Eat.Pray.SajhaChat. (We Found Love in a Hopeless Place)

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Like behoove_me, I was greatly inspired by spiritual's story. I don't think I'll be able to emulate his way of writing, but I have decided to follow his "a short part of a story at a time" method. Like they say, imitation is the best form of flattery. Eat.Pray.SajhaChat (We Found Love in a Hopeless Place)   She was a Computer Science major at USC. He was a financial analyst at Morgan Stanley in NY. This is their story – a story that transcends geography, ethnicity and age.   “Chhatpati bhaye ma k garne?” Stutee cackled at the lack of serious threads in sajha, but proceeded to click on it anyways.   As a college student who pulled all nighters like there was no tomorrow, Stutee was still wide awake that summer night. After googling “Nepalis in the USA”, she had come across sajha, and had been a regular visitor since. She loved all the discussions- on religion, communism, conspiracy theories, and misogyny, especially so when dilettantes tried to teach her what her years of education didn’t. (K, I’ll go easy on the sarcasm.)   She had never hit the “Sajha Chat is Now Open” button though. It was one of those things that always existed and enticed her, but she didn’t dare to go in. Like pandora’s box, if you will. Call it divine intervention or San dai’s technical skills bringing two people together, she wanted to chat that night. And chat she did. At this point, if you want to abandon my piece and go find a beau on sajha chat, I promise I won’t be offended. http://sajha.com/sajha/html/sa... (Okay, maybe I will be a little offended)   ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   ****Stutee189 has entered the chatroom. The last time she had been to a chatroom was when Nepalnews chat used to be cool. (For noobs and people of the younger generation, let me establish this time frame for y’all. This was when Nepal had a king, fedoras were in (wait, were they ever?), Lifehouse was on the radio, and Maoists were still terrorists.) After a horde of testosterone laded hyenas pounced on her with the usual “ASL PLEASE” question, she had left the room like a shy doe, ducking further conversation. While that fear was still lingering in her heart, she was also terrified of the forty year old pedophiles ubiquitous in chatrooms.   Upon first glance, sajha chat looked like any other chatroom. A main dialog box (computer nerds, pardon my lingo if I don’t use the appropriate terms), a list of people online on the right hand side, a collection of emoticons (that never failed to depict your feelings btw), and an option to type in Nepali. Stutee did what every rookie in a chatroom does – wait till someone talked to her.   Prankster, Juggy, and ne0 were having an intense discussion about camera lenses. Although she didn’t know the first thing about cameras, let alone the fancy flashes and lenses they were talking about, she clicked on the links they shared, hoping to broaden her knowledge about Nikons she would never own. Little did she know that not only would the links haunt her as retargeted ads in every website she visited thereon, but even adblock couldn’t get rid of some of those ads.   Dhwase, vasudev, Maverick and serial were having their 49ers vs Pats debate, and although it killed her not to trash talk both those teams and show them some Packers loyalty, she decided that Aaron Rodgers could wait.   Kalikopoi (whoever kali was!) and riddle were talking about Zeenat Amaan and her acting abilities. First off, she was befuddled that Zeenat Aman and “acting abilities” could even fit in the same sentence. More importantly, she was fairly certain that they weren’t talking about her acting abilities. Her suspicion was vindicated when kalikopoi mentioned “that scene” in Satyam Shivam Sundaram.   She wasn’t able to figure out what the other group of chatters were talking about, but it looked pretty erudite. One fact was apparent - Bhakte Dai, rahulvai (popularly known as thuldai), and Behoove_me knew more about Nepali politics than she ever would.   Himal, Vandana and alternate were idle. It took her about five minutes to figure out how you get that “idle” thingy right next to your name when welcome2 turned idle as well. (To all the guys reading this, if I made it seem like that room was filled with just cis-gendered males, there were many a women as well, but more on that later)   The last name on the list – Nepali_thito. Stutee found the name very intriguing; it clearly displayed his patriotism, but with a hint of hilarity. She had seen him trolling around sajha before, adding the much needed comic relief to threads with nonsensical discussions. However, the “classy lady” in her wasn’t willing to approach him first. She waited. She read. She sighed.   Five minutes later,   Nepali_thito says : Hey Stutee189, welcome to the room!   His font color – blue. The color that calms. The color of happiness and the heavens. His font – not comic sans or cursive (that’s all that matters)   In the words of Niccolo Machiavelli, the wise man does at once what the fool does finally.   To be continued…..    

