Nepal, Nov. 25 -- Celebrations of autumnal festivals were comparatively subdued this year due to the Covid-19 scare. Fewer people travelled to their ancestral village for Dashain festivities. Since jobs have been lost and incomes have been reduced, Tihar lights glowed less bright. Chhath turned into a private affair as devotees used makeshift ponds on their front yards or rooftops for the veneration of the sun. For the political honchos, however, it was bickering as usual.

On the diplomatic front, November turned out to be a month of intense engagements. The RAW chief Samant Kumar Goel set the tone with his much-publicised visit. Spooks usually move in mufti and hold secret rendezvous. The New Delhi's top spy flew into Kathmandu in an In...