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 Q. Three most attractive qualities in a person?

A. A sparkling conversationalist, followed by the non-judgmental listening ability and lastly, anyone who can respond to a sarcasm with a higher level of sarcasm are the best kind of beings to walk on the face of this planet.

Q. The best piece of advice that you’ve received?

A. ‘Don't look back at things that remind you of grief. Don’t listen to judgements people have of you. Don’t bother talking to people you don’t like.’ A self-shaped advice I remind myself, every day.

Q. The weirdest compliment that you’ve received?

A. ‘You speak like Sushmita Sen.’ Well, I didn’t buy it but I won’t deny, it felt nice.

Q. A question you wish people would stop asking?

A. ‘Don’t you get nervous before going LIVE on TV?’ Trust me, it’s sometimes more annoying than people asking single people when they plan to get married.

Q. If you could go on a coffee date with a famous person, who would it be?

A. Vladimir Putin. Being in the media indus­try myself, I feel this leader has been scripted completely on the basis of per­sonal opinions. There’s more to Putin, I think! One cup of coffee wouldn’t be enough, for sure, to decipher this man.

Q. If you could have your three of your wishes granted what would they be?

A. Firstly, two-day weekends. A well-rested mind is likely to be happier and more productive. Second wish would be to be able to travel without the tedious process of applying for visa(s). And thirdly, better public toilets in this city. Perhaps, then I will not hesitate to drink enough water throughout the day. Just saying.

Q. Ideal vacation destination?

A. I’ve always wished to live with the Mentawi tribes (Indonesia) for a month or two. As constantly evolving humans, I believe we have forgotten our natural ability to connect with the things around us.

In a complicated world that we live in, living with the tribes shall be a lifetime experience (for me).

 Guillermo del Toro’s fantasy drama, ‘The Shape of Water’, emerged as the ultimate win­ner at the 2018 Academy Awards. It had been nominated for 13 Oscars and won four, including best director and best picture. Starring Sally Hawkins, Michael Shannon, Octavia Spenser, and Richard Jenkins, the movie was a visual marvel, one that tugged at your heartstrings. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of its novel coun­terpart, the pace of which is a little sluggish and thus makes you want to skim through the pages halfway through. You already know the ending anyway.

For those of you who haven’t watched the movie yet, the basic premise is this: Set in America of the 1960s, Elisa, a mute janitor working at a government research center in Baltimore, falls in love with an imprisoned amphibi­ous man who is being tortured at the lab. The military responsi­ble for its capture then decide to kill the creature to dissect him for further research and Elisa, with a little help from her friends, plans a rescue operation.

The filmmaker Toro collabo­rated with author Daniel Kraus to bring the cinematic experience unto paper and the book was published a little less than two months after the movie’s release. The book was supposed to expand and enrich the story but what it does instead is make you feel like you are reading the first draft of the movie script.

The filmmaker and author both no doubt felt that a movie, at two hours, could only scratch the sur­face of human emotions and strug­gles. The novel thus takes its time to dra

w out the characters and delve deep into their minds. The result is a bit tedious. This is per­haps because you feel you know the characters and what they are thinking, having met them in the movie already.

That being said, The Shape of Water isn’t a bad book. Not by any means. It’s just that you have already watched (and loved) the movie, and seen the char­acters through their trails and tribulations that there’s no shaking off the feeling of déjà vu you inev­itably get. That is what takes away from the reading experience and makes the narrative seem long and stretched. You already know where it’s going yet you have to bear through pages of introspection and (oftentimes) pointless drama to get there. If you haven’t watched the movie, we recommend you read the book. If you have, you might be better off finding something else to read

They huddle by the front door, with big bags on their backs and cracking jokes, as they get ready to rush on their bikes. They are preparing to deliver food loaded onto their large bags, often unaware of the barrage of difficulties that await them. This is the view at the Naxal central office of Foodmandu, an online food delivery service, at 5 pm on a recent evening.

The recent surge in online activity means that deliverymen—and right now they are all men—are more occupied than ever. But the work lives of these people, who deliver everything from cooked pizzas to raw potatoes, have gotten little attention.

The life of a deliveryman is by no means easy, especially with the unpredictable weather, terrible traffic and bad mapping of Kathmandu. And some customers can be downright nasty.

