धमिजा काण्डमा कमाएको पैसाले छोरीको बिहे।
जुन जोगी आए नि कानै चिरेका! प्यारजंग पनि त्यस्तै, सुजाता पनि त्यस्तै!

PM granddaughter’s big fat wedding mocks law

BY BIKASH SANGRAULA

KATHMANDU, July 7 - The capital city Thursday saw one of the biggest wedding parties since the series of wedding parties for Chief of Army Staff General Pyar Jung Thapa's daughter two months ago. The bride was Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala's granddaughter Melanie Koirala Jost, and the groom was Rubel Chowdhury, a Bangladesh national. The venue: Hotel Everest.

A hotel staffer said that some 3,500 guests were invited to the reception. Among them were Nepal's who's who, including deputy prime ministers, ministers, parliamentarians, leaders of political parties, heads of diplomatic missions, security chiefs and officers, administrators, civil society leaders, publishers and editors. Journalists and party workers were also invited.

However, Maoist leaders were not present, and neither was the prime minister, who is battling pneumonia at the ICU of Shahid Gangalal National Heart Center. Bollywood actress Manisha Koirala was also present.

A Nepali Congress leader who was one of the invitees equated the party in terms of lavishness with that of the army chief's daughter, and said this is a matter of public concern. He also complained that he had to wait for about half an hour in the traffic jam while on his way to the reception.

A traffic police officer, who was scrambling in the hotel parking lot to manage the ever increasing number of vehicles, said some 1,500 vehicles arrived at the venue since 2 pm. With the hotel parking lot running out of space, vehicles had to be diverted to the parking lot at Birendra International Convention Center.

The prime minister's daughter Sujata Koirala had booked the hotel's pool-side cafe for 2 pm to 6 pm and the Grand Ball Room for invitees from 6 pm onwards. The bride's family also booked several rooms at the hotel for the groom's family.

Traffic moved at snail's pace in the Baneswore and Maitighar areas right from the afternoon till late evening, thanks to the massive attendance at the wedding party. In fact, traffic came to a total standstill in these areas for hours in the evening and several dozen traffic personnel had to sweat it out and scream to clear the jam.

The country's Social Behavior Reform Act 1976 bars marriage parties from having more than 51 invitees. The recent series of wedding parties of the army chief's daughter was strongly criticized for lavishness.

Posted on: 2006-07-06 20:46:24 (Server Time)

Well... congratulations to the newly weds. But I hope Melani's husband will not get involved in another Dhamiza-kaanda like his father-in-law. But he does looks shrewd, doesnt he?

Like ashu said, it's embarrassing thing to know that we have a law which has been broken in 99% of the weddings. The parliamentarians should take note of this. I guess many of them have their own children's wedding in line. Considering the amount of wealth they have amassed during the past decade, I am sure they are also in mood to give a hell of a wedding party themselves. ko bhanda ko kam?

यो रुबेल चोउधरि भन्ने को रहेछ ?

Just some food for thought:

Why was Everest Hotel chosen as the venue in the first place?
The hotel used to be good, but now it's just a second-tier hotel in Kathmandu.

[OK, the hotel is hugely popular with Indian and Bangladeshi tourists. Maybe that's where the grooms' families and friends were staying.]

Maybe -- just maybe -- Sujata does NOT have all that money that people
say she has.

I mean, had Sujata et al thrown the same party at Hyatt or Soaltee, such an act
would have siganlled to all that she did have a lot of money.

At least at Soaltee or Hyatt, the parking nightmare would not happended to the
extent it happened at Hotel Everest.

There could be another way to look at this issue:

Because she's PM's daughter, Sujata's 'social capital' is likely to be very high (and that explains that many people being invited).

But her 'financial capital' is not that high at this point in time (and this explains why she chose Hotel Everest -- and NOT Soaltee or Hyatt -- as a party venue).

Just thinking aloud -- tetti ho.

Meantime, here's a quick back of the envelope calculation for expenses:

Let's say, as per the standard practice in Kathmandu,
the hotel gave away the premises, sound systems, etc for free and charged
only for the food. [This is how Kathmandu hotels make money at parties.)

