King, royal family kept away from army prog

Kathmandu, Sep 30: Nepal King Gyanendra and other royal family members were kept away from the feu de joie ceremony organised to mark the seventh day of biggest Hindu festival, Dashain.

This is for the first time in 237 years' history of the monarchy that the king and the royal family members were not invited to the programme held yesterday.

The king is no more the supreme commander of Nepalese Army after the restoration of democracy in the country through a popular uprising in April this year.

The tradition was introduced in Kathmandu valley following its conquest by King Prithivi Narayan Shah 237 years ago and since then the kings have been attending the function every year during the festival.

"At a time when there is no certainty about the future of monarchy itself, such cultural issues cannot be considered as something big," Kantipur quoted historian as saying.

Meanwhile, King Gyanendra has been visiting various religious places during the Dashain festival.

UNI