If you thought 2058 was a bad year, wait for 2059. According to the royal astrologer, Mangal Raj Joshi, the omens don't look good. The very first month into the new year, the bad planets will be arrayed on our side of the solar system-an alignment that will not happen for the next 100 years. Just after sunset in the first week of May, we will see Mercury, Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn all in a huddle in the western sky. What are these planets up to? What do they portend for Nepal and the world?

Mr Joshi probably needs to make these dire warnings to keep his job, but our suggestion in the new year would be to believe in astronomy rather than astrology. For once, we must get down to building our own future. Our future is not fated, it is not pre-ordained. Destiny is what we make of it. Our future is shaped by the decisions and actions we take today. Let's stop blaming the stars.

However, there seem to be other shining lights besides planets to guide us in the new year. The 2059 official calendar of the Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninists) has an interesting line-up of portraits to adorn each month of the forthcoming year. Our comrades seem to be in a time warp. We may be in 2059 BS, but their dogma is still stuck somewhere in 1937 AD. If these be our role models, then maybe we really need divine intervention.