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In our day-to-day lives, we often cross paths with people whose work keeps our communities functioning—bus conductors, street cleaners, garbage collectors, security  guards, and others working behind the scenes. Yet, these are the very people we so  often ignore, look down upon, or treat with impatience. It’s time we asked ourselves: Why? 

There is a deeply rooted tendency in our society to equate respect with position, wealth, or educational qualifications. Those who wear uniforms, perform physically demanding  tasks, or work under the sun are often treated as if they are somehow “less.” But the  truth is this: every job has dignity and every person deserves respect. 

Consider this: Kathmandu Valley alone generates over 1,200 metric tons of solid waste  every day, much of which is managed by over 1,500 sanitation workers, many from  marginalized backgrounds. These workers rise before dawn, clean our roads, and  handle the very waste we throw without a second thought. Yet, a 2023 study by the  Centre for Labour and Social Studies Nepal found that 65 percent of sanitation workers  reported being treated with disrespect or ignored entirely by the public. 

Public transport workers, too—like bus conductors and microbus helpers, help tens of  thousands of people reach their destinations daily. Despite their essential service, they  are often met with rude behavior or treated as if their efforts have no value. This  behavior isn’t just unkind—it’s unjust. 

It reflects a societal gap in empathy and awareness. We must understand that dignity is  not tied to one’s income, title, or background, but to the fact that each of us contributes,  in different ways, to the collective good of our society. The health of our communities,  the smooth functioning of our cities, and even our personal comfort depends on the  labor of these hardworking individuals. 

What we need is a culture shift. A shift that starts with something simple: respect. Meet the people we usually ignore. Let us teach our children to thank those who serve us—not just doctors and teachers, but also the cleaner who makes their school safe and  the driver who takes them home. Talk to the street vendor and parking attendant. These small acts can build a more inclusive and humane society. But the real change begins with us—how we think, how we speak, and how we treat those  around us. 

In a just society, no one is “too small” to be seen or heard. Let us remember that the  hands that sweep our streets and carry our garbage are just as important as the hands  that sign documents and sit in offices. Respect should not be a luxury for the privileged.  It should be a shared value that defines who we are as a people. 

Ayushma Budhathoki 

St Xavier’s College, Maitighar

So I was very tired after … Oh sorry! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Jammy and today I’m going to tell you about my adventure. So let’s begin. I was very tired after school, so I went to my room, tossed my bag aside, and went to the washroom to freshen up. I then had my snacks and entered my room to watch TV. As I laid down in my bed, I couldn’t stop my eyelids from drooping. 

After a while I heard some noise. The noise was coming from the attic. Then I realized I was home alone. I was scared, but I mustered the courage to go up. I opened the door to the attic and followed the screeching sound coming from the corner. There I discovered a cat playing with my old rocket toy. I sat down and stroked the cat. Suddenly it started talking to me. “Thank you for petting me and showing love,” it said, and handed me a shiny coin.

I thanked the cat and it told me that the coin can make tiny objects larger. “Just hold the coin in your hand and touch the object you wish to enlarge and say the spell ‘bibbidi bobbidi boo you’ll be big woohoo’,” the cat told me. I burst out laughing after hearing the silly spell—but the cat vanished before I could say anything. 

I touched the rocket toy and said the spell while holding the coin. To my surprise, the rocket toy became a real rocket. I went inside, and found myself floating. I made my way into the cockpit and pressed some random buttons. Suddenly the rocket started to take off. I held tight to my seat, as I left the earth. I was so thrilled to be in space. Then suddenly an asteroid hit my rocket. I was screaming as I was about to crash. Unexpectedly, my magical rocket landed on an unknown planet. I got out of the spaceship to investigate where I was. I left my craft behind and started walking, and suddenly I spotted an alien. Frightened, I ran toward my spaceship. But the creature got a hold of me. As I was flailing and screaming, my captor told me: “Don’t worry, I won’t harm you. I just want to know why you are here.” “I was flying to the moon, but an asteroid hit my rocket and I crashed,” I explained. 

