Time for yet another exams...

So, the results of first year isn't out for a few weeks and the fear of second year exams has totally gripped me.

Well, I did quite well at the first year exams. As always, the results were too good... I secured 70.25% and I am really happy. My papers had been good, no doubt about it, but I was not very hopeful as they say the examiners don't give marks... and that first division is too much for an Arts student. However, the result has really made me so happy, and instilled in me the energy to do even better in the coming exams.

It's still not confirmed but until now, mine is the highest marks in RR. And that is indeed a great achievement. I am happy in the sense that I could make my parents, my family, Sooman, friends and teachers proud of me yet again.

Therefore, I will have to sit for a good preparation and I should start that asap. From tomorrow that is. It's likely that I won't be posting things for some one and a half months... but on a second thought, I feel I will always allocate a little time to jot down my feelings, my experiences... as for now, all I have in my mind is exams, and I am determined to give my best!!

Wish me luck!!

Recalling back all those moments...

Sometimes I wonder what I would be doing at this time of night if I were not blogging. Perhaps I would have been reading some good books or battling with myself to sleep. Either way, I wouldn't have been this happy! So very obviously, my brother deserves a big thanks for encouraging me to start blogging and actually forcing me to write... Thanks bro!

You see, it had been a long time since I wanted a getaway - a complete breakfree from this city, from this crowd... I had no idea I would actually get to go somewhere so soon. It wasn't until late Friday afternoon that invitation from UNFPA's representative Anna Adhikari sent a mail to attend a programme at Pharping. Every other VOW girl had one asignment on hand already so it was me who had to go there. I was reluctant at the beginning, coz it was far, and the programme was scheduled on Saturday... I thought "Oh no, not me!" Most importantly, I didn't know where Pharping was, although I have gone Dakshinkali quite a few times... uffffff... what am I? Dumb?? Thanks to Eva, she gave me all the instructions to get there, from how to get the bus to how much fare I should pay...

I had planned that I would attend the programme and then roam here and there in the new place. I had seen the place in photos, as my brother was there in an excursion and I had really loved it.

The programme was scheduled to begin at 11 am and calculating the distance and approximate time to reach there, I set off. I was in the bus which would take me to my destination for the day at 10.15 am... and I was already quite sure that I would not make it on time. However I was not that worried coz I knew the programme wouldn't start at the scheduled time.

The seats were almost packed. I got one at the end of the bus and it was such a horrible seat. There was a door next to it and the seat was so high, I had to hang my legs all through the journey. But I really didn't mind that at all. On top of it, the bus was resonating a beautiful song by Yash Kumar, "yo manle timilai nai rojeko chha, binti tadhina nakhoja..." and this song is very close to my heart...

The bus started... full of passengers in and on the bus. Beside me was a couple and it was interesting to give an ear to what they were talking. I know it was bad but I couldn't help it. I found out that the man had a wife and that he had fallen for that lady quite recently. The man was in his mid forties and the girl was perhaps in her late twenties. I wondered what prompted her to fall in love with that man, knowing that he was already married and had a family!! Love is blind, they say, but was that girl blind too?? I would never destroy another woman's life... NEVER!!

I really don't understand about the extra-marital affairs... and the more I think about it, the more it depresses me... I would not mind if he had already divorced his wife, yeah, things would have been different then... but he was enjoying laddoos in both hands, which I strongly object. And I really don't understand why the girl was being a fool. Why can't she think that the same fate could befall upon her? That the man could even deceive her... Oh my God, now I am being too sceptic... I shouldn't forget that the girl has her own mind too... Let's forget it.

By the way, the roof of the bus was leaking and drops of water were fallinf right over the girl. And you know what the man did?? He lifted his hand up all along the way to prevent the water from falling over her. Now, that was indeed sweet and romantic. I often smiled at myself seeing that!!

And then there were these really annoying drunk women. They smelled so bad, that also early in the morning!! Uff, thank god they didn't stand too close to me or it would have completely spoiled my day!!

To get a little away from Kathmandu is like getting into an eternal peace. From the window I could see green fields as far as my vision could reach. I was imagining myself running in the green lustrous fields, soft breeze blowing my hair, closing my eyes... still running... ohhhh... could it ever come true?? The sight was wonderful... I wish I could build a small hut and settle in there... without having to worry about anything in life... That would be too cool!!

And then I reached Pharping at around 11.35 am. The programme was at the Tribhuvan Adarsha Secondary School... as I entered it, I was in love with it. "Is this really a school??" was the first thought that came to my mind. Trees, flowers, peace... ufff everything is beautiful in there. I really, once again, hated myself for having born a Kathmanduite!

As per my guess, the programme hadn't started yet. I went in, talked with Anna and waited until finally the chief guest arrived and the programme started. It was really embarrassing but even I was called in the stage as a guest. I was utterly shocked as I had no idea I would be called. I went in front and asked the organisers "are you sure I am supposed to sit here??" All they said was "yeah" with this big smile.... :)

Anyways, the programme was all about Family Planning...

