| Nhuchche |
Posted
on 30-Jan-02 10:42 PM
Interesting read from the Kathmandu Post
Same Eyes different glasses
By Suveksha Panta
As a person who was born in Nepal, but grew up in Australia, I believe I have had the experience of indulging in both cultures. Although I have been spending half my life in both countries, it was this time I realized the full value of my birthplace. When the plane glided over the mountain ranges as I entered Kathmandu a certain long hidden feeling swept over me. It was as if the lost key to the door of my heart opened and suddenly all the forgotten things were there to see. The white peaked mountains were silently calling my name, welcoming me to a place I had left behind. I felt such peace as I looked at those mountains and for a moment I was lost in a world I had never been before.
I stepped down from the plane at Tribhuvan International Airport and, as I looked around, I felt shocked. I stood there for a moment wondering if I was in the right place and then I looked back at the plane with a question on my face. I could not believe this was the place that had haunted my dreams for the past several years and I wanted to go back never to return. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden change, I then started to the valley and the mountains that surrounded it. Through the concrete jungle of houses, I could just see those bare peaks moaning out to me and begging me to come. I looked at them and silently told them I was back and started walking towards the airport. Although I have travelled from Australia to Nepal many times, the feelings I had that day had never happened. This time round I was much more mature and could understand the feelings of being back to the place where I call home, my birthplace.
When I was heading to my house, I looked towards the face of my parents and wondered if they had just shared the same experience. My thoughts which had been filled with stuff normal teenagers have had suddenly filled with many questions. The people standing besides the streets passed by and I tried to reach for some answers in their faces but all I could see was how occupied they were with their daily lives. I looked at the dull matchbox concrete high rise buildings and they just stared back at me with a forbidding look. I felt I did not belong to this place yet deep down in my heart the troubled soul had just settled.
The first few days I spent observing my own world. I started finding answers to my questions and soon I began to realize the value of my country to me. I think it was in these first few days when I came to Nepal that I left my childhood and entered into another phase of my life. Soon the streets and places became familiar and the strange city that was my own, turned to be mine.
The trips thought the Durbar Square in Kathmandu had an unusual effect on me. The first time I went down there, I studied each iatrical detail and realized how lucky I was. The infrastructure of the buildings down there and the culture, which soaked the place, touched the core of my heart. Just roaming through Kathmandu, seeing the temples and houses, which have withstood so many generations made me feel as though there was more to where I lived than just concrete structures. The carved wooden structures, which were made so passionately with the hands of Nepalese people so many years ago, seemed to be there for me to see. The fact that Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur had hypnotized me this time also came as a surprise for before I was never attached so much. I felt like I wanted to know every detail and personally look into each nook and cranny so that I could store it in the book of my heart.
It was these places and many more that simply took away my thoughts and each day seemed to be a new discovery to me. I could and still can take ages of my time going through all these ancient places so as to be a part of them and share if only for a moment their glory. The trip out of Kathmandu valley was the one that just simply took away the whole of my heart. Places that had never entered my dreams filled my eyes and for a moment, I felt I had accidentally stepped into heaven.
As I travelled through many parts of Nepal, I felt like a foreigner, visiting yet this was all mine. That single thought filled me with such pride that for moments I could hardly utter a word. The people around me seemed to all fade away as I indulged in the beauty of the country I had discovered. Each part of my journey brought me closer to my country and a long lost friend came back. From the place where Lord Buddha was born to the peaks of the Himalayas, Nepal is splashed with so much splendour and culture. The lifestyles of the people vary from one end to another and while travelling in the same country it feels like you have toured the world. The peaks of the Himalayas are in contrast to the flat grounds of the terai and yet they blend in so smoothly together and paint a perfect picture. I do not think any artist will be able to describe Nepal and I feel as if I have just said only a small percentage of the place.
Nepal and Australia are two different countries. I grew up in Australia but because Nepal is the place where I was born it bears a natural feeling for me. I know that I may go anywhere in the world and live there the rest of my life but whenever I come back to Nepal, it will welcome me with open arms as it is my home. I rediscovered myself when I came to Nepal and although people wonder why I came back, I am thankful for I found Nepal and Nepal found me.
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