Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Sidhhi Thumka

Sidhhi Thumka
Siddhi Thumka is in Ilam district of the Eastern Development Region. It lies at an elevation of 1800 meters, west of Ilam Bazaar. Sidhi Thumka is ideal for a short trek and for panoramic views of the mountains and plains wrought in the colors of sunset and sunrise. It is a 4-hour trek to reach Sidhi Thumka from Ilam Bazaar. It can also be reached by road from Ilam Bazaar.

The available facilities are earthen road, trails and camping grounds. The possible tourism products and services that entrepreneurs can add or develop are standard lodging facility, rock climbing, paragliding, skiing, local guide services, souvenir shops, hygienic/standard tea stalls and mountain biking (NTB, 2001).

Monday, December 5, 2011

Gajur Mukhi


 Gajur Mukhi
Gajur Mukhi is another tourist destination in Ilam district. The major attraction of the area is a cave with carved images of gods and goddesses. The cave is about 20 feet long and 10 feet high (Bhandari, 1997). On the full moon day of Kartik, special worship is performed.

The place can be reached by road up to Ghuseni from Ilam Bazaar via Gagre Bhanjyang. A seasonal bus service operates along this road. Gajur Mukhi lies on the banks of Deunmai Khola, west of Ilam Bazaar. Its importance is mostly from a religious perspective. The site is a four-hour trek from Ilam Bazaar and enhancing the trekking route from Ilam Bazaar to Gajur Mukhi could add to the attraction of the area.


Recently some tourism facilities have been developed in the area, including seasonal bus service, trails for trekking and comfortable accommodation. Cultural and religious attractions, standard tea stalls, local guide services and regular bus services are potential tourism products of the area (NTB, 2001).

Monday, November 14, 2011

Mai Pokhari


Mai Pokhari 
Mai Pokhari is a pristine lake amid natural forest. The pond surrounded by the thick forest of fir, juniper, birch and pine is home to a variety of flora and fauna. Various species of orchids, rhododendron, herbs; rare animals like musk deer, leopard, porcupine, jackal; numerous migratory birds and rare insects, are found in the region. 

The lake is also considered holy as the abode of Goddess Bhagabati. An annual fair is held here every autumn around the month of October or November. Mai Pokhari is about 18 kilometers from Ilam Bazaar which is about 30-minute drive.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Antu Danda-Ilam



Antu Danda is located in the Eastern part of Nepal and is one of the highly potential places for tourism. It is delimited by captivating views with greenery tea plantation. Antu Danda is also the best destination to view the scenic sunrise and sunset.



It is situated at an altitude of 1,677m in Ilam district and is famous for the splendid views of Mt. Everest and Mt. Kanchenjunga that it commands. Another must to be viewed place is the Lepcha museum at Aantu. Illam reflects affluent cultural and social heritages of people living in concord.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Georgian Bhutanese Artist Rocked in Atlanta


Bhutanese Artists of Georgia, an organization established in 2009 by the Bhutanese refugee artists and community volunteers had organized a Bhutanese Artists Live Concert 2011’ on the auspicious occasion of Dashain and Tihar at Clarkston Community Center on October 16, 2011. The chief guest for the event was McKenzie Wren, director of Clarkston Community Center. The event started with the welcome tune comprised of Malshree and Duesi and Bhailo. Then, after the guests were welcomed the show started with paying homage by dedicating the song ‘Sambodhan Timilai’ to the known and unknown Bhutanese people whose lives are gone away from us on the time of struggle and to the people whose lives are taken away by the van accident in Georgia on March, 2011. The song was sung by Sudesh Rai and back vocal by Shiva Mapchan.

The main attraction of the concert was Karna Das, a very prominent singer, composer and songwriter of Nepali Music. He presented his very popular numbers: Thula Thula Mahal Hoina, Purano Dunga, Tyo Premko Balidan, Bhetiyera Chutnu Bhanda in the first half and Anoutho Betha, Sunaiko Sirbandi, Man Manai Man Parai Sake, and Jindagi Ko K Bharosa. Mahesh Thulung, a popular singer from Bhutanese Community sang his famous numbers; Akashaima and Priyasi. Singer Sagar Rai sang Timile Sath Chodi Dida, Pratap Magar sang Halla Chalecha, Shiva Mapchan sang Rituharuma, Kamal Rai sang Himali Nepali, Bhim Magar and Tika Rasaily sang a duet song Luku Luko Lagyo, and Pabitra Gurung sang Laure Daile. The other two guest artists Dhan Gurung , singer of the then Euphoria band back in the refugee camp in Nepal and now from North Carolina presented Wari Jamuna in the track and Ram Dhimal, a new potential singer from Florida sang Premika in track.

