Ex-King Gyanendra Does in Nepal What His Ancestors Never Did

Keeping track of the former king

click to enlarge. pic via kantipur

Almost two years after he was stripped of his crown and became a commoner, Nepal’s deposed king Gyanendra himself has broken a centuries-old taboo by attending a religious fair in a town till now considered out of bounds for the royal family. Escorted by bodyguards and aides, the 62-year-old ousted king drove himself yesterday (Monday) to Panauti, a town 35 km southeast of Kathmandu, to attend the Makar Mela, a Hindu fair held every 12 years. In the past, legend had it that Panauti was a forbidden area for the Shah kings of Nepal since it was the domain of Hindu god Narayan and the kings of Nepal were considered incarnations of the same god. Since Gyanendra’s ancestor Prithvi Narayan Shah annexed Panauti in the 18th century, the legend sprang up and flourished, keeping the royal family away from the town.

An aide to the former king, Sagar Timalsina, told Kantipur daily that Gyanendra Shah visited the fair as a common citizen attending a religious event and not as a king. The former king, unaccompanied by his wife, who looked in a cheerful mood offered support worth Rs 1 Lakh (one hundred thousands) each to the construction of Old Age home and establishment of an educational institution in the area.. With the Panauti taboo broken, it remains to be seen if Gyanendra will now take on the remaining one, observed a Kathmandu-based reporter of an Indian news agency who made several errors while translating the original news report in Kantipur daily. North of Kathmandu lies a colossal statue of Vishnu, another incarnation of Narayan, lying in a bed of serpents on a pool. The Budanilkantha temple is the only one in Nepal that was forbidden to the royal family of Nepal after a legend arose that the king would die if he ever gazed on the 15 feet high statue.

click to enlarge. pic via AP

The ex-king visited Badrinath, Kedarnath, Sita, Mukteshwor, Brahmanayai and other temples in Panauti area and received Tika and blessings from the priests and extended financial (as in dakshina or money given to priests after receiving tika and blessings) support to all of them. The Kantipur reporters mentioned in their reports that event reminded them of what happened in the past when he was the King. (Gyanendra made several trips to different parts of country where many people jostled to welcome him. But many people believed that those crowds were brought together to, usually, district headquarters by the administration. The video footage of the then autocratic King taking flowers from people lined outside used to be broadcast all the time on government TV at that time. Many people joked saying that the king only replied “yes yes” to the complains made by people to him about difficulties they faced.

A lot of ex-royalists and general people out of curiosity had lined up this time on the roadside to get glimpse of the ex-monarch. Some people cheered as king passed by. There was a group of people who sang bhajan to welcome Shah. Some people screamed slogan Raja Aaau Desh Bachau “Come King and Save the Country” The same slogan chanted by staunch royalists. Gyanendra Shah tried to mingle with the people…he sometime shook his head, waived his hand and joined his palms to honor the elders, according to Kantipur. A woman who was standing by the street complained “Hajur…there is no peace in the country.” Gyanendra Shah who stayed in Panauti for one and half hour prior he returned to the capital only said, “I wish there is justice and no one faced difficulties.” [Kantipur, like this blog, fought against the autocracy of then king Gyanendra and do not support monarchy.]

मकर मेलामा पूर्वराजा ज्ञानेन्द्र

खुमानसिं तामाङ, मनोज बस्नेत

पनौती (काभ्रे), माघ २५ – राजाको हैसियत भएको भए उनी १२ वर्षे मकर मेलामा देखिने थिएनन् । नागरिकका रूपमा पूर्वराजा ज्ञानेन्द्र शाहले पहिलोपल्ट सोमबार मकरमेला भरे । राजसंस्था हुँदा उक्त मेलामा राजपरिवार आउन नमिल्ने विश्वास थियो ।

राजपरिवार आए एउटै ढुंगामा रहेको पनौती चर्किने र अनिष्ट हुने जनविश्वास पहिले रहेको इतिहासविद् तुयुकाजी ताम्राकारले बताए । ‘अहिले त के भो र, राजै हैनन्,’ शाहले मेला भरेपछि उनले कान्तिपुरसँग भने । वासुकी नाग आफैं राजा भएकाले उनको आमन्त्रणबिना राजा आउन नहुने ‘धार्मिक मान्यता’ रहेको उनले बताए ।

