CMYK

THE HIMALAYAN TIMES, SUNDAY, JUNE 16, 2019 www.thehimalayantimes.com PAGE 9

ART & CULTURE

WORDS
WORTH
POWERFUL READS
1. Brain Power: Unleash the Power of Your Brain by
Michael J Gelb and Kelly Howell, paperback, published by Brain Power
Jaico Books, pp 230, Rs 560
2. Flowers on the Path by Sadhguru, paperback, published by V irtually everyone fears
mental deterioration as
Penguin Books, pp 186, Rs 240
3. Saving Capitalism by Robert Reich, paperback, published
they age. But in the past 30
years, neuroscientists have
discovered the brain is de-
by Icon Books, pp 279, Rs 638 signed to improve through-
4. The Third Pillar by Raghuram G Rajan, hardbound, out life. How can one en-
published by Harper Collins, pp 434, Rs 1,278 courage this improvement?
Brain Power shares practi-
5. Tiffin: Memories and Recipes of Indian Vegetarian Food cal, state-of-the-evidence
by Rukmini Srinivas, paperback, published by Rupa, pp answers in this plan for ac-
344, Rs 952 tion. The authors have in-
terviewed physicians, ger-
ontologists, and neurosci-
EKTA BOOKS entists; studied the habits of
men and women who epit-
Ekta Books, Thapathali, Kathmandu, 4245787, 4230729;
omise healthy ageing; and
Ekta Educational Palace, Manbhawan, Lalitpur, 5533862 applied what they describe
Ekta Books Pvt Ltd, Lamachaur, Pokhara, 061-440409 in their own lives. The re-
ektabook@mos.com.np sulting guidance can help
the readers activate unused
brain areas, tone mental
muscles, and enliven every
Flowers ... Path
T his series is a bouquet.
It comprises articles cre-
ated by Sadhguru. These ar-
ticles have, for many years,
brought daily infusions of
beauty, humour, clarity, and
wisdom into lives abraded
by mayhem and monotony.
In pages devoted to the
changing weather of the
stock market and interna-
tional affairs, these articles
have brought readers mo-
ments of unexpected in-
sight and stillness. Sadhgu-
ru’s original thoughts, out-
spoken comments, and ref-
erences to current affairs
have invariably added vital-
ity and colour to a debate.
Whether the subject covers
social issues and worldly af-
fairs, individual challenges,
Saving
Capitalism
L eading political econo-
mist and bestselling au-
thor Robert B Reich pre-
sents a paradigm-shifting,
clear-eyed examination of a
political and economic sta-
tus quo that no longer
serves the people, exposing
one of the most pernicious
obstructions to progress to-
day: the myth of the “free
market” when, behind the
curtain, it is the powerful al-
liances between Washing-
ton and Wall Street that con-
trol the invisible hand. Lay-
ing to rest the specious di-
chotomy between a free
market and “big govern-
ment”, Reich shows the truly
critical choice ahead is be-
The Third Pillar
I n this book, the author of-
fers up a magnificent big-
picture framework for un-
derstanding how the three
forces — the state, markets,
and our communities — in-
teract, why things begin to
break down, and how we
can find our way back to a
more secure and stable
plane. He offers a way to re-
think the relationship be-
tween the market and civil
society and argues for a re-
turn to strengthening and
empowering local commu-
nities as an antidote to
growing despair and unrest.
He urges economists to rec-
ognise a blind spot when
concentrating too much on
the perceived efficacy of the
markets and the state, to go
Tiffin
I n this delightful memoir-
cum-cookbook, Rukka
shares the memories and
recipes of delectable food
she has cooked and eaten
over decades. Having trav-
elled from Poona, Madras,
and Delhi to Berkeley, Stan-
ford and Boston she real-
ised, at a young age, the in-
dispensability of authentic
home-cooked food. Like the
traditional metal tiffin box,
which has found its way
into modern food, Rukka’s
pure-vegetarian recipes are
an interesting amalgama-
tion of old-school cooking
techniques, with innovative
twists. Including charming
anecdotes and over a hun-
dred easy-to-follow recipes
accompanied by evocative

Guthis should faculty. Gelb encourages us

to follow some very simple
but profound steps in im-
proving our minds.
or dimensions of beyond,
Sadhguru’s ability to delve
to the root and look at life in
all its totality is evident.
tween a market organised
for broad-based prosperity
and one designed to deliver
ever more gains to the top.
beyond protecting the vul-
nerable. It is a must-read for
those seeking a way to pre-
serve democracy.
photographs, Tiffin is a
richly satisfying feast for all
those who believe in food,
family, and friendship.

be given back to to control Guthi lands as well

as community activities, festivals
and management of monuments
and break the community

communities power base.

