| Username |
Post |
| Bilbo Baggins |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 02:28 PM
The bellow is a speech given by India's presiden, I think but I have tailored it for NEPAL and NEPALIS! It fit our context well. Read and comment. Thanks!
Nepal is in trouble because of the attitudes of RNs and NRNs alike.
Why is the Nepali psyche so negative? Why are we in Nepal so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse to acknowledge them. Why? Last 20 years has brought telephones, electricity, and TVs to some of the remotest villages in Nepal. We have more school per capita than most of the developing countries. Yet why are we so negative? We need to be proud of our success and the Nepali media has to focus on our success. All I hear in the media these days is how many of our brothers and sisters are getting killed everyday and I am sick and tired of it.
Once in Tel Aviv the President of India was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert land into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. The President of India was enthralled. That is how it should be in Nepal too.
In Nepal we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime, corruption. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign TVs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology. Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance and self effort? We are so fixated on exporting stuff to other countries. How can we expect to sell our products to foreigners if we cant even sell them to our own people? A famous friend was in Kathmandu giving this lecture, when a 14 years old girl asked him for his autograph. He asked her what her goal in life was. She replied: I want to live in a developed Nepal. For her, you and I will have to build this developed Nepal. You must proclaim. Nepal refuses to be the poorest of the poorest nation. It refuses to stay as under-developed nation; it wants to be a highly developed nation.
Continued ...
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| Bilbo Baggins |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 02:29 PM
Continued from above ...
Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours. YOU say that our government is inefficient and corrupt. YOU say that our laws are too archaic and that we dont have enough laws and that we dont implement the laws that we already have in the books. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that your neighbors are dirty. YOU say that the phones don't work, the roads and highways are a joke, the airline is the worst in the world, and mails never reach their destination. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is in an absolute shambles. YOU say, say and say, and say. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him a face - OURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground Links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs.60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of New Road or Kings Way) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU comeback to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity.
In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramadan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out with out your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, "see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to some one else." YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop, "Gadha, Talai thaha chain ma ko hun (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost." YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand.
Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston? We are still talking of the same YOU. YOU, who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own, YOU who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Nepali ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in Nepal? In Nepal "Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place. And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Ditto, in Japan. Will the Nepali citizen do that here?
We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the government to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want RNAC and other airlines to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff that is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, child labor, girl child and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. What is our excuse? It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone change. I am not going to change by myself" Well, so, who's going to change the system?
What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbors, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But, definitely not me and YOU! When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr. Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Nepal government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money. Dear nepalis, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy's words to his fellow Americans to relate to Nepalis.....
"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE NEPAL WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY"
Let's do what Nepal needs from us
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| bhenda2 |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 02:37 PM
Bilbo Baggins ley kasto ghat lagdo kura garyo...ho teemilay bhanya kura thik ho.
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| khimu |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 04:27 PM
nothing will change Bilbo.
you know, Nepal (Mero-Desh) got full of dust need to clean, but it will take time . To clean this dust, Nepal will need strong broom (Law).
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| Hercules |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 06:54 PM
"Barha barsha Ramayan padhayo, antim ma Sita kasko joi bhanda thaha chhaina" bhane jastai, Bilbo wrote so long and explained a lot at the end here comes khimu with typical nepali style complain.
I'm 100% with Bilbo. Nepalese are always pessimistic when we talk about Nepal or Nepali but proud to say that in US I did this, when I was in Europe I did that.
Exactly like Bilbo said I always tell my friends that let's sell our good stuff like be proud of Mt. Everest, be proud of Gurkhas, be proud of our what we have achieved so far. For example in 1980s Nepal had the best fully digital telephone system in South Asia, yes even better than India.
Look at our young talents singers, and artists what they have done to our music and film industry. They have created hundreds of jobs. Quality will get better as they, customers and market grow.
I hate when Nepalese who live in US or some where else critcises that our nepali film copies from Bolywood. Why can't they make good movie like something Numafeng etc. Excuse me, the investor in Nepal have to get return from their investment. The majority audiences who goes to theatre in Nepal (Kathmandu and outside) are people who likes Bollywood movie mostly from lower class. So investors are not going to invest and make a film for couple hundred people who live either abroad or likes to watch movie in DVD player at home.
So let's see the positive part our people, country, be proud of it. That will increase our confidence in our success. When you have confidence you can achieve more and better.
