Gautama 'Buddha' Siddhārtha, M.Phil. (Nāl.)

Nālandā is being rebuilt, which is good news.

The bad news is that:

- one can write in a [semi-]prestigious newspaper that the Buddha was a visitor here (visiting research fellow?) and an alumnus (I gave him an M.Phil. by default);

- that there does not seem to be too much money for this;

- that the revival project is trying to get past bureaucrats; 

- not to speak of the fact that "Chinese sensibilities will have to be respected" (whereas one usually does not? or is it the case that one does not respect other nations' sensibilities?) or else " the university will be a non-starter";

- that the Bihari government promises to provide security;

- that the as yet non-existent university already revives the Bengal-Bihar/Mithila thing;

- that Amartya Sen seems to think that Nālandā taught economics and public health;

zhes bya ba la sogs

Buffaloes on parade

So, as Iain had already reported, there was a nice little riot in Basantpur over the buffalo sacrifice and we happened to walk straight into it.



At first it felt almost like home, but then the storm-troopers jogged in:


Although they were quite harsh, one could see that years of riots gave them ample training. Whereas in Hungary two years ago the police sent in a water canon without cover (any child below six or so who's ever played CS will tell you that the strategic value of a canon in this case becomes roughly equal with that of a trolley bus).

The rathyapuruṣa however did not seem phased. Back to the alleyways around Dharmapath and Basantpur, regroup, move out. In the end the tear-gas did it. Never you mind, the next day there was yet another protest, this time nightclub owners and their employees. Yes, that's right. Strippers however did not throw stones and stuff and they got bad reviews the next day in the papers.


Of course a secular government that Nepal aspires to have should not dabble in matters of religion. However, the protesters did not seem to me like politically motivated intellectuals. Then again, the French Revolution wasn't started by middle-aged white collar workers out for a bit of mêlée after a hard day at La Bourse either.

But we should not judge what's going on. Our task is to understand, not to like or dislike. So, the only remaining thing is to start wondering which songs will be voted for "best to listen to during a riot" in Nepal should the protesters be able to afford iPods. Guess what won in Hungary? Rage Against the Machine of course.