The Morning’s Twist: A Tale of Friendship and Reality
- Pramod Tiwari, DNPPF 2023
It was a fine morning, the sun rising and birds chirping, I was enjoying the lovely sunlight in my garden. With every sip of tea, I was skimming the headlines of the newspaper; my eyes moved towards the news of a foreign agency donating a big infrastructural project to my country. I became too excited and went through the news where it was mentioned that the agency would conduct all the technical and construction tasks and would hand over the project to the government. The morning seemed even better; what more could I ask in such a fine morning other than that wonderful news? I then began to think that my country would develop as more projects would come in the upcoming days. I thought, “How fortunate we are to live in a generation where the developed nations help the developing ones and move forward together.” I imagined my living standard becoming more and more sophisticated as my nation would prosper through all the infrastructural projects helped by different organizations.
The morning could not be any better as my best friend Milan called me at the same time. The moment I saw his name on my screen, I remembered how we studied together since our school days till last year when I decided to join graduate school while he wanted to gather some work experience. Since then, we had not met each other for over a year, as I moved to another city to join the university while he remained back in the city searching for jobs. Seeing his name on my cell phone, I thought to myself, “Why did not I call him and ask about his whereabouts and his progress in his work till now? I don't even know whether he got a job or not.” I found myself selfish for not calling him earlier but consoled myself that our friendship should be more than the phone call and I am still his best friend. I strengthened our memories by remembering how we used to enjoy our school days; how I used to do the assignments for him as he was not quite interested in his studies. He used to take me to lunch several times as I did his assignments. I was proud of our friendship that I saved him from the teacher’s punishment by doing his assignments so that he could submit them as his own. Also, I was happy that although he did not do his assignments on his own, he would be achieving good grades that ultimately would lead to a successful career ahead. As per my imagination, he got the expected grades till last year and as I saw his name, I imagined him in a bright career position in a reputed company. All these thoughts within a few seconds of seeing his name on the screen, I hurried to answer the call and talked with him about his wonderful journey since we departed towards different paths of life.
Answering the phone revealed the truth opposite to my thoughts. Milan told me about the hindrances he had to face during the job search process. He shared about how he could not pass the technical phase of the interview. I was shocked to know that he could not crack any job interview till then. He understood that he did not pass the interview because he did not learn the technical aspects of the courses in the class as all his assignments were either done by friends like me or he copied his friend’s assignment. He felt the gap with other job interviewees and understood the importance of learning and doing on his own rather than taking fruits from others’ hard work. He talked about how he realized the long-term consequences of knowledge and started taking training and learning before appearing in more job interviews. He then shared a ray of light; he said, “I am now confident in appearing for the interviews and I hope some good news soon.” I relaxed a little bit with his statement. We talked for some more time regarding how my studies had been going at the university and we hung up the phone promising to meet in person at the weekend.
The phone call had a great impact on me; all my expectations turned out to be the opposite of the real events. I thought to myself how the phone call would have gone had I taught Milan to do the assignments on his own. How happy I was in my thoughts before the phone call and how the situations appeared in the opposite direction after that call. I began to feel that I misrepresented the true meaning of “help” and caused harm to my friend rather than strengthening him. With these thoughts, I took the cup in hand for another sip of tea but alas the cup was empty. I then took the cup and the newspaper in my hand to go inside the house; suddenly I saw the same news of a foreign agency donating the megaproject to my country. Contrary to some time ago, I was feeling downhearted while going inside.
I began to compare the status of my country with Milan. I was happy with the news thinking about the imminent progress of my country due to the projects gifted by foreign agencies; however, the phone call with Milan changed my perspective on the news. I thought to myself, “At least Milan learned the truth and started to learn and do his task by himself; when will we as a nation learn?” Before, I had the image of a prosperous country due to these projects, but the vision changed to the image of a crippled nation without any technical capacity of developing megaprojects and the nation who is always compelled to ask for favors from foreign agencies for any developmental projects. In the middle of these thoughts, I heard my mother calling me for breakfast. Then I marched ahead towards my normal day routine.
For An Enterprising Nepal
Faces Of Change
Singadurbar’s Best Kept Secret for me
- Prabesh Koirala, DNPPF 2023
“Do you have a pass?”, the traffic stopped me to ask. “I do”, said I with pride of inexplicable origin. I reached in my pocket and grabbed a small piece of paper with some “important” scribbles on it. The traffic appeared to have understood the scribbles and he let me in. It was my first time visiting Singadurbar. It felt special but I was unusually relaxed. I was meeting a parliamentarian! I had prepared in advance all the ideas I was planning to pitch for my research.
I was struggling to find the parliamentarian&rs...
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Beyond the Paycheck: Acknowledging Women's Unseen Contributions
Neha Karki, DNPPF 2023
Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?" by Katrine Marçal is a book that touched my heart and opened my eyes to the incredible, often overlooked efforts of women in our economy. With profound insight, Marçal challenges the prevailing economic theories that fail to acknowledge the unpaid labor of women and the gender biases deeply ingrained in our understanding of the world. Through her words, Marçal brings to light the undervalued work of women—cooking, cleaning, caring—that we often take for granted.