Hercules.
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| KaleKrishna |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 07:14 PM
Heart touching revelation, indeed what we only do is wait, wait for Kal to come, wait for someone to come and do this and that. A day starts with expectations that some one will do it, why me when there are so many others to do it, what difference will it make if I do it when others won,t follow it are some of our deep rooted character.
The bottom line is nobody will come with a magic wand and change the country, it will only change when the attitude is changed. Highly expected of from comming generations, we in the middle has to led by example. Everything starts with me, and when this me is following right, then rest will take its own place. One other determining factor typical of us is our lack of patience, we want instant results and that to by waiting, waiting and more waiting.
Let us play the role of catalysts to activate positive thinking among friends, family members, neighbours, society and hope that dreams to live in developed Nepal fulfilled for generations to follow
KK
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| VincentBodega |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 07:23 PM
ha ha ha
Lets look at this, we are trying to raise a sense of patriotism and for that too we have to steal a speech. Not only that, we need to make appropriate changes to the speech, (like change INDIA into NEPAL, INDIAN into NEPALI.
The best part about this is we dont even know how to copy something and make these corrections. Please read the last line with me
>>"ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE NEPAL WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY">>
Anything pretty funny about this? Now you ask me why I am so cynical.
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| KaleKrishna |
Posted
on 23-Oct-03 11:59 PM
Vincent bro, the message is in the spirit not words. In some other thread they were discussing how some letters here and there, some words here and there and some letters upside down does not matter if you are striked by the message. Anyway, yours is a rightful eye opener because what we do is " unsuccesfully attempt to be like someone else when it is much better to be successfull the way we are".
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| Bilbo Baggins |
Posted
on 24-Oct-03 10:57 AM
VincentBodega Ji,
Namaste Ke cha haal khabar? Just to mention a few things:
In the sentence "ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE NEPAL WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY", the word INDIA was left in there unintentionally but I almost wished I had left it there on purpose. Because it served to illustriate my point so well. The long "paraphrase" from the speech given by India's President had all kind of positive messages for Nepali. It had numerous inspiring sentences but ... all you chose to see VincentBodega Ji is the mistake ... the focus on NEGATIVE!
Secondly the speech is not being stolen.I said right off the bat, that the speech was delivered by the President of India, I just made some modifications to bring the speech to the Nepali context. I debated whether I should post the altered speech or not for a couple of days and decided that I was prepared to accept the wraths of a few cynics if it meant that a good intended message gets out there to the general Nepali population of Sajha.com.
Don't get me wrong here, I myself am (more often than I want to admit) guilty of focusing on NEGATIVE aspects of Nepali society and Nepal. I am not faultless either. But we have to start by changing ME first...
BB
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| VincentBodega |
Posted
on 24-Oct-03 11:28 AM
Hey,
Theres a difference between focusing on something thats wrong and point out something thats wrong. I think I believe in the latter.
Next, I dont like the attitude of "we should be like the west." I am rather of the notion, we can be better than the Rest. Nepal can never be like the west. If it did, it wont be Nepal anymore. With technology and mindset of the west comes the culture thats there. Whats Nepal like without her culture and her values.
I just want to echo what KaleKrishna had to say. I think I believe in that "unsuccesfully attempt to be like someone else when it is much better to be successfull the way we are." Ponder on that. I think we are trying to take a harder route when theres a easier one evident.
I am sure Mr. President of India is a great person but I dont like what he has to say.
So thats it...
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| Bilbo Baggins |
Posted
on 24-Oct-03 12:34 PM
Absolutely... I suppose the bottom line is we have to learn to be patriotic like the people in west. I don't mean to be LIKE the west ... we don't want to do that. Me and my family have been here in North America for decades but we have resisted so farto be influenced by the west. Don't get me wrong here we can learn a lot from the West...let's learn it and implement in Nepal all the time maintaining Nepaliness within us. That should be the goal.
KK has the right idea when he said "the message is in the spirit not words." And he is also right when he says "unsuccesfully attempt to be like someone else when it is much better to be successfull the way we are" ... I take pride in that we have Nepalis that have these attitudes. We need to increase that number and empower the rest of the population to think POSITIVE.
BTW thanks VincentBodega Ji for pointing out the error. Like you I don't completely agree with everything the President of India said but just the same I thought it was pretty inspiring...
Keep spreading PEACE and POSITIVITY around the world bros ...
BB
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