Pranaya Rana

Am I missing something? As someone who writes a lot on religion, I’m always excited when people write anything about the topic, but this comes across extremely bizarre/orientalistic. 1/3 nytimes.com/2026/05/14/t-m… via @NYTimes

Taiwan Travelogue wins the International Booker. Since food is so essential to the narrative, constantly felt hungry while reading this. Book is beautiful and thoughtful. Highly recommended.

Today marks the 25th Anniversary of release of this iconic movie NUMAFUNG (NUMAPHUNG). On this occasion enjoy this BTS of the movie and see happy playful Numa. P.S- Loved how they check the continuity via the photos taken through the reel camera #25yearsofNumafung #Numafung

@nobelprimal Hah, that's very cool and interesting, love it. Didn't really see much horror but I'm into it. Thanks!

@inkthink not a film but if ur a fan of nepali surveillance-tech horror, check out: instagram.com/nepstalgia/ #selfpromo

As a massive fan of horror films, we need something like this in Kathmandu.

@REDDEVILGEEK1 This is really insulting. Film Development Board is arguing that Elephants in the Fog and other films didn't provide them with any publicity material until the last moment so they had to fill the space with these films. What a joke.

Really Embarassing!! Elephants in the Fog is historically selected in the Un certain Regard catory in the Cannes Film Festival. Just look at this stall that represents Nepal. Its like a showreel of that producer with huge posters of his own movies. Yet no sigle poster for EITF.😤

Well, this is depressing. An AI generated short story won the Commonwealth Prize and was published in Granta with judges praising the story's voice. What is even the point anymore?

The thought of Zhou Enlai making a Peking duck wrap for Kirti Nidhi Bista feels sounds so sentimental and personal. Zhang Zhenggang's acc of translating for Zhou during Nepali delegation visit. Zhang was among the first Chinese Embassy staff in Nepal. thearanikoproject.substack.com/p/translationt…

. @WeeklyKalam writes; The first two months of Balen's tenure cannot serve as a template for the next five years. kalamweekly.substack.com/p/balen-shah-a…

@frasersugden Ahh understood, those local cheeses are probably much better. Unfortunately I haven't had the opportunity to taste many of them. Will have to try them out!

@inkthink I've actually not bought branded yak cheese. It's always cheese I bought in the village. Best yak cheese I had was a shop in salleri. Quite mild, like Edam. Like you said though occasionally you hit a really strong one. So it's a lucky draw😅

Frankly, I prefer DDC's Kanchan cow cheese to the yak. But yak is still better than the cheddar and the mozzarella, both of which are quite bad. DDC needs better quality control, better packaging and better branding. It could really learn from Amul.

@frasersugden Hah, I find the yak stronger. Which mild yak cheeses do you recommend? The Himalayan french cheeses? I like those.

@inkthink Can't do kanchan.... way too strong. Some amazing mild yak cheeses available if that's your taste

As much as his supporters argue that he is working more and speaking less, his detractors maintain that he is hubristic... It might not be very long before Balen Shah finds himself hoisted by his own petard. ✍️ @inkthink @WeeklyKalam api.omarshehata.me/substack-proxy…

Just before elections, I wondered whether, despite “change” becoming the dominant watchword, there was any clarity about what kind of change the ballot would actually deliver — and at what institutional cost. I’m wondering that now too. himalmag.com/politics/nepal… #

@nobelprimal Vten definitely the Nepali GOAT

never really grasped the VTEN appeal until i talked to my neighbor in nuwakot. he was bumping VTEN 24/7 and would literally self-harm whenever his parents took away his phone... u'll understand him if u decode what vten is actually spitting and its appeal to marginalized ppl

Por ocasião do aniversário da morte de Sebastião Salgado (1944-2025), ocorrida em 23 de maio de 2025, tuitamos 10 belas fotos publicadas então pela BBC Brasil (tinyurl.com/yaripo). A matéria divulgava o livro e a exposição resultantes do projeto "Amazônia". Sigam o fio! 🧵

@ViolentVeggy Yes, I've had it before. It's much softer than gnocchi, almost buttery. Because it softens more in the soup, it just melts in the mouth without really having to chew. Pretty great for a day like today.

@inkthink Oooh. Will definitely try it. If you have tried it, is the texture like gnocchi? It looks a bit like that.

I heard about this dish called "rildok" today. I want to have it immediately because it sounds delicious. So, friends in Ktm, if you can tell me where I can find excellent rildok, that would be awesome.

@RnaudBertrand Interesting insights, thanks for sharing, sad that Nepal was not polled though.

Every year, this has to be the one report I look forward to the most: the Democracy Perception Index, compiled by the Alliance of Democracies Foundation (in partnership with Nita Data). In fact, my yearly thread on the report is apparently such a tradition that, this year, its lead researcher personally sent me the report with this message: "every year, I look forward to your thread about it!". That's how you start wondering whether you tweet too much 😅 Why do I like this report so much? A few reasons: 1) The Alliance of Democracies Foundation, the organization behind the report, cannot even remotely be suspected of being some sort of anti-West outlet: it was started by an ex-NATO Secretary General (Anders Fogh Rasmussen) and its stated purpose is "to unite world democracies" 2) It's surprisingly honest and the methodology is actually democratic. Unlike other reports on democracy the scoring isn't done by the report's authors (like the report by Freedom House or The Economist's "Democracy Index"). It simply asks people what they think and, when it comes to democracy, that's kind of the point 🤷‍♂️ 3) I love the expression "perception is reality" because, like it or not, what people believe about their system is what determines its legitimacy. A democracy that nobody actually experiences as one can't credibly claim to be one. And conversely, a so-called "autocracy" that its people overwhelmingly believe is actually a democracy might... actually be a democracy. Anyhow, this year's edition did not disappoint. The data is absolutely fascinating and frankly, a little terrifying. So here you go: my thread on the 2026 Democracy Perception Index 🧵

I really like what Pranaya Rana tries to do in journalism. Good initiative yet again. I think "state support" for artists has been an area the Nepali state has attempted unsuccessfully several times. Or, something reduced to the manufacturing of pro-govt consent.