको छ ।
थिन्ले पेन्जोर, डा. भम्पा रा, डीपी काफ्ले, डीवीआर साङपाङ, कर्मा वाङमो, रिन्जिन दोर्जी, ललित प्रधान, देक याङजेम, भगीरथ सिवाकोटी र लामा जिग्मे जाम्चोले हस्ताक्षर गर्नु भएको सो पत्रमा "हाम्रो मातृभुमि भुटान जिन्दाबाद" भन्दै चार बुँदे माग समेत प्रस्तुत गरिएको छ । पत्रमा अरु के के छ, हेर्न तल जानुहोला ।

Judge grants bail to WikiLeaks' Julian Assange

London´s High Court granted WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange bail Thursday after rejecting an appeal to keep him in jail while he fights extradition to Sweden to answer allegations of sex crimes.

The 39-year-old Australian was in court to hear the judge reject an appeal on behalf of Swedish prosecutors against a ruling Tuesday by a lower court that he be bailed.

"I am going to grant conditional bail," judge Duncan Ouseley said.

He endorsed the stringent bail conditions imposed by the lower court, that Assange´s supporters must pay a 240,000-pound (283,000-euro, 374,000-dollar) surety and he be subject to electronic tagging and a curfew.

BODIES OF 22 TARA AIR CRASH VICTIMS RECOVERED

The bodies of all 22 people on board the aircraft of Tara Air that crashed at Gauriban of Bilambu VDC in Solukhumbu district have been recovered.

According to Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal, the deceased are identified as TG Lama, G. Sherpa, K. Sherpa, S. Tamang, T.I. Tamang, P.G. Lama, K.W. Lama, P. Tamang.

Similarly, the other victims are Jeng D. Sherpa, K.N. Lama, L. W. Sherpa, S.B. Lama, T. Sherpa, T.Y. Sherpa, P.W. Tamang, I.B. Tamang, T.W. Sherpa and Kelsang Choidak.

Temporary ban on import of private light vehicles

 The Prime Minister, Jigmi Y Thinley , verbally announced this morning, during the mid term review exercise of the information and communications ministry, that import of private light vehicles will be temporarily stopped until the Supreme Court comes out with a verdict on the government's appeal.

WIKILEAKS: SINGAPORE LEE SAYS MYANMAR 'STUPID'

Singapore statesman Lee Kuan Yew called Myanmar's junta leaders "stupid" and "dense" in conversations with U.S. diplomats, according to classified documents released this week by WikiLeaks.
The Singapore leader said dealing with Myanmar's military regime was like "talking to dead people," according to a confidential U.S. briefing on a 2007 conversation between Lee and U.S. Ambassador Patricia L. Herbold and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Christensen released by WikiLeaks.
The 87-year-old Lee is known for his outspoken and blunt assessments of world affairs, but avoids publicly insulting the leadership of foreign countries. Lee was prime minister from 1959 to 1990 and remains a senior adviser to his son, current Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

ASYLUM SEEKERS 'FEARED DEAD' IN AUSTRALIA BOAT TRAGEDY

SYDNEY Dec 15 (AFP) – Dozens of asylum seekers, including children, were feared dead after a boat sank in violent seas off Australia's Christmas Island, in what witnesses described as a "major tragedy".
Witness Phillip Stewart said on Wednesday he saw people drowning and others smashed against floating debris after their boat broke up against the limestone cliffs of the remote island off western Australia.
"The tragedy continued for some time and we witnessed people actually drowning.... Unfortunately (they) were hit against the rocks," he told Sky News.Australian police confirmed that a suspected asylum seeker boat had been involved in an accident off Christmas Island.

FLOODS HAMMER AUSTRALIA'S EASTERN STATES WITH LOSS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS

After years of unending drought, Australia's wheat belt has been pounded by torrid rains - and a giant swarm of locusts - forcing mass evacuations and wiping millions off the nation's economy.

New South Wales, Australia's key economic province, has been declared a natural disaster zone after floods, driven by torrential rain, threaten the nation's agricultural economy and drive up global wheat costs.

