Deepa Shrestha

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Pencil Poetry

March 03, 2021

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Pencil, Paper ,Pandemic and Poetry

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rhulMarch 29, 2022 at 11:46 AM
funny hai- rahul
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Forest Spirit

The forest is alive. It breathes, it feels, it sings, it dances, it eats and sleeps. This is what people of Jogidaha, Udaypur believes. They also believe forests has spirits, the spirits that create, nurture, heal, protect and punish. They felt the presence of forest spirit sometimes in their dreams, sometimes within themselves, sometimes in their home and sometimes in the forest. But these days the forest spirit seems to be hiding, hiding from the people. The forest, the home of the spirit once upon a time used to exist in harmony and peace. But in the last 20 to 30 years this place has seen massive deforestation which has changed the definition of what natural forest looks like which has disturbed the presence of the forest spirit. The majority of people that live in Jogidaha, Udaypur are Tharu (native indigenous) and Rai (non native indigenous). Culturally and spiritually they are really connected with the forest.Tharu people identify themselves as forest people on...

Embedded in the memory

The first time I visited Jogidaha in Udayapur, a small village in eastern. Nepal, what stood out the most was how uniform the forest was - almost every tree was a sal tree (Shorea Robusta). The people living there are a mix of indigenous Tharus and Rai who have migrated to Jogidaha from eastern hills of Nepal. These people depend on the forest for their daily livelihoods. The locals told me that the forest has changed a lot over the last twenty to thirty years. The monoculture started with the introduction of community forest projects. And the failed airport project has added to the degradation and loss of forest areas. Community forests were introduced in Nepal in the late 1970s to protect and grow forest cover. They were successful in some ways -the Government of Nepal claims that forest coverage has increased from 26% to 45% in the last four decades. But it has come at a big cost. In Jogidaha, community forest efforts have led to the dominance of Sal trees and many other species are...

Farmer's Grievance

Farmer's Grievance Madhuka Rai Jimmy, 49 is a farmer based in Pangma, Sankhuwasabha. She lives with her husband Milan Kumar Jimmy Rai, 45 and their children and runs small farmland where she grows alaichi (black cardamom). Considered black gold by the locals, the crop is widely cultivated in the area and has helped couples like Rai Jimmy make a decent living. The price of alaichi increased considerably recently, but farmers like Madhuka have not seen a profit. She sells at the time of harvest when the prices are low and stable. “If we could store and sell later, we would make a good margin of profit, but we don’t have the savings or the facility to do that, w...

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