annehathaway · Feb 20, 2013 10:32 AM · 45,428 views

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 यो माँ सा , साझा च्याटको हुबहु संस्करण बाई ....... बाइ द वे , त्यो स्तुती नानी संग चाही परिचय भएको छैन .  Keep it up. Anne.. it is awesome writing. (इन्ग्लिश मा त्यति मात्र लेख्न आउछ मलाई )

rahulvai · Feb 25, 2013 9:11 AM

thoroughly enjoyed !!  waiting for other parts !!

bhakte dai · Feb 25, 2013 9:47 AM

NIce

serial · Feb 25, 2013 9:53 AM

  Loved the poem. You nailed it there. Will be waiting for more. You have a knack for writing.

sam123453 · Feb 25, 2013 4:10 PM

woahh !!! a story on SB ...and my name is not mentioned even once ! :P kidding ! very interesting read ! People do have found love here ;) ...Sighhhhhhh me ! :D

piggy · Feb 26, 2013 11:58 AM

Anne ji, nicely written. The peom is awesome too. You are very creative. Keep it up. 

goule · Feb 26, 2013 6:51 PM

Anne it's really going well, looking forward for the remaining. Piggy, saw you after a very long time, I wonder where you had been? Anyways a lot of things have changed here. Our very own SB(shout Box) has got its new name Sajha Chat.

eclectic · Feb 27, 2013 3:44 AM

@anne: should ve figured that out.. girls replying over chat rooms are fictious.. lol diving into 3rd episode.. xcited already.. :)

