Thanks for Andrew Nash's article on the non-resident Nepali community in the US ("At home abroad", #100). However, there are a few errors. There is no umbrella organisation for Nepali groups in the US and it is inconceivable that any umbrella organisation will be formed in the future. After years of debate on the pros and cons of an umbrella organisation, a coordinating body called the Nepalese Americas Council (NAC) was founded in 1991. Currently, NAC has 17 Nepalese associations including ANA as its members.

Prahlad D. Pant,
Cincinnati, Ohio

. I am a Nepali who has lived in the US for over 25 years and I find it heartening that we are getting more noticed as a group by the media in Nepal. Even if all the facts are not always presented as we would like it, it\'s still welcome. Unfortunately, there are two serious errors in Andrew Nash's article. ANA is not, has never been, and probably never will be "an umbrella organisation for the dozens of NRN groups". There are some 20 plus Nepali groups across the US that will challenge this absurd contention. ANA was founded as a regional organisation with a somewhat grandiloquent name but its base has been mainly some portion of the US east coast. Nepali groups in the US all belong to an organisation known as NAC (Nepalese Americas Council) which is a coordinating body for all of its members founded at a national convention for all Nepalese associations in 1991. Nobody wanted or wants an umbrella organisation with all its implications and so the NAC. ANA joined this body last year. I do not want to rain on ANA's parade, and I commend them for their initiative and achievements.

Sharda Thapa,
USA