KATHMANDU: The Nepal Art Council, Babermahal was packed on June 9 with a number of avid listeners at the launch of Singha Durbar: Rise and Fall of the Rana Regime of Nepal by Sagar SJB Rana. The book is divided into three parts — A Kingdom in the Clouds, High Tide of the Rana Regime and Quest for Freedom and Democracy with different units in each. The writer has written about the beginning of the Rana regime with the rise of Jung Bahadur Rana, the first Rana prime minister, his descendants and the end of the Rana regime in the country in 1951 with the revolution. Beginning with the legends and myths of Kathmandu Valley, the history and the rulers, the writer brings forth the history from the Gorkha king Prithvi Narayan Shah. Shedding light on the powerful Rana rulers Chandra Shumsher, Juddha Shumsher and Mohan Shumsher, the writer has given historical information of the then time in the country. Also focusing on the birth of Nepal Democratic Congress in August 1948 and its impact in the Nepali political arena, he has highlighted the political situation of the country. Talking about the contribution of political leaders like BP Koirala and Ganesh Man Singh to the Nepali politics, the writer has written about the changes in the country. The book contains photos of king Prithvi Narayan, prime ministers Bhimsen Thapa, Jung Bahadur, coronation ceremony of prime minister Dev Shumsher, queens and princesses of palaces of Kathmandu, Koirala and his family, among others. “I wanted to write this book for two reasons. One, because there are very few books written by Nepali writers in English, and the other is there are some who only understand English and this population is growing in the country. There are thousands of students who want to know about the roots of the country. This book will be a great help for them to understand the roots,” shared Sagar during the event.