| Himal to Simal
Himal, (Nepali word for the Himalayas) for many in South Asia and around the world, is a landmark periodical. Who would have thought that an environmental newsletter would evolve into one of the finest regional publications? (Just see a few copies from 1987). Although, over the years the name remained the same, the editor Kanak Mani Dixit, a Columbia School of Journalism graduate (and a St. Xavierite from KTM) shifted the magazine's focus some ten years ago. More and more, HIMAL became somewhat of a SIMAL (Southern Intellectuals' Major Alliance for Likenesses or something like that...). Be assured this acronym is coined by Newslook, not by Kanak Mani (who, no doubt, is known for inventing new terms). Unlike the mainstream media, Dixit's is a journalism with a declared moral stance. His "South Asian" (oops, it's "Southasian" to use Kanak's own term) periodical has turned 20 this month and the greetings are pouring in like monsoon, just as the monsoon is creating havoc in the SA (only a coincidence, perhaps). Many happy returns!