Rakshya Khadka

The contributor for Republica.
news@myrepublica.com

Anime brought to life

Published On: February 22, 2019 09:30 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of compilation videos of dishes and feasts featured on anime on YouTube. Such compilations rack up millions of views and how could they not? Did you never wish to jump into the screen when Sophie (from Howl’s Moving Castle) was searing bacon, tossing in plump sausages when making that magnificent breakfast? Or find yourself with a grumbling stomach before the One Piece feast?

Endeavors of compassion

Published On: February 15, 2019 10:37 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Prativa Khadka celebrated this year’s Valentine’s Day with the kids of Shree Pragatishil High School in Nuwakot. She didn’t bring them chocolates or roses but got them school bags instead. And, for them, that was the best gift of all. Most of these children came from very low-income groups and were discriminated for belonging to working-class families. They had a single set of clothes to wear to school and tatters for school bags. Prativa learnt of their misfortunes and reached out to the school to offer help.

A charming place with delectable dishes

Published On: February 8, 2019 12:02 PM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Think of the color yellow. Yellow has forever been associated with all things bright and cheerful. And that is exactly what Laxman Thapa envisions his Yellow Coffee and Food to become through its food – the bearer of all things happy.

The toy story

Published On: February 8, 2019 10:32 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

The mighty Hulk clad in daura suruwal and resting against a bottle of local Nepali raksi (alcohol) makes for quite an image. Or the glamorous Barbie rocking her blonde hair in Hakupatasi (traditional Newari garment). But as removed from one another as they sound, a touch of creativity and a little planning really bring these images to life. And Sunny Shakya is the creative genius behind it.

No hurdle too big, no feat too small

Published On: February 8, 2019 08:58 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Born with primordial dwarfism, life has never been easy for Gita Bhusal. From being scorned back in her village and called a burden to her family to being gawked at on a daily basis, she is determined to fight the odds to be able to live a life of dignity so that she isn’t limited or defined by her disability. She has passed her SEE and as she runs a stall selling handicrafts on the footpaths leading to New Road she dreams of a better future.

A great dining experience

Published On: February 1, 2019 11:37 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Thamel is home to some of the finest restaurants in Nepal. There are a lot of eateries that serve different varieties of dishes and leaving a mark behind in this grand plethora of delicacies is difficult to say the least. And then you have Melrose Restaurant and Bar. Opened in September 2018, Melrose has racked up quite the reviews and accolades from diners.

Changing lives

Published On: February 1, 2019 08:01 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

24 children from ages five to 10 come to Child Education Service Center in Dhungedhara every morning at 10. For the past 12 years, Child Education Services has been dedicated to providing childcare and basic education to children belonging to families with limited financial means. Here the children of laborers, house helps, road cleaners, sand sifters, and many single parents study and play together free of cost.

Clothes of compassion

Published On: February 1, 2019 02:33 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

What began as a simple act of charity soon gained traction and inspired similar movements in various countries around the world. Such walls have been set up in Bangalore (by name of ‘Karunya gode’), China, India, Kashmir and others.

Chit chats gone too long

Published On: January 25, 2019 10:17 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

When I walk to the nearest grocery store to buy just the one lemon that was lacking for my mother’s pickle dish I’d rather just make the two-minute journey uninterrupted. All I’m hoping for is to walk a few steps, speak a few sentences to the shopkeeper lady asking for the lemon, pay her the only crisp 10 rupee note I brought (and thus emptying my pocket) and make the return trip, retracing my own steps with the lemon. A few minutes devoted to being a good daughter. Everyone’s jolly and happy.

Friends over drinks

Published On: January 25, 2019 09:59 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

You know those phrases you come up with, with your friends in the long hours of listless talks, and it just sticks with you. Before you know you’re throwing them in pictures, yelling them out it group shots and naming your little coup just that. Well, that is just the story with Booze Belly. For Rushant Timalsina and his friends it was a fun word thrown around in jest, one they used as a hashtag in their posts.

