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KATHMANDU - A RELIGIOUS adviser to Nepal's King Gyanendra has revealed that the already embattled monarch has been struck by yet more misfortune.
Not only is the king facing the rapid rise of ultra-republican Maoists who want to sack him, he has also been hit by a terrible omen: a 20m pole falling off a wooden chariot.
It may sound trivial to some, but Mr Madhab Bhattarai - a Hindu priest, guru and close aide to the king since 2002 - said the tumbling pole was being taken very seriously at the royal palace.
'I can guarantee you this is not a good sign for the country,' said Mr Bhattarai, who is known as a Naayab Bada Guruju, or Great Teacher.
The incident, which left eight people injured, occurred on Sunday during Seto Machhindranath, one of the dozens of annual Hindu festivals widely observed in Nepal.
'This is a bad omen for those who run the nation. It signals that there will be some kind of big accident.
'I have suggested to the palace to perform certain special rituals as they are a bit worried,' he said of the king and his tight-knit aides.
'We can't prove it scientifically, but people have a strong belief that something bad will happen,' Mr Bhattarai said in an interview that provided a rare insight into the mind of the deeply superstitious and reclusive king.
The 'bad thing' appears to be just around the corner.
The count from last week's landmark elections on Nepal's political future is ongoing, but so far former Maoist rebels are on track for a surprise victory.
The Maoists waged a deadly insurgency for a decade to abolish the monarchy, and have vowed to do so as soon as the final results are announced and a new 601-seat constitutional assembly is formed.
King Gyanendra ascended the throne in 2001 when his brother and predecessor, King Birendra, was shot dead at a party along with eight other family members by a drunk and lovelorn crown prince, who in turn killed himself.
In 2005 he seized absolute power to fight the Maoists, only to fuel a wave of republican sentiment and a historic 2006 peace deal that led to the polls.
He has also been stripped of all his powers, including his role as head of state and army commander in the wake of the peace deal. - AFP
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