PRABINFO

The Pessimist in me felt like writing again. I feel old writing about or commenting on political matters. I am not an expert and my thoughts might not be right in a broad perspective. But, it has been hard to keep this feeling with me and here I am tempted to write. The newly implemented federal setup of Nepal creates decentralization. Decentralization is much awaited phenomenon for Nepal. But, will it really help to develop our country? Coming years will tell, but we should never back away from making a prediction. Our new constitution allows the decentralization of the nation’s budget as well. It is a good thing, as a local level project will not have to wait for specific approval and budget allocation from several ministries like in the present scenario. But, there is also a negative side to it. The winners of the coming local election will have power on the state’s money and they can form a syndicate to use the state’s money for their personal interests. A good financi...

A few days ago, I boarded the new Sajha Yatayat bus manufactured by Ashok Leyland. I am going to express my genuine feelings about the experience. I boarded the bus from Baneshwor and got off at Tripureshwor. I know that Kanak Mani Dixit is a visionary person. I also know that cycles and big buses instead of private two and four-wheelers are very important for greener tomorrow. But, this does not fit quite right here, especially in the context of Kathmandu. Getting back to that new bus ride, I have to admit it was not extraordinary. In fact, it was less ordinary than I had previously thought. The seat arrangement uses a smart technique of reducing the seat size and letting as much space as possible open for people to stand in. For a crowded city like Kathmandu, it is a really appropriate concept. But, this doesn’t end here. The seats were too small for a person of my size. And, for clarification, I am a teenager of very average size. Furthermore, the seats had absolutely no cu...

The undeclared economic blockade imposed in Nepal by India is now in its third week. I wish Nepalese government had responded timely and effectively to these matters which have put daily lives into a grueling test for its citizens. Only Nepali news agencies have been publishing the original stories about the ongoing political unrest in certain regions and the embargo. Also, different solidarity movements have helped Nepali people fight back the bossy attitude of the Indian Government. On the contrary, the roles of international news agencies have been quite ineffective in delivering the right message and information about current issues in Nepal. The sole role of media is to speak out the truth. It is not true that citing an authority is bringing out the true story to the public. Especially in case of politics, where matters can never be analyzed forthright, ‘citing and authority’ can be highly refutable. Now, in the case of the embargo imposed in Nepal by India against the treaties...

ROSHAN KARKI Last Christmas, I gave away my spit but the very next month, the DNA results came back making me feel: Not-So-Special “Who am I?” This selfie question often reverberates in my head, even more so at times when my Nepali identity (ego) is questioned, challenged, or brushed aside by an Indian stamp far away from home. Over the years, this insecurity has been fueled by overtones of ethnic federalism—an idea entrenched on differences we possess as Nepalis, along the lines of caste, creed, color, and culture. The ambiguous talks on identity issues by journalists, scholars, and op-ed writers from Nepal have done little to ease my dilemma. The question resurfaced again in one of those Chiya-Chats at my Alma Mater in Connecticut among the most diverse, passionate, and intelligent Nepali students I’ve ever interacted with. Beyond the usual fervor of Mount Everest and Buddha, we seemed perplexed about our Nepali identity: whether to associate with our country, align with our eth...

She bid me farewell and waved. She did not say me a word, but it was what I realized her inner heart wanted to utter. She just kept smiling, standing at the edge of her front yard. I waved back, but said nothing, just as she did. Kanchi, as they called her, was a pretty little girl of 9. I met her in Bhumidada, a village situated in Karnali district. I was there, along with three other friends to collect different data of students from the village schools. All of us loved social works. With the motto of serving people, especially from remote villages, we had assembled together, back in 2005, to establish a social service organization. On my journey to Bhumidada, I was fed up with the hassles that had come into my way. But, as soon as I got there, I found it to be a picturesque place, so I helped myself take its photo saving it into my heart. The scenes had made an impression on me. Something more impressive was unnoticed in the villagers by me. Their hospitability was compelli...

