It's fair to say -- and this is based on my very limited experience -- that we middle to upper-class Nepalis (and this includes all who visit this English-language site) are such utterly boring conformists (the ones who'd rather chase a string of safe successes for parental approval than take risks that challenge us to the core of our beings) that we have an incredibly LOW tolerance for other Nepalis who: a) do things differently b) think differently c) act differently d) choose to live their lives differently. e) define the words "success" and "happiness" by blazing their own paths on their own terms. Let us not forget that many of history's greatest writers, poets, artists, philosophers, musicians . . were all deemed to be misfits in their own societies before being redeemed as achievers. There are some Nepalis who know exactly what they want to accomplish in life by the age of 10. That's fine. Others are clueless -- though they are afraid to admit it to others -- even till the age of 50 as to what they want to do with their lives. That's fine too. In between, let there be plenty of room for experimentation, plenty of space to make mistakes and to learn from them, plenty of chances to experience the world in all its raw forms, and to live large. Even his worst critics grudgingly accept that Paramendra has a first-rate mind and enormous energy. As someone who's known him since 1996 and have exchanged occasional emails with him, my sense is that: It's only a matter of time before Paramendra finds something in which he will go on to do so damn well that he will leave us all breathless with genuine envy and pride. [A brilliant mind is NOT an easy mind to live with, and I tell you this, after having watched the careers of some of the smartest people I have known.] Meantime, I, for one, am willing to tolerate and give space to Paramendra's thoughts and ideas and to his idiosyncracies, while reserving the right to disagree with them without calling him names or making fun of him. After all, as they say, often, the best way to see the big picture is to step out of the frame --something which, Paramendra has done more than enough in his life so far. I wish him well, and I also wish I had half his energy. oohi ashu