Then the alien, who told me he was named Ales, asked me if he could see my rocket. I agreed. “You seem to have run out of fuel,” he told me after inspecting the rocket. I began to panic, but Ales told me he would help me. 

Ales showed me around his planet. It was called “S21”, and Ales and his kind have been inhabiting the place for thousands of years. My extraterrestrial friend gave me a tour of his beautiful planet. He also showed me his home and met his friend Meshel. Ales and Meshel communicated in their language, which I found very funny. Now I had two alien friends, and they took me on a walking tour of planet S21. They took me to a mountain made of diamonds and a lake filled with liquid gold. I also had the honor of joining Ales’ family for dinner, but I was shocked by the sight of the meal on the table. Residents of S21 ate slugs and worm juice. I didn’t want to appear churlish, so I ate what was offered to me. Ales insisted that I spend the night at his place. The bed was made of the fluffiest animal. It was so comfy that I fell asleep in no time. When I woke up I saw a nice sunrise and it made my day. But I was missing my home, so I told Ales that I have to leave. So he offered to prepare fuel for my rocket. He knew the ingredients for fuel. He brought some fossils, heated them up, and poured some chemicals on them. As the chemical reaction was underway, we played games. I showed him the games played on my planet like tic-tac-toe played, and he showed me the games played on S21.  Once the fuel was ready, we refueled my spaceship. Ales gave me a gift during our emotional goodbye. Just as my rocket left S21, I heard a familiar voice calling my name. “Jammy, Jammy, Jammy wake up , Jammy.” I opened my eyes, my mom staring down at my face. So it was all a dream. “Time for dinner,” she told me. Blearily I went to the kitchen, remembering the dinner of slugs and worm juice at Ales’ home.

Shreyashi Sigdel 

Class: VI

Euro School, Chhauni

On a beautiful, sunny day of April 1, I woke up happily. I was going to Pokhara for a trek with my mother, who was already there. I had lunch with my father, changed into a fresh pair of clothes, and we headed to the airport.

The next day, at around 10 am, more of my mother’s friends arrived. We all got into the car and hit the road. After about an hour and a half, we stopped at Birethanti for lunch. Another hour and a half later, we reached Thikhedunga. From there, our real trek began.

We walked from Thikhedunga to Ulleri. The stairs on the way were crooked and many of them wobbled. It was quite tough to walk on them. When we reached Ulleri, we stayed at Hotel Purnima.

The next morning, we clicked a group photo and continued our journey. The stairs this time were much better, though the first set had really tall steps that made us stretch our legs to climb. Along the trail, we saw a beautiful white flower on a tree. When we asked a local woman, she told us it was called Chaanpa. We paused for a while to admire it before moving on.

A bit further along, we found a tea shop and rested there for a while. I was sucking on a piece of ginger—my mother said it helps with altitude sickness. While walking again, I accidentally stepped on horse dung and said ‘ow’ instead of ‘eww’. It was so silly I burst out laughing!

We also came across a tap with drinkable water. It had a slightly sweet taste because of the minerals, and the water came from a natural spring. Later, we found a small waterfall that flowed into a stream. We decided to take a break and dip our feet in the water. We probably should have checked the temperature first—because it was freezing! My feet felt swollen, and when I pulled them out, the pain was so intense I screamed. The echo rang through the jungle. For the first time in my life, I wished I had socks on!

The trail to Nagthanti was tricky and a bit scary, but my mother helped me, and I luckily reached there in one piece. We had lunch, which was pretty good, and then resumed our trek. On the way, we saw a lot of buffaloes—and even watched two of them fighting! We continued walking with breaks here and there, and eventually reached Ghorepani. After a bit more walking, we arrived at our hotel: Hotel Snowland. It was one of the best places we stayed at—there was even a hot shower, which was a pleasant surprise in such a remote area.

