Jai Nepal!

Maoist chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' has been elected as the first prime minister of republic Nepal by securing majority votes on Friday's election.

Prachanda garnered 464 votes while the Nepali Congress members of the Constituent Assembly voted against him. According to CA chairman Subas Nemwang, 577 of the total 601 CA members took part in the election.

The three alliance partners, Maoists, UML and MJF, now have to finalize the composition of cabinet and the "Common Minimum Programme." Leaders will resume talks on Saturday.

For some interesting commentary check out the "United We Blog" link in the column on the right side of this page.

This is serious stuff and important to many people in Nepal.

The search has begun to replace the current Kumari, or "living goddess." She is considered by many as an incarnation of the powerful deity Kali and is revered until she menstruates, after which she must return to the family. Many Nepali Hindus and Buddhists consider Kumari as an embodiment of Taleju Bhavani, the goddess of strength.

The current Kumari, Preeti Shakya, is now 11 years old and should retire during the annual Hindu festival of Dasain in October. "If we don't change her now, we'll have to wait until next year which could be late," said Deepak Bahadur Pandey, a senior official of the state-run Trust Corporation that oversees the country's cultural matters. "If the girl starts menstruating while serving as Kumari, it is considered inauspicious," Pandey told Reuters on Tuesday. Astrologers are consulting horoscopes of candidates from Buddhist Shakya families to replace her. Traditionally it was believed that the girl's horoscope should be in harmony with that of the king of Nepal (except this is no longer a requirement since there is no longer a King!) The girl who is chosen as the new Kumari must possess 32 attributes. Not too different than the choosing of a new Dalai Lama.

Once chosen, Kumari lives in the Kumari Ghar, a wooden temple in Kathmandu's Durbar Square...right around the corner from the guesthouse where Carly and I stayed. Here's a photo of her digs. She appears at these windows during festivals and on other occasions. Foreigners are barred from the upstairs chamber of Kumari, a leading tourist attraction.

On Indra Jatra, in September, the Living Goddess in all her jeweled splendor travels through the older part of Kathmandu city in a three tiered chariot accompanied by Ganesh and Bhairab each day for three days. It is really a grand gala in which people in their thousands throng in and around the Square to pay their homage to the Living Goddess.

Up until now, one of her main functions was to bless the king. This tradition began with the first king of the Shah dynasty, who annexed Kathmandu in 1768, received a blessing from the Living Goddess. Now that the monarchy has been abolished and the King is no more, what's a living goddess to do?

The wonderful and hardworking people of Nepal are STILL waiting: on the chance for a better life; decent roads; available and affordable petrol; and the consistent delivery of services like healthcare, education, literacy, utilities, waste management, clean water and sanitation, and security.

Is a government that works for the people too much to ask for?

Obviously so. The political parties have been deadlocked over power sharing since the abolition of the 240-year-old monarchy on May 28, and have yet to form the sorely needed new government.

Since a resolution through the consensus process has remained elusive, newly elected President Ram Baran Yadav, today, formally directed the Chairman of the Constituent Assembly to elect a new prime minister and government through a majority vote. Nepal's mainstream parties -- CPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and Madhesi People's Rights Forum (MPRF) -- failed to meet all deadlines to reach a consensus on a Maoist-led coalition. It seems they could not agree on the distribution of the key areas of defense, home and finance.

Here's the rub:
The CPN-UML party is pushing for a government of consensus rather than one formed by a majority. CPN-UML leader K. P. Sharma Oli said his party will not join a government led by CPN-Maoist if the Nepali Congress is excluded. It seems that the major parties are unlikely to lend support to a Maoist-led government unless they part with the crucial home and defense ministries. Conversely, the CPN-Maoist party needs the support of mainstream parties to form a government since they failed to get a majority in the landmark Constituent Assembly election.

Political leaders, however, have expressed the hope that there was still place for fielding a consensus candidate for the Prime Minister's post, with formal and informal consultations continuing among the mainstream parties. A key meeting of the CPN-Maoist and Nepali Congress today failed to end the deadlock over power sharing. The former rebels have rejected the demand that they part with control over the country's defense and security. Maoist chief Prachanda promised to come up with a final decision regarding their demand after holding internal meeting of the party.

Meanwhile, the people wait in 4-14 hour petrol lines, suffer through multiple load shedding events each week, depend on India to meet a percentage of their utility needs, walk around or through piles of garbage, drink unsafe water, use poorly sanitized facilities, continue to pay to educate their children despite only a slight chance of a decent job, work long and hard hours to harvest and gather food, work overseas to send $$$ back home, and feed the blackmarket just to survive.