ATUL POKHAREL “If I can do it, it’ll help us cure cancer,” he said as he stood in the lobby of a building at Harvard University. “So, you’re trying to understand how DNA repairs itself?” I attempted to sum up what I had understood so far. “Yes, more specifically, I’m trying to design a molecular probe to…” He continued to explain his research, taking me deeper into a newly explored world of DNA, proteins, and enzymes called Chemical Biology. As he spoke, his face lit up and his hands assumed one fluid posture after another. While his eyes looked at me, I doubt it was my face that he saw. By the time he was done, the garland of scientific terms that he had strung together into Nepali sentences had touched something deep. This is a young man, I told myself, who is creating the future of Nepali research. I must speak to him again. That was the first of many conversations with Dr. Uddhav Shigdel, a scientist at Harvard University. At 30, his accomplishments are already beyond ...

On the morning of August 15, 2003, I awoke to the alarming sound of gun shots. A moment of sinister silence followed; my skin tightened, and in the dark corners of my mind I could already envision what had just taken place. With tears impairing my sight and fright impeding my thoughts, I speedily stumbled and staggered my way down the stairs, out of the house and onto the road. The scene I saw there that morning changed my life. On the indifferent dirt road, in a pool of blood lay the body of my uncle, dead. Three young Maoist rebels had just taken the life of this army colonel outside his own house. Lying flat on the street, he had died in the same uniform that his father and grandfather before him had once worn for their country. Weak and still breathless, I stood there watching as the rest of the family, army-men, and pedestrians dragged his motionless corpse into the army jeep, hoping against hope that he would come back to life. The three bullets in his chest not only killed my...

DILIP POUDEL BAGLUNG, Aug 10: How do you feel if you have to buy a two-way bus ticket that costs around Rs 500 just to reach the district headquarters to pay monthly electricity tariff of Rs 80? Thousands of people, especially from villages such as Kushmishera, Binamare, Damek, Sarkuwa, Arjewa, Jaidi, Chhisti, Rangkhani, Raydanda, Amalachaur, Narayansthan and Painyupata VDCs in southern remote belt of the district, are compelled to live with this irony- as the Nepal Electricity Authority has no revenue collection centers in the region. The residents of Kushmishera VDC, the southernmost part of the district are affected the most as they are compelled to pay up to Rs 500 to reach the district headquarters just to pay the bill. And if they do not make it on time-that is before the NEA´s revenue counters close-they will have to bear the extra burden of lodging and food. The Secretary of Kushmishera VDC Durga Prasad Sharma complains that their repeated appeals to the state-run au...

How did the long-established-superstition barring a girl from several activities during menstruation emerge in Nepal? Nepal is not a developed country.There are superstitions everywhere. Even we, educated ones are deviated to superstitions at certain degree, let alone the illiterate ones. There is a social rule here that a girl during menstruation, should not go and touch the kitchenware and foods directly. They are not allowed to touch stuffs related to gods for they are considered to be “impure” during menstruation. Also, they are not allowed to touch a male person with “janai”, a sacred bunch of threads worn by every male person who has attended a special occasion called “bratabandha”. These are just superstitions, which, for our victory over evil are to be be neglected. No one has pondered how this came to practice in Nepalese societies, except following them. It actually began while taking into note the health and cleanliness of our body. There were no techniques to prevent flo...

NIRDISHTHA RAJ SAPKOTA The busy, bustling city of Kathmandu. The houses, all of them lived in, all of them teeming with life and activity. I must say that I’ve grown to love the houses of Kathmandu and its people. I must say that Kathmandu has a certain charm to it and no, it has nothing to do with the nightlife. Being a teenager, people tend to jump into conclusions and I’m just trying to say that I love Kathmandu for everything it is except a few things, like pollution. Imagine a developed Nepal, from Mechi to Mahakali, every nook and cranny developed with load shedding and water scarcity taking the back seat. No more people dying of diarrhea, no more discrimination and no more crises of daily necessities. Such a wonderful thought! Imagine eco friendly cities all over Nepal. Imagine Nepal selling electricity to countries and imagine our country not suffering from financial crunches and an unstable political scenario. The developed Nepal will see decentralization and people w...