She reminds us of the ...
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Embracing the Ever-Evolving Self: Discovering the Meeting Place Within
Roshan Bhatta, DNPPF 2023
Name
The name "Roshan" (रोसन) means "bright," "illuminated," or "shining" in Sanskrit. It signifies a radiant and luminous personality. The surname "Bhatta" (भट्ट) is commonly found among the Brahmin community in Nepal and India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "Bhatta," which means "priest" or "scholar." In the Nepalese context, the name "Bhatta" is often associated with individuals from the Brahmin caste who traditionally held priestly or learne...
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Can I be a Leader?
Samikshya Bhattarai, DNPPF 2023
"Pack your bags and leave for home if you cannot solve this issue!" a statement I still remember vividly even after more than eight years of the incident. Back then I was in my undergraduate years and as a student of the seniormost batch was leading a group of students from junior batches on a weeklong practical field trip. The statement was thrown towards me as a leader after some students from my group did partake in an activity that brought our whole team to a negative light. As someone who really believed in our team, and their freedom, and valued their op...
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Wheels, Wings, and Wishes
Tujala Jonchhe, DNPPF 2023
When I was 16, I wanted wings to fly.
For the past 10 years, I had spent three hours daily on weekdays commuting from my home in Bhaktapur to my school in Lalitpur. Looking back, I have had fun times during those three hours of my day with peers and seniors. From requesting Driver dai to play the music out loud to occasionally sneaking in junk food to having our version of bus parties. While we had created our world inside the bus, the outside world was an obstruction for us. A 30-minute bus ride would take double the time in the morning, making us get up at the crack of dawn. It was worse ...
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A Divided Perception between Grades and Values in Society: A General Perspective
- Sandeep Khattri, DNPPF Fellow 2023
Generally, in many institutions and organizations, grades serve as the primary yardstick for assessing an individual’s capacity to execute assigned tasks and assume corresponding roles and responsibilities (often for recent graduates). Whether it pertains to prospective employers or graduate admissions committees, grades, and competitive scores frequently serve as decisive factors in candidate selection. For example, in the USA, a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers in 2013, which included responses from over 200 employers, found ...
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Climate Change and Its Implication in Nepal
Shreya Pathak, DNPPF 2023
The recent news title in the national newspaper, The Kathmandu Post read “Soaring temperatures affect life in Namche.” It was widely circulated as a meme on social media. People mocked the news article and questioned how anyone can feel hot at 12 degrees Celsius. However, they forgot that the average temperature in the previous years would be 4 to 5 degrees Celsius. Climate change is a serious threat to Nepal as it is one of the most vulnerable countries to the effects of climate change.
Nepal’s contribution to climate change is negligibl...
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The Plight of Second Class Citizens
Sushant Nepali, DNPPF Fellow
Have you ever come across the notion that women in Nepal are considered as second class citizens? If so, have you ever wondered, what exactly does that mean? In this blog, we will try to unveil the discriminatory aspects of our citizenship laws so as to comprehend why women are indeed relegated to the status of second-class citizens in Nepal.
The renowned German-American Psychologist, Erik Erikson opines that "in the social jungle of human existence there is no feeling of being alive without a sense of identity”. However, in the context of Nepal, the Citizenship laws ...
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Organic or inorganic, where are we?
Soniya Bashyal, DNPPF Fellow 2023
The need for profitability incentivizes farmers to go for intensive use of inputs. The concern towards increased production and reduced hunger has been important nowadays. With this situation, producers have to revolutionize their production system.
The concept of sustainability is motivating consumers to go for organic products. The concern towards health and environment has been increasing nowadays. With this scenario, producers ought to rethink their production practices.
A similar dilemma comes into question on the definitio...
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Are you strong enough?
Sharmila Pun, DNPPF Fellow 2023
Sharmila, are you strong enough? Was a question I used to contemplate frequently. As the eldest daughter in my family, there was an unspoken belief that I had to be strong and resilient. I believed that I had to set an example for my younger siblings and uphold the image of a capable and composed individual. As a result, I never exhibited any fragility. From an early age, I taught myself to conceal my emotions and put on a brave face, even when I was hurt inside. I always thought that being vulnerable was evidence of weakness that could be abused or turned it against us. It became a ha...
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An Evolution of a Feminist
Bisheshta Shrestha, DNPPF Fellow 2023
Being a feminist and holding the flag for the longest time, I personally feel that I as a feminist have gone through an evolutionary process. When I say this, I would like to firstly state that these instances may or may not resonate with other feminist identifying personnels and I would like to acknowledge that I am aware of my privileges and power bestowed upon me by the patriarchal society of Nepal.
Saying this, my journey started at the earliest age of five. A young girl child of the second wife was always discriminated against by her ...
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