I’ve followed them.

At Aşıklı Höyük, the site of the oldest known settlement in Cappadocia, Turkey, at 9,000 years old. The houses are recreations of excavated remains, with some of the dead buried under the floor.

Happy May Day and Buddha Jayanti, comrades. Be like the Buddha: reject caste, question everything for yourself, understand the emptiness/impermanence of life, and show radical compassion towards those who are suffering.

It’s deeply abnormal for a party that has won a parliamentary majority to bypass parliament and govern by ordinance. It’s also deeply abnormal for the security forces of a country to tell citizens that their speech is being monitored. I hope Nepal doesn’t normalize this.

Hello, I’m in Türkiye and I just met a man called Genghis Khan, and my trip is complete.

Two amazing books that are keeping me company right now—on how societies/cities/empires/civilizations come together and then fall apart. 📚

Every time I come to Kathmandu from Toronto, I struggle to catch up with the frenetic pace of change here. My observations from my visit this time—for the Globe and Mail. (Gift link). www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/b6403fe...

I never know what to do when I see someone reading a book I wrote. (Introduce myself as the author? Leave them alone in case they’re hating it?) I introduced myself to a reader of The Tutor of History this morning, and it turned out he was on my third book. 📚 🙃

I’m hoping this picture is legible—for those who want to read the latest Lexington column in the Economist. I found the term “post-liberal right” very clarifying to describe the current US regime. This resonates in Nepal, which has a conservative government right now.

“Auramaxxing turns out to be a weapon that works in one direction only: it gets you the job, and then it leaves you exposed.” 🇳🇵 nepalitimes.com/here-now/whe...

My current reading.

My parents raised us in the Nepali way to mark birthdays with an act of charity, not with a celebration of the self. Still, how fortunate have I been to spend time with them every day this month. Happy Baisakh/April birth-months to those who celebrate. 🤍

I have now entered the gift-buying stage of my visit to my imaginary homeland. See you at the shops.

And did we not have the most wonderful nights.

The far-right’s endgame is to channel the resentments of a population into a “revolt against liberal civilisation”. www.theguardian.com/news/2026/ap...

Today I overheard two women saying I look just like my mother, and I’m not sure I’ll ever receive a greater compliment. I feel blessed to have been able to spend Nepali Mother’s Day with my mother this year. ❤️

💛🤍💛

Friends in Canada, I can now verify it's pretty easy and painless (free shipping!) to get @manjushreethapa.bsky.social's out of print/distributed by Penguin India books via Better World Books. My copy feels brand new too.

This may interest Nepalis. When the current (very popular) Premier of Manitoba entered politics in 2016, he showed the humility of apologizing for the offense he had caused to women and the LGBTQ2S+ community in his rap. (Context: Nepal’s new PM’s past rap). www.ctvnews.ca/winnipeg/art...

Happy 2083 to those who celebrate. 😎

My Pathao driver got very excited yesterday because he spotted the Prime Minister having tea in the house of his advisor Asim Shah. "Right there on that balcony! I just saw them!" He praised the new government throughout the drive, then asked me to give him a five-star rating.✨ 🇳🇵

When I came to Kathmandu I’d planned to set up signings for my father’s memoir, but once I got here I thought the better of subjecting our distinguished nonagenarian to book publicity ordeals. (As someone who’s been through her share of them.) So: please consider this our main publicity drive!

When I came to Kathmandu I’d planned to set up signings for my father’s memoir, but once I got here I thought the better of subjecting our distinguished nonagenarian to book publicity ordeals. (As someone who’s been through her share of them.) So: please consider this our main publicity drive! 📚

Namaste, hello. I’m so glad we have a few days’ reprieve from war. I reluctantly joined TikTok yesterday, just to see what the kids-and-adults in Nepal are up to, and these were the first four videos to show up on my ‘For You’ feed. Algorithm ftw, I guess.

In case you’re feeling irrationally exuberant about the future of humanity, read this essay on how memes are shaping our cultures and minds (and, it would obviously follow, our politics). Yikes. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/06/m...

Orchids in my parents’ house.

Not that we’re doing much with it, but if you’re interested consciousness—its many states and all the latest conjectures on how it arises—Michael Pollan’s new book will interest you, as it has me.

