Submit your Article

An unhealthy or sick body requires treatment. There are different treatment methods that are being practiced. The most common ones in modern times are medications and surgeries. But, physiotherapy has remained an alternative treatment method for a long time now and its practitioners are increasing in Nepal, owing to significant results they have demonstrated in patients.

This writer had met Jay Prakash Kapari (PT) some six years ago with complaints of severe back pain and diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis. After several medications, the pain had not subsided and medicines did not settle the pain. With a tiny hope, I had visited his clinic Ortho-Neuro Rehab Centre, located near Gwarko. Surprisingly, a few days of session gradually subsided my pain. Later, changing the medication along with physical therapy interventions helped me overcome spondylitis.

Whenever my pain is unbearable, due to various factors, I visit him and he performs manual therapy including chiropractic, cupping, NDT and others and the results have been positive. After conversing with him during our multiple meetings and seeing him progress over the years, I believe there is a large scope of physical therapy treatments in Nepal. 

When asked how he became a physiotherapist, he recounts, “Some of my friends wanted to become a medical doctor, some engineers and others lawyer and teacher, but I wanted to become a little different and I ended up joining physiotherapy considering the future potential.” 

Kapari remembers how he could secure his enrollment in one of the reputed colleges in India for physiotherapy after his high school in Nepal. He completed his Bachelor’s in Physiotherapy from Dolphin PG Institute of Bio-Medical and Natural Sciences and later Master’s of Physiotherapy in Neurology as well from the same institute. He crosses the memory lane and shares a happy moment when he stood the university topper.

Soon after earning his master’s degree, Kapari attended a number of seminars, received fellowships and participated in workshops and trainings, all related to chiropractic, NDT, Dry needling, Vestibular Rehab, PNF, Cupping Therapy, Osteopathy, Mulligan, etc. After lots of training and practice, he returned to Nepal with an aim to serve the local people needing his services. Kapari then joined a few hospitals and clinics in Nepal. He also taught a few physiotherapy classes in colleges. 

After working for a while, an idea hit him that would take his service to a larger community. He decided to start his own clinic in order to provide direct therapy sessions to community people and provide employment to a few of his juniors. He resigned from his job and provided treatment in his own clinic for long hours. He is also found to be teaching his juniors for them to be better physiotherapists. 

Kapari also travels to other cities of Nepal, providing planned physiotherapy training to physiotherapists running clinics there. He says, “Besides running my own clinic, I want to share my skills and experiences with other physiotherapists who are less experienced than me. This lets them increase their knowledge as well as their new skills can benefit their community people. After all, I will be satisfied because I won’t be able to visit all the places for the sake of treatment.”

Every day is not the same for him. Most cases are repetitive and a few new cases require thorough study and planning. Kapari reminisces about some critical cases when asked what sort of difficult cases he has come across. He says, “In my clinic, I provided treatment for many critical cases like brain stroke, Cerebral Palsy, Spinal Cord injury, Guillain Barre Syndrome, head injury, Ankylosing Spondylitis, Arthritis, Nerve Compression, PIVD, Parkinson, Bell’s Palsy, etc.”  Asked how he feels when his patients recover, Kapari says, “When severe cases are treated successfully, the patients call the treatment a miracle and their family members consider it totally unbelievable.”

Kapari shares a case of a GBS (Guillain-Barré Syndrome) on a 12 year-old boy who had suddenly found his four limbs not working and was totally bedridden. “All of his family members lost their hope initially but after a month of my treatment, the boy was cured and was back to normal,” he says. 

Another challenging case was of a 32 years old female suffering from PIVD (Prolapsed intervertebral disc). “The woman was very frustrated and depressed because she took many treatments in numerous hospitals and clinics, but to no avail. One of her relatives told me about my clinic and she visited me. After just seven sessions of chiropractic treatment, she became totally fine and fit.”

There was another critical case which required his serious attention. It was a three-year-old child unable to sit, stand and walk. After pediatric rehabilitation he was completely cured and then he could join the school. 

Kapari’s Ortho-Neuro Rehab Centre has been providing highly advanced and newly researched specific treatment method for patents ranging from Chiropractic (Spinal manipulation, traditional bone setting), manual therapy, dry needling, cupping therapy, vestibular rehab, neuroplasticity, kinesiology taping, ergonomics training, electrotherapy and exercise therapy.

When asked how he feels now after a decade of service and after treating thousands of people, he says, “I have been seeing lots of people not undergoing appropriate treatment and visiting India and other countries with high hopes of cure. I have been working very hard to make such an environment here in Nepal so they need not take sorrows with them while they travel outside Nepal and receive standard reliable treatments in their own country.”

We have heard time and again that even renowned international news outlets have failed to deliver accurate news. Many studies in the United States also show that Americans, in general, do not trust most of the news released by popular news agencies. The trust issues are more pronounced for those news stories on international incidents, where star journalists are sent to cover the happenings. 

