With reference to “Powerful quake on Iran-Iraq border kills over 400” (THT, November 14, Page 1), Nepal and Nepalese, who have forgotten the devastating quake of 2015, must be ever vigilant and alert for the next big ones. Most Nepalese firmly believe that the country will not be visited by another big one for at least 70/80 years. We can think so at our own peril as, despite far-reaching progress in science, humans have not been able to predict quake with the same precision that they can do about cyclones and floods. Besides, quakes have been visiting New Zealand frequently including the latest one following the Iran-Iraq quake. Therefore, the state must take a lead in coming up with policies and plans to protect people from the deadly ones like we had in 2015. People too must take their own initiatives like not constructing houses taller than two or three storey in the core areas. One good example of such building is a newly constructed one called ‘rainbasera’ next to fire brigade building at Basantpur. Just a little across at a stone’s throw away distance, another building is trying to kiss the sky. Situated at New Road intersection, it has already made headlines for all the wrong reasons. It is the government which must ensure that the public do not violate building codes by interpreting the building bylaws. Rainbasera should be the model for all buildings in the core areas in the Kathmandu Valley. Last time the quake spared major damages and casualties in the Valley whether by the grace of God or angle and direction of the fault line. We may not be so lucky next time.

Manohar Shrestha, Kathmandu

Praise

We had settled in our current locality in 2001. When I needed to make a dress for myself, an acquaintance of mine had recommended a tailoring shop. That tailor was a dignified bespectacled gentleman in his early 50s. Since I got satisfied by the end-product, I continued to make my dress in that very shop year after year. But in 2009, I noticed with much pleasure that the shirts and trousers which he had stitched for me on the occasion of a festival have surpassed all the previous instances as far as styling or fitting were concerned. So I decided to thank him personally when his shop would not be crowded.

One day that opportunity came when I noticed him sitting in the shop all alone in a relaxed mood. I entered it and praised his skills and efficiency wholeheartedly. Probably he didn’t expect such a shower of praise. It seemed his joy had no limits. Without uttering anything as a reply, humbly he nodded his nod and a broad divine smile spread all across his face and eyes. As I left the shop, my heart also filled up with an undiluted joy hardly experienced previously. Not any gift in cash or kind, but a mere few statements of thanks from the deepest core of the heart yet that tailor gentleman has got so much happiness! And in return, I have also got been bestowed with immeasurable joy for making another person happy!

Kajal Chatterjee, Kolkata