There were number of group dances: “ Dashain Dikpaal” by Sanita Thapa Magar, Jiten Rai, Prem Kala Gurung, Diwas Tamang, Rajani Mapchhan, Pratap Magar, Manisha Gurung , Damber Chhetri, Dechhen Gurung , Rajen Rai, Ranjeeta Chhetri , Kiran Subba, Ganga Neopaney, Kishan Thapa, Dibya Rai, Tula Mapchhan, Rajni Mapchhan, Milan Thapa, Poonam Tamang, Kishan Thapa, Bhima Thapa Magar, Roshan Gazmer. Another group dance was “ Humla Jumla gadi maa” by Shristi Mapchhan, Deepika Neopaney, Nisha Gurung, Amisha Chhetri, Nisha Chhetri, Ingsama Subba, Tamanna Gurung, Ashmita Tamang, Rejina Adhikari. There was a dual dance “Haraye maa timro” by Bhima Thapa Magar and Jiten Rai.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Muammar Gaddafi's 'trophy' body on show in Misrata meat store


Bloodied, wearing just a pair of khaki trousers, and dumped on a cheap mattress, Muammar Gaddafi's body has become a gruesome tourist attraction and a macabre symbol of the new Libya's problems.

Hundreds of ordinary Libyans queued up outside a refrigerated meat store in Misrata, where the dead dictator was being stored as a trophy. A guard allowed small groups into the room to celebrate next to Gaddafi's body. They posed for photos, flashing victory signs, and burst into jubilant cries of "God is great."

Wounds on Gaddafi's body appeared to confirm that he was indeed killed in cold blood in the chaotic minutes following his capture on Thursday. He was found in the town of Sirte, hiding in a drainage pipe. There was a close-range bullet wound on the left side of his head. Blood stains showed another bullet wound to his thorax. His body, subsequently driven to Misrata and publicly paraded, was barefoot and stripped to the waist.

This display came amid a row inside the Transitional National Council (NTC) over what to do with Gaddafi's body. Libya's interim prime minister, Mahmoud Jibril, arrived in Misrata to talk with local NTC representatives. They have made it abundantly clear they do not want Gaddafi to be buried in their town. The NTC leadership in Tripoli wants a solution quickly. One popular option is to bury him at sea, as Osama bin Laden was.

The dispute threatens to overshadow NTC plans to declare a formal end to Libya's nine-month uprising . The council will announce from Benghazi, where the Libyan revolution began in February, that the project of national liberation is now complete. It will say a new, democratic post-Gaddafi era has begun.

Among ordinary Libyans, there were few regrets about the bloody and preemptive manner of Gaddafi's demise. Most worshippers at Friday prayers in the capital's Martyrs Square said they were pleased Gaddafi had been killed. But one young woman said: "Some people do care about the rule of law and don't think it's right that he should have been assassinated."

The NTC faces questions from international rights organisations. On Thursday, Jibril claimed that Gaddafi had been killed from a bullet to the head received in crossfire between rebel fighters and his supporters. He was dragged alive on to a truck, but died "when the car was moving", Jibril said, citing forensic reports.

Gruesome mobile phone footage obtained by the Global Post undermines this account. It records the minutes after Gaddafi's capture, when his convoy came under Nato and rebel attack. He is dragged out of a tunnel where he had been hiding. Blood is already pouring out of a wound on the left side of his head.

A group of fighters then frogmarch him towards a pick-up truck. There are shouts of "God is great" and the rattle of gunfire. At one point Gaddafi keels over; a fighter kicks him and scuffs dirt over his bloodstained clothing. The rebels prop Gaddafi back on his feet and propel him onwards.

Gaddafi is clearly dazed and wounded – but is alive, conscious, and pleading feebly with his captors. Fighters at the scene said that he was injured in the shoulder and leg when he was found. Fresh blood is also flowing from a head injury.

The evidence has prompted Amnesty International to call on the NTC to investigate. It said that if Gaddafi were deliberately killed, this would be a war crime. The NTC's position is that it will support an investigation because the new Libya is a law-abiding country, but officials seemed sceptical that it was necessary. "Even if he was killed intentionally, I think he deserves this," Mohammed Sayeh, a senior official, told the BBC. "If they kill him 1,000 times, I think it will not pay back the Libyans what he has done."