In Byline, Cristi Hegranes, the author, along with Seth Libby, exposes the dark realities and treatments of traditional parachute journalism practices, usually pursued by American or European media houses while covering international news, especially outside their region. Cristi starts with her own journey to Nepal as part of her classroom assignment while she was a journalism student at New York University. She was a ‘parachute’ at that time and realized how parachute reporters had to rely on fixers, translators, local journalists, and government officers. She could not report on the civil war in Nepal objectively due to the control of government officials. Cristi later learned that Nepal’s prime news was covered by parachute journalists from India and Europe who heavily relied on the versions of fixers and government and non-government players. She recollects how she started the nonprofit news organization Global Press at the age of a mere 25, after her Nepal stay and a brief job at SF Weekly.

Cristi was determined to change international news, and her motive was to build independent news bureaus staffed by local women reporters in some of the world’s least-covered places. That gave birth to Global Press. According to Cristi, the mindset of how international stories come to be is unchanged. And the outcomes—simplistic, unedifying, disaster-driven, victim-centered stories—are the major results.

Throughout the book, she advocates that changing the storyteller to local journalists, providing them with a byline, coaching them, and translating the stories to where they belong shall redefine international news to make it more accurate and truthful. She also exposes the loopholes brought by parachute journalism. While doing so, she gives examples from globally noted news agencies and outlets. Cristi mentions that Global Press’s report, developed in partnership with Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, showed that there were significant demands among large sections of the US population for higher-quality international news, and a majority said hearing more from local journalists was a key way international coverage could improve.

Cristi also discusses laptop journalism and how it can serve only to break the news or inform for speed and is unreliable for thorough, accurate reporting. Cristi’s strategy for reporting emphasizes accuracy and proximity, which is lacking in major international news agencies. She also concludes that while parachute journalism can offer drama and laptop journalism can provide speed, events occurring in most of the world rarely receive thorough, long-term, comprehensive coverage.

She gives in-depth examples of how international news reports are sensationalized over accuracy. She provides an example of CNN's coverage of Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes, which was inaccurate, dramatic, shocking, and awful for Nepali people. It was unprofessional on the part of CNN to not mention anything about the corrections later. Cristi reinforces that the reality of our world today requires us to understand people and places more completely. “And to do that, we need storytellers who can help us understand that the world is more than disaster and starvation. We need reporters with access to stories about innovation, technology and progress,” she says.

Cristi is vocal about the dark realities of her journalism career. She shares that journalism around the world is worse. Journalists are often so underemployed that they are forced to resort to “brown envelope” journalism—accepting bribes to cover stories favorably because salaries are too low to survive. The book also reveals the insecurities faced by local journalists and how there is a lack of parity between foreign and local reporters. She shares that not only do local reporters put their safety on the line, but they are also often asked to put aside their journalistic credentials and ambitions and do most of the work on a piece while receiving little or no credit. My own reading of The New York Times’ reports on Nepal shows that Nepali reporters are usually not given a byline and are only given little credit as a contributor, whereas the credit is taken by some European or distant reporter who is not proximate with the sources or the place where the events have occurred.

In the Chapter “Listen to the Audience,” Cristi shares that the report she co-authored with Global Press COO Laxmi Parthasarathy has the findings as such. “First, US audiences prefer reading stories about international communities written by local journalists from those communities, rather than by parachute journalists. Second, they value international reporting that is dignified, precise, and avoids tropes and stereotypes. Third, they are hungry for comprehensive coverage that includes historical contexts and reporting on solutions as well as more serious topics like human rights and climate change.”

Throughout the book, Cristi conveys crucial messages to the journalism industry at large. She advocates for allowing local journalists to take the lead, pointing out that mainstream media has often hindered local journalists in global locations from reporting the stories of their communities on a large scale. She underscores a solution to the challenges facing modern journalism by advocating for giving local journalists the byline. Additionally, she articulates the significance of utilizing the most proximate reporter, emphasizing that proximity not only expedites story delivery but also ensures superior reporting and greater accuracy.

In the book, Cristi shares her perspectives on why every piece should be accessible in the community where it was reported, in the local language of the place. She highlights the importance of local residents being informed about the news stories published, a challenge often hindered by language barriers and the exclusive use of English by international media outlets. She contends that by publishing in local news outlets and in local languages, residents can be better informed, enabling them to take appropriate precautions to protect themselves.

The book also discusses safety measures that should be provided to local journalists. She gives examples from her own non-profit Global Press regarding why it is important and how it can be foreseen and arranged. 

Byline is a great book to understand global media dynamics and how the solutions presented in the book, along with vivid examples, work great to shape modern journalism as objectively required.

Festive season has started in Nepal and people are planning for different recreation activities while utilizing their long spare hours during festivals. Reading has remained one of the great pastimes. In Nepal, reading is linked to something scholarly work, only done by book freaks or experts. However, reading is for people of all walks and age groups. No matter if you are a housewife, a musician, a literate mason, a businessman or any other professional, reading can change your life after you delve deeper and create a habit of reading well published texts.

Our lives are getting busier and busier with the development and modernization. For the sake of progress, we are focusing on the outward. Reading during festivals gives us the opportunity to self-reflect and look towards our inner self. By reading, I mean reading different kinds of books ranging from stories, novels, biography, memoir, travelog, poetry, drama, essays, interviews, magazines, comics, blogs, newspapers, websites and others. Readers who continually engage in leisure reading possess higher self-esteem because they are able to comprehend the reading material they read. Many researchers have come to the conclusion that those who regularly do leisure reading tend to achieve better academic results due to increased knowledge and their wide general knowledge.

