The Langtang Valley is sublime, to say the least, but what really wins your heart is not its beauty but its spirit.

As more trees and open spaces disappear in the name of urbanisation in the Kathmandu Valley, unwelcome—and unhealthy—changes are expected to arise.

Rapid urbanisation and a lack of prey are pushing leopards towards the cities—and humans.

For those who have limited days at their disposal, the Mardi Himal trek—short but rewarding—is a great choice

Two months after an investigative committee was formed to look into allegations of sexual abuse against three teachers at Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidyalaya, the committee has cleared all three of them, saying it couldn’t find sufficient evidence against them.

“Craft adds colour to our homes, but more than that, it serves functionality,” says Astha Rajbhandari, founder and creative director of Kala Kathmandu. “Most people do not see craft in that light. Functional things are not seen as something that can be aesthetically pleasing.”

Two weeks since an investigative committee was formed to look into the allegations of sexual abuse against three teachers at Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidyalaya, there has been little progress.

Bilal Ahmed Shah loves his leather jackets. For as long as he can remember, he’s been wearing one.

The process of rehabilitation is critical in assisting survivors to move on and recover from the horrors that have been inflicted on them. But, for these survivors, as they try to piece together their lives, how they view reintegration and reality is a different matter altogether.

The Post also obtained a document started by the school’s alumni that collates testimonials from over 40 students, accusing at least four teachers other than Tripathee of various degrees of molestation, abuse and harassment.

Nearly a hundred parents and former students had gathered at the premises of Lalitpur Madhyamik in Lagankhel following the Kathmandu Post’s investigation on how Tripathee had sexually molested children for decades while a teacher at the school.

An investigation by the Post discovered a pattern of abusive behaviour by Bodha Raj ‘Basu’ Tripathee, based on interviews with at least seven female students who recounted molestation by Tripathee in the classroom.

In the warmth of the December sun, little children run around dusty alleys while elderly women, scarlet-shawled and bedecked in heavy brass ornaments, lazily smoke out of wooden chillums. The school is closed for the winter, so the children get to stay home for two months, and the elderly women have little else to do but bask in the sun while it is still warm outside. The water has not frozen yet, so the younger women wash clothes and bathe at the village communal tap. Early in the morning, tendrils of smoke rise from small stone-and-mud houses.

On Saturday morning, protesters demanding justice for Nirmala Pant gathered at Maitighar Mandala amid an air of uncertainty and fear. This was because only a day prior, 12 protesters had been arrested while they were putting up posters that questioned the government’s delay in serving justice to Nirmala.

Madhukar Upadhyay, like many who grew up in the 70s and 80s, recalls swimming in the Bagmati as a child. The waters were pristine then, as translucent as glass, with fish abounding. “My dad’s generation even used Bagmati’s water for drinking, after only a quick decantation process,” he says.