Nepalmountainnews Report | 21 Jul 2008
With few friends coming to visit and his son and one-time heir now living in Singapore, the new life of ousted king as a commoner is by all accounts a lonely, meditative one.
Former king Gyanendra spends his time writing poetry, praying, surfing the Internet and taking walks in the forest around the Nagarjun hunting lodge where he lives just outside the capital Kathmandu, guards and his spiritual adviser said.
"The former king has been spending most of his time inside the bungalow," the AFP quoted a military guard at the lodge as saying. "Occasionally I have seen him sitting in front of a computer or reading books. The place is quiet."
Locals around the palace also said they only sometimes saw the former king coming out.
"I haven't seen many people coming to visit except some former royal secretaries," told a local to AFP, adding that the ex-king rarely left the premises. "Sometimes he leaves once a week, sometimes once in 15 days."
Those outings are most likely to involve visits to his elderly step-mother, in her 80s, who continues to live in Narayanhiti Palace in the heart of the city.
The concubine of Gyanendra's grandfather Tribhuwan, in her 90s, also continues to reside at the palace, which was turned into a museum after the king's departure last month.
Gyanendra's new life looks set to become even quieter after his son, former crown prince Paras, left for Singapore earlier this month. The departure was followed by that of Himani and three children on Thursday.
The former king's spiritual adviser said Gyanendra had endured his losses in a stoic fashion.
"Many people have a heart attack or go into shock if they lose their job," said Madhab Bhattarai, who occasionally visits the king to advise him on prayer ceremonies.
"He lost the state but he doesn't show any grief. From outside you can't see any difference in his face."
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