Leisure reading can be reading newspapers or niche websites as well. You can read an interesting essay or story in the newspaper which may not demand your serious thought. The best part of leisure reading is that you need not work hard, yet enjoy the process of reading itself and find joy in the segments. One can improve reading comprehension, reduce stress and improve achievement in one’s discipline through leisure reading.

Reading for the sake of reading has proven to yield various benefits. Passive reading, or reading for the sake of pleasure is significant to develop reading habits in the long run. Reading books during holidays keeps you stimulated. When you are not working, your idea generation and brainstorming habits can be impaired. Thus, with books you continue to develop thought patterns while you read words. When you do not participate in social meetings or office gatherings, reading books keeps you self-engaged. While you pass your leisure time, chances are high that you keep learning something new while you read.

There are different platforms available to read nowadays. The common and popular one is the print form. You can visit the bookstores in person, buy and read the books. You can also read books in digital formats on your personal computers or laptops. For that, you can buy e-books online and some free e-books are also available on the web. With technological progress, if you want to read for longer hours and with more convenience, you can read on Kindle devices. The devices are lightweight and the feel they provide is similar to reading physical books.

All age groups and walks of people can engage themselves in reading. Reading materials have been developed age-specific and discipline-specific. If your children are a third or a fourth grader, there are specific story books with illustrations and text size that are suitable for their reading age. If you are a high school goer, there are comics and novels suitable to your reading age and competency. If you are not a professional and just an ordinary person, there are different self-help books that match your interest. There are also biographies and memoirs to start with, for your reading habit. If you have interest in research, you can read journal articles based on your discipline. You cannot excuse yourself for not reading because there are varieties of materials as per your personality and just far from your fingertips.

In this festive season, you may have already planned to read books but you may be stuck on deciding the kinds of books to read. In order to decide the kind of book, I present to you some tips that will help you. First, you can go through/scan book reviews published recently in newspapers, news portals and magazines. If anything seems to match your interest, you can pick it. The other way is asking for recommendations from your teachers, mentors or friends. They can understand what you are seeking in the book and thus recommend out of their knowledge and information. Thirdly, you can visit the bookstores that are popular for possessing large quantities of books. You can visit them, check the books out of your preferred domain and read the synopsis. You can do the same visiting the book portals that place the book synopsis. The fourth option can be joining the virtual book clubs and book groups. You can find the reviews put by the members, join the conversation about the books and get recommendations.

Dr Dipak Malla is an MD of Internal Medicine specializing in endocrinology. He is also the assistant professor of internal medicine at National Academy of Medical Sciences, Bir Hospital and consultant at Endocrine Unit (Diabetes, Thyroid & Endocrinology) at Nidan Hospital. Dr Malla has been promoting a healthy lifestyle through different media outlets including social media. He is an advocate of healthy habits and holistic well-being. Ken Subedi spoke with him to learn about best practices of eating and understanding why balancing food is important, particularly during the festival season.

To what extent are meat products important for human bodies when there are claims that vegan products are significantly enough and better?

Meat products are an important part of a healthy diet, which provides you with essential proteins, vitamin E, vitamin B2, B6 and B12. These are all vitals in maintaining a healthy body. Apart from these, meat also contains important minerals like iron, zinc, and selenium. So, during the festival seasons, we can eat meat but the most important question is how you cook the meat. Very oily and spicy meat is not good for health. I suggest cooking meat with some soup on so that it won’t be too oily and it will provide you with hydration too. 

However, all processed meats should be avoided to minimize intake of salt and saturated fat, which can lead to high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. The amount of meat product that we can eat depends on various factors, such as our age, gender, activity level, health status and dietary preferences. A vegan diet can be enough for our body if it is well-planned and balanced. However, avoiding animal products can also lead to some nutritional deficiencies that need to be addressed.

Festivals like Dashain and Tihar are approaching. Larger Nepali society believes in consuming the food items they like in larger quantities during festivals. Do you agree most of the festivals in Nepal are promoting unhealthy eating habits?

I think it depends on how you define unhealthy eating habits. In my opinion the cultural and traditional food items that we consume during our festival time are not unhealthy, unless you cook them with lots of oil and spices. Our festival and its food holds very scientific significance according to the weather and cultivation season as well. What I love most is- Wo on Sithi Nakha, Dahi Chiura on Asar 15, kheer on Shrawan 15, kwati on kwati punhw, mutton on Dashain, selroti on Tihar, samay baji on Indra Jatra. Apart from these we have so many traditional foods eaten across the country. This variety shows how rich we are in food habits.

Which meat is comparatively more human-body friendly? How much meat is acceptable for human metabolism? Is there any rough estimation or research findings?

Well, the healthiest meat to eat is lean meat, which has less fat and calories than other types of meat. Lean meat is also a good source of protein, iron, zinc, vitamin B12 and other nutrients that are essential for the human body. Lean meat includes chicken, fish, turkey and less fat goat. However, eating too much red meat and processed meat can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer.

During festivals, many people consume more food and more frequently. What are its adverse effects?

