Sajha Sawal radio discussion program goes anywhere in Nepal these days, people throng the venue just to catch a glimpse of the dapper presenter. It just goes to show how popular radio is in Nepal and reflects approval for the way in which Shrestha afflicts the powerful. Friday, 16 September marks the 200th episode of the immensely popular Sajha Sawal radio discussion program that has been broadcasting continuously since 2007 on the BBC Nepali Service. “It was hard to get people to ask questions initially,” Shrestha admitted in an interview with Nepali Times this week, “they mostly gave suggestions. We had to run an orientation on how to ask questions.” Four years later, the program’s format has become famous for sharp and hard-hitting exchanges between public figures on the stage and a citizen audience. Imitation being the best form of flattery, Sajha Sawal has spawned a whole lot of similar radio and tv discussion programs. But when it started four years ago, it was a revolutionary format for radio and TV in Nepal: common people asking questions to a panel of invitees which included political leaders, bureaucrats and experts.