Let's give a very high-end charge: Rs. 450 per person.
The total guests according to the report: 3500

That comes out to: 450 x 3500 = Rs. 15,75,000
Rounding off to: 16 Lakh rupees.

I don't know whether alcohol was served or not.
(The groom might be a practising Muslim . . . but who knows!)

But let's say alcohol was served.

Kathmandu's wine market is controlled by two Nepalis of Marwari origins, both of whom -- as most businesspeople in Nepal -- face an incentive to be be in the good books of those in power. The beer companies face the same incentives. I would not be
surprised if heavy discounts were given to separately purchase of alcoholic beverages.

I am going to assume that half the guests took some form of alcoholic drinks.
That's 1700 guests.

Since some take wine; others, beer and, still others Red Label and so on, let's average it out by simply assuming that per person alcoholic drink expenditure was in the vicinity of: 200 rupees or about 40+ % of the per-person food bill.

That adds up to 200 x 1700 = Rs. 340,000 or around Rs. 3.5 lakh.

The entire cost is: 16 lakh (food) + 3.5 (drinks) = UNDER 20 lakh or about US $ 28,000 .

(Please keep in mind that all expenses I have shown above are liberal estimates).

******
Conclusion?
Is this a lavish party?

The answer depends on who's looking at what.

Those who hate Sujata will use this party as another stone to throw at her.
Those who belong to Sujata's peer group in Kathmandu, will find this a very modest party.


oohi
ashu

HAHAHHA. Ashu on full swing. Even with a calculator. HEHHE. ANyway just kidding.

These should not have been these speculations. The cost you shown if pretty lavish for a PM whose earning is merely 40 Gs per month or something like that.

Add some other cost to it. Room and board to all the guests as the host koiralas will be bearing the cost accoring to Bangaladeshi rituals. Cars, plane and rest makes it extravagent.

Anyways my point is there should be control placed. In US IRS is powerful enough to trace where money is coming. Needs to make rule of law rather than present day anarchy.

Let there be transparency. Let everything be audited.


Mero 2 paisa.

peace out

Ashu,
you are good at maths i give you that.
Now food for thought for you:
Country where GNI is $240 a normal citizen spends $28000 in one night.
Country where PM sujuata's dad's makes:under $5000 yearly
Everest or Hyatt..Why not Soaltee because Kings own's it.

Personally i have said i don't care .Because corruption is not a crime in Nepal.It is open everyone knows.So whats the big deal..hahhahaha. do anybody dare to point finger at her??why because Grija is in power.That is gives simple reasoning people who is in power can do whatever they like.

Again another food for thought,

Pyar jung had lot of his anchestoral assets..don't bite me here i don't care how they might have earned.

Who and what kind of Assets does A divorce mom has ..

Anyways another food for thought:

why indian and bangaldesi??hahahaha.. where are nepali heros??
what kind of message this is giving to us?could be love ..but whatever..

Well... Maybe, Sujata should have asked her guests to use public transportation. In that case, there wouldnt have been traffic jam... and, that night bus owners and taxi drivers would have gone to bed with a big smile in stead. I am smiling to myself imagining our "elites" riding the city bus.... :)

ImI, take note that the bride is half German as well. If you are really into the GNI, then you should take an average GNI of Germany and Nepal (which is ($30,120+$250)/2 = $15,185).
You should also not forget that Sujata is the only child of (correct me if I am wrong). She belongs to a family which was once a jamindar in Biratnagar.

choosing whoever the bride wants---her personal choice, shame on those nepali heroes around her.
51 guest limitation-not feseable in realistic situation, who to discard usually economically and socially lower in the circle of relatives and friends. In my opinion limit to 100+ is ok, but beyong 51, the host will have to pay tax to govt on head count basis, but 3500+ is astronomical.
Koiralas are also blue blood of the country, do have money to spend, what socially influencing than a daughter's marriage, may be it was GP's dream to kanyadan grand-daughter incase undesired happen to him...
la la, aba bangladeshi sathi bhetepache jamai musai, kemon achen bhannu parla...