Ramesh Lama, who works at Foodmandu from 5 pm to 9 pm, constantly deals with these issues and yet he has learned to enjoy them as challenges to be overcome. “Figuring out the right location is half the battle won,” he says. “Often, the location may not be accessible on a vehicle, or it may be a confusing road, or worst, the customer may have changed the location and not updated.”

Unpredictable traffic and foul air of Kathmandu are other daily difficulties. Om Prakash Karki, who works for Daraz Nepal, an online retailer, says traffic sometimes delays deliveries. “Even though everyone is aware of these challenges, both our employers as well as our customers hold us responsible if we cannot sometimes deliver on time,” he says.

Talking about the customers, the experience of dealing with them can be immensely gratifying to very unpleasant.

Abishek Suwal, who also works for Daraz Nepal, speaks of the gratification that comes with feeling valued and respected, when a customer recognizes their effort. But, says Sagun Thapa, another deliveryman associated with Foodmandu, “At times customers treat us condescendingly. They try to demean our jobs and mock our financial status.”

“Some customers treat us as if we are their household helpers or somehow inferior to them,” he says.

There are also instances when customers have argued with Thapa for a little change. “One time, the bill was Rs 3,113, and the customer refused to pay Rs 13. It is sad that we have to squabble over the billed amount.”

These deliverymen like to have a smile on their face, even as they are aware that every new assignment is a new challenge. According to those this correspondent talked to, all they seek from their customers is a little respect for their work, for “no work is big or small”. 

The concept of being a vege­tarian is not new in Nepal, a Hindu- majority country. Even though Hinduism does not explic­itly forbid meat-eating, the religion recommends ahimsa, or non-vi­olence against all life forms. (As does Buddhism, for that matter). At least of a third of all Hindus are vegetarians, according to various surveys in India. Perhaps a similar proportion of Nepalis refrain from eating meat. But what is new to Nepal is veg­anism, a lifestyle choice in which you consume only a type of veg­etarian diet that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products, and all other animal-derived foodstuff. Animal clothing is shunned too.

Saraswati Rashmi Shakya, 24, adopted a vegan diet when she learned about how animals are harassed and abused by humans. “Our education system never taught us about where the milk we consume comes from,” says Shakya. “I found out about it only when I was 20. Imagining a calf deprived of its opportunity to have mother’s milk traumatized me, and I decided to become a vegan.”

Shakya says even if one addition­al person becomes a vegan, over 100 animals a year will be saved from slaughter. “My only regret is that I didn’t turn into a vegan sooner.”

Durga Nath Dahal, a social activ­ist and the director of Nayajiwan Paropakar Samaj, an NGO, has long been fighting for animal rights and spreading the message of vegan­ism. “As a birthplace of Lord Bud­dha, we in Nepal should be try­ing to promote peace rather than violence by killing creatures that cannot stand up for themselves. As sentient beings, humans are supposed to look after them, and adopting a vegan diet helps this cause,” he says.

Others opt for veganism on health grounds. As vegan diets are naturally low in calories, they are effective at promoting weight loss, without having to actively focus on cutting calories. Many people prefer a vegan diet for this reason alone.

Ananda Baskota, 32, has been working out for the past few months to lose weight. “I have been following a vegan diet for past three months and I have already seen a significant change in my weight,” he says. “I’ll eventually go back to my non-vegetarian eat­ing habit, but for now vegan diet is helping me reach my desired health goals faster.”

By contrast, Jagdish Aarohi, 70, has been a vegetarian all his life and turned into a vegan four years ago after he found out about its health benefits.

A vegan diet reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, is par­ticularly effective at reducing blood sugar and helps prevent prostate, breast, and colon cancers. “My health has gotten much better after I turned vegan. I also feel more spiritually fulfilled,” Aarohi says. “It is no less gratifying to know that I save the environment and many animals.”

One common myth about veg­an diets is that they are poor in nutritional value and lack essen­tial vitamins. But that need not be the case. A vegan diet is by no means restrictive. There is a whole range of fruits, pulses, vegetables, legumes, and healthy fats that you can have to get all the needed nutri­tion (See the interview alongside).

As the number of vegans is increasing by the day, specific industries have cropped up to cater to them. Recently, a vegan dairy, Vegan Dairy Nepal, start­ed its services in Teku. It offers a wide range of vegan products like soy yogurt, almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, cheese spread, and vegan rasgulla in lieu of reg­ular dairy products. With grow­ing demand, restaurants have also started including vegan alterna­tives in their menu.

Being a vegan is not as hard and demanding as it used to be O