Politics, you must be kidding!

When I was small, my teachers used to ask us what we wanted to become when we grew up. My friends would say doctor, engineer or any other lucrative profession. When I was asked, I replied that  I wanted to become a politician. Everybody laughed, for the reasons I was unaware of.  I, now, wonder what triggered those little minds to laugh at my choice.

 Why is there so much of hatred for the politicians in our country? One obvious reason is that , with all due respect to our politicians, our politicians who are in the acme position, what time has shown, are morally lewd, power fanatics and have not been up to the expectations of the people, let it be in the time of Rana or king or even after country have been established as a federal republic.  On top of that, our country has not been able to witness so much of political success despite making much of breakthrough lately. On top of that, our rate of progress has always been hindered by the political turmoil.  For instance, our economic growth of this fiscal year has been the lowest of last 3 years, almost regularly occurring strikes at the last quarter of the fiscal year amid political uncertainty being one of the main reasons.  These may be few of the reasons why general public have not had the positive message from politics.

    Similarly, there are very few paradigms of students who have taken politics as a career from the urban family of higher social status, excluding some business person turned politicians. The politicians generally hail from the rural part of the country with their family not with strong economic backgrounds. The social prestige of politicians is such that the parents do not want their children know about the political news let alone making politicians the idols.

Moreover, political leaders do not have security of their life, and so often they have to run after the signals of other people. When they do not, they make their decision suicidal. One could find many examples where popular, influential and inspirational political leaders have been murdered; Communist leader Madan Bhandari from Nepal, Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv Gandhi from India, Julfikar Ali  Bhutto and his daughter Bennizer Bhutto from Pakistan , Yitzak Rabin from Isarel are some representatives examples from Asia. Recent murder of judge of supreme court ,Rana Bhadur Bam, is also believed to be connected with some politicals decisions, and  the responsibility of the incident has been taken by a political party. These incidents also push aspiring politicians to have a second thought about their career.

     Despite all the odds, we cannot forget that politics is at the core of any country and it is through the political process and institutions that any nation runs. Keeping these things in mind, the political status of a country needs to be stout if a country is to make any good progress. So, it may be a time for youths to think about becoming political doctors and engineers to rescue the country from bed of political fiasco with a panacea and to create a  new torso of the country.

Darkness Beneath the Light

 One hazy winter day, I along with my friend had to go to Lainchaur for a work to be done. We got on to a microbus reaching old bus park.  The microbus was packed and we had to complete our journey without having being seated in microbus. A boy who seemed to be in his early teen asked us for our fare. Upon giving him our fare and student identity card, he passed our identity card to the driver to scrutinize them. I then had a feeling that he did not know how to read or write. Eventually, he returned our identity card after verification from the driver who, for us, seemed articulate enough to know the expiring date of the card.

 We then started our journey towards New Road on walk. Near Keshar Mahal, building of Education Ministry, my eyesight caught two children sniffing the drugs in the used packet of milk. I also overheard them quarreling with each other using vulgar words which would have been very hard for normal people to digest.The incident was under surveillance of several policemen but they all were stoic. The Policemen were rather entertained by the act of those children contrary to what we expect them to do in these situations. Furthermore, the body looking after the education sector is Educational Ministry near which the very incident had taken place.

Few meters ahead, some kids of school going age were begging for money; claiming they felt hungry but had no money.   I really felt pity of our country from the incidents that I witnessed in quick succession of time.  Slogans of child right or education for all seemed not to have existed for those children I came across. It was ludicrous to have witnessed such things in front of the Ministry which looks after educational system of the country. And, lack of education is root cause of these problems. The incident was clear illustration of the proverb, darkness beneath the light.

 Country, now, is preparing to draft a new constitution. In these circumstances, the prerogative rights of the children such as to read and write should be ensured in new constitution. Also, the constitution should be implemented pragmatically and not  within the words of constitution only. Government, Ministry of Education (MOE), several non-governmental organizations looking for the welfare of children needs to be more focused to their task.

Let times come as such, that no child would be a bus conductor or get engaged in any menial labor work but all would get an opportunity to read. Let those streets be occupied by cheerful faces who promise to lead the country in the path of success, one day.

Amid the Season of Revolutions

Chetan Bhagat is a familiar name for young readers characterized by his simplicity in writing, humor in sentiments, and ability to touch the hearts of youths by exploring the youth contents in his novels. Revolution 2020 is his latest book emphasizing on love, corruption and ambition. This is a story of a place called vanarasi of India and revolves around three school friends Raghav, Gopal and Aarati,.

