On the way up
The beauty, the cultural strengths, P I and the very many charms of Kathmandu Valley are all givens. Poets, essayists and travel writers have been extremely kind to our "Nepal Valley" over the years, and we felt no need here in the pages of Himal to further gild the lily. In this special issue on the Valley, we have chosen instead to take a long look at how it is run and what challenges it faces. And it is clear, to us, that the cauldron of Kathmandu is reaching boiling point, or is leaking badly. One of the two.
The rich Newar culture of the Valley towns, which all Nepal claims as its own with pride, is in peril. As Nepalis of different ethnic backgrounds move in from hill and Tarai, many Newar and non-Newar well-to-do are engaged in suburban flight. Towards the end of his lead article, Sudarshan Tiwari suggests that incoming migrants should have been able to fit into the existing cultural mould of Bhaktapur, Patan and Kathmandu — but this has not happened.