By Sudeshna Sarkar
Kathmandu, July 1 (IANS) He may no longer be the all-powerful king who was obeyed unquestioningly by his subjects who regarded him to be an incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu, but Nepal’s last king Gyanendra will still celebrate his birthday next week with a lavish party.

However, it is going to be a wedding party where the cynosure of all eyes will be a low-profile commoner and not the 62-year-old deposed monarch, who still remains a force to reckon with in his kingdom-turned-republic.

After being projected as a tyrant by the Maoist guerrillas, who finally unseated him from his throne last year, the former king - now a plain Gyanendra Shah - will show a different side to his haughty nature at the wedding, said Nepali tabloid Ghatana Ra Bichar Wednesday.

It is the wedding of an orphan, Dhan Bahadur Khatri, who was embraced as its own by Nepal’s royal palace almost 20 years ago.

Gyanendra’s elder brother Birendra came upon Khatri, then a young boy, in Dhankuta, a hill town in eastern Nepal during his tour of the region with his wife Aishwarya.

Birendra, then the all-powerful king of Nepal, and his queen were moved by the tears of the orphan who approached the royal couple timorously and said he wanted to go to school. They brought him to Kathmandu with them to grow up in the Narayanhity royal palace along with their own children.

The little boy became the playmate of the king’s youngest child, Prince Nirajan.

Though the king, queen, Nirajan and seven other members of the royal family perished in the shocking massacre in the palace eight years ago, Khatri continued to be received with kindness by the new king, Gyanendra.

The new monarch found a job for the adopted orphan in the palace and now, with the palace turned into a museum and the boy grown up into manhood, has arranged his marriage.

In a gesture of generosity, the former king has also bought an apartment for the newly-weds to live in while his daughter-in-law, the former princess Himani, is said to be playing a leading role in organising the wedding party.

After the bash, it will be time for the last king of Nepal to celebrate his own birthday Tuesday.

Though it will be a much smaller affair with reportedly about 40 guests, the birthday is still going to be of considerable interest with a new demand for the restoration of monarchy.

The Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal, the only party in parliament supporting the crown, has begun calling for a referendum so that people can decide if Nepal should be a kingdom or republic.

Though virtually out of power since April 2006 after his absolute rule of 10 months, Gyanendra still remains a formidable adversary for the Maoists.

Even after unseating the king, the former guerrillas fear the return of monarchy in Nepal and have been accusing the ruling parties of conspiring to proclaim Gyanendra’s schoolboy grandson Hridayendra the nation’s new `baby king’.