KATHMANDU - Nepalis are not a tall people, but it appears that the dancing performances in downtown Kathmandu attract the giants. I fought for positions with several of these, trying to get a clear view of the stage a few meters away. The pre-recorded music was inoffensive, a keyboard melody and soft drumming, and so was the dancing. Eight people swayed back and forth, never breaking a sweat or looking at the audience for several minutes.
Hundreds of people, all but a few Nepalis, gathered to watch the traditional dancing of the country. It could have been anywhere in Asia, save for one crucial detail. These dancers wore military fatigues and bright red sash, proclaiming their loyalty to Maoist Party of Nepal.
I don't write enough about Communists here considering this blog is called Mostly Red. The problem is that in Red China, Communism is so infrequently a topic of conversation. But in Nepal it's definitely on the agenda.
Hundreds of people, all but a few Nepalis, gathered to watch the traditional dancing of the country. It could have been anywhere in Asia, save for one crucial detail. These dancers wore military fatigues and bright red sash, proclaiming their loyalty to Maoist Party of Nepal.
I don't write enough about Communists here considering this blog is called Mostly Red. The problem is that in Red China, Communism is so infrequently a topic of conversation. But in Nepal it's definitely on the agenda.
Five years ago, the heir to Nepal's throne got drunk and killed most of the royal family. The throne passed to a cousin, a moody man who ratcheted up the long-simmering insurgency in Nepal's rural region through a series of violent crackdowns. The insurgents are Maoists, who apparently are fighting to form a government based on the political ideas of a man who killed 50 or 60 million of his own people. It's a little strange.
The king suspended Nepal's Parliament in early 2005, declared a State of Emergency and started killing ev en more Maoists. The Maoists responded by blowing up bombs around the Kathmandu Valley, which was supposed to be a safe zone. In response I, along with thousands of other tourists decided not to visit. For a country heavily dependent on tourist revenue this was a serious problem. The Maoists teamed with other political parties in a general strike, which convinced the king to restore parliament's power last year. A provisional government now is in power, and elections are scheduled for a few months.
(That's where I'll have to leave it for today, as I'm typing on a co mputer wi th a run away s pace bar. The perils of filing from the fi eld.)