Wife & Girlfriend

Wife is like TV

girlfriend is like MOBILE

At home watch TV
go out bring MOBILE

No money, sell TV
Got money change MOBILE

Sometimes enjoy TV
but most of the time play with MOBILE

TV is free for life
but MOBILE if you don't pay, the services will be terminated

Bhutanese refugees mark Dashain in Melbourne

The Bhutanese refugees resettled in Melbourne, Australia held a cultural show in Melbourne on Saturday marking the Dashain festival.

The program featured a series of cultural performances in typical Nepali dress and songs, Sangini, Balan, Deusi, children dance and fashion parade exhibiting diversity of dresses from Bhutan.

Yonzon addressing the function.

“The costume parade was the show case of what ethnicity lives in Bhutan and education to the wider Australian and Nepalese communities,” Bhutanese Community in Australia (BCA) chairperson Parsu Luitel said. The costumes for the show were collected from Nepalese community in Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra and Victoria.

Traditional Bhutanese and Nepali cuisines were served by Hilmayan Sherpa such as Emadachi (a traditional food from Bhutan), dahi chiura.

The program was attended by Hon George Lekakis, chairperson, Victorian Multicultural Commission (VMC), John Gibson, President, Refugee Council of Australia; Sam Afra JP, chairperson, Ethnic Communities Council of Victoria (ECCV), Chandra Yonzon, Hon Consulate General of Nepal in Victoria, Geoff Porter, Mayor of Hume City Council, Tony Ryan, Inspector Victoria Police Broadmeadows, representatives from Nepalese and Karen Burmese communities and government and non governmental agencies including 400 Bhutanese from Melbourne, Woodunga, Albury and Tasmania.

Papaya Juice to Fight Cancer

 

Papaya
No need to cry about scarcity of blueberries, strawberries, etc in SINGAPORE .  We have our wonderful payayas, pineapples and bananas, and durians and mangoes are affordable.

Papaya was the only studied  food found to halt breast cancer

Scientists studied 14 plant foods commonly consumed in Mexico to determine their ability to halt breast cancer cell growth. These included avocado, black sapote, fuava, mango, prickly pear cactus (nopal), pineapple, grapes, tomato, and papaya. They also evaluated beta-carotene, total plant phenolics, and gallic acid contents and antioxidant capacity. They found that only papaya had a significant effect on stopping breast cancer cell growth. (International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, May)

The Pride of Bhutan

What is Bhutan proud of? It is a simple question but which I believe has a complex answer. We can give a numerous definition to this small land locked Himalayan kingdom like any other countries. But there is a growing concern in the international arena to have a closer look to this last Shangri-La.
Ever since the resettlement process of the Bhutanese refugees kicked off our fellow Bhutanese have encountered several questions raised by the citizens of the host countries. The exchange of names is mostly followed by a question `Where are you from`? And like a primary school children we say ´from Bhutan´. Bhutan? Where is it? What is it? Infinite question shoots out like bullets from a machine gun and the recently resettled Bhutanese seems astonished to know that more than 70% of the world population is unaware of the existence of this tiny Himalayan country.

JINX STILL THERE

The Nepali speaking southern Bhutanese has to find solace by cursing own fate for being born in Bhutan and blame the ancestors for settling in the country because of which one has to bear the wrath of their follies. Suppose to be the land of Buddhists that propagates peace, harmony, fraternity and believe in principle that hatred does not cease by hatred but ceases by love has inflicted untold sufferings to a section of ethnic-Lhotsampas. Today more than 100000 southern Bhutanese are far flung and proscribed and declared non-Bhutanese arbitrarily and made to suffer. Somehow, the suffering as refugee for last 20 years in Nepal is being mitigated by resettlement though justice has not yet prevailed.

Bombs in Bhutan stir refugee crisis

Bombs in Bhutan stir refugee crisis
By Mohan Balaji

CHENNAI - The orchestrated bomb blasts that detonated on Monday in the capital of Thimphu and three other locations across Bhutan are a powerful reminder of the simmering refugee problem that has long plagued the ruling government and tarnished the reputation of the tiny Himalayan kingdom often referred to as Shangri-La.

According to Bhutanese police, the explosions were suspected to be linked to one of three militant organizations based in Nepal - the Bhutan Tiger Force, the Bhutan Maoists Party and the Communist Party of Bhutan.

