| Username |
Post |
| ashu |
Posted
on 16-Jun-01 03:14 AM
Despite my deep personal respect for both CK Lal and Kanak
Dixit, I'd like to, in a spirit of a friendly debate and 'streamy writing', go mano-a-mano with them.
This is prompted by by someone's urging Robin Pandey to read their writings, which, I agree, are sometimes about unsubtantiated negative stuff.
And, yes, reading The Nepali Times ko main stories and especially CK Lal's writings, it is very conclude that there is absolutely no hope for Nepal and that everything is khattam and jhoor and down and out over here. Eloquence is admirable, but a regular dose of eloquence tinged with depressive thoughts only brings down everyone's mood, especially when those thoughts are exaggerations and sweeping generalizations, often not supported by logic and evidence.
I personally think that Lal, who's an excellent writer, appeals to a lot of Nepalis abroad precisely because he gives them ready-made believable answers to justify for themselves why they are not coming or should not come back to Nepal. After all, to play up Lal's frequent refrain, hey, who wants to come back to a country ruled by a few high-caste/high-class bahuns/chettris and newars from Kathmandu?
Two weeks ago, Lal, for example, issued a scathing and sweeping critique of so-called "Boarding School" graduates and blamed them for every ills of Nepal, as though those graduates called the shots in Nepal.
The same issue of NT, however, carried a piece by Harvard grad Nuru Lama (a scholarship boy throughout high school and college), in which Nuru wrote about coming to terms with the lies and exaggerations fed to him and the members of his generation by the Nepali state. Even then, Nuru seemed to appear optimistic, if only because now that he and his friends could now be self-ware enough to distinguish the myths from the facts.
But a person CK Lal would, I'd imagine, have none of Nuru's arguments. Why? Because CK Lal has to have this binary world in which either everything is bad and khattam (because of, again, Kathmandu's feudal upper-class) and he gets some satisfaction out of pointing out their failings in their favorite newspaper or, if the matters are related to the Nepali Congress, then somehow
they are, by Golly, charitably explainable.
Even then, the truth be told: I like Lal personally and like his writings, even when I have come to disagree the basis of most of his analyses. If he's reading this, I hope he takes these comments in a spirit of Martin Chautari-like discussions . . .
Kanak Dixit is one person who seems to have an inordinatly intractable faith in Nepali intellectuals. And, for the last seven years or so, I have seen him trying to play Ralph Nader
to our intellectuals (whoever they are!) ko collective conscience, and failing miserably again and again.
Notice Kanak's latest "hallai halla ko desh" in NT, in which he blames (gasp, choke!) the intellectuals for not doing much during the recent crisis. But, hey, what could the intellectuals really
do? The whole tragedy was a shock to all, whether you were an intellectual or not. Rather than beating the drum of anti-intellectuals (when no reasonable man expects ANYTHING from
that discredited lot!), I urge Kanak to look at former Yugoslavia
(then an ethnically diverse country like Nepal), understand its intellectual history, and figure out WHY Yugoslav intellectuals were ultimately helpless/powerless against the most destructive forces in their history.
Maybe then Kanak can draw lessons for us all -- lessons we can all learn from. Else, one more article from him bashing Nepal's intellectuals (an easy target!) for yet another sin will just
not push our understanding of anything further.
Finally, a disclaimer: I write the above with deep, personal respect for both Kanak and CK Lal. In America, I've seen even people like John Rawls and Amartya Sen criticized for their viewpoints -- in the pages of The New York Review of Books --
in a spirit to advance debates and discussions and ideas.
I am sure both of them -- if reading this points here -- will agree that it's time we also learnt to challenge some of our ideas and thoughts, without, of course getting personal . .
oohi
ashu
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| Trailokya Aryal |
Posted
on 16-Jun-01 05:02 PM
Dear all,
I agree with what ashu dai has to say re: two journalists.
I have been reading CK Lal's pieces for a while now, and I persoinally think that he has to get over his anti-bahun-chetri feelings. He is way too biased towards the afore mentioned group(s). I remembre reading in one of his book reviews, probbaly 3-4 years ago where he wrote : He would rather go out and have tea with ......Gurung than with the writer of the book, which he was reviewing and who (un) fortunately happened to be a bahun.
I don't have any problem with his anti-bahun stand but, honestly I think he has to be sensetive while writing/speaking in public.
About "hallai-halla ko desh" by Kanak Dixit, again, as ashu pointed out, there was nothing anyone could do and given the secretive nature of the Palace, everyone, even the intellectuals had nothing but rumors and conspiracy theories to rely on to explain the tragedy. I personally believe that there are two ways to find the underlying truth behind any tragedy/incident-
1-you have all your evidence, and you analyze the incident/tragedy with whatever evidence you have on hand and find out the TRUTH.
