| ashu |
Posted
on 23-Dec-01 01:36 AM
Hi U2,
Here is that sartire you were talking about.
Enjoy,
oohi
ashu
ktm,nepal
************************
A Dinner Conversation
by Bhupendra Rawat
First published in The Kathmandu Post (circa 1997)
Below appear some extracts of a dining-hall conversation between a
recently-arrived--from-Nepal freshman and three of his American
[just-introduced] friends at some Dining Hall [where they serve chickwiches, among others] in Boston.
*****************
Hi! Where are you from?
Nepal. That's a country between India and China, you know.
But I thought you were from India . . .
Well, [a tad defensively] I'm not as dark as the Indians, you see. I'm a Nepali. A Nepali, you understand. And Nepal is an independent, peace-loving country. We have Mt.Everest there, you know.
Mt. Everest? That's so cool, man! Are you a Sherpa?
Oh, no!! Not really. The Sherpas are a different group altogether. They
live up in the mountains, where it's very cold.
Mountains, wow!? Do you guys, like, go skiing a lot? It must be fun,
right?
Well, not really. You see, the Himalayas are really tall mountains.
They're difficult to ski on. We just kind of worship them from a
distance.
Worship them? Are you religious?
Yeah, I guess. I'm a Hindu.
You're a Hindu? That's so cool, man! So you guys have, like, the
caste-system, right?
Yeah. We do. But [again, defensively] I don't really believe in it. Besides,
these days, caste-system is only practiced in rural areas.
So, like, what's your caste?
Umm [a bit uncomfortably] Brahmins.
[Smiling] You know, that's like what you have here in
Boston, I guess. It's kind of, like, being at the top of the
caste-system . . . I suppose
Does your Brahmin caste, like, dominate over all others?
Well [again, defensively] it's not really that. I mean, look, there are good
Brahmins and there are bad Brahmins. [Laughter] Historically, a lot of
domination used to happen in the past, I guess. But that's kind of dying out
now. These days, we all get along fine in Nepal. Like I said, Nepal is a
peace-loving country.
But you guys are also famous for wars, right? I mean, for my
social-studies project at Exeter, I remember writing a paper on the
Gorkhas.
Oh, the Gorkhas!! Yeah, they are us!! [with relish] They're really brave and bold. You know, they wield this special knife called khukuri that can hack a person to pieces. Because of them, my country Nepal is known throughout
the world as the land of brave soldiers.
Are you a Gorkha yourself?
Well, not really. I'm only a Gorkhali [smile], which is just another
name for a Nepali.
Hey, now I remember. My sister's college roommate's boyfriend was on
the Peace Corps in Nepal. I think he found Nepal to be an awesome place.
He had, like, some amazing slides of a village where he spent two
years digging a canal . . .
Yeah, yeah, my country is really beautiful. It is an awesome, cool place. And
the people there -- though they may be poor -- are always friendly, happy ,
helpful and smiling, you know. You guys should visit it someday. You can
even go trekking from Kathmandu.
Katmandu? That's such a cool name for a place. Kathmandu. How much snow do you get there every year?
Snow in Kathmandu? Oh, never. Much of the snow falls on the high mountains
-- the ones that are much taller than the green ones you have up in New
Hampshire.
The air you breathe in Kathmandu must be very crisp, right? And the
water, very fresh?
Yeah, [wistfully] something like that. It's also very spiritual.
Kathmandu's also known as the City of Temples, you see.
How's the economy in your country?
Well, Nepal's a poor, underdeveloped country. Still, we have our pride
intact. While India next door existed as a colony, Nepal has always held
its head high as a brave, independent nation. But we need development
there. Fast. In fact, there's much we have to learn from the First
World. And, I guess, that's partly why I decided to come here, you know,
to learn from and to share ideas with you guys so that I can go back and
help develop my motherland someday.
Wow! That's so neat. I guess this is what our admissions office [8 Byerly Hall] means when it keeps on sending out those colorful catalogs saying that diversity is the hallmark of this place. Imagine having dinner with somebody from Nepal! I'm now going to call my Mom and tell her that I just met a really nice guy from Kathmandu. I bet she'll get a good kick out of it.
Yeah, do that. See ya' guys later!! Gotta run
THE END.
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