The Nepali Citizen

 I've been reading and learning about world history. The lessons I can take from it are many. What amazes me is that there are so few key events that shape history; much more is shaped by various wild probabilities and chances that determine who we are today. As a student of Literature, I am interested in learning about the truth just as much as about fiction. After all, fictional worlds often imitate the real one, and sometimes it's the opposite as well. Yesterday, while talking with a friend of mine, I had an insight: in the Nepali literary scene, there are hardly any fictional works that try to imagine a future for Nepal, purely in fictional terms. The idea is to write about Nepal as an underdeveloped nation reaching the heights of a superpower, with the span of this dramatic rise taking place over decades or centuries. Imagining a few aspects of this story excited me, but working on it and actually thinking of the conditions that might result in that kind of importance on t...

Which class ends up owning you? That has always been the state of middle and lower-class people. What can I say? There is always a class that ends up ruling over you. During the time of the Spaniards, there were conquistadors and viceroys who ruled over you; in the time of the British, there were colonial governors and masters who ruled over you; in the time of the French, there were also colonial administrators who ruled over you. Throughout history, we have witnessed a form of control where there is a ruling class and the ruled. The cycle is that we end up changing our positions. There have been revolutions and uprisings to overthrow the ruling class throughout the world, but there have also been long periods of subservience. People have been ruled over, and there are those who rule over them. That has always been the state of the world, and you cannot convince me that right now is any different. I cannot pass judgment on who is in the right and who is in the wrong, but I can say for...

 Nepal—a nation perpetually in transition. I've spoken with countless friends, and the sentiment is always the same: the government, they say, is tuned against the welfare of its own people. Even regular driving can be a gamble with your life ( August 15th News ). What can I say about a country so entrenched in its ways? Can a single person truly change a nation? Western ideologies would argue yes, but here, in our Eastern homes, I have my doubts. We exist in a state of constant flux, where something is always teetering on the brink of failure. Nepal, a land cherished by over 30 million hearts—yet, can any of them truly claim their actions have reshaped the nation? I remain unconvinced. The daily challenges we face are but a microcosm of the lifelong battles ahead. Who wouldn't feel helpless in such a situation? My friends—most of whom now live abroad—sing praises of their adopted countries, and rightly so. But when they return home, they’re on vacation, merely tourists in thei...

  Some days, I stay in bed trying to stop the day from occurring. A hopeless matter indeed, but what can you do when you lose the strength to face the day as it is? There are tasks that need doing, and you recall them, and the guilt pushes you out of bed. I am engulfed by that guilt, and most days pass by with wishes to change that, one way or another. Don't get me wrong, I've had a good life, and it has been mostly fulfilling in terms of having achieved some wishes. However, when it comes to depth, I've barely swum below the surface, afraid of the dark blue waters. Hopelessly, I look out the window and see the gray clouds covering the city, about to pour down. I take the weather personally too, and that is no way to live, but that's how it has been for as long as I remember. Today, with its potential for heavy rain, the day is likely to flood me with emotions while covering this wonderful Kathmandu city. However, I have a few things I want to accomplish on rainy days. ...

 It was common in the time of kings to offer favors to their close friends. The tight circle would then offer favors to those below them. The hierarchy was set; power came from the top and trickled slowly downward. Well, the king is no more. But the authority figures who have power are still ever-present in today's democracy. Those who have power now exercise similar misuse toward those who have none. The only difference is that there is no central authority exerting immense power; instead, power is divided among politicians, judges, bureaucrats, and business folks. This is not to say that everyone misuses their power, but I am certain that if you are from Nepal, you know how far knowing someone can take you ( source/force ). Growing up in Kathmandu, I have always been aware of the fact that my family and I belonged to the have-not section of this divide. Anytime we needed to get something done, we had to either bribe someone or cozy up to people just to get their duties fulfilled....

 There are cravings that a person must fulfill in this world, and they can mostly be categorized into two types: material and spiritual. The spiritual one is highly individual and requires a different sort of effort than the materialistic one. Today, I would like to talk about my materialistic needs. As a person born and raised in Nepal, an underdeveloped nation in Asia, I, like most other Nepalis, have to find means not only to support myself but also to support my family, however possible. Even though I have chosen the written word as a medium for my spiritual fulfillment, I must admit that it is not a viable way to make a modest living, at least here at home. I am reminded of a quote by Gabriel García Márquez: "If you're going to be a writer, you have to be one of the great ones... After all, there are better ways to starve to death." Well, we all can't be the great ones, now can we? So, as a means to make a living, I have chosen a quieter profession that I have be...