Posted by: NayaJivan December 30, 2011
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Living in Kathmandu, what is the worst case scenario that you could envision?
I think my biggest fear is standing up apart from the crowd. I don't know if I have enough confidence to be able to stand alone, different from the crowd of friends and relatives that I belong to. I don't know if I have the strength or the power or the money to carve my own identity. Or maybe you don't need those things to define your individuality?
We all have fears of going back to Nepal. Of being 'stuck' there. Of not having good economic options. For having to beg and plead with other people for jobs.
I was thinking about that. Kathmandu. The worst thing that could happen is to not have status while living there. For people to denigrate you. For people to look down on you.
People would call me crazy. There is not a lot of tolerancce for ambiguity there. You have to gravitate to one of few socially acceptable roles. If possible you have to garland yourself with all the different criterias of social acceptability you can grab. The more you can grab, the better shape you are considered to be.
I don't want to be another grabber and show-offer in Kathmandu. I know the kind of work I want to do there.
You need a lot of courage to be a unique individual in Kathmandu. And it is one thing to be unique for others, but it is quite another thing to be unique to yourself--with humility.
I don't want to be another grabber and show-offer in Kathmandu. I know the kind of work I want to do there.
You need a lot of courage to be a unique individual in Kathmandu. And it is one thing to be unique for others, but it is quite another thing to be unique to yourself--with humility.
I also know that Kathmandu has changed. There is lots of room for individuality in a cosmopolitan place like Kathmandu. If you can survive it, tolerate the squalid city life and do what it takes, there is room for young creative professionals who can stomach the hierachy, politics and all that comes with it. At the end of the day it is about what you want and what you are willing to sacrifice to get it.
It is about testing yourself on the battle ground of life. It is about discovering your own limitations. It is about what you can stomach.
That has been the way in America in my life here so far. I am sure that Nepal would be the same.
Last edited: 30-Dec-11 10:19 PM