TRAVELING WITH A CHILD!

At school we used to study texts where the writer generally describes his journey with a small child.Recently I too had one.Nothing special happened except for the fact that i took an extra  notice of it.

I prefer to travel on Safa tempoes inside the valley.They are not the coziest or the fastest.The main advantage is that they limit the passenger seat to 10.I stood near Ghantagar.A tempo headed for Sinamangal arrived after a while or so.I gestured the tempo to stop.It did.I entered in.

I turned into a confuse guy, i saw no seat available and the driver had started to drive again.So, i thought i would stand on the back, and get a view of dusty Kathmandu( i have done that sometime and i truely feel awesome). Some seconds flew by pretty quickly. A fellow passenger pointed me to where this little girl sat, and said her mother to take her in her lap.(and later i found out the passenger was not a relative of the girl).I felt releived and waited for the little girl to be lifted and taken into her mothers lap. As it was happening , the girl said"tapai aatnu hunna yaha"{you wont fit in here!}.Just like what she said a very little space remained after she left her designated seat.Then I fitted myself to whatever of the seat was left.She responded at my face,"maile bhanakai thiye ni tapai aatnu hunna bhanera"{ i said to u , u wont fit in there}.

Well, she looked pretty and her fairy dress suited her too.To her poking comments I had nothing but a semi smile.

That made me remember my own childhood.Once in a bus, i began to argue with my mother that we were travelling West so we shall never reach home.I boasted my ability to predict directions, and i deliberately began to shout loud so that the conductor would listen to me. Instead the passengers smiled at me( the same semi smile as i have given to that girl).

One day this small girl shall grow up, and she too would give a semi smile to other childs.We all grow up and ......we all give the SEMI SMILE.Don't we!

Today, i again happened to travel via the popular "Annapurna tempo" to Ghantaghar.The tempo had vacant seats.A child and her mother boarded the tempo.By luck or by any other means this particular lady sat beside me.She left her daughter to squeeze(i mean comfortably) between big legs of her and mine.The ride was not a smooth one.The tempo would stop randomly and the passengers bumped sideways.So this little girl dressed in all white(coincindently as the other girl) grabbed my hand and later( just after a few seconds) put her hand into the hollow space formed between my elbow and and the abdomen.She felt innocent and didnt suffer any hazards.On the contrary, a teenage girl was bound to form a gap between mine and her .She had great difficulty controlling herself(i don't blame her for this misery).

Again, some another day i shall be in my 40's and she shall be in her 20's and whatever tough be the  ride she wouldn't even take a mildest of support on me. Things change bitterly with time and as i think childhood is the time when a human is a damn good innocent phenomenon.

NEW HOPES IN AN OLD CONTEST!

The current Miss Nepal can't boast herself a full support from her hometown while she will be competing for the Miss World title this October.
The beauty contest has always been under controversy from its very beginning.It is blamed as the contest treating women as a mere showpiece.But sometimes I wonder why the stereotypes don't protest the Male Body Building Contest where contestants.....dress up negligibly in comparison to their female counterparts of Miss Nepal.At least the formality of asking some questions is carried out in  a typical Miss Nepal contest (well i still think touching hair in a certain segment of the event is totally bizzaire).Enough has been debated on this matter and I shall take this issue in a new way in the following paragraphs.
Whatever be the case I am rather more optimistic via the individual who won the contest held on sep 1.Competing to represent the country(maybe also the Dabur Vatika as pointed out by some) takes enough courage.First of all at an age of 17 the contestant she has groomed herself and I myself being 20,don't remember myself thinking of competing in such a competitve event.
Also another interesting thing is ,the level of competition has increased for sure.In the previous contests, the final round used to give a obvious winner with many finalist giving pointless answers in a confused tone.But this time things changed for good, every finalist answered and more over the winner appeared to be so confident that she spoke the same as she wrote in paper without even looking in it.
The answer of the winner was striking to me.She(from a science background coupled with a brief modelling career) slotted in one of her choices the dream of making her colleagues youth a scientist.That was unprecedented and especially the contest used to be full with the same mentally allied womens who made glamour their present and future. However this pretty lady..still continues to show interest in the field of science .
1st in her school, studying in the no.1 college of the country and tagged no.1 contestant...and going to win the contest she shows some unprecedented signs.So, maybe this time she changes the look of Nepali women in front of the foreigners...as did lately the U-19  women cricket team. So lets hope she brings the crown home and the event takes itself to a higher level rather than a mere annual debating point.
ALL THE BEST SADICHHA!!!!

