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The world has 24 time zones, each separated by an hour. However, some time zones are particularly affected by politics, geography, and social factors. Even so, countries usually only differ by one or half an hour. Meanwhile, Nepal doesn't follow any international rules, setting its time according to its unique GMT+5:45 time zone, which is 45 minutes ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. In fact, this Himalayan nation has its own time zone called Nepali Standard Time.
Nepal has its own time zone called Nepali Standard Time.
Nepal's standard time was established in 1956, when policymakers declared the meridian defining Nepal's time zone to be at Gauri Sankar – a sacred mountain peak east of the capital Kathmandu. Meanwhile, India's time zone is GMT +5:30, 15 minutes behind Nepal. This time difference between the two neighboring countries has given rise to a joke that Nepalese people are always 15 minutes late, or Indians are usually 15 minutes early. However, being 15 minutes ahead is actually a source of pride for Nepalese people, allowing them to be ahead of their powerful neighbor, India, even if only by a few minutes.
Mount Gaurishankar, standing at 7,134 meters, is part of the Himalayas. The mountain is named after the Hindu goddess Gauri.
Nepal's history of timekeeping reveals unique methods. For example, during the Malla dynasty (1201-1779), the only way Nepalese people could tell the time was by going to a pond near the Royal Palace in Kathmandu, where an official was responsible for monitoring a device called the "Ghati engine." These were stones with small holes that took exactly 24 minutes to sink. By counting the number of stones that sank each day, the kingdom's timekeeper could inform the people about the time in Nepal.
Compared to the West, the Nepalese had made a significant leap in civilization by developing their own calendar system before the Gregorian calendar was created. According to an ancient Nepalese calendar, it is now the year 2076 in Kathmandu, 56 years and 6 months ahead of today's Gregorian calendar.
Nepal is a country with an ancient and distinctive culture.
Besides Nepal, another place that has an odd time zone is Chatham – a small archipelago of New Zealand with a time zone of GMT+13:45. The people of Chatham set their clocks 45 minutes ahead of the people on South Island, but it doesn't seem to be for any good reason.