Amnesty also called for an investigation into the unexplained, violent death of Gaddafi's son Mutassim. Video footage that surfaced shows him calmly smoking a cigarette after his capture. Soon afterwards, someone appears to have shot him. His body is now on show in another freezer unit in Misrata.

In a televised interview, Gaddafi's cousin and former bodyguard claimed it was Mutassim, and not the dictator himself, who had been co-ordinating the loyalist resistance inside Sirte. Mansour Dao, who was captured with Gaddafi, also cast doubt on the account of Nato air strikes against the dictator's convoy. Instead, he said Gaddafi's convoy had received "heavy, heavy gunfire" from pursuing rebels. "They had us circled," he said.

Gaddafi's cousin added that their convoy was not escaping from Sirte, as has been reported, but was heading for the village where Gaddafi was born in the nearby Jarif valley. "Gaddafi did not run away, and he did not want to escape," Dao said. "We left the area [we were staying] towards Jarif, where he comes from. The rebels surrounded all the neighbourhood.

"They launched heavy raids on us which led to the destruction of the cars and the death of many individuals who were with us. After that, we came out of the cars and split into several groups and we walked on foot, and I was with Gaddafi's group that includes Abu Bakr Yunis and his sons and several volunteers and soldiers. I do not know what happened in the final moments, because I was unconscious after I was hit on my back."

One of the rebels who apparently captured Gaddafi told how his brigade had been on its way to support the Tiger Brigade when they spotted a group of "around 15" Gaddafi loyalists, some running right and left. They arrested them. "At that time, we were standing on top of the hole where Gaddafi was hiding," he said.

The unnamed rebel added: "We saw another two people hiding and fired on them ... Our colleague went down and he killed two of them ... Later on, we went to the other side and four or five ran out from under the road. And they surrendered themselves and they told us Gaddafi is hiding inside and is injured.

"When we entered the hole, I saw his bushy head, and I captured him immediately. Then all the fighters came and surrounded him."

The fighters retrieved Gaddafi's golden handgun, together with a second gun and a Thuraya phone.

Nato's role in Gaddafi's death remains controversial. French warplanes and a US Predator drone were involved in the attack on the dictator's convoy.

Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, criticised the bombardment. The Kremlin has long complained that it was tricked into not vetoing the security council resolution allowing Nato to enforce a no-fly zone. Lavrov said: "There is no link between a no-fly zone and ground targets, including this convoy. Even more so since civilian life was not in danger because it [the convoy] was not attacking anyone."

The fate of Gadhafi's one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam, meanwhile, was unclear. Justice minister Mohammed al-Alagi said al-Islam was wounded and being held in a hospital in the city of Zlitan. But information minister Mahmoud Shammam on Friday that the son's whereabouts were uncertain.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Virginity: A virtue or a curse?



Mansi, a 24-year-old girl on the verge of matrimony is facing a commotion of mixed thoughts. Her nupital excitement is climaxing at two levels. On one hand, while she's awaiting stepping into a realm of new relations, on the other, her 'virginity-status' is adding to her pre wedding jitters.

Mansi is getting sleepless nights wondering what if her better half comes to know that she's not a virgin? Will he accept her if she dares to bare the truth? Can she hide it, if she tries? These questions popping into her mind prior to D-Night is adding to her nervous anxiety. However, she's not alone as there are many women on the verge of tying the knot who face the same dilemmas.


 So, is losing one's virginity before marriage still a big deal? Let's explore...

Kalpana Sharma, a Delhi based journalist, heralds the importance of open ended communication, adding that her conjugal relationship only improved after she and her partner chose to candidly share sagas of their steamy pasts with one other. "My guy wasn't a virgin and he revealed this in our first few days of courtship. This gave me the courage to share my own experiences with him and he was equally cool with it. I think as long as the past doesn't affect your present, it's cool."

For Rahul Rastogi, a 26- year-old, chartered accountant, revealing one's sexual past is an individual's personal prerogative, which should be respected. "If I were to discover on my first night that my partner is not a virgin, I would take it well, as at least one of us is more experienced," he reveals. Ujjwal Sharma, finds the answer in the changing social trends, when he says, "In today's age, I don't expect my partner to be a virgin as it has become a trend to lose one's virginity even without love."

Discarding one's past and cooking up a yummy future is the new relationship mantra amongst newly weds. New age lovers are matured enough to let the bygones be bygones and not allow their past baggage to ruin their future. "When one embarks upon a new journey with their partner, all that should matter is the present and the future," says Arshi Uppal, a PR executive, based in Delhi. "It matters only if you are one. I won't leave my wife for her past, but will definitely make sure she stays loyal with me for the rest of her life," believes Lokesh Verma, a Delhi based tattoo artist.

