I really don't want to throw water on the uphoria of others at this historic juncture, but the cynic in me is crying out that on a fundamental level nothing has changed! Yes, we no longer have to support a monarch and his son and several relatives, but the important work that would make life better for the people of Nepal has never changed...irrespective of the type/colour of flag that was the choice of the moment.

We now have a Maoist government that is not able to form a majority i.e. infighting, political posturing will continue. We have YCL, an armed faction within a national Army that has sworn allegiance to Prachanda but not Nepal.. We continue to live in ignorant bliss on the fate of thousands of missing and dissappeared..how is a mother/wife/son/daughter expected to believe in a Maoist Government if they were responsible for the brutal rape and killing of loved ones'; similarly, how are so called maoist sympathizers expected to believe in a government that was equally involved in mass dissappearances/ torture?

There is much to be hopeful about, but, there is also enough to worry those willing to look beyond the firecrackers and sweets and euphoria of the moment. Nepal has a very arduous struggle ahead of her and I would love to believe that the Moaists have a plan on how to change the fortunes of the country, but when the smoke of the firecrackers clears, I fear that the magnitude of the work that lies ahead is going to prove too much for a man who knows how to govern through the barrel of a gun, but not through neogitations and diplomacy.

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Captain: Good memory there. Mercifully I'm done with the torture of law school as well as the bar; I have been a practicing attorney for almost a year now...yes, I know, a proud flag waving member of the very bottom rung of parasites!