Mero Dhangadhi

i wonder what the core of the riots in nepal actually is? like the whole tharu thing?

I don’t know if it’s the Tharus specifically that are causing the riots. Their concern for equality is absolutely valid, but I feel like the politicians and some other groups are taking advantage of this situation and stealing their name to wreak havoc. I don’t think the people who are actually suffering are getting any justice out of it. I feel like a lot of corrupt politicians are using this cause to further their agenda, whatever that might be. It’s belittling the original movement. The situation is absolutely insane. A month or so ago, a group of rioters chased down and murdered some police officers. To make it worse, they also murdered one of the officer’s two year old toddler. A little baby! There have been tons of other news about various incidents of violence. The whole blockade of the border by India is still going on and there have been no oil and gas imported into Nepal (Schools + Businesses are closed in Ktm last time I spoke to family there).

I think they wanted more representation in the parliament or something. They felt like they were being treated unjustly by other ethnic groups. Some of the issues were fixed in the new constitution but a lot of people are still not happy with it. And India is backing the rioters as India usually cannot stay in their own lane and loves sticking their noses in other South Asian country’s internal issues. This is what I got from it, I might be wrong or misinformed, so feel free to correct me. 

Wondering if u've noticed disparity b/w Mongolian vs Aryan nepalis. Is feel a rift b/w 2 groups, Idk how to say it in words. I just want to ask if you feel the same way or am I crazy? Are there hidden issues b/w the 2 that are not talked about?

Honestly this is something new for me as well, and I hadn’t noticed it before this whole Madhesi protest that’s been going on for quite some time now in Nepal. I don’t know if it was a thing in the past as well and I just never realized it. Which is very possible because I’m a 6th+ gen Kathmandu-ian (Kathmandu-ite?) and don’t have family who lived in other parts of the country, so even if it was a big issue outside I wouldn’t really hear about it. There are many inter-caste and inter-racial marriages in my family. We have friends and relatives of different ethnicities and everyone got along, and being from Kathmandu, we are often times very oblivious to issues in other parts of the country unless it somehow affects us. And on top of that I haven’t lived in Nepal for about a decade or so now, and I was a child when I did live there. So maybe it has been like this all along but I just never noticed it/it’s hadn’t gotten much attention until now? 

I mean I have always been aware of the caste system and the disparity and discrimination that people of lower caste face all over Nepal. But it felt like we were moving towards a more tolerant society, a more educated society who understood that the caste system is p much garbage. There might be hidden issues that are not talked about, and these issues might be finally coming to light? I don’t know if the disparity is specifically between people of Mongolian descent vs Aryan descent. Lots of people are angry with lots of other people and I don’t fully understand the issue I think. 

Perhaps we can get a conversation going on here. Feel free to add your comments and opinions. Correct me if I’ve made some mistakes AND Please be respectful! 

do you know where i can learn how to draw authentical nepali paubha/thangka? is there any website or book? thank you!

I have no idea, unfortunately. Usually to learn the authentic material people take classes from a guru, but I understand that isn’t possible for everyone. I couldn’t find any tutorials or books created by Nepalis or Tibetans or Indians. Thangkas and mandalas hold a lot of religious significance so it can be tricky and inaccurate if you’re not learning from an expert/someone who has that cultural experience and knowledge. 

There is this book Tibetan Thangka Painting but I don’t know if it’s any good.

Maybe my followers will be able to help you out!

which nepali words/idioms have tibetan roots? and what about words that come from farsi?

Tibetan words like “Sherpa”, which in the Tibetan language means someone who lives in an Eastern country aka Eastern People. Nepali has influence from Tibeto-Burmese languages so that includes a lot of languages, like Newari, Gurung, Magar etc etc (and I’m not familiar with any of them), however, Nepali has influenced them more than the other way around. So the extent of their influence on Nepali is complicated. This is such a broad and high level topic. So I don’t know exactly what specific words or idioms are derived from Tibetan (which is ONE specific language that’s part of the Tibeto-Burmese family of languages).

If you want to research it and learn more about it, I’m sure there are scholarly articles or books you can look at. Here’s some to start with:

The Indo-Aryan Languages  
Language Contact and Contact Languages
A comparative Dictionary of Indo-Aryan Languages

As for the other part of your question regarding influence from Farsi, here are some words:

-anaar : pomegranate  

-sabzi : greens (veggies)

-shaheed : martyr

-kanoon : law

-adalat : court house

There’s probably more, so you’ll have to do your own research. I was hoping to find some Nepali authors in the book search, but they’re all western. I’m sure there are other books; I’m just not aware of them as it’s not my field of study.