Article on BHUTAN.

 

I consider myself fortunate to get a copy of your write up titled "BHUTAN'S PROBLEM WITH MOAIST INSURGENCY GROUPS, MIL" dated March 26, 2010.In your write up as an eminent journalist I would like to express some of my reservations.

First of all as an International Journalist of your stature, it would be wise to turn down the pages of history, analyze and present the facts on Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal without being biased.

 In your article you mentioned:

Girija Prasad Koirala no more, funeral with state honour tomorrow

Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala who made a substantial contribution for the country’s democratic movements has breathed his last at his daughter’s residence in Mandikhatar at 12:10 pm Saturday.


The NC central advisory committee made the formal announcement of the death of the veteran Nepalese leader Koirala after consultations with doctors attending Koirala’s health.

A senior NC leader Sher Bahadur Deuba told reporters after attending an emergency meeting that the dead body of the freedom fighter Koirala will be kept at Dashrath Stadium from 8 am to 2 pm for final tributes by political leaders, party cadres and the general public. The funeral procession will then be taken to the Pashupati Aryaghat where Koirala’s corpse will be cremated with state honour, added Deuba.

Letter to Laloo

Laloo Prasad sent his Bio Data - to apply for a post in Microsoft Corporation, USA.
A few days later he got this reply:


Dear Mr. Laloo Prasad,
You do not meet our requirements. Please do not send any further correspondence.
No phone call shall be entertained.

Thanks
Bill Gates.

Bhutanese Profile

Country of Origin, History and Politics

The Nepali Bhutanese, or Lhotsampas (“People of the south”), are a community of approximately 120,000 ethnically and culturally Nepali people. The first report of Nepalese origin in Bhutan was around 1620 when Shamdrung Ngawong Namgyal (a Tibetan lama who unified Bhutan) commissioned a few Newar craftsmen from the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal to make a silver stupa (monument) for his father, Tempa Nima. There are no references to any further movement of people from Nepal to Bhutan until the beginning of the 19th Century.  They were invited to populate the lowlands of southern Bhutan in the mid- to late- nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.  Contact between the Druks (Bhutanese) in the north and the Lhotsampas in the south was limited.  Despite living in Bhutan for up to five generations, the Lhotsampas retained their highly distinctive Nepali language, culture, and religion.  However, they did participate in public life and politics, even attaining positions of significant leadership.

Nepal beat US to lift Div 5 trophy

Nepal won the first major cricket tournament defeating the US by five wickets in the Pepsi ICC World Cricket League Division 5 on Saturday.

After bowling out the US for 172 in 47.2 overs, Nepal chased the target in 46.5 overs in front of 15,000 cheering spectators at the TU Cricket Ground.

Khagendra Thapa Magar shortest man: Guinness

Guinness World Records has verified Khagendra Thapa Magar, Nepal’s shortest man, as the shortest man in the world after verifying his height and weight. Thapa Magar was awarded a certificate to this effect in Rome last night.

According to Min Bahadur Rana, chairman, Khagendra Thapa Magar Foundation, 17-year-old Khagendra was awarded the Guinness certificate and a medal last night. According to the Guinness verification team, Khagendra is 56 cm tall and weighs just five kg. Rana added that Khagendra would be registered as the shortest man of the world in Guinness World Records after six months when he turns 18. He has also been given the registration number- 154894.

Chronicle of a death

Shortly after I said goodbye to my colleagues at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and reached my apartment, a fifteen-minute-walk from the office in Pittsburgh—a city in the U.S. known both for its three rivers and its industrial past—my wife Kabita called me from Nepal to say that my paternal grandfather had passed away. I paused for a while as her voice became barely audible. It was early June and the sun was just about sinking into the horizon.

I wasn’t shocked to hear the news because when I left Nepal in early March that year in 2008, my 93-year-old grandfather Dhanya Prasad Adhikari was literally on his deathbed. On a freezing January night, he fell down on the floor while on his way to the restroom. His back was badly bruised. When the doctors at a nearby hospital cited his frail health as hazardous for any sort of operation, we reluctantly brought him to my youngest uncle’s house in Jorpati, Kathmandu.