THINK POSITIVE

In many of his articles CK Lal mocks the Maoist leadership's promises about bringing about dramatic changes in Nepal ('Among the alchemists', #397). It may well turn out to be true that their performance does not live up to their rhetoric, but surely no one imagines that the NC or UML would have made any significant changes to Nepal. Were we really just going to hand them another opportunity to do the same they've been doing for years? I am a regular reader of State of the State, but I am surprised and somewhat disappointed to read in his column such perpetually gloomy forecasts for Nepal's future under a Maoist government. Yes, the Maoists are not perfect, but they have been the only party to seriously face the issues of Indian proxy-rule, elitism and king-centred court politics in Nepal. Please don't try and predict the failure of our new government before it's even started.

Tanka Prasad Pandey,
email

. I agree with CK Lal that the Maoists need miracles to happen and are banking on some kind of divine intervention in order to fulfil their election promises. Let's hope they will really be able to make Nepal an advanced country within the next few decades, or at least that we can climb out of the ignominious list of the world's poorest countries. I think the Maoists should organise a yagya before the constituent assembly begins. It might help them to have God on their side.

Kishor Kamal,
email

. We base our judgements or thinking on the basis of what we watch, read and listen to in the media. I have to say I think it's pathetic that the Nepali media was so shocked by the election results. It shows that they aren't in touch with the people. Of course, it's true that the Maoists have perpetrated violence, which needs to be condemned, but the media was dead against them for the whole election campaign, and never showed their positive side. Political analysis was totally Kathmandu-centric and based on personal convictions and prejudices rather than the truth. I agree with Pooja Belbase and Pashupati Neupane (Letters,#397). It is disheartening when our intellectuals prefer to spend more time heaping scorn on easy political targets. The public wants the media to report the news, not make it.

Prakash Sharma,
Kathmandu

. Before the CA polls, there was a big tussle between the parties about the electoral system. The election was postponed in November 2007 because the Maoists were demanding a full PR and was nearly postponed again in March when the Madhesi parties demanded the same. The NC and UML were adamant the system should be mixed. It's ironic that the Maoists and the MJF would have actually done better in the election if more seats had been under the FPTP ballot, and the NC and UML would have got more seats under an exclusively PR system. Of course the parties were advocating one or the other system because they thought they would get more seats that way, not because of any belief about what represents real democracy. Maybe the fact that they all lost out because of their own platforms might teach them a lesson not to be so self-seeking and short-sighted in the future.

Praveen Kumar Yadav,
Birganj

GLORIOUS GUNDRUK

I loved reading Khaire Bhai ('Speaking in tongues', #397), in which he sang the praises of gundruk. But he forgot to mention gundruk's amazing power to keep stomachs (especially foreign ones) regular. I would like to second him: both my heart and my belly are lost to gundruk-both for it's taste and for its restorative bowel-balancing qualities.

James,
Biratnagar