Occasionally Yes “Hey! You want a puff? “Someone in our circle asks passing us a blunt. No, not really. I gave up smoking. This is the most common answer the occasional smokers have. I call these people the intermediate who can quickly transition from a Yes to No and vice versa. As time passes by and the smoke diffuses all over the ambient air, the moment comes when the intermediate people ask for the same blunt. If you pass this moment, congratulations you aren’t smoking today. “Eastern Hearts, Western Minds” is what we’ve heard and felt proud of. The problem with eastern culture is in providing personal space and respecting others opinion. Remember, how many times your relatives forced you for a drink when you were reluctant to. I call these people the blackmailers who want everyone to put up with them and don’t quite care if you are in a state of moral obligation. The intermediates are in a way a product of people’s habit to compel others join for their cause. It’s quite evide...

The Bus “Bus” the name already sounds so dear to me, and maybe it does sound a little familiar to you as well. And why wouldn’t it? The name in itself means “for everyone” and is being used in this sense since 1823. The struggling middle class makes up a large portion of that everyone in the bus definition. Being one of the cheapest and convenient modes of transportation bus is an inseparable part of normal person’s life. From cruising swiftly on smooth terrains to bumping across the puddles the ride is no less than an adventure trip in Kathmandu. “Banepa, Dhulikhel, Koteshwor, Rnac” sounds no less enchanting to me when I’m waiting on 28 kilo’s bus stand to set off for the day. The traffic here in Kathmandu never seems to really be shallow but we struggle finding our ride home many a times. No doubt you feel lucky if you manage to find a seat, luckier if that’s a seat without any reservations and luckiest, if there are less raised arm pits exposed to the ambient on that clumsy sp...

The loner Loner–A person who avoids company or assistance of others, the dictionary defines. I’m sure most of us can relate to as we read, but how much of a loner are you? Well, I’m a loner too but I believe I’m a little less when I’m around few people, the number that gets decreasing as life goes on. Maybe the loners are an introvert but quite amazingly expressive around a few people. I personally dislike being called a loner for I believe every individual is a loner at some time or the other and why wouldn’t they be? It’s a universal truth that everyone is born alone and dies alone so it should be cool if someone keep up to themselves. Having said that, I do not quite mean to say that all our relationships be it with a family, friends or someone special is obsolete–Of course, we can’t afford being a full time loner. Often expressed in songs “We need someone to lean on” It should be quite evident. When we lean on someone, maybe we tend to forget very soon that nothing lasts ...

Personal Space in Nepali culture “ Hey mom! I’m going out for a friend’s birthday today would you give me some money?” This is one of my most common pickup line when it comes to persuading my mom whenever I have to go for a day out with someone special. “How many friends do you have? Do your friends have birthdays every week?” of course, I wouldn’t be attending someone’s birthdays but I’m skeptical if I’d be allowed to leave if I’ll be honest enough to say the truth. I hope you have one of yours as well. And why wouldn’t you have one if you’re a typical teenager from a Nepalese family. We aren’t to this day courageous enough to ask our parents for their permission if we are to go on a date. Perhaps, we would but will our personal space be respected then? I guess not. Being a teenager myself, I feel I lack a personal space and I’ve come to know that I’m not the only one who feels so when I’ve heard the same from my friends. The personal space can be defined as the physical as well ...

The Blank Page The outer world sleeps never, shouting on top of its voice; And why wouldn’t it? The night’s there to imbibe this noise; The blank page has a death stare at me, just as I might have for it. Maybe it would have chores pending, deadlines calling; And is in a rush to reach somewhere but is still here–maybe where it doesn’t fit? It could be empty and chipped, full of slits and painted all white without a zit. Wouldn’t it like to express itself with letters and paint with all colors and shades? Ever wondered why the page is so silent and remains that way! Maybe it knows what it feels not being heard when there’s much to say. My dear page you express yourself when I pour my feelings on you; And you paint yourself with shades when tears drop and mix with the blue; Well, my selfless page, you will never remain unheard for I’ll never stop writing on you. This poem was written as I was busy doing nothing, thinking of writing something but wit...

The November Breeze The November breeze passes over my head–smooth yet so cold, Bringing in clouds of uncertainties with it from the places long sold. I wish I could take it only as a cool gust, but it was so long-drawn­­-out, But still, I think I should just be patient this time around.  Left to my own devices, I crouch to defend myself and stay calm;  I’m skeptical if I won’t deform halfway up for the gust may transform. I struggle not to fear it and try hard to find what is bright; Perhaps, I’d be grounded enough then and pass this test alright. Now, I’m not afraid of losing my breath as I stay upright, Nor of the changes beyond my sight. “Hold on Pain Ends” for HOPE is what they say; I hold on to hope and wait for the breeze to blow away. Been long since I wrote something ;) The poem was written in November of course, as I was lying and felt a sudden gust of wind. I’d love to hear from my readers about it J Good ...

Yatra “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” Certainly, if you are to avoid inconvenience in Nepal, you’ve got to get used to with “Nepali time”. That day I woke up at 4 in the morning, had a cup of tea and rushed from Boudha by the earliest micro bus to Koteshwor, where  it was already two hours that I had been waiting for my friends to pick me up. It was not that I knew very little of “Nepali time” i.e. the time allotted by people is always to be multiplied by a certain factor of safety–which in our case is generally more. But the long two-hour wait was surpassed by the excitement of tour to Nainital. The bus finally arrived at 8:15 and picked us from Bhatbhateni and as I was getting onto the bus,the sight of  its green license/number plate gave me some   relief–the travel would be relaxing. But still we were not out of the “Nepali time zone”: we waited for another hour before we finally hit the highway. The bus halted at Naubise for breakfast. To my surprise, it was...