This is what I see from where I am standing at this moment.
View from a hill near Kathmandu
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Monthly Archives: October 2011
जहाँबाट “जनयुद्ध” शुरुभएको थियो…
जीतमान घर्ती
मेरो मध्य पहाड यात्रा जर्नलका कतिपय पन्नाहरू यहाँ प्रकाशित हुनै बाँकी छन् । तिनमा तस्बिरहरू पनि थप्न बाँकी छ । तर जीवन अगाडी बढीरहेको छ । यसैबीच मैले त्यही यात्राबाट संश्लेसित दुइ जर्नलहरू पत्रिकामा प्रकाशन गरिसकेको छु । एउटा “रुकुम-रोल्पा एक्स्प्रेस“ शीर्षकमा अघिल्लो साता र अर्को “शान्तिको लामो सास“ शीर्षकमा यो साता । ती दुबै टुक्रा मैले रोल्पाको लिबाङस्थित एउटा साइबर क्याफेमा बसेर लेखेको हुँ जसमा मुख्यत शान्तिकालमा गाउँले जनताको “परिवर्तित” जीवनीका केही झलकहरू प्रस्तुत छन् ।
तस्बिरमा देखिएका यी जीतमान कमरेडसँगको त्यो दिनको यात्रा रमाइलो भएको थियो । मैले चाहि दिनभर खुट्टा खोच्याउदै हिड्नु परेको थियो देब्रे घुँडाले धोका दिएपछि । यिनको एउटा गधाले मेरो सात किलो जतिको झोला बोकिदिएको थियो । अन्यमा मैले उनको गधाले भारी बोक्ने दर अनुसारको पैसा दिन खोज्दा जीतमानले लिएनन् । यिनी कुनै जमानामा माओवादी “पीएलए”मा भर्ती भएर केही आक्रमणमा सामेल भएका थिए ।
“उतिबेला पार्टीका पछाडी दौडीइयो, अहिले गधाको,” एउटा सन्दर्भमा उनले भनेका थिए । दसैंमा गाउँ लुकुममा मेला आयोजना गर्न उनले वाइसीएललाई १२ सय रुपैया चन्दा दिएको बताए । युद्ध सकिएपछि पनि पार्टिले सेनामै रहन दिएको दबाव नकारेर खच्चडमार्फतको व्यवसाय थालेका उनले पार्टीप्रति अझै सहानुभूति भएकाले त्यो चन्दा दिएको बताए । “काङ्ग्रेस, एमालेले मागेभने पनि दिनुहुन्छ त ?” मैले सोधे ।
“दिनुछु,” उनले भने । “१२ सयै त दिन्न तर दुइचार सय दिन्छु किनकी गाउकै मान्छेहरुले केही गर्ने खोजेर माग्न आए दिन्न भन्न कसरी मिल्छ ?”
जीतमानको थप कथा (र तस्बिर) यहाँ छ । अनि त्यो दिनको मेरो पीडादायी हिडाईबारेको विवरण (अंग्रेजीमा) चाहि यहाँ छ- Limping all day long with a Donkey caravan to reach Rukumkot
Maoist Party Literature
Status
Maoist Party Literature: Realized in past couple of days that I had never read Maoist party literature before. Amazingly complex writeup/sentences in Prachanda’s “work”. Hadn’t read all these “famous” decisions like that of Chunbang meet, 2nd National Conference & Phuntibang meet of the Maoist party during and after the armed conflict (1996-2006). Feels like knowing janayuddha (people’s war) & Maoist comrades’ feud, their hypocrisy/double standard from so close & first hand. Almst bcame Maoist! LOL. I was traveling in public bus carrying this thick book titled “Prachanda: Chhaniyeka Rachanaharu- Khanda Dui” (Prachanda: Selected Writings- Part Two) with a huge photo of the Maoist Chairman on the cover. People would look at the cover and immediately give me a look from head to toe with strange and unreadable expression on their faces. That was funny. They must have taken me as a hardcore Maoist member and may also have feared me! Sorry folks!!
[Added later in the day: Here's link to the article that I wrote after reading all those documents and talking to many people: माओवादी-भारत सम्बन्ध: पहिले विस्तारवाद, अहिले अवसरवाद
@ Rolpa [Libang] photos and journal from my October trip #Nepal
Libang
Unlike many other Nepali districts Rolpa has a distinct image of its own. Unfortunately that ‘distinctiveness’ is not necessarily positive and/or based on positive vibe. Think about Iraq and Afghanistan of the past decade. Rolpa once was Nepal’s ‘ground zero’. During the height of the Maoist insurgency that began in Rolpa’s Thawang village in 1996 (and ended in 2006 in Kathmandu) the district headquarter Libang had shrunken inside a 3-km radius ‘Green Zone’. The GZ was surrounded by barbed wire and protected/guarded 24-hours a day by the armed soldiers. It was dangerous to venture out of the Green Zone for government officials and anyone who wasn’t friendly to the rebels. The area outside the GZ belonged to them. That was way back in 2000-2001. Continue reading
Rukum to Dang
Here are some photos from my bus ride on what people are forced to call a ‘highway’ that connects Rukum with Dang. In between these districts is Salyan. The road isn’t blacktopped which meant a bumpy ride that lasted for about 7 hours. The funniest thing is that I ended up, albeit reluctantly, sharing a hotel room with a man I met in the bus, at the end of the trip, and disagreed on the need of the road networks in Nepal. The bus halted at
Tulsipur, the final destination, where I got off along with the person. It was too late for me to go to Ghorahi (and stay there) to catch a bus from there to Rolpa the next morning. So the man took me to the hotel that he knew as he also stayed nearby and ate there when his wife didn’t stay with him.
…a passenger who noted down the boy’s phone number….there’s a small story behind their on-the-spot friendship and, according to the boy who confided with me later, plans to meet later :)