HOW NON COMMITED RELATIONSHIP EXHAUSTS VALUABLE RESOURCES!!

Well last time when i took a bus from all famous Ratnapark to my university....i had nothin but the view ...that could be seen through my window.I remember my friends rating ,,girls..while having nothing else to do.But let it be known,I am bit more respectful..to those ladies...so  to get a good passtime I decided to count the no of couples.

It was an exotic summer evening(meaning some gentle breeze blew enough to keep it cool).and it was rather soon that i lost the count of my dear couples.

So the trend is increasing to be indulged in a relationship(that certainly.is ..less likely to be converted in to marriage or any sort of creative coperation at least)...among the urban campus goers of Kathmandu...Same is in my university...or let say..the tendency is always there among the teens.

One of brother too haves a such...KIddyfiddy(grade x) relation.Last week when he was invited to a football tourney by his friends.He skipped it and rather went to Gopi Krishna(a cinema Hall) to...watch movie with his young unaware and equally mis adventurous....girlfriend.I shall put all my money,,,if somebody comes to bet with me...whether they shall remain together till they go to a college.So what i am trying to prove here is my uniquely talented brother is not exposing himself to a game of cricket or spending the resources he used to buy the tickets...to buy a small handscope for himself to carry out a mini research.

Worse is the phenomenon among college goers.The tendency to show off and to portray oneself as the capable one to get the best male/female (hereby i mean the most attravtive) has lead to complete...distraction among the youths from their serious agendas.

So why dont we begin to realize the loss of our resources and rather be indulged in a good thoughtful and creative relation that brings the best out of both the partners.A relation just for a sake of it....which is sure to end invites nothing but waste of time and resources.

WHO SHALL WIN IND AUSTRALIA SERIES?

The above one is  always a tough question to answer. When it comes to test match series between two of the very best in cricket it is obvious that any result is possible.
     
This series is a 2 match one so it is impossible for a team to come from behind and win the series.In such case i would mark aussies the favourite because...they have the habit of performing better in the inaugural test match...and begin to deteroiate as the series progresses.It is excactly the opposite with the Indians. They seem to perform shaky in all the aspects of the game whether that be batting bowling or fielding.The latest example of such...series is the one that the Indians had against the Lankans.

There are odds that heavily favour Indians,though. They have comparatively settled looking batting order.They boast with experience and almost everyone of the batsmen have played a match saving...or rather winning innings against what one would call the golden era of Aussie bowling.On the contrary,the aussie batsmen are relatively untested against the indians...and pontings..lack of form at india compared to his high standards...always provides an oppening for the indians.Sometimes I feel ony Clarke and Hussey are the one willing to succumb to single.Other than him other batsmen look to dominate the bowling...this is aggressive for sure...but Dhoni is a levelheaded man..and is quick to fix the field immediately not leakin boundaries and forcing the batsmen to make errors.

On the other hand....the Indian Pace bowlers shall have a tough job.Aussies have a relatively inexperieced and underperforming fast bowlers(maybe johnson is an excepn}(in this particular condition) not adjusting to the required line and length.In the spin department...india is far ahead with Harbhajan...but there is doubt in his form...but whatever be is form...he can always bowl better than Hauritz...or Steven Smith.I think Aussies are going to suffer the spin drought as Eng faced for decades long as they find someone like Swann.