As we all stay at home during festival time, the consumption of food is frequent which might lead to a sedentary lifestyle. So I suggest having a small portion of food frequently and doing some physical activities in the morning and evening time. Especially if you are diabetic or heart patient, your blood pressure and sugar level might rise during the festival time. So please take your medicines on time and do at least 30-45 minutes of physical activity.

There are different types of edible oil being used in Nepali households. Which source oil is the healthy one?

Different oils have different compositions of fatty acids and nutrients that may affect your health in various ways. It’s good to use oils that are high in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats like olive oil, sunflower oil, as these are considered beneficial for heart and cholesterol levels. We must avoid high saturated and trans fat like coconut oil, hydrogenated oil and palm oil.

Besides meat, lots of other high calorie foods like sweets to traditional delicacies prepared out of fine flour, wheat, ghee, hydrogenated vegetable oil, and soft drinks are consumed with relish during festivals. How can we instill the habit of either quitting or minimizing them greatly?

It’s always a problem during festivals to control one’s diet. Our society has adopted the food habits of westerners. I have suggested to many of my patients to go to their village and stay with their parents and villagers so that their kids will know the food of the village during festival season. It’s healthier and nutritious than what we eat in big cities. And I always suggest my patients to go for a walk after a meal.

Lastly, how are you planning to celebrate the upcoming Dashain and Tihar festivals?

Well, I have not confirmed yet but most probably I will be going to Pokhara-Kaskikot, my hometown and visit nearby villages in Pokhara and enjoy the lovely hills and mountains with my family.

Lochan Rijal, the head of Kathmandu University’s Music Department, holds a pioneering doctorate in Ethnomusicology from Kathmandu University, Nepal, and the University of Massachusetts, USA. He initially started his career as a pop/rock singer-songwriter but later delved into ethnomusicology to become a music scholar. 

A multi-award-winning multi-instrumentalist, Rijal has enriched the world of music with his unique contributions. Some of his well-received songs, such as ‘Chandrama,’ ‘Samaj,’ ‘Paurakhi,’ and ‘Chetana,’ can be found on his critically acclaimed albums like ‘Coma’ and ‘Kancho Awaz’ (Raw Sounds). In addition to his musical achievements, he has collaborated closely with local Nepali musicians from various communities, including Gandharvas, Santhals, Rautes, Chaudhary, Rajbanshi, Limbus, and more.

Internationally recognized, Rijal has received honors from institutions like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the Particle Physics Laboratory (CERN), where he was celebrated as a guest artist and lecturer. For the past decade, he has dedicated his efforts to preserve Nepal’s tangible and intangible musical heritage. Ken Subedi engages in a conversation with him, exploring his deep passion for music, culture, tradition, and heritage preservation.

You do not seem to follow the popular music trend. Rather, you like experimentation and try to set a new trend. Is that due to your focus on ethnic music?

Yes, I prefer experimenting with music and setting new trends rather than following popular trends. This preference is indeed related to my focus on our own musical heritage and world music. Our musical traditions and instruments provide a rich source of inspiration with its unique sounds and traditions, allowing me to create something distinct and innovative. 

You hold a doctorate in ethnomusicology. Can you please share the title of your dissertation and findings in brief?

My dissertation was titled “Transmission of Music in Nepal: The Gandharva Tradition”. In this study, I aimed to revitalize and contemporize traditional Nepali instruments like Arbajo and Sarangi, create a music education database for Nepal, and develop a model for preserving the endangered musical heritage and local musicians of Nepal. The findings emphasized the importance of preserving and contemporizing our musical heritage.

How do you evaluate the current Nepali music scene? 

The current Nepali music scene has a mixture of quantity and quality. While there is a diverse range of musical expressions and talents rooted in the traditional settings, there is room for improvement in both quality and diversity. Many contemporary artists are experimenting and pushing boundaries, but it’s essential to balance commercial trends while preserving cultural authenticity.

There are a lot of discussions among government bodies regarding the preservation of tradition and culture of different tribes. I hope you agree that language alone is not enough for such preservation? Where does music stand for that mission?

No, language alone is not sufficient for preserving traditions and culture. Music plays a vital role in this mission. It encapsulates the emotions, stories, and values of a community, making it a powerful medium for cultural preservation. Through music, traditions are passed down through generations, fostering a sense of identity and belonging. The Government of Nepal should focus on creating job opportunities for the local musicians as music teachers in all the public schools and universities.

Preparations, conferences and background studies are ongoing for developing Nepal Studies as a discipline in Nepal. As a scholar and expert in music, what are your messages and recommendations to the concerned authorities?

I would suggest recognizing the interdisciplinary nature of music and its role in understanding culture and society. Including the study of music in Nepal Studies can provide valuable insights into Nepal's diverse heritage. Additionally, investing in Intangible heritage, music education and research can help preserve Nepal's rich musical traditions for future generations.

You have been a singer, musician, lyricist and arranger. What area do you find the most joy in?

Being a scholar-musician brings me the most joy. This role allows me to bridge academia and artistic expression and encourages me to sing, write texts, arrange and perform music for the future. Through research, I am in the process of gaining a deeper understanding of musical traditions and other related fields like music and heritage, instrument making etc. Which enhances my compositions, performances and amplifies my craving to build a better Nepal. This synergy between scholarship and creativity brings me immense satisfaction.

