Kathmandu:

How would the world look like if it were home to people of one caste and creed? It would surely be a boring place.

Diverse ethnicities, their culture, traditions and festivals make nations beautiful and livable, but diversity has a downside. Countries that are home to diverse ethnicities, easily slide into conflicts if the state tries to impose one culture on another. Not diversity itself, but lack of initiatives or half-hearted efforts to handle ethnicities is at the root of ethnic conflicts.

Nepalese Culture in a Nutshell has hit bookstands at a time when our dear motherland has been reeling under ethic strife. The book enlightens us as to myriad cultures, traditions and festivals of the people living in the Tarai, the hills and the mountains.

The book reminds us this: It is not the Tarai, hills and the mountains alone that make this country beautiful. Diverse ethnicities, their myriad cultures and traditions have made our motherland heaven on earth. Maintaining harmony among these ethnicities is no doubt a challenge.

Policymakers, including those who know everything under the sun and above

it, must read and reread this book to understand diverse ethnicities, their sensitivities and come out with ways to put an end to ethnic violence that is ripping this country apart. This book can also serve as a handbook for tourists, who want to know about Nepali culture, traditions and festivals.

It would be better if people at large read this book and learnt to respect each other’s cultures, traditions and sensitivities. Half of our troubles would be gone the day we learnt to respect fellow countrymen.

How about translating the book into Nepali ?

Hope the author, Dr Ram Dayal Rakesh, and the publishers are going through this piece.

The cover of the book is not eye-catching, but it rightly portrays the rainbow culture of Nepal. It would have been marvellous had the author translated all Maithili songs into English. The language should have been polished further.