The other important thing is the toss.Whoever wins the toss(Aussies more desperately maybe!) would like to bat first...set a formidable score...and chip into the oppositions..with the pitch adding to the misery of the batsmen on the fifth day.

Though,it is a two test match series....a lot is at stake...and i have my own set of prediction ready...Aus shall win the 1st test...may be fightin,,,but ind shall come back strong and win the 2nd test comforatably...after all 1-1

SIMPLE THOUGHTS TO COMPLEX MAOISTS

SIMPLE THOUGHTS TO COMPLEX MAOISTS

Thanks to the combo of an hour of midday break and the libraries' periodical section, I get an opportunity to glance through most of the dailies. The current political impasse has provided ground for political analysts to fill in the op-eds full of jargons and complex political arguments. I respect them. I feel the integrity and intellectuality inside every pieces. The extent may depend on individual's perception but you certainly get to feel the gap between the regular tea talk of politically aware buddies and the columns in black and white.

So, in the following paragraphs, I will focus on relating the current maoist agenda through an inter disciplinarian approach ranging from psycology to the cinema hall. I shall also elaborate on simple advices that I have given myself or listened to being given to the Maoists. It may be while commenting on a facebook link or listening to laborers having cup of tea at 'Baneshwor Chowk 'or while sitting in front of TV viewing a current affair show!

AFRAID OF MULTIPATY DEMOCRACY?

Is it worth a game when you control both sets of pieces in a game of chess? The answer is a no in most of the cases. However, Maoists are so afraid of competition that they want to wipe away any sort of opposition either through intimidation or by isolating itself as the only 'proper political force' in the country. Maybe, to achieve the never achieved goal of communism, the hardliners inside the party are pressing for a continuous communist regime with zero opposition. O.K.! Let us assume the Maoists successfully seize state power. Than what? No elections! No freedom of speech! No newspapers! No facebook! Limited or no mobile services! (as in Gyanendra's regime!). Most importantly, there will be no way to update or to gain a fresh mandate from the people. For Nepalese, who have succesfully completed three big revolutions in a span of six decades(2007, 2047, 2062/63) B.S. against varying magnitude and form of totalitarian regime, another support to an authoritarian regime will not only be suicidal but one of the most foolish act in 21^st century politics. Probably Nepalese have already realized this and the result was the failure of the indefinite strike called by the Maoists.

Dear learned brothers and sisters at Paris Danda, competition brings out the best in you. So admire this aspect off multiparty democracy. I don't mind if Prachanda or Baburam Bhattarai taking the helm at Baluwatar via a legitimate election for as many times , but where can the people question , if either one of the leader through his power (if gained through an urban uprising as thought by the Maoist) or through 'revolutionary charisma' (like Castro!) put forward his relative as his successor. Same has been the fate of North Koreans and the Cubans. They are not the country what Maoists made Nepalese to dream of when they went campaigning for the CA election. Maoist leaders visit Switzerland but who knows what they learn there? As soon as they land at the TIA, probably the northern wind of Maoism gets over them and another wave of immature politics is made to pave the way for Prachanda to become the next Kim Jong Il.

GOING BEYOND P.M.!

After emerging as the largest party from the CA election, it was obvious that Maoist would lead the next government. Yet I wonder, why Prachanda should have been so desperate for the post of PM. Outsourcing the job to Ram Bahadur Thapa or Barsaman Pun would have worked miracles for the then 'mystic, charismatic and majestic' image of the supremo. He would have been tagged as a leader who is ready to sacrifice the post of PM for concentrating on constitution and peace making process.(Not only he, Madhav Kumar Nepal too missed that opportunity in the greed of being a PM)

In the long run (if such Maoist led government had manufactured constitution and maintained low corruption and violence). Maoist would have surely won the following election with a sound majority. Prachanda would have rose as a 'Super PM'.