These years, from Smule to StarMaker, there are lots of Karaoke Apps where people can record songs in their voice. This has led to loss of originality and increased copy versions. How does that impact the original artist and the music industry?

The explosion of Karaoke Apps can impact original artists and the music industry. It may lead to a flood of copy versions, diluting the uniqueness of original creations. This can affect artists financially. However, it also offers a platform for aspiring talents. To mitigate the impact on original artists, it's important to protect their intellectual property rights and ensure fair compensation for their work. 

Ethnic music is connected to ethnic tradition and language of ethnic communities. Picking up select rhythms from such ethnicity can be a daunting task. That’s where you utilize your research skills. Can you please share an incident regarding how you add their musicality in your songs?

One notable incident is when I worked closely with the Santhals, Damai and Limbu community of our country. In our recording session, they shared their traditional instruments with me. I incorporated these elements into a song composition, creating a collaborative effort that honored their musical heritage while creating something new and meaningful. This song is called “Nepali”.

The world we are living in is turning more and more homogenous. From language to culture and tradition, capitalist mode of production, consumerism and the current world order are threatening the diversity of populations. To what extent can they dismantle the age-old music and tradition of ethnic people? How can we save their legacy for future generations?

Globalization and modernization can indeed threaten the music and traditions of ethnic communities in no time. To preserve their legacy, we should urgently but systematically document and utilize their music and traditions, support cultural education, and advocate for the preservation of music of all the Nepalese of all the times. Creating job opportunities in Universities and Schools across Nepal, promoting Nepal based curriculum, cultural exchange and celebrating diversity can also raise awareness about the importance of preserving these invaluable aspects of our global heritage. The smart thing to do is invest in scholarly research because Nepal itself is a vast laboratory consisting 125 ethnic groups and 123 different spoken languages. 

Dr Khem K Aryal’s forthcoming short story collection ‘The In-Betweeners’ from Braddock Avenue Books is about the quest of identity pursued by Nepali immigrants who try to fit in the diverse culture of the United States. The characters in the book, especially the generation that migrated, demonstrate a strong sense of belongingness to their native land. They are confused if they should continue living the rest of their lives in the new country or return back to their place of origin. The title is justifiable considering the confusion and dilemma the characters experience while choosing one over the other.

In ‘Laxman Sir in America’ the experience of loss of identity is so bitter that Mr. Laxman, a school teacher back in Nepal plans to return but his wife and children are Americanizing. His personal interest is blocked by realistic day to day familial life. Hence, he is a perfect example of an in-betweener. He longs for respect he had earned back in Nepal but he never gets it. Rather, he is called by the name his American manager keeps. The story also portrays how a diversity visa acts as a channel to achieving the American dream.

Similarly, ‘Lost Country’ demonstrates the inbetweenness of the Nepali family in America. The protagonist is in dilemma whether to take his son to ski, a popular sports activity in the US or to a Nepali school. He takes to the latter and at the end, regrets for not taking to skiing where his colleague, a ski instructor had invited. Caught between Nepali culture, anthems, hymns and Nepali friends who do anything for the US Green Card and on the other hand his present American society, his children who consider themselves American, the narrator is in a perfect space of in-betweenness. He is longing for his past home culture as well as in the present circumstances looking for a Green Card. Hence, in an instance he says he has no country.

‘Rescued’ unfolds the complex side of raising a toddler and feeding him by a busy working father and her working wife. The struggles of a working father feeding a toddler is vividly narrated. The complexity of a modern family in the US where both the husband and wife have to work, leading to troublesome babysitting and raising is relatable to the number of immigrants in the US under student visa schemes. The minor incidents the author has written about baby care sounds realistic and at the same time unpleasant due to emotions they raise.

Filled with humor and farce, ‘Shopping For Glasses’ is Madan Koju’s desperate shopping for glasses in American stores. It deals with the confused state of mind while trying to purchase eye glasses due to unavailability of the typical Nepali size. Eventually, Madan breaks one of the temples of the glass due to a dilemma, only to buy it to repair later, due to the police officers who make approaches to the argument between Madan and his friend Tankraj. The individual feedback that Madan seeks in each store from the salesperson is rejected by the cold consumerist culture of the US

‘Mrs. Sharma’s Halloween’ is about an elderly woman’s first-hand experience of Halloween in the United States, where she gets irritated, shocked and fearful in the beginning looking at the strange ways Halloween is celebrated for nearly a week, hanging black clothes, creating horror-filled images, hanging skeletons and large spider webs and merrymaking with fervor. She repeatedly asks her son to sell the house and change the neighborhood citing the crazy culture and tradition of the neighborhood. Mrs. Sharma, though hates living in the ‘Anakantar’ or remote region and foreign tradition, realizes that they’re linked to her son and daughter-in-law and more importantly to the grandchild who considers himself an American. She compares Halloween to Gaijatra and ultimately asks her son to not sell the house and shows tolerance towards foreign culture. 

‘Election 2017’ is about a young man’s desire to participate in the federal election of Nepal as a candidate of the leftist party. The young man is an ex-Maoist rebel who fought against the authoritative monarchy. He had fled to the United States seeking better opportunities after he realized fighting wars did not benefit him personally. Forthcoming election fever in Nepal grips him and despite his Chinese wife’s defiance, he thinks of joining as a candidate, if not support his ex-colleague. Finally, he gets to know the party gave a candidacy ticket to the similar face who had no vision and whom nobody expected progress. He sends an email to his campaign friends in the US where he writes, ‘Do you still regret leaving Nepal? Do you still have the hope for the country?’ Eventually, he thinks of trying his luck in the forthcoming NRN election.