The undeterred traveler

Published On: January 18, 2019 09:30 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

We all have our own unique reasons for traveling. Many travel because they need to, some travel by choice and some simply because they cherish it. Karan Rai travels because he wants to explore new places and experience new things. Always an outdoorsy person he loved to be out in the open. He loved the feel of fresh air on his face, to gaze at the open skies and revel in the beauty that came with the sun changing color during different times of the day.

Jack of many trades, master of music

Published On: January 18, 2019 08:10 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Prasanna Adhikari never knew how to do just one thing. His father, Pratap Adhikari, both a sportsman and a musician, raised him up to be just like him.

The sandpits of story tropes

Published On: January 18, 2019 07:50 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

When I pick up a book to read I do so with certain anticipations. I’m not seeking for a life-altering read that will inspire me to shave off my hair and venture into the wilderness in search of Nirvana all Christopher McCandless style (except for a few times when I go all nihilistic on life, we all have our days)

Food, family, and four decades

Published On: January 11, 2019 11:29 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Biku Maya Bajracharya is 71 years old and one happy soul. From the year 1976 she has sold woh (Nepali pancakes) in a small corner tucked away in an alley behind the Nyatapola Temple in Bhaktapur. Amidst the splatter of Bhaktapur’s splendid colors, it sits unassuming and silent. People who have heard of her, make it a point to come to her for wohs once every week.

Overcoming obstacles

Published On: January 11, 2019 09:47 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

KATHMANDU, Jan 11: 16-year-old Sushmita Limbu aspires to be a professional thangka painter. She lives in Bungamati and is one of the 60 children residing at the Disabled Services Association Nepal (DSA). Sushmita was born without the ability to speak or hear and was raised by her father until five years of age, with her mother having eloped when Sushmita was still an infant. Her father made do by sifting sand from the riverbeds, often with her cradled on his back. Daya Ram Maharjan, the founder of Disabled Services Association, heard of their predicament and offered to take Sushmita in.

In the wilderness

Published On: January 11, 2019 09:34 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Bijayabar Pradhan grew up in Thamel. And that meant he was more outdoors than indoors. Add to that the innate adventurer in him, Pradhan was never meant for the confines of walls. Along with his preference for the outdoors, Pradhan also had a knack for photography. He simply loved taking pictures. “I’m the first to admit that I don’t have a good memory. I tend to forget a lot of things and taking photos is my way of immortalizing moments,” he says.

A brand with a conscience

Published On: January 4, 2019 09:45 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

Nepali fabrics aren’t just a cultural representation of our diverse ethnicity but they are also reliable and durable than most fabrics in general. In the last decade or so, Nepali producers have largely ignored these wonderful materials but in the recent years various new companies have shown a renewed interest in them. One of these companies is Dochaa Nepal.

Dying embers

Published On: January 4, 2019 09:25 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

For the first time, the roads to Malekhu and all ways west held no allure for me. December, I learnt, isn’t the best time to travel if the sun shining bright and lush green trees were what you are hoping to see. I was reminded of the post apocalyptic scenes in the dystopian movies I’d seen as we made our way further west – dust billowing (as in interstellar level), the leaves withered and enveloped in a thick layer of said dust, and the sun over your head, scorching hot. Whoever said that you don’t come to Nepal for a desert experience, come here in the winters.

Fighting for a sense of belonging

Published On: January 4, 2019 08:38 AM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

A simple Google search on the most LGBTQ+ friendly countries in Asia lists Nepal among the top ten. And it shows Nepal as a country that has had a committee established on the orders of the Supreme Court to draft gender inclusive laws a decade before the LGBTQ+ movement gained any traction worldwide. Same sex marriage, as many online articles state, is legal in Nepal and that it’s the first South Asian country to decriminalize same sex activities. Tourist guides too paint a similar picture. Trekking Team Group is a tour operator in Nepal that not only organizes tour packages for the other sex but employs them too.

Living the organic life

Published On: December 28, 2018 12:00 PM NPT By: Rakshya Khadka

KATHMANDU, Dec 27: With increasing awareness about the environment and the unethical production processes behind most durable and nondurable goods, people have become more conscious about their life choices. That has brought about a wave of people opting to be vegetarians or even going vegan. And that’s a really good thing, states Jenima Sapkota or Jenny as she prefers to be called.