And then in the snacks break, I met one of the students of the Population Studies Students of Nepal (PSSN) who happened to be the cousin brother of my long-time back teacher Rabindra Kandel. He's been living in London for over 10 years now. I wonder if he even has a faint memory of me. I remember him teaching me Hansel and Gretel when I was in the third grade. Suddenly I felt so grown up... and it was a nice feeling.

All my plans of roaming here and there had to be kept aside as the programme was too long. And Anna offered me a ride home which I didn't deny coz there were so less local buses and on top of it, they were all packed with passengers, in and on it.

So that was that... eventhough I couldn't actually roam here and there, the day ended with a nice feeling. The poo who didn't know where Ratnapark was until she was in class XI could now go to and fro Pharping is a great achievement in itself... LOL... Seriously, I loved every single moment of the day, for one and many reasons... :)

I am in office, thinking how nice it would be to sleep right now!!

It's drizzling outside, so obviously the temperature is not that high. In fact, I am feeling quite cold. Thank God, nobody in the office is feeling hot today... the AC is switched to 24 degrees! It's warm here, in our room. And I have just returned after lunch and I feel like sleeping... I know it's bad, and I should be working right now, it's work time, but I have not been able to concentrate at all. I tried playing games, but I couldn't get back my concentration. So I thought, may be I should write, I should BLOG. Let's see what happens until I complete writing this thing.

Our Assistant Editor, Sharmila didi is sometimes irritated coz I and Eva seem to play games all the time when we are meant to work. But sweet as she is, she never speaks to us that rudely. And we never stop playing. But then we make sure to do our work as well.

Eva has gone in a reporting at NEFEJ, Sharmila didi is working and so is Pavitra. And I? I am doing both- writing articles for VOW as well as for poonam's corner.

And in no time, Eva is back...the programme concluded soon, she is saying. 

And as Eva has come, I really can feel the energy... she is such a jolly girl. I feel things are right when she is around. She is really cool!!

Back to work!! :)

Poo and books

I remember those days when I used to be so enthusiastic reading stories and essays even when I was in just the second grade, or even smaller, I don't know. I have a faint memory of enjoying the characters do weird things, going through odd situations, having fun... and the like.I got totally lost in their world. Hansel and Gretel, for example. Their story has always fascinated me since I was as young as a third grader student. back then I only enjoyed the cleverness of Hansel for generating the idea of making their way back home through the dense forest and the tactfulness of Gretel in fooling the witch and actually killing her. Yeah I used to imagine the 'cake and pastry' house, jewels, the cruelty of step-moms and so on... the jist?? I also wondered why a father would be so weak in front of his wife?? Afterall, I had always witnessed male supremacy in my family and the society around me. And I grew up reading Gulliver's travels, Robinson Crusoe, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, The Merchant of Venice and many many Nepali myths. In fact, whenever a new session started, I used to complete reading every stories and essays from my elder sister's books as she was just one class senior to me. That was fun :)

I grew up reading everything that was handy. Ramayana, for instance, is one of the books I love reading over and over again. Some of its verses are so touching... and in fact I can recite a few verses without having to look at the book. I humm them whenever I am stressed out or in a dilemma, and that actually helps!! :) I also picked books from library and read them, most of them full of short stories... fairy tales, myths, essays, and actually anything that was short.

My reading habit got a complete break when I reached the ninth standard. The school and my parents gave me so much of pressure about the upcoming SLC exams and I was asked to focus simply on those bulky, boring, text-books. I am so glad those horrible days are over now.

I was not used to reading novels. It was only after I joined Don Bosco for higher secondary level education that I found a suitable environment to give continuity to my reading passion. My dear friend Smita was an avid reader. She read almost all the time. And actually she is the one who inspired me to read a whole novel. The first novel I completely read was "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank. And loved the novel so much, I started writing in my diary more and more often. Now I have almost stopped writing in my diary... May be I will continue again.

We used to exchange books and read turn by turn. Smita already had a good collection of novels and I used to borrow them from her and the British Council Library. It used to be fun going to the library after college, selecting books from a large collection and reading all the time. I always made sure to complete at least 3 novels in a week and I almost always reached that target. Besides, many of my friends also had a membership there so we had loads of fun. And how can I forget to mention the Lama's Cafe where we hanged around, ate laughed and did all fun on earth?? It was such a nice restaurant. Smita, Sooman, Sapna, Sabita, Rashmita, Upama and me, and sometimes more!!

While at college, I read quite a lot of Mills and Boons series... the romantic novels. I loved them then, but don't find it that interesting now. May be I have grown up now (hehe). And I also read a lot of Anthropological and Sociological papers. Sociology was one of my major papers at +2 so I had to go through most of them anyway. But they really amused me. They were interesting stuffs afterall, to know about so many varied culture, beliefs and all of people living in different corners of the world.