You may wonder what actually a Super PM is. A solid eg.is our neighbour at New Delhi –Mrs Sonia Gandhi. She too had a golden opportunity to rule the roost at New Delhi (even attractive and far more powerful than the role at Baluwatar!). She chose otherwise and stepped out of the race of PM, but after three quarters of a decade she is highly rated and her decisions seems to be the one that the cabinet silently obliges to.

Maoist have lost this chance for sure. Still most of the analysts believe Maoist will emerge as the biggest political party relating to their high success in the directly contested seats at the CA poll. However a commanding majority seems to be a minimal possibility.It is better that the Maoists realize this fact and act accordingly. It would be better off for the party as well as the nation.

STARVING SYNDROME

Here is a short discription of a psycological disease that I shall later relate to the current Maoist situation.

Anorexia Nervosa, is an eating disorder found among adolescent girls. The girls suffering from this disease tend to starve themselves."Some have argued that anorexia often results from a fear of maturity in general, or from a desire to remain 'Mom and Dad's little girl'." (Morgan &King,Intro to Psycology,pp480)

Similar is the case of Maoist. Similar to the anorexia suffering girl ,Maoists are pushing the limits to maintain themselves as peoples' revolutionary party. They are finding hard to transform from a military equipped party to a civilian one ( by this I am not meaning the same as UML or NC). They want to integrate whole of their soldiers under a separate regiment in the NA or keep it as such. This is to prevail the chances of 'Jana Bidroha' (peoples' revolt) as one would think.

The indefinite strike called to bring down UML lead coalition government, sacking of incumbent CoAS were also the moves inspired to maintain the revolutionary attire to the party. These moves have done no good to the party, instead it has backfired and at least for a neutral observer like me have started starving Maoist of its vote and sympathy. The once populist saying of ' J garcha Moabadi le garcha '(Only Maoist can do!) has slowly vanished at least among the urban residents.

It might have been just okay if Maoist took two step in front and a step back. But Maoist are taking three steps back instead and are losing trust and credibility as never before. Its never late though. Maoist leadership must analyze their current status compared to three years before. Let's be hopeful they pinpoint their weakness and grow up to be a matured and more responsible party.

CLEAR THE CONFUSION

When I wanted to know the changes that are to be injected in a capitalist way of economics to bring about sustainable development I was suggested to go through “The Commonwealth Economics” authored by Jeffery D Sachs.(the writer himself is in a capitalist expert).Similarly 'Reconciliation: Islam, Democracy, and the West' a book by Benzir Bhutto helped me understand the reasons why democracy is struggling in Islamic countries(the writer herself is a Muslim leader).Texts like this helps us to understand and clarify many ideological confusions in a simple way.(Otherwise I couldn't have gone through the whole of Capitalism or the Quran to get a clear view on the above topics.)

The Maoists too make me confused. Nobody really knows whether they are there for democracy or one party coumunist regime or something in middle. I want to best clear this through one of the books or articles written by one of the reliable Maoist leader(as I have shown in the case of above book the writer are related to their own field).This also means that the Maoist cannot shy away from their agenda the hard copy will remain there as a proof and can't be blamed as a media creation. This would make us understand Maoist objective and ideology because all of us can't go through or rather fully understand Marx, Lenin or Mao's principle. As a matter of fact, I think the leaders themselves are confused and divided in this issue. Clearing of this dilemma would make Maoist a better directed party. This would certainly lead to a more united Maoist as the proxy war between the three main leaders shall also diminish.

WATCHED SOME MOVIES COMRADE?

As the spiderman was told,"With great power comes great responsibility", Maoist must come in terms with this saying. They have a large base of young and energetic party members.Now they need to acess their power and act responsibly. The people have sent Maoist to the "Shutter Island" of New Baneshwor so as to completely detach themselves from violence. If Maoists come off healed, than they provide us an opportunity to say "Mero Euta Sathi Cha" otherwise what more than "Ta ta Sarhai Bigris ni Badri!". For me, I just pray every morning "Wake up Sid!".