Gopal hails from a poor family who loses his mother at an early age and lives with the father who rarely had any time  to prepare him a lunch for school while Raghav belongs to a  well off family who had far better economic status than his friend. Raghav believes in revolution, a change, while Gopal believes in money but they both love the same girl, Aarati.

   Raghav gets into an IIT college while Gopal fails to do so in his first attempt. He then joins IIT entrance preparation course in Kota leaving his father and his beloved friend Aarati apart in Vanarasi for entrance for next year.  In the process, he loses his bonding with Aarati who was inclined to IITian Raghav . The major blow for him comes when he loses his father after being unable to make it to an IIT college after two successive attempts.

 The story gets an interesting turn over when Gopal utilizes his disputed land with his uncle to establish a college by taking a support from corrupted MLA Sukla. Raghav, an IIT graduate, on the other hand decides to get into revolutionary journalism to make his desired changes changing the pattern observed by most of IIT graduates. The Novel offers unobvious and dramatic twists as two friends turn into enemies. Their adopted profession takes them toward next level of rivalry, rather a cold one, one taking the use of corrupted system for his goal  while other denouncing it through media for his desired changes. Lots of drama is then revealed   when Aarati , girlfriend of Raghav ,then gets inclined to Gopal after high profile of Gopal and low times of Raghav. Story nevertheless ends in a good note after plenty  more of struggle for love, success and happiness in Gopal's life.

Chetan Bhagat

 Bhagat, who has been tagged as a cheap writer by the critics has so largely strengthen his writing this time around. The battle between two talented and ambitious friends for their dream and love makes the script so flowing with suspense which unleashes chronologically.  Revolution 2020 is one heck of a novel which could shut all sort of cynicism about Bhagat's writing and there should be no one arguing that this is by far the best novel by him.

The novel is an obvious option for reading for youths like us who should look for the change in our (corrupted) system .Moreover, It would be a no surprise if this story gets turned up into another Bollywood Blockbuster like 3 Idiots (5 point Someone), Hello (One night at a call centre) both of whom are written by Chetan Bhagat himself.        

Bidding Farewell !!

The day was perfect; bright shafts of unimpeded light and zephyr added perfection to the perfect day. The scenario in itself had its significance to the event. Former gave the metaphor of exposure to the wider world we were to get incorporated with and latter the sensation of something moving, leading indeed, on their contrast. It was the last day of our glorious college days.

Feelings ambivalent. Last day at college does not feel good no matter how good the scenario might look like.That was the last time we, teachers, students and college staffs,were at the same place, same attire and same way.All of the sudden it felt like unbreakable relationships have been snapped out of nowhere. Frankly saying, we all were contained with our emotions and I could feel even the hashes of the voices were chocked in melancholy.Yes, parting is painful but we were, at the end, happy to leave the college by achieving for what we had joined the college two years ago. Nevertheless, I felt little sad for leaving place and people  that bear as a part of my identity.

College days, I feel, were the best day of my life and these days passed like a happy dream in very quick succession of time. I will definitely miss everything that my college offered to me from reprimanding assemblies and college lectures to extra-curricular exposure and exciting tours to delightful smell of canteen to pungent smell of chemistry laboratory. Most of all, I will miss the very heart of my experience as a student; my friends and teachers. I must have my sincere gratitude to my teachers, for all the lessons they taught-lessons that extended beyond the walls of classroom. And thanks to my colleagues who had constantly been with me in my high as well as low times. Thanks everyone.

The sweet memories of my college days have made an impact on soul and self. We, however, will now make our journey on the foundation laid by our college. We may veer from the premise of our second home but memories remain afresh in our mind and heart forever. As Oliver Holmes says where we love is our home , home that our feet may leave but not our hearts. Farewell College days!

Need Potatoes?

For last couple of weeks, I have not been able to go out and spend my spare time elsewhere. I am, now, locked in the walls of rooms preparing for the A levels finals. But, let me be honest, I am not giving my cent percent effort in this. I spend half of my potential reading time watching television, surfing net or sleeping. However, this time has given me an opportunity to witness a weird kind of incidents around the place. It is not that I have not had experience of these things before but not like this time which has actually triggered me write on these. Or maybe I had not given so much of attention to these things before.

   In all of the days that I was at home, I always heard some loud voices tempting to lure the attraction of people. The intensity of this sound so loud that even a person in his deepest of sleep would awake. As for me, I always got out of my seat by the voice that came out of nowhere. It either used to be vegetable seller, fruit seller, or KAWAD WALA (as we call them). The two former would ask the people whether they wanted some and the latter asked whether they had some to sell them, bottles and old newspaper of course. One thing that made me laugh was the language of fruit and vegetable seller. Their appeal would sound like they needed some rather than they were at our doors to sell theirs. By the way, what would one understand when someone says "AAlU CHAEEYE, PYAAJ CHAEEYE". Using simple logic it meant the person needed some potatoes and more.  Did not it?

