संविधानको दुई वर्ष, दुई अन्तर्वार्ता र केहि खुलासा

केहि दिन अघिमात्र एक अपासमा शुभकामना आदानप्रदान गर्दै हामीले संविधान दिवस मनायौँ । संविधान दिवसको अवसरमा सार्वजनिक बिदा समेत गरिएको थियो । हुन पनि जनता द्वारा चुनिएका प्रतिनिधिहरुले बनाएको हाम्रो संविधानले दुई वर्ष पुरा गर्दा हामी खुसी हुनु स्वभाविक नै हो । जनताको रुपमा हामीले जे जति बुझ्छौ सोहि आधारमा हामीले आफ्नो प्रतिक्रिया व्यक्त गर्ने हो । साधारण नेपाली जनताले बुझेको कुरा के हो भन्दा नेपालको संविधान २०७२ नेपाली जनताले चुनेका प्रतिनिधिले नेपाल र नेपालको भलाईको लागि तयार गरेको दस्तावेज हो र नेपाल र नेपालीको भविष्य सो संग जोडिएको छ, तर हालै प्रसारण गरिएका केहि अन्तर्वार्ता हेरे पछि मलाई यस्तो लाग्दै छ कि कतै साधारण नेपाली जनताको बुझाई गलत त होइन ?

कुनै पनि प्रणाली (System) आफैमा गलत हुदैन र विभिन्न मुलुकमा आफु अनुरुपको प्रणाली अनुशरण गर्नु बुद्धिमत्तापूर्ण हुन्छ । एक मुलुकमा सफल भएको शासन प्रणाली र पद्धति अर्को मुलुकमा पनि सफल हुन्छ भन्ने कुनै ग्यारेन्टी हुदैन । यहि र यस्तै विभिन्न कारणले गर्दा नेपालको लागि नेपाली परिवेशको संविधान लेखनको लागि हामी संविधानसभाको भर परेको भन्ने हाम्रो बुझाई हो । हालको संविधानमा भएका व्यवस्थाहरुलाई सम्मान गरिरहँदा  नेपालको लागि कतै संघियता “King Midas's Golden Touch” हुने हो कि भन्ने भय व्यक्तिगत रुपमा मलाई थियो र छ । तर जनप्रतिनिधि द्वारा लिखित र बहुमतले पारित संविधानको अक्षरस सम्मान र पालान गर्नुको विकल्प हुदैन भन्ने मान्यतामा म अडिक छु । तर आज प्रसंगमा लिएका दुई अन्तर्वार्ता हेरी सके पछि मेरो मनमा निकै प्रश्नहरु खेल्न थालेका छन् ।

मैले कुरा गर्न खोजेको दुई अन्तर्वार्ताहरु क्रमसः

“STV Chat”मा डा. भीमार्जुन आचार्यको अन्तर्वार्ता

“तमसोमा ज्योतिर्गमय”मा मोहन बन्जाडेको अन्तर्वार्ता 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIrHvk3fSqw

माथिका दुई अन्तर्वार्ता वक्ताका हिसाबले आधिकारिक र व्यक्त गरिएका कुराले निकै संवेदनशील रहेको मेरो बुझाई हो ।

दुवै अन्तर्वार्ता हेरे पछि मेरो मनमा उठेको पहिलो प्रश्न हाम्रो संविधानसभाले कसको लागि र कसरी संविधान तयार गर्यो र यो संविधानको साध्य के हो? दुवै वक्ताको कुरा सुन्दा संविधानको आधारभुत साध्यमा प्रश्न उठ्नु स्वाभाविक हो । नेपालको संविधान निर्माणको क्रममा व्यापक विदेशी हस्तछेप भएको हो वा होइन? हो भने के संविधानसभाको यसमा के भूमिका रह्यो? कतै अन्तर्वार्तामा व्यक्त गरिए जस्तै हामी र हाम्रो राजनीति परिचालित त छैन? यदि छ भने यस्तो हस्तक्षेपको अन्त्य कसरी गर्न सकिन्छ? हाम्रो देश, हाम्रो राजनीति र शासन प्रणाली कुन बाटोमा उन्मुख हुदै छ? कतै हामी क्षणिक न्यानोपनको लागि आफ्नै घरमा आगो त लगाई रहेका छैनौं?

