vi. Ignorance is Bliss ************************* In the name of security today everyone is ripping everyone else apart. I was shocked to find out that now you have to pay as much as 15,000 rupees that is non refundable just to get an visa interview for US. Why would you want to charge a person $120 dollars security fee when one hasn't even left Nepal? But then, the drama doesn't end there. The interview itself is like a lottery pick.A girl who got interviewed before me was bombarded with questions so specific to biology that it felt like surprise oral test given in schools. "Biology is study of life. A cell is a basic unit of life. A cell has DNA, RNA, ribosome, mitochondria .." the girl kept giving swift replies. "what does Ribosome do?" finally the girl succumbed to pressure. She started to stammer and finally in a squeal gave "it makes lots of ENERGY" The counsellor nodded his head and she was given green signal to US. I would have probably failed if the same counsellor had interviewed me. Among all the hotspots of KTM, I find Putalisadak the most mercurial of places. It is amazing to see it change color everyday. When monsoon hits putalisadak, there's a mini tsunami creating chaos especially in the rush hours. When it is hot and dry, there's shower of bricks from the peace seeking activists smearing the street in Orange. One such afternoon, I asked one of the enthusiastic students on where they got all those bricks? He told me that one of the buildings of Shankardev was under repairs and just that morning four tractors of new bricks were brought in campus. No wonder! "loot ko dhan, fupu ko shradha". Other night I saw that the students in TU had destroyed their department of Economics. Reason--They got low marks than they expected in the board exam. On the positive side, at least we express ourselves VERY WELL these days in Nepal. A feeling of acute nausea hits me everytime I end up in Thamel. I often ask my friends "aren't there any other good places to hang out? "LIKE?" "naan sekuwa center in gairidhara" They think I am cracking a joke. Why wouldn't they? After all, flaunting has always been the trademark of Kathmandu. The more you can spend, the better. What amazes me the most is how can people be so indifferent to their mileau. Just having a stroll down in the freek street, you see half the people bragging and half the people begging. Police charge down on the beggars in the name of discouraging beggars in tourist hub. Where are these children going to go? Infront of the palace? Other night, I realized that I had made a grave mistake because I happen to give out some change to one of the street children there. Within seconds, around ten children stooped down and caught my two legs. I felt hapless. My rage reached its threshold. No--not with children, because I was just below the famous JAVA coffeehouse where many stretched their necks to see the spectacle of surprise below. I wondered if there were more middleaged guys in their Armani suits gathered there to talk about eliminating poverty in Nepal and congratulating each other for putting forth immaculate plans. No matter what revolution occurs, who comes into power, how changes are made, the rich and the elites always had and always will have have their ways in country like ours. I don't have to go that far from home to find such heinous examples. A block down east gahana pokhari, the most conspicious house next to bhagwati than was that of the Punjabji who have lived there as far as I can remember. Now he had long died and the family had gone back to india, it is little surprise who lives there now with couple dozen army patrolling the house inside and out with nozzles of rifles pointing straight to handiaon people. Then they have taken over half the narrow street putting speed breakers. OH! we're supposed to slow down because we're passing their house. A person who was finally able to start his own grill and metal store opposite the patrolling army was ordered to shut down the store and move somewhere else within a week. Reason-- people living inside the mansion were often disturbed with the noise. ARE U KIDDING ME? One rainy evening, I was returning from my aunt's place in Lazimpat. A group of school children came from opposite direction on the same footpath I was using. Seeing puddles all around the street, I grabbed on the electric pole and swung around so that the children could pass me by first without me having to step on the puddle. Perhaps it was the rain and the naked wire, I got shock of the lifetime. 240 volts of electric current shook me in the middle of the street without me being able to express anything. It had perhaps shook me inside out that I realized for the first time I was in Kathmandu one implicit truth -- no matter what first impression KTM had given me about revolutionary changes, it hadn't changed a bit. It made me sad for a while till I got a call from a friend from school. We were supposed to have a reunion in near future. He immediately began to cough and I could make from his voice that he was suffering from severe cold. I asked him instantly "reunion postpone garne ho?" "aan yaar, tyasai garna parla..rughakhoki le grasta chu" "kina k khako thiees?" "khako sako hoina, hijo rati party thiyo..chance ma dance bhanera tyo harley davidson kudako" I told him that I knew of only one harley davidson in KTM. "tyai ho tyai ho. Fire nikalera kudaune bhako, chiso lagecha" Oh I see. He hadn't called me up to plan the reunion or inform me about his illness. He was itching to tell someone about his bravado and feat that very few can relate to in KTM. He told me the incident as if he'd just climbed Everest for the 15th time. God bless! (to be contd.....)