Similarly, I got surprised by the zeal of children around the place. It was again the loudness of the voice that took me by surprise. Every time electricity was cut off or back again, they would shout on loud voice either "BATTI GAYO" Or "BATTI AAYO". They, for me, at one instance, apparently seemed like messengers, kind of what we still have in my real home back in Parbat. We call them "KATUWAL" there. They shout information that has to be parted to the general people from a place that is audible to most of the people. I tell you what they are very effective means of communication in places like ours.  It may be their impact, the children's, that other older members also started doing the same but this time with few decibels less. So, every time the line came back people shouted in jubilation probably more intense than for a much awaited goal by Nepalese strikers.

Shouting has been both compulsion and hobby for Nepalese. Call it the struggle of 2007 B.S. or mass uprising of 2047 B.S. or April revolution of 2062/2063 B.S. Nepalese have shouted in roads for their freedom , for their voices to be heard and for their plead of change. We shout in our house, our leaders in house of Parliament. We shout in streets, cinema hall, stadium, public places (you understand what I mean), public vehicles and just everywhere and in almost every occasions.

When a player from opposing team scores a century in England, assumed to be most civilized country of the world, everyone applauses the effort. If a player from opposing time scores a century in our soil, we yell at him, we shout at him and we may even go to the extent of throwing some stone at him. Pathetic, is not it? Someone once said this particular behavior of South Asian people have pushed their civilization a step backward. But, still we shout, still we feel o so comfortable in shouting. The shouting habit as it goes.

Is it enough?

Shakti Gauchan

There was all excitement and euphoria around the faces of sports fan across the country when Shakti Gauchan was called by IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals for trials to play in IPL. Shakti Gauchan along with Paras Khadka was selected in team of eleven best players in ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers tournament by espnstar.com.  Same Scenario was created some four months ago when Sagar Thapa scored a stunning goal which was widely appreciated all over the world. The goal proved pivotal in making Nepal go through to the semifinals stage of SAF Championship after 12 years. However, these are very few of such incidents when Nepali sports fan are able to celebrate success of their team and players in International sports arena.

  Sachin Tendulkar, one of the living legends of cricket, recently scored a century of centuries in International Cricket. This brought many Indians a cause to celebrate and a reason to be proud of their country. The way Tendulkar pointed and kissed Indian flag in his helmet after scoring 100th century must have delighted all of the Indians hearts. Why not? In fact, they belong to the country where Sachin Tendulkar was born. More importantly, India is the current world champion of ICC cricket world cup. While our neighbors have had every accolade in game of cricket, we still look for a small turnover in Nepali sports to celebrate. Call for Shakti Gauchan to play in the IPL may come as the highest achievement for Nepali sports player but when retro analyzed these achievements belong nowhere among the flamboyant performances of our neighbors. It is not only about India but we are surrounded by the bunch of countries which have been able to show their impact in one sport or the other in international arena.

Sagar Thapa

Bangladesh cricket team recently reached to the finals of Asia Cup, upsetting the teams like India and Sri Lanka, which was held in Dhaka. This team used to be tagged as the minnows in cricket. The performance like this will help them get out of this tag. Not to forget, this team is constantly giving neck to neck performance with the power houses in Cricket and now it itself is evolving as one. Similar is the success story with Afghanistan Cricket team which is showing off in ICC cricket world cup for two consecutive times. This team, in the other hand, has made an identity of surprise Package in International Cricket in very short period of time. Believe me, this teams has a very good future in cricket if they continue to perform in same way.  It happened to be the same time when all these countries, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal ,have performed well in cricket. Well, you may reconsider the latter country, but seventh position out of sixteen is not really bad for a team who went in the competition as the worst of all.  We can only hope that this momentum goes along with our team and this provides a really big reason to celebrate in days to come from the inspirations of the two former nations.

Third edition of AFC challenge cup pounded the hearts of Nepali football fan, for that the team could not score a goal in entire competition. Following this poor performance, Nepal was knocked out from the group stage of the tournaments. Nepal was second seeded team in the competition and only behind three times champions North Korea. Out of the expectations, Nepal failed to make any impression on its houseful supporters who had to walk away with their heads down after every match.

Let Nepali sports fan have a bigger reason to celebrate, a celebration bigger than that for a goal or an individual performance that is only capable of making to the trials of an event. Nepali sports fan want more of the same achievements that our geographical neighbors are having. If not now, let those days come and let us have new identity of our own, we are the citizens of the country.....................................................

About me

 I  started this blog to conduce my chain of thoughts in an articulate way.