यी अन्तर्वार्ताहरु हेरे पछि यस्ता अनेकौ प्रश्नको उठ्नेछन । यी दुई अन्तर्वार्तामा व्यक्त गरिएको विचारहरु हामीले आफ्नो स्वविवेक प्रयोग गरि मनन गर्नु आवश्यक छ । सायद अन्तर्वार्ताका कुरा शत प्रतिशत वक्ताले बुझे जस्तो पनि नहोला तर व्यक्त गरिएका विचारहरु सबैले एक पटक सुन्नै पर्ने जस्तो लागेकोले यति भूमिका बाँधेर आफ्नो ब्लग बाट सेयर गर्दै छु ।

कतै हामी परिचालित त भएका छैनौं? हाम्रो मुलुक कता जादै छ?भविष्यमा नेपाली नागरिकको नियति के हुने छ? हामीले आफैलाई प्रश्न गर्न पर्ने देखिन्छ ।  

Nepal Idol: A New Benchmark in Show Business

Nepal Idol has been a benchmark setting singing reality show till the date, and it has been "talk of the town" in recent weeks. Although I am not a regular viewer of the show, I was watching the show yesterday with a fair bit of excitement as top 3 contestants were to be selected in the episode. Towards the end of the show, it was decided at the VETO of the ‘show judges’ that the elimination of one contestant would be postponed for next week. The decision came as a fair bit of surprise to regular viewer and voters who voted for their favorite contestants. The outcry on Facebook and Twitter were quite something.

Here are some of my thoughts after watching the show and reaction to yesterday’s episode of Nepal Idol.

i) Well Played: Production Team

I am very impressed with how the entire plot was played in yesterday’s episode. The production house of the Nepal Idol is a clear winner of this move. Why? They created an extra episode of the most popular television show when it is at its peak. Nepal Idol has a dedicated viewership and voters thus chipping in an additional episode is pure genius.

Extra Episode = Extra money [Pure and Simple]

I think it also is a win-win for viewers with minor disappointment for the unexpected twist. They still have their favorite contestant in the show, and the votes they casted will be carried over to next week. So viewers don't have much to complain if they are looking for pure entertainment.

Extra Episode = Extra Entertainment

ii) Reality Show as Showbiz

Nepal Idol is a reality show aimed at entertainment and like all other shows this show also wants to make money. The general idea of reality shows, taking entertainment business or show business to next level and making money while doing so. It works exactly same way everywhere. It's a product to be sold and made profit off.

Nepal idol is not a ‘not for profit’ venture which aims at finding the best singer in Nepal. Nepal Idol is a show which aims at entertainment and profit while identifying the best singer on television stage. The viewers might feel betrayed as their expectation from the most recent episode was not met. But, Don't feel bad. Nothing personal, just business.

iii) Enjoy the show

There have been some controversies in the show. I see some viewers are not happy about the elimination row. It is all obvious as we tend to get carried away when we invest our time and plant our expectation. But the bottom line we need to remember is "Nepal idol is a show." It is a bit different than other entertainment show, but it still is a show. Let's not distort the entertainment of the show with other noises.

iv) Nepal Idol and Winners

To be honest, I don't think there are losers in Nepal Idol. It has been an incredible journey for so many associated with the show. The production, the entertainment aspect, the rise in viewership of TV, the increase of viewership of live TV in YouTube and all aspect of Nepal Idol reflects advancement and win for all those associated.

v) Only thing missing

I hope the benchmark set by the show and the minds behind the entire show will keep on raising the stakes through other shows in Nepali television show. We needed something like this for far too long, our entertainment doses have been dominated by foreign shows and content. However, Nepal Idol reflects the hope for better days in television show business.

The only thing that is remaining for Nepal Idol this season is proper closure and I hope they will excel at it too. With the build up for the finale, the excitement is on its rise. Let's hope Nepal Idol will give the audience the show they deserve.

Best of luck for coming episodes and appreciation for the aired episode.

Dhritarashtra: Winner of Madan Puraskar 2073

Remember Dhritarashtra (धृतराष्ट्र)? What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you remember Dhritarashtra, a pertinent figure in the epic Mahabharat? I bet he isn't one of the characters you respect or adore. You probably despise him for his role in Mahabharat but what if I told you there is an alternate perspective to it? Have you ever been in Dhritarashtra's shoes and tried to understand things from his perspective? You don't have to go through the trouble, Poet Ghanshyam Kandel in his masterpiece धृतराष्ट्र has done that favor for you. 

I came to know about Ghanshyam Kandel's Khandakavya Dhritarashtra after it was awarded Madan Puraskar 2073, one of the most prestigious literary awards in Nepal. I was fascinated by the title and wanted to read it, read it I did. Here are my undiluted thoughts after reading the book as my persuasion on why everyone should read this book. I haven't even read the foreword by Prof. Dr. Madhav Prasad Pokharel and views of Dr. Ram Prasad Gyawali while writing this. I just wanted to put on my first impression after reading this "book of the year." 