‘The Lucky Plant’ is about the household rift between the married, yet childless couple. They quarrel over trivial things, specifically over the indoor plants, the Jewel Orchid and the Lucky Bamboo. The male protagonist seems to be a stereotypical male Nepali figure who always looks for reasons they can subjugate and oppress the female counterpart. It was in fact Gorakh’s inability to nurture the Jewel Orchid that his department head had donated which he had bid and won. He blames his wife for not nurturing the Orchid just like her Lucky Bamboo which he hated for its inability to bloom.

Likewise, ‘Thapaliya-Ji The Social Worker’ reveals the fact that the high ranking people of Nepal including the politicians and ministers flee to the United States as the low level workers, with the intention of only securing a visa or settling on the American land. The story also shares the dark sides of a politician regarding how they continue to give mere hopes to people, even in foreign lands. ‘American Son’ is about a road trip a Nepali-American family makes to another Nepali-American friend’s home. However, Vishworaj Pandey’s sixteen year old son doesn't like to go with his Nepali speaking parents as he considers they should be visiting their friends themselves and he should be hanging out with his friends of his generation and interest. The parents take the boy with them on the trip in order to instill some Nepali culture and communicate in Nepal for him to not forget the language completely. The boy creates havoc in the journey talking with parents calling with their first names and talking freely about dating girls including the daughter of his father’s friend. The story is about differences between cultures within a family and the complexities that such differences bring up.

The illegal entrance of a Nepali rising artist in the United States is reflected in ‘Overstayed’. The story chronicles from the present to the past and later in parallel. Jagan Bista, a theater artist, works in a Nepali restaurant located in Los Angeles. The owner, a Nepali businessman, gives Jagan fake hopes of a legal PR Visa which he never works for. He had arrived in the US after accepting the offer of a Nepali director who took 20,000$ to secure his entry in the US citing a musical performance. Jagan gets prepared to join a performance event where the famous faces of Nepali art ranging from Mundrey, with whom he had performed together, Pashupati Sharma and superstars would perform. Jagan had bought the ticket online and confirmed with the owner to leave the restaurant by 6 pm. But the owner came very late at around 8 to replace him which made him disappointed. Finally, he tells the owner that he no longer wants to stay and is planning to return back to Nepal. The final scene is sentimental for he creates a list of returning artists, where he writes his own name at last.

‘The Return’ is a family saga of a Nepali family who have settled in America. The protagonist Dharmaraj spent more than 15 years of his productive life in America and had bought a home and maintained sufficient bank balance for his family, yet deep inside he thought he belonged to Nepal, not America. A rift in the family got intense when he drank and beat his wife and his 18 year old son called the police and he was labeled a domestic abuser. The incident triggered his desire to go back to Nepal, all alone, for which he started hateful conversations with his wife and children. He knew that unless he could create hatred from them towards himself, he could not fulfill his desire to return. Diversity Visa lottery took him there and he worked as a slave for more than 15 years and in between for the sake of raising children and building a home for family, he had quit his desire to return.

‘How Not to Come to America’ is about a fake marriage between cousins for the sake of US citizenship. The story is a representative example of Nepali society as similar paper marriages have been leaked time and again. To put in a nutshell, the stories represent Nepali society, typical lifestyle and thoughts of common Nepali populace. They have also exposed bitter realities of the alluring American dream yet how they are chased by many Nepali people. The other thing is identity. Not all characters are happy with their decision to settle in the US. The book is a fictional, yet realistic documentation and experiences of the Nepali immigrants living in the US.

Arun Gupto is a Professor of English, culture critic and author. His book ‘Goddesses of Kathmandu Valley’ as well as the edited book ‘Literary Theory and Criticism’ have been published by Routledge. His latest book in Nepali ‘Sanskriti Chintan,’ a collection of essays and interviews, has garnered acclaim among Nepali readers and thinkers for his distinct ideas on nationalism, patriotism, identity and culture. In an interview with Ken Subedi,  Gupto talked about his fascination towards books, literature, culture, tradition and art. Excerpts:

As an author and long-time reader yourself, what are your favorite books, particularly fiction?

I will have difficulty in naming my favorite novels. I love novels by the Bronte sisters of 19th century England. I prefer to read about strong women characters. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is one of my favorites. My daughter influenced me to read the works of these sisters carefully. I love to read British novels of the 19th century. The novelists of the time created intellectually vibrant female characters. The tragic vision of their lives in the stories express how suffering of the characters leads to wisdom on the part of the readers. Another powerful woman is Binodini in Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Chokher Bali.  She disrupts an ideal house like a pile of cards, and yet the reader seems to love her. I wish I had the opportunity to talk about Anna Karenina for hours.

You have devoted your productive years thus far to research and teaching in the realms of critical theory and Western tradition. Have you ever considered trying your hand at writing short stories or even a novel? What aspects of theories intrigue you that may differ from fiction?

