Navin Shakya

lifestyle

  • Our phones are not just phones

    Many international news stories quietly slip past us, but every now and then one makes you pause. Recently, it came out that the British prime minister used a burner phone during an official visit to Beijing. His team reportedly avoided personal phones altogether, relying instead on temporary email accounts, notepads, and pens. What’s more surprising More on this

  • I think we’re rational

    People say our weather is too comfortable, so we don’t innovate. Fine, maybe gentle climate means we don’t have to fight blizzards or deserts just to survive. But if weather made people lazy, then Singapore, Italy, Japan, and Australia should be sleeping all day too. And they clearly aren’t. Same people, same DNA, same upbringing More on this

  • Kathmandu and The Twilight Zone

    Watching The Twilight Zone hits differently from Kathmandu. The 1960s America it shows felt futuristic, while Nepal was a valley of quiet towns. Now, decades later, we’re living in that glossy future—and asking the same uneasy question: did progress cost us something essential? More on this

  • Let’s take a deep breath

    The comments section of social media has quietly become one of the most toxic public spaces of our time. As the country prepares for a snap election in March, this toxicity has only intensified. Everyone seems to have found their own political saviour, someone who will miraculously fix everything overnight. Genuine debates based on policies More on this

  • Don’t lose your mental peace

    The place where I live and the place where I work are two of the most populated parts of the city. Naturally, one would assume they are well connected by public transport. I used to believe that too until I decided to test it myself. It had been a long time since I last traveled More on this

  • The animal diplomacy

    Moving them from the lush, humid greenery of Nepal to the extreme, arid heat of the Middle East is a massive biological gamble. Relocation is never just physical. Elephants are deeply communal. Moving them to a new country often means breaking social bonds. More on this

  • About first digital World Cup

    FIFA World Cup has always been a big thing in football-crazy Nepal, but the 2010 edition in South Africa hit different. It wasn’t just about the games, it was the first World Cup where many of us got to use Facebook and Twitter on our phones with that slow, stubborn GPRS. Suddenly, social media wasn’t More on this

  • Trusted brands, broken trusts

    Remember the snacks we grew up loving; cheese balls, noodles, wafers, puffs, toffees, biscuits? Just thinking about them brings back memories of school breaks, pocket-money treats, and tiffin boxes. But try those same snacks today and… something feels off. The taste just isn’t what it used to be. Sure, maybe our taste buds have changed More on this

  • Yomari festival

    In the chilly winter months of the Kathmandu Valley, steam rises from brass pots in traditional Newa homes, carrying the sweet aroma of molasses and rice flour. They are making Yomari (Yamari) a delicacy that is as much a work of art as it is a treat. Shaped like a fish, a teardrop, or the More on this