कडा सुरक्षाबीच आफैंले कार चलाएर आएका शाहले सबैभन्दा पहिले त्रिवेणीघाटस्थित कुण्डको जल आफ्नो शरीरमा छर्के । अनि विभिन्न मठमन्दिरको दर्शन गरे । बद्रीनाथ, केदारनाथ, सीता, मुक्तेश्वर, ब्रम्हायणी लगायत मन्दिरका पुजारीलाई खाममा राखेर दक्षिणा दिएका थिए । माइती वृद्धाश्रम र इन्द्रेश्वर क्याम्पसको महायज्ञमा प्रसाद पनि ग्रहण गरे । वृद्धाश्रम निर्माण र इन्द्रेश्वर क्याम्पसमा स्नातकोत्तर सञ्चालनका लागि उनले एक/एक लाख रुपैयाँ नगद प्रदान गरे । इन्द्रेश्वर महादेव मन्दिरमा भने केहीबेर लगाएर वैदिक विधिअनुसार पूजाआजा गरे ।

उनलाई समर्थक र सर्वसाधारणले मेलास्थलभन्दा एक किलोमिटर वरै मानेश्वरी बसपार्कदेखि स्वागत गरेका थिए । त्यहाँदेखि उनले पैदल यात्रा गरेका थिए ।

सडकको दुवै छेउ उभिएका सर्वसाधारणले फूलमाला दिई टाउको निहुराएर ‘दर्शन’ गर्दा उनको शासनकालकै झझल्को आउँथ्यो । जयजयकार गर्नेहरू मात्र होइन, भजन टोलीसमेत पूर्वराजाको स्वागतमा सरिक थियो । ‘राजा आऊ देश बचाऊ’ भन्ने नारा पनि केहीले लगाएका थिए । मेलाका दर्शनार्थीबीच पनि उनलाई हेर्न तँछाडमछाड भएको थियो । पूर्वराजा हेर्नैका लागि नजिकका गाउँगाउँबाट आउनेहरू पनि थिए ।

शाहलाई निम्त्याउन सक्रिय पनौतीका शाहीकालीन उपमेयर अर्जुन केसीले पनौती र मेलाबारे उनलाई जानकारी गराएका थिए । सामान्य दौरासुरुवालमा सजिएका उनी हाँसेर बालक, वृद्ध र सर्वसाधारणप्रति नजिकिएका थिए । कहिले हात हल्लाउँथे, कहिले दुई हात जोडेर नमस्कार गर्थे । ‘शान्ति भएन, अमनचैन भएन, हजुर’ स्वागतका लागि सडक छेउमा उभिएकी एक महिलाले भनिन् । पूर्वराजाले टाउको मात्र हल्लाएर प्रतिक्रिया दिए । ती महिलाले फूलमालासँगै बिन्तीपत्रसमेत बुझाइन् ।

‘कसैलाई अन्याय नहोस्, दुःख-कष्ट नहोस्, सबैको जय होस्’ कारछेउ पुगेका शाहले र्फकने क्रममा यति मात्र भने । समर्थकहरू फेरि नाराबाजी गर्दै थिए, कारको ढोकामै उभिएर उनले हात हल्लाए । फर्किने बेला भने उनको कार चालकले चलाए । उनका स्वकीय सचिव सागर तिमल्सिनाले सर्वसाधारणजस्तै धार्मिक उद्देश्यले पूर्वराजा मकर मेला भर्न आएको बताए । अपराह्न ११ बजेतिर आइपुगेका ज्ञानेन्द्र करिब डेढ घन्टापछि फर्किएका थिए । (source)

Click pic to enlarge. Some people are campaigning for constitutional monarchy and revival of 1990 constitution of Nepal. Here's a statement issued by a group of such people who believe the 1990 constitution that had the provision of constitutional monarchy should be reactivated should the constituent assembly fail to bring out a constitution on time that is acceptable to all Nepali people. UWB received this in email.