I think the reason AI propagandists are so flustered by the fact that no real writer wants to use their idiotic tools is that they themselves don't enjoy writing. They see it as a boring arduous chore to be avoided, while real writers actually enjoy writing and actually care about the quality of it.

Zero points for guessing where I was this afternoon.

What is happening to people’s critical acumen? It’s like someone pulled the plug and suddenly we are all salivating down the easiest plug hole. Celeb-frothing titles have already turned publishing to brainless dirge. Take it the fuck back. Stop acting like pop stars & influencers are salvation.

On social media, does anyone really make friends with, or accept into a private account, someone whose handle is meowmeow? Asking for a cat friend.

The governing party, RSP, stands on the shoulders of generations of activists who brought Nepal democracy, republicanism, federalism, & inclusion. They describe themselves as conservatives. Independent left/liberals are correct to stay vigilant about their commitment to democratic citizens' rights.🇳🇵

So much talent! With cameo by Ashmina Ranjit, a leader in #Nepal arts & activism for decades. Love that the older generation is not only represented as saying no to girls, but also supporting & (occasionally) even leading the way Yes, Ujjwala Maharjan!

THIS is the rap you’ve been waiting for, Nepal: Apwoh Misa by Ujjwala Maharjan (feat. Sarada Dongol) youtube.com/watch?v=b1x2...

There are three Gen Xers in the new cabinet, so not all is lost for the generation that fought for republicanism & inclusive democracy. 🙂 Otherwise it’s the Great Millennial Takeover in Nepal. Quite a landmark day. I reserve the right to be critical later, but today felt good.

I was feeling optimistic about the new RSP government—it couldn’t possibly be worse than Oli-Deuba, right?—till I got to Kathmandu. Here, I see that those concerned with citizens’ rights are worried, while those who just want prosperity & efficient governance for🇳🇵are happy.

Rap was born from resistance—“You’ve got to fight the power!” A good reminder for all of us who are following the news from Nepal as the new Prime Minister-in-waiting releases his latest rap video. medium.com/@Gizemk./mus...

Tbh the only mystic I’d want to see at an oath of office / swearing-in ceremony is a shaman. Please make it happen. 🙏🏼🇳🇵

I have a friend trying to get home from Europe and air travel there is a mess because of flights rerouted due to the war. Between that and refusing to cut a deal on funding TSA, Trump has basically fucked air travel globally.

I tried to enter Nepal as an NRN citizen—an option offered online before landing & in airport kiosks after landing—and had to redo my application several times before realizing that the GON immigration system can correctly process NRN cards but not NRN citizenship cards. 🤷🏾‍♀️

During our recent travels it has occurred to me that perhaps my (white) Canadian partner should attach recognizably Canadian pins to his clothes or luggage. People visibly relax when they find out he’s not American.

I’m not sure I’ll ever get over what US voters have done to our world. This war is going to destroy Nepal.

we're on the brink of world war 3 because enough people thought it would be fun to elect a racist game show host to the presidency, twice.

I love the genre of commentary that goes: "LLMs are very useful in many things (about which I know nothing), but in my specific field they are not only problematic, but actively dangerous." You can just say the second part and leave it to those working in the areas to give their verdict.

Before grief entered my life with the deaths of my brother Bhaskar & sister Tej, I honestly didn’t know that emotions aren’t primarily for identifying/analyzing, but for feeling. Grief has both necessitated & permitted me to feel. Sometimes in great company. With Sam & late Anne Cowan in Oxford. 🩷

An art hit at MUCEM and the Old Charity Center in Marseille.

Our responsibility as artists is to always question power, even when—or perhaps especially when—our own family and friends are in power. Please let’s always remember to distance ourselves from power.

We’ve been following the election in Marseille during a family visit. I’ll never stop being shocked that the right—and especially the far-right—can rise again in Europe after the wreckage of two world wars.

First estimates out of Marseille, France's 2nd city: The left incumbent (PS) & far-right (RN) are roughly tied at 35%; the radical left (LFI) & the 'traditional' right (LR) are 12%. This is REALLY going to come down to what happens in the next 48 hours: can LFI & PS agree to block RN?