Cultural diversity can only be
guaranteed by communities
protecting and promoting their
culture at local level with minimum
intervention from the centre
Kai Weise
Kathmandu
The new Constitution of Nepal
promulgated on September 20,
2015 Article 32 (3) states, “Every
Nepalese community residing in
Nepal shall have the right to pre-
serve and promote its language,
script, culture, cultural civilisa-
tion and heritage.” Furthermore
the federal system that should
promote decentralisation lists
“protection and development of
languages, cultures and fine arts”
under the List of Local Level Pow-
er (Schedule-8 Number 22). I
would like to raise a point for dis-
vided the means of a close-knit cussion: Is setting up a govern-
community to ensure continui- ment authority to control cultur-
ty of their customs and practic- al activities of communities con-

G
uthis were estab-
lished already dur-
ing the Licchavi Pe-
riod in the first mil-
lennium CE as a
sustainable means of safe-
guarding tangible and intangi-
ble cultural heritage. This was
further developed particularly
by the local communities within
the Kathmandu Valley, however
similar systems can also be
found elsewhere in the country.
These networks of community
members were given socio-reli-
gious responsibilities and were
provided the necessary resourc-
es often through donated land.
This ingenious system pro-
es, their festivals as well as the
maintenance and restorations
of their monuments. That the
living cultural heritage particu-
larly of the Kathmandu Valley
still exists can be largely attrib-
uted to the Guthis. This defines
particularly the Newari com-
munities, providing them with a
unifying identity as well as po-
litical confidence.
Over the centuries people en-
tered the Valley and integrated
into this system. It is astonish-
ing how the community was
created through an amalgama-
tion of people from diverse ori-
gins with varying belief systems.
This however was challenged
HERITAGE MUSINGS
when in the late 18th Century, af-
ter many decades of strategising,
Prithvi Narayan Shah managed
to conquer the Valley. Over the
following centuries, the new rul-
ers went on to unite what is today
the sovereign state of Nepal. This
also required the communities to
accept this new political identity,
that of being Nepali. The com-
munity structures were slowly
dismantled such as the Kipat sys-
tem of the Kirats in eastern Ne-
pal. Breaking up the Guthis was
however much more difficult.
According to an unpublished
UNESCO document prepared by
Prof Dilli Raj Sharma and Prof Tek
Bahadur Shrestha, during the
Licchavi period the local bodies
responsible for conservation
were called panchali, while dur-
ing the Malla period the term
samuchhaya was frequently
used. The Guthi system as such
was formalised and divided into
different categories and a central
government office responsible
for conservation was established
during the Shah period. A com-
mittee named Guthi Janch
Kachahari was formed to look af-
ter all Guthi in the Newar com-
munity. This was replaced by the
Guthi Bandobasta Adda estab-
lished by prime minister Jung Ba-
hadur Rana. This was the precur-
sor to the Guthi Sansthan estab-
lished by king Mahendra in 1964.
The Guthi Sansthan was estab-
lished as a continuation of previ-
ous governments in targeting
Courtesy: Kai Weise
community lands as well as part
of king Mahendra’s grand con-
cept for the unification of Nepal.
After dissolving the democrati-
cally elected parliament in 1960,
he modified the census to ensure
that no community could be seen
as being large enough in number
to consider having any political
say. He pushed for unity through
symbols such as the flag, dress,
national anthem as well as the di-
vine Hindu monarchy. The
Guthi Sansthan was established
stitutionally acceptable?
The governance of cultural
heritage at the central level
should ensure cultural rights
within the limitations of human
rights. Cultural diversity can only
be guaranteed by communities
protecting and promoting their
culture at local level with mini-
mum intervention from the cen-
tre. National identity cannot be
coerced through strict laws, rath-
er by enabling freedom of expres-
sion and safeguarding communi-
ty identities. Guthis should be
given back to the communities.
(The author is an architect.
He can be reached at
kai.weise@yahoo.com)

i.pinimg.com

Kahlo’s
Alejandra Frausto.
Kahlo, who spent long periods bed-rid-
den after a traffic accident in her youth,
was the creator of some 200 paintings,
sketches and drawings — mainly self-por-
traits — in which she transformed her

LOST VOICE misfortune into works of bold colour and

emblematic strength.
She attained international fame after
her death in 1954, and after the 1970s rose
as a feminist icon.

discovered? Pavel Granados, director of the Fonote-

ca, the national music library, said the au-
dio was recovered in January from a pilot
program by well-known Mexican radio
host Alvaro Galvez y Fuentes, dating to

M
EXICO CITY: Few Mexican
icons have enjoyed greater recog-
nition than the painter, Frida
Kahlo. Only her voice seemed doomed
to oblivion.
Until June 12, that is, when the National
Music Library of Mexico released a radio
recording, apparently capturing the artist
as she was reciting fragments of Portrait of
Diego, a text she wrote in 1949 about her
husband, the painter Diego Rivera.
The Mexican government announced
the discovery with caution, saying that
studies suggest the recording is the voice
of Kahlo, but acknowledging they were not
able to confirm it.
“It’s a finding that has many elements
that can be identified as the probable
voice of Frida Kahlo, but it isn’t 100 per
cent certain,” said Secretary of Culture
1953 or 1954, shortly before the painter
died at the age of 47 after suffering gan-
grene and depression.
In the audio, less than two minutes long,
a youthful, piercingly clear voice, brim-
ming with energy, says of Rivera, “he is a
big boy, immense, with a friendly face and
a sad gaze. His bulging, dark, very intelli-
gent and large eyes are difficult to contain,
almost out of their sockets because of
swollen eyelids protruding like a frog.”
Granados said he shared the recording
with people familiar with the Mexican
artist and that the results were mixed.
Some identified it as Kahlo’s voice but oth-
ers were doubtful.
Investigations will continue, Granados
said. “Frida’s voice has been a great enig-
ma...(It has been) a constant search since
the Fonoteca started.” — Reuters