The temptation to take the plunge becomes tough to resist, in a day and age when sex comes naturally in relationships of the heart. And modern day go-getters have no qualms in accepting that their partners may have gone the whole way in their past affairs. But, despite some broad minded couples, there are still those who relate virginity to morality. For them the bond of the unbroken hymen still scores over the bond of love and commitment. But what if you marry one of these?

 Don't fret! Now, while we're are not talking about a technical 'hymen reconstruction' or innovative ways of faking virginity, rather we are doling out some fun formulas.

Maoists take SSB to task for 'intrusion'


KATHMANDU, OCT 20 -  
A day before Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai's visit to New Delhi, the UCPN (Maoist) on Wednesday called for a total cessation of the 'cavalier attitude' of Indian border security force along Nepal-India border. 
Such a statement comes amid media reports that Seema Suraksha Bal (SSB) personnel deployed on the border have been disgracing Nepali nationals. 
Taking exception to the 'intrusion' of SSB men on a settlement at Bhujela of Kanchanpur district and demolition of three houses, the Maoist party said that it has taken the incident as the interference into Nepal's national integrity, independence and sovereignty, and the breach of international law. The ruling party also said that it was the gross violation of people's rights to live peaceably. 
Issuing a press release, Maoist Spokesman Dinanath Sharma said the incident on the eve of PM Bhattarai's India visit that aims to improve bilateral relations, was unfortunate.  ”We urged the Indian government to prevent such activities,” the release stated. 

Eiffel-Tower :Tallest building in paris


The Eiffel Tower is an iron tower built on the Champ de Mars beside the Seine River in Paris. The tower has become a global icon of France and is one of the most recognizable structures in the world.


Named after its designer, engineer Gustave Eiffel, the Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. More than 200,000,000 have visited the tower since its construction in 1889, including 6,719,200 in 2006, making it the most visited paid monument in the world. Including the 24 m (79 ft) antenna, the structure is 325 m (1,063 ft) high (since 2000), which is equivalent to about 81 levels in a conventional building.


When the tower was completed in 1889 it was the world's tallest tower — a title it retained until 1930 when New York City's Chrysler Building (319m —1,047 ft tall) was completed. The tower is now the fifth-tallest structure in France and the tallest structure in Paris, with the second-tallest being the Tour Montparnasse (210 m — 689 ft), although that will soon be surpassed by Tour AXA (225.11 m — 738.36 ft).


The metal structure of the Eiffel Tower weighs 7,300 tonnes while the entire structure including non-metal components is approximately 10,000 tonnes. Depending on the ambient temperature, the top of the tower may shift away from the sun by up to 18 cm (7 in) because of thermal expansion of the metal on the side facing the sun. The tower also sways 6–7 cm (2–3 in) in the wind.


As demonstration of the economy of design, if the 7300 tonnes of the metal structure were melted down it would fill the 125 meter square base to a depth of only 6 cm (2.36 in), assuming a density of the metal to be 7.8 tonnes per cubic meter. The tower has a mass less than the mass of the air contained in a cylinder of the same dimensions, that is 324 meters high and 88.3 meters in radius. The weight of the tower is 10,100 tonnes compared to 10,265 tonnes of air.


The first and second levels are accessible by stairways and lifts. A ticket booth at the south tower base sells tickets to access the stairs which begin at that location. At the first platform the stairs continue up from the east tower and the third level summit is only accessible by lift. From the first or second platform the stairs are open for anyone to ascend or descend regardless of whether they have purchased a lift ticket or stair ticket.


The actual count of stairs includes 9 steps to the ticket booth at the base, 328 steps to the first level, 340 steps to the second level and 18 steps to the lift platform on the second level. When exiting the lift at the third level there are 15 more steps to ascend to the upper observation platform. The step count is printed periodically on the side of the stairs to give an indication of progress of ascent. The majority of the ascent allows for an unhindered view of the area directly beneath and around the tower although some short stretches of the stairway are enclosed.


Maintenance of the tower includes applying 50 to 60 tonnes of paint every seven years to protect it from rust. In order to maintain a uniform appearance to an observer on the ground, three separate colors of paint are used on the tower, with the darkest on the bottom and the lightest at the top. On occasion the colour of the paint is changed; the tower is currently painted a shade of brownish-grey.


On the first floor there are interactive consoles hosting a poll for the colour to use for a future session of painting. The co-architects of the Eiffel Tower are Emile Nouguier, Maurice Koechlin and Stephen Sauvestre.via