The next day, we left early for Poon Hill. At the border of Ghorepani and Poon Hill, there was a ticket counter where we bought entry tickets. The hike took about an hour and a half, and luckily, we didn’t miss the sunrise. First, we viewed the mountains and sunrise from the ground, but then climbed up to the view tower. The view was absolutely mesmerizing.

On the way back, we walked through two Rhododendron forests filled with dark and light pink flowers. We reached Thapledanda and stopped for a snack break. It was nearly the same altitude as Poon Hill. Then we descended to Deurali, had lunch, and saw lots of ponies.

We walked through a narrow gorge and reached Banthanti for another break. After that, we continued on. I twisted my foot along the way, which really hurt, so I was limping the rest of the day. When we were near Tadapani, we heard thunder and hurried to our hotel. Just after we arrived, it started raining heavily. For dinner, I had noodles and lentil soup.

The next morning, the skies were clear, and we got some great mountain views—so we took more photos. We walked until we reached Ghandruk, where we had lunch and reunited with the rest of our group. We visited the Gurung Museum, dressed up in traditional Gurung clothes, and clicked hundreds of photos. The museum had lots of interesting items—some I already knew about, and some I had never seen before.

After the museum visit, we walked to the bus park. It took us about three hours to reach Lakeside, Pokhara. In the evening, we went window shopping, and my mother and her friends went for a foot massage.

On our final day, we went boating in Fewa Taal and visited the Tal Barahi Temple. After returning to the hotel, we headed to the airport. A short wait later, we boarded our flight and returned home. I loved the trek to Poon Hill!

Eneesha Dhakal

Grade IV 

Rato Bangala School

Despite the progress made by millennials, many deep-rooted societal norms still endure. While the new generation aspires to challenge outdated traditions, societal expectations continue to dictate decisions, particularly regarding marriage and gender roles. These norms shape our lives in ways that often go unquestioned, reinforcing outdated beliefs about relationships and responsibilities.

One prevalent example is the stigma surrounding marriage and age differences. A younger man marrying an older woman is often seen as inappropriate, whereas the reverse is widely accepted. Similarly, divorced individuals face immense social pressure when seeking remarriage. A young bachelor is unlikely to marry a divorced woman, and bachelors or bachelorettes are often discouraged from choosing a partner who has been divorced. “When actor Ayushman Desraj Joshi got married to actress Priyanka Karki, he faced quite a backlash as she was older than him and divorced.”

Intercaste marriages are still viewed as unacceptable in millennial societies, yet friendships across lower castes are considered normal. These contradictions highlight how arbitrary and deeply ingrained these biases are. Women, in particular, face pressure to marry before their thirties, as if their worth is tied to their age and marital status. They are led to believe that they need a man for financial and social security. It is rooted in them from a young age, with sayings like “chori manche poi ko ghar jane jaat.” Meanwhile, men are conditioned to believe they must be financially settled before their thirties to be considered eligible for marriage. But why do we continue to let these expectations dictate our lives?

This societal conditioning extends beyond marriage and affects household responsibilities. A long-standing belief persists that household chores are solely a woman's duty. Even in modern households where both partners work, women are still expected to manage cooking and cleaning. It is ingrained from childhood that the kitchen is a woman’s responsibility, while men are rarely taught these essential life skills. Even if they acquire these skills, they still believe it is a woman’s responsibility. The expectation that men should not cook and that food should be served to them at the dining table still exists in our societies, even among millennials. Even some feminist women unconsciously uphold these norms, demonstrating how deeply these beliefs are embedded in society. Men rarely consider tasks like washing clothes or managing household chores because they have been conditioned to believe it is not their duty.

A crucial question arises: why are we not breaking these norms? Are we not educated enough to challenge them? The reason often lies in fear—the fear of being judged or stigmatized for defying societal expectations. Perhaps we continue to follow these outdated norms because they provide a sense of security, or maybe, subconsciously, we are too deeply rooted in them to let go. The irony of all this is that, despite knowing these dictations have no rationale behind them, we decide to hide behind the curtain of society, saying “samaj le k bhancha,” while subtly hindering our own lives.