Friday in Bharatpur: Okay, we arrived at Bharatpur and as per the kind suggestion of our driver we went to a Buddha Air sales office to inquire about the flights to Kathmandu. To our surprise, staffs at the office were waiting for the arrival of the flight. One of them even said that two tickets were available. Hurray!
While waiting for the flight I met a Japanese woman who was deeply interested in pro-democracy movement in Nepal. In the beginning I thought she was a Nepali girl, possibly Rai/Gurung, I guessed. And her fluency in Nepal language propelled me guess wrong. But the way she was wearing her kurta was slightly different. Well, I could sense that but don’t know exactly how. Later on I came to know she wasn’t a Nepali girl but Japanese interested in Nepali culture, society and politics. It was pleased to know that she was dissatisfied with her government’s low profile reaction to political developments in Nepal. Japan in fact can have enormous influence in Nepali politics for the shake of democracy. I was also pleased to learn that the Japanese woman was one of the UWB’s readers.
Friday in Kathmandu: This time around I saw a different Kathmandu from above the sky. Unusually calm Kathmandu with roads deserted. Barbed wire barricades in the middle of the road and armies roaming around the streets. The city was under daytime curfew that the government had imposed to curb demonstration planned for the day by pro-democracy parties. Our biggest worry was solved as taxis at the airport had Curfew permit. That meant they could take us to our destinations (mine was the office of Kantipur).
I knew a load of work was waiting for me. I hurriedly sat in front of the computer and started typing. By the way, I forget to mention that on Wednesday I used Internet from a cyber café in Itahari. The connection was too slow, computers were not updated with latest editions of software and I knew it would be next to impossible to check my Gmail account. I didn’t even bother to open the site but somehow managed to moderate some of the UWB comments.
I have a United Telecom Limited’s Wireless in Local Loop (UTL WLL) phone installed in house. The phone too had died along with other telephone service. I was in the office and I knew I couldn’t call at my home to let my mother know that I will be available for the dinner. By the time I reach the house, it was almost certain, it would be time for bed and everyone would be sleeping I hate to disturb others. And the worst thing? I was almost broke. I borrowed Rs. 200 from Devenedra Bhattarai and found something to eat in the canteen.
Dinesh Wagle on Nepali Society 