I have written a novelistic memoir Cracks in the Wind, which I am trying to publish. I have recently completed writing a play, Racial Neck: The Middle Game. I have sent this to my professor in the US. I have written some stories and one more play which I am editing. I do not distinguish theory and literary creativity. Profound theories are like the philosophy of art and literature. I am reading and offering a course on the intersectionality of philosophy, art and literature as complementarities. I do not belong to the school of generic divisions when it comes to the ideas like reason and imagination, creativity and critical thinking, philosophy and fiction as separatist domains. Doing so is a hasty generalization.

I heard that in your initial years as a lecturer at TU, you were influenced heavily by post-structuralism/deconstruction theory, especially of Derrida and Foucault. You also seem to be fascinated with ideas of irrationality, surrealism, absurdism, différance, arbitrariness, hybridity etc. Why are they so close to you?

I have read Plato’s dialogues extensively, not all thought but many with intensity of reading and discussing. Derrida comes out of such Socratic discursive tradition and then comes Spivak. Foucault’s line of thought is more on reformulating historical knowledge and Derrida focuses on the methodology of meanings. They are known as post-structuralists. You have correctly suggested that they have led me to discourses of double binds, différance, and irrationalities. Double binds keep you near to the child’s innocence. Too much logic is a menace and they lead you to think like an atrocious dictator. Whom would you choose, the innocent child or the fire breathing logicians?

Salman Rushdie, in one of his interviews, said, ‘Literature should be about breaking rules, not doing conventional things, pushing boundaries and taking risks.’ To what degree do you agree with it?

Unless literature threatens the society, it becomes a hypocritical moral tale. Rushdie is perhaps talking about how you begin to hate your system because you love it. You question everything. Is white white? Such writers save the world by refining consciousness in strange fictional ways, in the modes, which Fredric Jameson calls the political unconscious, which Marx is nervous about literature being the slave of ideologies, which Socrates prepares us for dialectical thinking. If you analyze keenly, Rushdie is talking about a long tradition of what literature, art, philosophy has been doing, that is, “pushing boundaries” as you have said. Read Marx on ideology and one will know what “pushing boundaries” is.

There are also books which are not radical but instead focus on forms and realist storytelling. While you pick literature, do you look after its form and style or are you inclined to seek the radical themes the book has raised?

I look for the themes of radical, bold, strong, and ideas with the intensity of pushing boundaries. If your themes and characters are strong, they shape the form and design of the work. Anna Karenina, the legend tells, would appear in front of Tolstoy and dictate to him how to write about her and her life. This is a metaphor of what and how about creativity. The person is the form, Tolstoy realized. Form is embedded in themes. Yeats asks: How can we know the dancer from the dance? Is a novel novel because it is a form or content? 

There is no realism, no realist narrative. All works of art are perspectives, even historical accounts are perspectives, opinions, beliefs, and attitudes. Realism as a concept has been both elitist and bourgeois ideology. There is no nature in front of you but human-cultural perspectives on nature. Nature does not exist for us because we are the subjects of ideologies.  As soon as you narrate and describe nature, it is human perspective. Realism is a beautiful lie, formulated, designed to give constructed values to art. It rules our literary tradition and my student-friend Bishnu Sapkota, hence, loves Oscar Wilde. It is imperative to refer to him if you engage in further discourse.

In your view, why publishers are less interested in short story collections compared to novels? Is it because novels proved to be more salable?

It seems but I am not sure. After all, the market is the one who decides. We may dislike commodity culture but it helps us survive through competitions, not always though. We have to abide by the master’s rules of the game. The cultural logic of late-capitalism, for Jameson, is also about the dominance of what is circulated is what is value. Philanthropy is capitalism’s subsidiary gesture, it needs to pile up profits first. Hence, if a novel is salable, short stories have to wait.

Your analysis of the book Shirish Ko Phool and Suyogbir as a villainous character has been praised critically. The book is quite dear to you. What other Nepali books are close to your heart and can you name a few Nepali books that deserve translation into English?

The contemporary writings of Nepali women poets have to be seriously taken for translation projects. There are many who in recent times are rich in ideas with contemporaneity of themes with the quality of language which are suggestive of their social realities. What method and why I am interested in such projects at present has my own critical reasons.

The classical Nepali writers have to be read with the present ones, not in isolation as Devkota, Motiram, and Siddhicharan. Synthetic criticism is what I am thinking about. For instance, I will critique how Devkota’s Prem Pari is placed within the structure of poetic meaning of Sima Abhas’s Ma Stri Arthat Aimai. As an example, I am referring to the concept of Dhvani by the 9th century author of India Anandavardhana. The synthesis I am talking about is reading the classics in the context of contemporary writers, not the Arnoldian “touchstone” method of comparing the present writers with the greats of the past. Synthesize Devkota’s poems on women with works of Jhamak or Sima. I am bringing critics, some from the past and some from the present, in the light of Sanskrit poetics, which I have to read in English, and discourses on tropes by writers like Paul de Man and so on. 

I cannot produce a list of names but we need to read and plan. The process of translation must be done with a team of serious academics and media people only after a serious reading of the recent novels, plays, and poems.

Do you agree that the number of Nepali writers writing in English, particularly fiction, is still few? Does it have any link with colonial history?