Some of the most beautiful books I have read are Jane Eyre, If Tommorow Never Comes, Nothing Lasts Forever, The Alchemist, The Guru of Love, Master of the Game, The Great Gatsby, and not to forget, my all time favourite "Sophie's World". I have read Sophie's World thrice already and am planning to re-read it again very soon. And by the way, Sooman had gifted me that book!! Smita had gifted me "Master of the Game"... so sweet of them. I also read "Master of the Game" twice.

I love to read essays as well. I get to read many beautiful and intellectual essays in my course. Most of them are difficult to understand but the challenge provides me more energy and zeal.

I like reading short stories from any writers. Antov Chekov tops the list of my favourite story-teller however. And drama?? I enjoy going through them. My favourite dramatist - William Shakespeare, who else?? Shakespeare, because I don't remember any other dramatist at the moment :)

I love reading e-texts as well. Some of them are too cool. You can get to read stories, essays, and many other texts which are really good. Some of my favourites are "love is a fallacy" which is a short story (really interesting), Bertrand Russell's "Why I am not a Christian?", "Who moved my Cheese" by (I don't know) and many more... Just google it friends, and you will have a sea of choice!!

The novels which I have started but not completed are "The Golden Notebook" by Doris Lessing, "Beyond the Illusions" by Shiva Shivangini Shah and "The Catcher in the Rye" by Sallinger. I am planning to finish each very soon. Wish me luck!! And keep reading... :)

My suggestion: Read for pleasure, read for knowledge... don't relate yourself to the characters and events too deeply or it will lead you to an unnatural state of mind.

Half an hour at the New Road Gate...

I get two days' leave in my office- Saturday and Sunday. After a long and 'tiring' work days, these two days come as a total relief to me. But then, do I get to rest completely? Piles of clothes to wash, other promises to keep and some programmes to attend. It had been more than a couple of months that I had promised my sister to shop together. But it had not been possible due to many reasons -rain, guests, programme, work and the like...

Last Sunday I assured her that we would go shopping at any cost. So I called her up to inform that I would be waiting for her at the New Road Gate so that we could go for the long-awaited shopping together that day. Truly speaking, I was not very enthusiastic about the whole thing because I loathe entering this shop and that looking at almost the same things over and over again. Nonetheless, I was prepared to 'enjoy' shopping.

I was introduced to the New Road Gate some three years ago when some of my college classmates had planned to have a get-together programme. Yeah, you read it right! Only three years ago this famous gate was known to me. But in these three years, New Road Gate has been used for several times as the venue for a get-together programme.

That day as I was getting bored waiting for her, I tried to look around, see things going around a little closely and discovered that the New Road Gate isn't afterall a boring place. It is in fact really interesting.

All sorts of people walked to and fro the gate. I was paying close attention to young girls though. Girls in all sorts of clothes- a plump one putting on fitting tight jeans and a very skinny one with ill-fitting clothes. I could see teens dressed in every fashionable ways. I tried to look back to my own teen-days... No, I didn't have the slightest fashion sense on earth. And I put on what was handy. Now, I have become quite conscious about how I dress as I have to go to the office... but then when it comes to ironing the clothes, my world starts spinning. Very sweetly enough, my sister doesn't mind doing that to me, and sometimes, even my brother does that to me!

Ok, back to the New Road Gate... I could actually see so many things. Street vendors were trying their best to sell out their spreads. Some students were continously trying to sell some stationery stuffs in the name of help for a students' programme or charity. What the hell is that thing? And then there were other restless waiters along with me, eagerly waiting for their person to show up. I was myself stretching my neck to see if she was anywhere near... No, she wasn't.

I was already getting irritated with the sun and searching for a shaded place to shift in but I saw no space. Just then I heard some boys sing a touchy song... when I turned my head, I saw a boy of about 13 years old carrying another boy of around 9 who had a bandage around his forehead and there was blood all over. Anybody could figure out, as I did, that they were street children. Later I heard a passer-by woman telling that these boys had seated themselves and were asking for alms. I still wonder if that was a fake wound or a real one!!

It was getting intolerably hot and on top of it I had a full-sleeved shirt on. So I thought of drinking a bottle of cold drink... just then I remembered the scandals... avenues television and all... God, I would never drink that. What about Real?? Oh no, it used to be my favourite drink. Today I even hate to remember that. I stayed waiting for Geeta to come soon...

Finally after half an hour of impatient waiting, I saw my sister coming toward me, with this big smile on her face. I was thinking, however, that if anybody wants to do a research on Kathmandu's fashion, the New Road Gate is the best place. And my finding about the latest fashion??? Waist-coats of course!! Am I planning to buy one??? No Way!!