If you read the newspapers regularly, it's clear that:

In Nepal, no one is corrupt.
Depending on who you like and who you don't like, people are only ALLEGED to
be corrupt.

Being alleged to be corrupt and being actually corrupt are two different things.
Just ask Mr. Khadka (see below) -- who now walks around with a gait of a saint.

Moral?

Therefore, calling Sujata or anyone else corrupt will get no Nepali anywhere in Nepal.
Calling her that -- without any proof (as is of ten the case) -- just shows that
she has enemies. Tetti ho.

Personally, I think Sujata's daughter wedding does not seem all that lavish IN COMPARISON TO (based on my limited knowledge) the kind of wedding parties that some other Nepali Congress/RPP and UML leaders have thrown for their sons and daughters.

***********
Court gives clean chit to former minister Khadka, others
June 18

- http://www.nepalnews.com/archive/2006/jun/jun18/news11.php

The Special Court, Kathmandu, on Sunday has given clean chit to former Water Resources Minister and Nepali Congress leader, Khum Bahadur Khadka, and other officials on charge of alleged corruption in the Bakraha irrigation project case.

A special bench of the court comprising chairman of the court, Bhupdhoj Adhikari and Judges Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Komal Nath Sharma held that they did not find adequate evidence to prove that there had been corruption in the said project.

The Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA) had filed separate cases against former minister Khadka, then Secretary Water Resources Biswonath Sapkota and two other officials nearly four years ago alleging them of indulging in corruption worth over Rs 40 million in the project based in eastern district of Morang.

All of them had pleaded innocence in the case.

Founding general secretary of the breakaway Nepali Congress (Democratic), former Home Minister Khadka returned to his parent party later and is now the central committee member of Nepali Congress. nepalnews.com by June 18 06

SHE LOOKS LIKE A MAN. FOR REAL

"In Nepal, no one is corrupt.
Depending on who you like and who you don't like, people are only ALLEGED to
be corrupt. "

Tragedy of Nepal.People have come to support this kind of lavish party because they have symapthy to the party or person.even though it mocks law.

i already shared my personal opinion in this.

As i wrote before on top:Nepalese people are tooo biased.Do not have ability to rationally think on the issues.

Whatta ugly couple. I am gonna throw up.

First...these two are too ugly...

and second...sujata did make a world tour to garner support for mob and goon movement...SPAMmers ***** policy was very good and I accept that fact.

this is the irony of nepal.

Ok big deal, huge wedding, lets focus on those ppl in villages who cant even get married due to the dowry and other social , and economical issues.

i dont get it, this big issue is just one instance, doenst affect much, what affects the nation is hundreds of those ppl living in villages who are deprived of basic human needs and rights.

Imi you told pyarjung have parental property.....and similarly i read that sujata is also the only daughter of girija who hails from jamindar family..and that girl is half german...

Overall if i need to say i must say that all these people are curropt...

GOOD point SS74k!!!
you got it now!!!

Is corruption even a crime in Nepal???NO.. so ...the story of Pyara and Story of Grija's grandduaghter should not be even a story.

Atleast corrupt people are spending some money..instead of keeping them in Internatioal Banks.. helps :) little to economy.hahahah

How is Manisha related to this girl? Sister or Cousin?

Yeah, seems like high society nepali girls marry non-nepali guys...Jung Thapa, Dibyani, and her.

Azian,

You are a kiddo. Manisha is grand niece of Girija (paternal side). The girl married is the grand niece of Girija (maternal side).

Manisha was one of the first person to vocally denounce the Mob and Goon movement. She knows her politics very very well and I know this.

OH...and remember when Maoists and SPAMmers gave death threat to Manisha?

You guys are discussing the issue here as idiots....

OK food for thought:

If SPA and Girija had not gotten into power at present, this hideous party would not have occurred....

So what the hell it's telling you guys...??

Don't do gungaan of Girija or Sujata... rnough this stupidity.

Anyways, first CRUSH Prachanda.. CRSUH GIrija... then you will get good leaders.