"Malwadi herne", my 3 year old niece cried impatiently, running to the window. She's still small and she's used to getting what she wants when she wants it. What makes this request interesting is that "Malwadi herne" means "I want to see the Maoists."

The Maoists she was referring to were the 500-600 people who had gathered on the street outside our house. Through the day the crowd had ebbed and flowed, sometimes quietly resting, other times blaring Nepali songs and dancing. By evening, they'd started lighting small fires, most of which were only for fun, but a few of which featured a scarecrow effigy of the Prime Minister at the center.

I'm sure from the sound of it, you may be able to imagine quite a frightening picture, but after 6 days of continuous strikes, it's just become daily life. All the same, it's a rather interesting life.

In short, the situation is this: The Maoists have demanded the current Prime Minister resign. Until he does so, Kathmandu is under siege. And in order to make their siege as effective as possible, they have bused in thousands of villagers; sheltering them in private schools, party halls, and homes which they have commandeered. Ironically, many of the "protesters" were brought here by force and many of them have already started walking home.

In some senses, it's as if the whole country is in an unbreakable deadlock. The protesters no longer want to protest, but they are forced on by their party leaders. Meanwhile the rest of the nation sits at home, only venturing out between the hours of 6pm-8pm, the 2 hours which the Maoists allow shops to open in order to supply food both to their cadres and the rest of us.

Until yesterday, things had remained peaceful, but the protesters have now endured 6 days of hot sun, and 6 mosquito filled nights. What's more, hundreds of protesters lie in the hospital suffering from diarrhea after drinking contaminated water.

At this point, what happens next is very uncertain. My office has already announced we will remain closed until at least Monday. Each day the leaders sit in talks from 11am until 3pm, but so far not a single consensus point has been made.

The only things that are certain is that we are safe here in our home, and that the strike will continue for some time yet. Hopefully that time will be short.

All the same, no need to worry. We are wanting for nothing, but a little exercise. I'm sure we'll all have a few bandh pounds to shed when this is all finished.

As always, missing you all dearly!!!