There used to be a time when Tundikhel was reputed to be Asia\'s biggest parade ground. Oh, well. That\'s like saying we had the world\'s tallest dwarf. But look at what we did to Tundikhel. First we axed the magnificent and historic khari tree in the middle. Then the army carved it up, and they discontinued the great tradition of the cannon boom at high noon. At the other end, a kitschy park came up.

There wasn\'t much to brag about Tundikhel anymore. Starting this week, there is even less. Tundikhel this week is hosting a Kathmandu Utsav, a Dasain shopping mall in a tent, and over on the other side, the World Hindu Federation is holding a havana in another huge circus tent. Aside from being potential fire hazards, these giant bamboo and canvas contraptions have taken away the one last bit of open space that Kathmandu had.

It seems like we abhor open space, we hate grass, we detest oxygen. So if there is an "empty" spot anywhere, we quickly cover it up with an Officer\'s Club. And then we block the only sensible shortcut from Maiti Ghar up to Tundikhel, announcing it with a hideous billboard sponsored by a lubricant manufacturer. Welcome to Asia\'s messiest parade ground!