C'mon.....

I'm home in Little Rock after a two-day journey on three flights. My jetlag is minimal as I was able to sleep in a hotel in Doha (compliments of Qatar Airways) and at the home of Ken and Patti Tolo in Washington, DC. It is GREAT to be here with Katie, Maggie, Mewmew! I am very much looking forward to reconnecting with friends and Clinton School classmates, faculty and staff and hearing the stories of summer adventures.

On my way home I appreciated some not so subtle changes in my activities of daily living which indicated that I was no longer in Kathmandu. Here are a few:

In Doha:

• Cars outnumbered motorbikes 50:1.
• No cows or goats on the road.
• Abundant petrol.
• I went into the hotel bathroom without my flipflops and the floor was dry.
• I flushed the TP.
• I brushed my teeth with water from the tap and I SWALLOWED it without fear of later gastrointestinal retribution!
• The bathroom actually had a bathtub, and water from the showerhead did not rain down on the toilet.
• My mattress was more than 1.5 inches thick.
  My pillow did not feel like a brick.
• Dinner was a very decadent buffet with fresh salad and fruit...and my stomach did not knot up in worry while eating it.
• People were NOT friendly.
• No one said "Namaste!" (I'm beginning to appreciate what a lyrically cheery greeting that is!)
• The TV had BBC and CNN on it.
• The news actually reported all of the arrests of Tibetan protesters at the Chinese embassy in Kathmandu. (Did we ever see that on the news in KTM?)

In Washington/Bethesda:

• Free and fast WiFi! (...which I have decided is life's greatest luxury!)
• Strawberries, blueberries and bagels for breakfast. (No milk tea. Sorry, Carly!)
• A full night's sleep without a chorus of barking dogs.
• No 5am worship bells or the scent of incense wafting in through my windows.
• A 20 minute taxi ride cost $45.
• People were actually out jogging.
• I ate a sandwich on whole grain bread!

Except for being with Katie, I'd trade it all away for another week in Nepal.

We'll see if my current opinion stands the test of time!

"See You!" is used by my friends in the Kathmandu Valley as a way of saying "goodbye" in the same way that "Namaste!" is said as a means of greeting.

"See You!" Nepal. I'll be back later in the fall.

The only thing carrying me through my heavy-hearted departure from Kathmandu is the thought of seeing Katie and sharing my Nepali gifts and stories with her.

Honestly, I do not want to leave at all. As I've been telling all of my friends, I am very good in Nepal: physically, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually. So for quite selfish reasons, I want to stay.

Nepal is also a place in which, in most situations you find yourself in, the things that you do and say make a difference. In a place where family and relationships are important, the gift of your time and your words make a big difference. In the moment, you can feel the meaning of your life. In a place where making money is difficult, the smallest gift or effort to support someone's life is deeply appreciated and usually effective.

I've had a tremendous send-off: a party in my honor from the staff of READ Nepal; brunch and great conversaton with Saubhagya; dinner in my honor by my family at the guesthouse; cake with Carly; a sari from Shanti; time in Bhaktapur with Sudip and a beautiful stone from him with a mountain scene signifying our future treks and fun together; and, a ride to the airport with one of my favorite taxi drivers.

My heart is here in Nepal and I'll be back...very soon!

SEE YOU!

Last weekend we celebrated Carly's birthday in both American and Nepali styles. The Kathmandu Three went upscale to a resort called Park Village took in a little poolside sunbathing and massage therapy.
The next morning we walked up to see the Sleeping Vishnu. Vishnu is asleep on a bed of snakes in a pool and it that it is a forbidden place for all kings and monarchs (something about being struck dead if they visit.) Each morning the faithful visit and place gifts at Vishnu's feet - marigolds, rice, incense.

From there, Carly and Molly headed back to the pool, while I hiked up to through the Shivapuri National Forest to Nambe Gompa, a Buddhist nunnery. From there I had the loveliest view of the Kathmandu Valley. Of course, along the way, several Nepali people stopped me to talk and make sure I wasn't lost. Two guys, along with their nephews walked with me into the National Park to make sure I knew which turn to take. They offered to walk with me all the way. In America, I would have been very wary of their offer. In Nepal, NAH. It's the way it is here and it's why, I keep telling you, over and over, this is the place to be if you want to reclaim your humanity and have your heart cracked wide open by the affection of fellow human beings.

Upon our Sunday night return, The Mulepati family - our guesthouse hosts - helped throw a birthday party with traditional Nepali food and RACHSI - homemade whisky. We also had the yummy chocolate banana cake from our local Snowman Cafe. Here's the birthday gang!