Nepal

  A Day to Remember -BottleButea Sep 12, 2025 I am an avid reader of history books, and I remember the way writers explained historic events with vivid detail. Americans recalling where they were when they heard about 9/11, Indians during the death of Nehru. And now, I knew that what was happening would be historic. All my family’s attention was fixed on the TV screen. Usually, when the TV is on, it’s more of a background than the main show. It’s not uncommon to use your phone while watching TV, but today was different. Everywhere in Nepal, I am sure that for those who were aware, almost everyone was glued to the TV. After the September 8 protest, everyone was unsure what would happen next. Who would lead the interim government? Would the parliament dissolve? The answer to all that was before me. There she was, Sushila Karki, sitting beside an empty seat. President Ram Chandra Poudel had not yet entered the room.  Yesterday, after the ultimatum, I had predicted that peace woul...

  Ultimatum -BottleButea Sep 11, 2025  “Sunyau timle?” (“Did you hear?”) my sister said excitedly as she entered my room. I was giving the finishing touches to the journal I had written yesterday. I write whatever happens on the day it occurs in a diary, and since it’s never fluent, I start typing it properly the next day. I was using GPT to help correct the grammar and had finally reached the last paragraph when I heard her. Our parents were asleep, so in a lighter voice, the second time she asked, “Sunyau timle?” The Gen-Z group had given an ultimatum to make Sushila Karki the interim PM; if not, they warned, a protest would start again. I recounted the events that had happened today and thought perhaps this was the only way to ensure that the protest would be successful. This morning I felt a bit sluggish, perhaps because I woke up later than I usually do (I usually wake up at 6-7 a.m., but today I woke up at 8). My father didn’t miss the chance and joked that I had woken u...

  Dust Settles - BottleButea Sept 10, 2025  The smoke still choked Kathmandu, yet there was a calm. Whether it was a calm to stay or the calm before the storm will be known in the days to come. But for now, there was relative peace in Kathmandu. Dusk has started to settle, and the facts of yesterday are becoming clear. If someone asked me, “Good news first or bad news?” I would pick the bad news first, because I believe the good news helps soften the impact of the bad news I hear first. As such, I will begin with the bad events that took place today. Due to yesterday’s chaos, almost 13,000 criminals escaped confinement. Some of them were armed, with guns stolen from yesterday's protest. Additionally, the death toll had now risen to 30, and thousands were reported injured from the protest. The unorganized mass remained organized; even when the army asked for representatives from the group,there seemed to be no clear leaders.  The absence of a clear representative and orga...

  The 48 Hour Revolt of Nepal - BottleButea  September 9, 20205  The first Jana Andolan was against the Ranas. The second was against the Kings. This time, it is against corruption. The protest, championed by youths and the new generation, was certain to have momentum. The violent killings yesterday became the perfect spice for a new uprising. The struggle did indeed succeed, the government collapsed. The PM resigned and, as per the chants heard in the street “ KP chor, desh chod ” ( KP thief, leave the country ) he is suspected to have fled Nepal.  The joy of the collapse was short-lived. The sky that should have been filled with new hopes and expectations, was filled with smoke and ashes from the burnt buildings. The people, desperate to be free from the government, now sought a structural figure, some authority. Reports kept surfacing about violence everywhere. The state was quickly slipping into anarchy, and the people wanted reassurance that stability woul...

 Asian Monsoon and the storm in Nepal -BottleButea Sept 8, 2025 What has happened today was worse than I had imagined. A huge protest did indeed take place. The government’s action after that quickly turned violent, to a degree which I can’t even believe is real. Right now (10:13 pm), news channels claim 19+ deaths have occurred throughout the country, the number being greater than )what was claimed by some) Mass movement 2, in which 19 people died over 19 days and led to the end of monarchy in Nepal. The scenes displayed and shared in social media were highly gore-y, with scene of even a child dying. The events taking place look straight out of a page from a dystopian future. I am unable to distinguish what is true, false, or propaganda from the huge amount of news that keeps flowing in. People have alleged police entering and harassing people inside hospitals, using real bullets, searching for people inside their homes, and giving people rape threats. Some friends have verified t...