bairagiKancho · Feb 27, 2013 12:25 PM

Although the advent of various forms of communication has made connecting with people easier, mediums like texts and chats sometimes fail to convey the tone ably. Stutee and Nepali_Thito exchanged about fifty or so texts that weekend. Stutee suggested talking on sajha chat, but Nepali_Thito had to travel that weekend as well.   Saturday, 11:15 am “Hey, whats up?” What does that even mean? Whats up is the most overused texting lingo like ever. You are not sure what the other person wants to know, and if they really want to talk and/or hang out, it takes five or so subsequent texts to figure out what either party really wants.   Stutee stared at the text for about ten minutes before she finally responded.   “Nothing much, just watching a movie….nursing my hangover with a glass of grapefruit juice”.   “That sounds like fun. Rough Night? What movie are you watching?”   “Yeah, I drank copious amounts of alcohol last night…..and Beasts of the Southern Wild” Stutee grabbed the red box dvd of Beasts of the Southern Wild as she diverted her attention away from “The Bachelor” on screen. (don’t tell me ya’ll have never lied while you are on the text-to-impress train!)   “Lol people who drink copious amounts of alcohol the night before don’t use the term “copious” this early in the morning….Ah, we are into the indie genre, huh? …I’m going to be online in about five, if you want to nurse your hangover with me.”   “K”   ********Stutee189 has entered the room……   The room was surprisingly “packed” for a Saturday afternoon. Singles who lived by themselves, husbands who sneaked into the room to get away from the monotony of their married lives, housewives whose toddlers were enjoying their afternoon naps….the room was “eclectic”, if you will.   Riddle says: ekchin ma momo party cha, 4 plate khaincha. Dmg says: kasto asatti raicha, ceaser salad khairachu ma, timlai j khaye ni sunaunai parne? Serial says: tei bhanya, afule momo ko mukh dekhna napako ni 3 hapta bho. Violet7 says : You guys are so lucky k, I only get to eat what my mom makes for me. Prankster says: lau, mummy le khana ni banaidine re, ajha gunaso, chichi pani papa pani chaieko arki lai. Prankster says: ani anagram torilaure mit, k cha haalkhabar? Anagram says: dherai torilaure nabhana hai mit, feri tauko jhola ma jiu khola ma hola.   ************Nepali_Thito has entered the room………. Thank God for Private Messaging on Sajha Chat. Or San dai. Well, I guess he is God. K, I’ll stop. So their tête-à-tête began. Stutee189 says: Hi there, Mr. traveller! Nepali_Thito says: Howdy! How’s the drunken princess doing? Stutee189 says: You know me, bacon and mimosas! Nepali_Thito says: Already? Gosh, give that body some rest. Stutee189 says: Well, sobriety is overrated anyways. Tell me more about this fancy travel of yours.   Stutee regretted asking that question after Nepali_Thito went on for about five minutes about his travel, shitty daily expenses, and his boss.   Folks in the main room were still going strong with their banter. Bhakte_Dai and Geology_Tiger listened keenly as thuldai reminisced his love tale with a tea vendor’s daughter in Galkopakha. Thuldai talked about how he would visit the tea stall several times a day to buy things he didn’t need just to steal a glance. Apparently the one rupee that he talked about in his story wasn’t that big of a deal when it came to Kabita.  Bhakte_Dai and Geology_Tiger narrated their own romance anecdotes – hanging out in tea stalls outside PK Campus and admiring ladies as they walked by.   Bhakte_dai says: Hi Stutee, how are you? Stutee189 says: I’m fine dai, and you?   One regret Bhakte_dai always had was picking a name that ended in “dai”. Girls of all ages called him dai, thanks to that nick. He had contemplated changing his nick to something friendlier (and less brotherly), but a part of him had given up hope of finding love in sajha. However, after Geology_Tiger aka bagh_dai got hitched in sajha with a similar name, bhakte_dai held on to “dai”. (Editor’s note: Geology_Tiger recently changed his name to Hello_Kitty after he lost his tiger-like brashness to his tigress beau. Things marriage does to you!)   Nepali_Thito says : So, I have a two hour layover in O’hare. I would love some company :P Stutee189 says : Ah, I’d love to, but I gotta do the usual Saturday grocery shopping with my housemates. Nepali_Thito says: Tell them you are talking to me!   Talking to you? Stutee had not mentioned Nepali_Thito to her housemates (or anyone, for that matter). As much as she loved talking to him, there was still this stigma about dating a guy you met online. Although they weren’t dating or doing anything remotely close to dating, it would be difficult explaining it to their housemates.   Nepali_Thito says: You know what would make this layover more bearable? A picture of you! Stutee_189 says: Nice try, sir, but nah, I like this anonymity. And its not like I’ve seen you either. Nepali_Thito says: I promise I look good. Atleast that’s what my mom tells me. Stutee189 says: I’m sure your mother is a lovely lady, but why don’t I believe that? Nepali_Thito says: I guess you will have to see for yourself! Stutee189 says: I guess! Nepali_Thito says: You could fly out to NY today and take a few days off school. :P Stutee189 says: Haha I wish, I don’t make my schedule like you do. Nepali_Thito says : Well maybe you could fly-in during thanksgiving , that is, if you don’t have any other plans. Stutee189 says: Are you for real? Nepali_Thito says: Yeah, I’m not kidding. Stutee189 says: We can talk about it.   Was this going too fast? A guy she barely knew. Thanksgiving? That’s like a week! Was he out of his mind?   Stutee had hundreds of questions, but she couldn’t decide which one to ask first. She knew this was stupid, and never going to work, however, something inside her kept making her go back to the chatroom and talk to him.   ********Stutee189 has left the room.   To be Continued….

annehathaway · Mar 1, 2013 4:20 PM

 Again nice piece... love your writing Anne! and the comment about bhag dai aka hello kitty.. is humorous..

koho-koho · Mar 1, 2013 7:07 PM

Thanks koho koho. Thank you others for your messages! Been busy lately, I'll write more in a week or two.

annehathaway · Mar 7, 2013 5:58 PM

"I'll write more in a week or two. "  Its already more than a month, pls update.

prankster · Apr 18, 2013 11:57 AM

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Eat.Pray.SajhaChat. (We Found Love in a Hopeless Place)

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