BANGALORE - Here on Silicon Plateau is where New Age meets new technology. This is where Sai Baba intersects cyberia, where Californians and Kannadigas rub shoulders in the ashrams of gurus.

But however serene the surroundings at Fireflies, reality is just beyond the horizon. In Kathmandu it is Prachanda, here it is the moustachioed sandalwood smuggling outlaw, Veerappan. "Unlike your Maoists, Veerappan hasn't yet declared a ceasefire," says one participant at a water conference here last week.

War breaking out is more new-sy than peace breaking out. The Nepal ceasefire didn't get as much play as the war in the Indian media did, but even so, discussions on the prospects of lasting peace in Nepal is a favourite topic among the Malaysian, Japanese, American, Canadian and German participants.

To the north of Karnataka is Andhra Pradesh, the home turf of the People's War Group, a fraternal organisation of Nepali Maoists. An Andhra friend offers some unsolicited advice, "Don't rush the negotiations. Conflicts break out all of a sudden, but enforcing peace is a painfully slow process. It takes time for passions to cool."

Nepal's political leadership lack time to reflect, and war-weary people want quick-fix solutions. The Maoists want what they want asap: a)roundtable of all political forces including the king, b) an interim government and, c) formation of a constituent assembly. Mainstream political parties want to return to the status quo of pre-4 October so that they can have a decisive say in the negotiations with the Maoists. The king's nominees perhaps wish direct monarchial rule for a while longer. These are conflicting desires, and rushing through the process of negotiations is perhaps a sure-fire way of sabotaging talks.

While it's true that the ceasefire is a welcome respite, a meaningful truce between the establishment and the insurgents is not yet in place. And until that happens there is always the danger of a flare-up. Armed conflicts have ceased, but the Maoists haven't given up their extortion campaigns. If anything, the terror of forced "donations" with the warning of "pay up, or else" has instead intensified in the countryside. This is most unfortunate if the Maoists really want what they say they want. Threats don't win anyone long-term support, nor does it promote tolerance.

If the Maoist leadership wants us to let bygones be bygones and forget the 8,000 Nepalis who lost their lives for a lost cause, then it better make its stand clear. Where do Comrade Prachanda and Baburam Bhattarai stand: with the people, or against them?

The palace, too, would do well to come out in the open now. While initial negotiations had to be hush-hush in order to be effective, any further give-and-take needs to be transparent in order to be legitimate. Nepalis are praying for peace, but it is unlikely they want to pay for it by sacrificing their democratic rights.

Mainstream political parties have to choose now whether they want to continue being branded as part of the problem or seize the initiative and become a part of the solution. It's true that the country is not yet safe for political activities, but why is it taking them so long to develop a joint common minimum program of action? Parties can't be sidelined, because they are the people, but if they refuse to get on board, no tears will be shed.

Yet, no settlement can survive unless mainstream parties accept it. But that doesn't mean that the Nepali Congress and the UML have to wait to deliver a judgement after the talks are over. Pro-active policies are essential, and Girija Prasad Koirala and Madhav Nepal need to accommodate each other as soon as possible so that they can take on the combined might of all extremists at any political negotiation.

It is said that a political settlement needs VISION-an acronym of initials that stand for Verbalise clearly, Incubate carefully, Share conspicuously, Implement cautiously, Observe carefully and Never give-up. The Maoists, mainstream political parties as well as the monarchy need to bear this in mind before they rush through the process of negotiations-we can't afford to fail once again.

Asked why the combined might of the government of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka has failed so far to nab Veerappan, our hostess at the Fireflies Ashram replies with her characteristic bluntness, "Lack of political will." It was the delay in the formation of a national will that allowed the Maoist insurgency to engulf the whole country in seven short years. Our collective determination has to be strong if Nepal is to emerge from this crisis with its integrity intact.

Nepalis know that it takes time to achieve the impossible. We are willing to wait for peace to prevail. Meanwhile, all the actors of this sordid drama must ensure that conflicts do not resume because one or the other lacked endurance.