Barbara's Nepal

Contents: Foreword "Barbara's Nepal". Preface. 1. Our citizen king. 2. Thirty years ago. Politics: 3. Chakari, Chukly and Chaplusi. 4. Meanderings of a political neophyte. 5. The Janata has shown us the way. 6. Election: post-mortem and prognosis. 7. Kishunji, congress and the generation gap. 8. Listening to B.P. and to the voice of the villagers. 9. It's great to be home. 10. Healing a festering wound. 11. Time for a change! Environment: 12. Cut, blast and throw. 13. The poisoning of Nepal. 14. Garbage: a call for action. 15. Kathmandu is choking to death. 16. Exhaust fumes and brain damage. 17. The continuing saga of the smokeless CHULO. 18. Mount Everest: the agony and the ecstasy. 19. Garbage revisited. 20. A nostalgic day with the pruschas: high dams and master plans. 21. To breathe or not to breathe: that is the question. 22. The rape of Godavari. 23. Sins of emissions. 24. Citizen Alert: let's save Godavari. 25. Kathmandu's Anguish, HMG's neglect. 26. Developing a taste for Chakka Jaam. Development : 27. Rats in the cocoon bins. 28. Foreign aid: a balance sheet. 29. The need for a `golden namaste'. 30. Himalandes: high altitude collaboration. 31. Agriculture and forestry: rethinking, reuniting, and local empowerment. 32. Visit to Lotusland. Carpet: the sorrows of Shangri-la: 33. A new and deadly carpet scandal hits Kathmandu. 34. Carpets: more scandal, some solutions. 35. German carpet importers speak out. Arun III: and other big dams: 36. Great white elephant in no option trap. 37. Greed, lies and Arun III. 38. The courage to just say no. 39. A dangerous addiction. 40. Crees, rais and soul destroying dams. 41. Stopping the great Whale: a lesson for us all. 42. Stolen art of Nepal. 43. Art, music and theatre in Kathmandu. 44. Patan revisited. 45. Let a thousand flowers: bloom in the spring. 46. Don't Ram Sanskrit: down our throats. 47. Master Jagat Sunder Malla: a prophet before his time. 48. Another beautiful building doomed to demolition. 49. Citizen Alert: stop imminent 10-storey highrises. Personalities: 50. Landscapes of the mind. 51. Kathmandu's reclusive dame. 52. From Hanuman Dhoka to Preah Khan. 53. The east tugs at her soul. From America: 54. Letter from America. 55. Letter from America. Miscellaneous: 56. The positive power of the media: a personal story. 57. Acquired immunity deficiency syndrome no time to lose. 58. In praise of the Humble Potter. 59. Tourism to Mustang: a Pandor's Box.

"Barbara Adams arrived in Nepal in 1961. She has somehow been both a total participator in, and a detached observer of, the Nepali cultural, political and developmental scene. Those who missed her early columns in the ''independent," have long been urging her to publish her works in a lasting format: hence this book. Barbara's growing disillusion with Nepal's infant "democracy" is reflected in over the ecological, architectural, and cultural deterioration of Kathmandu valley has provoked some of her most passionate of writings to date: several appear in this book under "Environment." The series on the contentious Arun III project is especially pertinent today, when small hydro-electric projects are finally coming into their own, and India's "river linking" personal is inspiring widespread comment on river-related issues. These essays are fascinating to read because of their early coverage of problems which are dominating discussion in Nepal today: poverty, ethnicity, disillusioned youth, rancid rivers and careless politicians, among others. When Barbara started writing her weekly column "Barbara's Beat" she was given carte blanche to write on any subject which interested her. This book contains a wide-ranging compilation of Barbara's multi-faceted interests in, or related to, Nepal. Barbara was one of the first to express the people's frustration at the lack of change after the Jana Andolan and to criticize HMG's failure to address inequality, injustice, human rights abuses, corruption and the basic needs of the poor and disenfranchised. These essays provide insights into the socio-political realities of Nepal and help us understand the historical context of the present crisis." (jacket)