Nepali writers writing in English are fewer than many South Asian countries. But whoever is published in the Anglophonic world is good and powerful. Nepal did not directly and conspicuously bore colonial experience, I mean institutionally, and therefore English is not an internalized language. I think writing in English or translating Nepali or vernacular literary works into English is necessary because Nepali works need to be globalized. Globalization in this context is participating with world literature. Once we participate, we will be tested in a wider context. There is no easy road to recognition and fame.

You also taught art where you discussed artworks by Proust to Picasso and Gericault to Dali. Personally, which genre of painting do you prefer?

The impressionists, the cubists, surrealists, and abstract expressionists are the ones who cut across the comforts of realism of the 19th century. The crises created by human factors can only be expressed through the flicker of perspectives of the impressionists, the reduction of fake-humanism into lines and figures of the cubists, dream consciousness of the surrealists, and the language of the color of the soul by abstract expressionists. They were overwhelmingly radical in ideas and expressions.

Recently, the news regarding discussion over shortening the four-year undergraduate degree caught my attention. As per news reports, such a need was felt due to high drop-out rates and no employment guarantee after completing the course. It has also come to light that the four-year course often takes five years to complete, and students struggle to financially support their studies. In this context, rather than returning to the three-year bachelor's degree, the university should develop concrete plans to ensure that the four-year degree adheres to the academic calendar and is completed within four years. 

Furthermore, the university should introduce new curricula that are industry-friendly, bridging the gap between the classroom and the real business world. These curricula should link academic courses to business profiles with the potential to thrive anywhere in the world.

In this short piece, my primary focus lies on how the curriculum can be revised to mitigate the significant drop-out rates. While my ideas may be more pertinent to the Information Technology and Management fields, they can offer valuable insights to the ongoing discussions. The curriculum should be designed with the goal of empowering students to apply their classroom knowledge in real-world situations or the business world. For instance, in the context of Business Communication, a subject tailored for management students, we can integrate courses like e-commerce, report writing and interpersonal communication, among others. When studying e-commerce, students could have the opportunity to visit actual e-commerce businesses to gain practical insights into their operations. Additionally, inviting founders or co-founders to share their entrepreneurial journeys in the classroom could serve as a source of inspiration for students contemplating the initiation of their own e-commerce ventures.

Prospects of Freelancing/Outsourcing

We live in a globally interconnected world. Despite living in a land-locked country, we can contribute significantly in the knowledge industry. Nepali university graduates can work on projects where distance and weight are not taken into consideration. They can become the workforce of European or the US companies if they champion certain skill sets. Taxation on the income earned through foreign exchange is quite lower compared to income earned through salary or investment in Nepal. As per the report, information technology services brought Rs 67 billion rupees to Nepal, with joint efforts of 106 information technology companies and some 15,000 freelancers.

By championing certain skill sets I mean acquiring skills and extending knowledge areas that are being sold faster than others. Several online workforce platforms, such as Upwork, Fiverr, Freelancer, and PeoplePerHour, have gained global recognition. Their statistics show top jobs or skills that sell more than others. Based on their real-time data, interactions and jobs, they also rank certain skills and sub-skills. They also rank those skills based on their nature like technology, marketing, customer service and admin, accounting and consulting, design and creative etc. Among the skills Upwork ranked for 2023, full stack development, front-end development, back-end development and mobile-app development are skills that sell the most under tech skills. Similarly, search engine optimization, social media marketing, search engine marketing, email marketing are some most salable skill sets under marketing. Likewise, under customer support and admin, email, phone and chat support, virtual assistance, data entry, digital project management, research and transcription are the most in-demand skills. There are accounting and creative skills which are also in demand encompassing skills from recruiting and talent sourcing to graphic design and business analysis to video editing.

Developing Skills from Colleges to Beyond

My concern is that the university students can link their academics to a number of salable skills including the mentioned ones. They can create clubs in their respective college where they can discuss and share their knowledge related to the skill set. There can be a front-end development club, digital marketing club, virtual assistance and data entry club, translation and subtitle club and many other clubs that can work together for common good. For the successful operation of such clubs, the college management can also facilitate and provide expert counseling and coaching. The students that do not have clubs in their colleges can hone their skills independently taking classes in training centers.

The benefits of such platforms are tremendous. Technology has also made society homogenous. Nationality and national borders have blurred. A Kenyan teacher assists to write research papers to a British university graduate student and a Nepali software engineer works with a Dutch programmer to create a global web application owned by an American. You need to showcase your portfolio in a detailed and precise manner and start applying to those related to your skills. Most of the jobs in those platforms are looking for skills that our university students may possess. Rest of the details like race, nationality, age, sex do not matter. Hence, young graduates need to pick up a skill or two based on their interest and existing knowledge. They then need to hone their skills, and need to apply the skills to job providers in the global online marketplace.

According to the 2023 financial report from Payoneer, an American financial services company, there has been a significant increase in demand for skills such as programming, marketing, project management, and web design over the past year. The report also highlights that 46% of freelancers experienced an increase in demand for their work, indicating a growing reliance on freelancers by businesses. Nepali university graduates should join this global freelancing trend to financially support their studies. Some may even progress to the next level by forming companies and teams, potentially achieving millionaire status within a few years.