1. Unique Storytelling: Telling a story in itself is tough, imagine telling a story in poetic form. Let that be an epic loved by many and pick one of the most despised characters as your narrator. Now, dismantle how people know the entire story in less than 60 pages. If pulling this off isn't a literary miracle, I don't know what is. How and what I know Dhritarashtra has changed after reading this book without my prior projection of him offering any resistance. 

2. Understanding Disability: This book does have a social message on disability. The discrimination in Mahabharat against Dhritarashtra based on disability is the epicenter of everything that followed. This alternate narrative is fascinating and justifiable. I am very touched by the following two lines which will help us understand disability better than any two two lines put together as an effort. 

3. Redefining your Mahabharat heroes and villains: Let Ghanshyam Kandel redefine your hero 'Krishna and Co.' and villains through his narrative. Several other books have offered an alternative narrative to the epic Mahabharat, but nothing is brutal than poem destroying our perceptions. 

4. Horrors of War: Wars offers nothing of value to humans but why is war inevitable? Poet closes with philosophical question and discussion on why we resort to wars after all its terrors and horrors we know it invites. Ghanshyam Kandel's pick Dhritarashtra is an ideal narrator to reflect the horrors of war. 

5. A gem: I remember an essay by Laxmi Prasad Devkota के नेपाल सानो छ? while reading Dhritarashtra. It is a not a long read but is powerful, thought provoking and has an embedded social message. This book is an art, modern art maybe...why? You'll know once you read it. 

Disclaimer: This is not a book review but is my reflection upon reading it. The post does not intend copy right infringement with the photos of the part of the pages from the book. 

We Know, but We don't care.

Most of us from Nepal share quite a few features; I am not writing to claim this I am different, as I too fall into the same category of citizens. I would like to discuss one of such feature which is frequently witnessed these days. I would like to name the feature as: "we know, but we don't care". There are so many instances which reflect our 'we know, but we don't care' feature. I would like to list of some of the most pertinent events, and instances that show how embodied is the feature with our way of life.

             i. Most of us agree that Dr. Govinda KC's demand for reform in medical education and health sector is a legit demand. We know this, but we don't care (at least most of us don't).

           ii. We know corruption is institutionalized in almost all sector and Nepal is somewhere in the top of the list of the most corrupt countries. We know, but we don't care.

         iii. Our political leaders have failed us more than once and in the most visible way of political betrayal. We know they are not fit to govern the country considering the experience (political trauma). We know, but we don't care. (If we did you'd have another batch of leaders by now).

        iv.   Kathmandu is getting more and more shitty and dangerous to live in. You might die early due to dust and pollution or immediately by falling into a pit on the road. We are going backward in terms of urban development. We know, but we don't care.

          v.  More than 1500 healthy youth migrate to middle east and Malaysia each day through TIA departure, and more than three dead bodies arrive in TIA arrival each day. We know our brothers and sisters are being exploited and abused abroad where they seek employment. We know, but we don't care.

        vi.   We pay the said amount and receive bad service from most of the service provider. The internet, the restaurant, the taxi, the school, the hospital and the list can go on for ever. Even after paying the quoted price we don't get proper or satisfactory service. We know, but we don't care.

      vii.  We are being taught by those who have been alleged of plagiarism and might not be qualified to teach. We know we deserve better regarding academic prospects. We know, but we don't care.

    viii.  Kathmandu has become one of the most expensive city to live in for no justifiable reason. We know, but we don't care.

        ix.  We pay ridiculously high vehicle tax, road tax, a lot of other taxes. The car is at times 8-10 times more expensive than in other countries without any justifiable reason. We know, but we don't care.

          x.   Often INGOs and foreign representatives are alleged for interfering with our internal matters. The allegation might be true, our priorities, after all, may not be our priorities. We know, but we don't care.

        xi.  Our religious sites, our culture, our identity, our language is diminishing. We see it in front of our eyes. We know, but we don't care.

      xii.   If our country isn't a failed country yet, with this pace, it soon will be. We are going nowhere this way. We know, but we don't care.

You and I can come up with other things to add to this list to help us conclude that "We know, but we don't care." It isn't a hard argument that I am trying to make. It's something seen everywhere, and it's really worrying.

But why don't we care? We know it right? Even after knowing everything, why don't we start caring about it? What's your reason for not caring about all sorts of wrongs that have become new normal in our country?

The closest figurative representation I can think of:

What we think:

What is going on:

Have you ever wondered why you don't care? Oh! I know there are people who do care. To those who do care, thank you so much you are the beacon of hope. To those who don't care, do you have any clue why???