C.K. Lal (State of the State, #5) need not have shed crocodile tears for the institution of monarchy. Nothing is immortal: the universe, empires, kingdoms and republics come and go. When history calls the sunset, the Nepal kingdom too may fade. But till such a time, it is a little premature to project the Nepali monarchy as a house of cards ready to be swept away by one motivated media blitz.

The real sense of deja vu this time is not the death of another person in a traffic accident in which Paras, nephew to the king, was allegedly involved in, but how the Nepali monarch\'s detractors will exploit almost anything to discredit and smear the king. Like the time when a mass rumour was spread that Pampha Devi stashed away in a Swiss Bank $ 16 billion from the country\'s coffers, that the mastermind behind the Rajiv Gandhi killing was our queen. The motivated media is not interested in Praveen\'s death, not even Paras, What they really want is to taunt and embarrass the king.

Nothing makes for a pathetic read than a republican hack patronising our royal family to take on a "role model" from cycling Swedes, buffalo raising Thais and "cheap entertainment" Buckingham Palace. We want our monarchy to stay Nepali, especially when we have seen what the \'Indian role model" has done to our media and netajis. Outside Mr Lal\'s circle, monarchy does enjoy plenty of \'\'genuine popularity" and it has always exhibited "passionate interests in the welfare and progress of their country".

Our self-inflated media intellectuals strike a gaudy pose behind black Ray Bans while they denigrate the royalty for "hiding behind dark glasses". Both the king and queen have no dark glasses in the photo you have used. Is Mr Lal conditioned to see darkly through his tainted glasses? Hypocrisy becomes cheap laughter when it crosses a certain limit. Long live the king!
Jaya Budhathoki
Kathmandu

An overwhelming majority of Nepalis are appalled by the recklessness of punks like Paras Shah. Hiding behind the shadow of the royal family, they probably think they are immune to the justice system. Paras should be prosecuted and taken out of circulation before he kills someone else. He should be prevented from fleeing the country every embassy should be notified.
Jagan Man
Kathmandu

In this whole sordid episode, one fact keeps getting sidelined: what price is human life? A musician is killed by a hit-and-run driver. There is overwhelming evidence a member of the royal family is involved. The wife of the musician comes out saying she does not want to purse the matter and her priority is her children\'s education. So where does justice and the rule of law come into all this? Going by Nepal\'s existing laws, a driver who hits and kills a cow on the street can be jailed for 14 years. But if a human being is killed, it seems, you can go Scot free.
T.B. Basnyat
Pokhara