2- You look for the evidence based on rumors/conspiracy theories, fuind some evidence and based on the evidence you have on hand eitehr accept or deny your initial theory/hypothesis.
regards,
Trailokya
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| Robin |
Posted
on 17-Jun-01 02:23 AM
I decided not to write for a few days, as I was enjoying my Buttered Pecan mixed with Vanilla ice cream. You know, everyone needs a break. I was here too often, and I will really go away for a while.
Those of you who understand Cloud of truth will understand what I am talking about, others may never know. Let me explain what is Cooud of truth: You know when it is cloudy day you cannot see the clear blue peaceful sky. Cloud of truth is like that people made belief on something which may not be true. For example, people had Cloud of truth about how the earth really is, they said that the earth is flat. Most of people beleived earth is flat. Some did not beleive it, but did nothing about it, except talked about it. There are a lot of cloud of truth, and I will give you a couple of example: 1. Lee Harvey Oswald fired at Kennedy 2. OJ Simmpson did not kill his wife. Now, to understand this one has to be prettry knowledgable about American history or been in the US a long time. Perhaps, I am writing for those Nepalis living in the US for a long time and others, please don't get offended, I am learning a lot about you.
Another example of Cloud of truth: This one is more interesting to everyone, His Majesty Crown Prince killed his own family then committed suicide. Now, I think it is safe to say that isn't cloud of truth similar to "is it really true?" or "oh really?" kind of reaction. Some people will buy the Cloud of truth and move with their life and it is probably best for them to do so. Others they don't buy it for at all because they see the Sky of truth and move on with their lives, but keep what they think behind their head for them to share with similar minds for future development. Others don't buy at all and react immediately. And there are those who are in neutral: Maybe Crown Prince did kill his family and maybe he did not do and stay neutral in front of Cloud of truth.
Why Cloud of truth? Without Cloud we would not get rain and we without rain we could not grow our crops and vegetables. In similar fashion Cloud of truth has to be there because Sky of truth may be too much information for some of us to handle. Those of who saw the trial of OJ Simpson saw Sky of truth, but had to accept the Cloud of truth becaus the Cloud of truth was tried by the Court of Law with jury.
During my young days, I always wanted to change the world. As I grow older, it changed completely. I know now why my Economics Professor Mallela said, "Robin don't try to change the world, do something valuable first." You know I was just a rebel and rebel without a cause.
Let me say something about the TRUTH is out there in regards to Trailokya's writing. He is absolutely right, just worded different than mine, but in the core of meaning is the same as Sky of truth in my writing.
As far as reading a couple of people's writing, whom I never heard before, no I have not done that, may be I will read their writing just to know how some of us here in GBNC thinks. I can take negative writing, matter of fact, there was well written article at Kurakani.com titled "Keep us informed" it had negative stuff, but it was well written with taste not like Louis' direct wwriting, which only handpicked really bad stuff about Nepal, and I have to admit, I was a little bit pissed.
Cloud of truth or Sky or truth we Nepali or any individual should have a positive attitude toward life. Ashu's writings have postive attitude and many of us here do. In "Keep us informed" there was a big positive message "from here we can only go upward". It cannot get any worse than this.
A lot of people said to me we should not accept Cloud of truth. Accepting to keep peace for a bigger cause is better than not accepting and making useless trouble. To manage, you have to accept things. You cannot eat an elephant, but if you manage and accept that the elephant is big and eat a little by little you will eat the whole elephant. Well, I am thinking like that because I am in the management and I beleive in doing it right way.
You will see beyond the Cloud of truth if you have a goal in your own personal life. I have a personal gaol to be better person than what I was yesterday. For Nepali brothers and sisters living in the US, if I were you I would focus on to do what I came here to do. There are a lot of successful Nepali living in teh USA. This GBNC site desinger San Pradhan, I think is successful. I had a chance to meet him in Texas. By the way I live in Texas. Ashu Tiwari (Harvard graduate), I never met him, but by writing I can tell he is successful. I know a several doctors, computer engineers, and businessmen. May be one day we alll can go back 40-50 thousand of us and make a big difference forthose our relatives, who stayed behind.
I would like to share another succes story about an individual, who by the way is not Nepali. This person from India did Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and started a company called I2 from his apartment in late 70s, his main goal was to help himselves and his Indian friends. Now the company employs thousand of employees and they are all over the world worth billions of dollar. He helped many Indians in America. I don't know the man, but truly whatever nationality he is, he is my hero.
I hope to do the same in the future with my little company to grow and help Nepalis and help others as well. I won't tell the name of my company, some of us will say I am advertising here.
Anyway, I will be gone for a few days. San keep this website going. Ashu keep writing, and others keep expressing your views.
Have a nice weekend.
Robin
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