It is what he does every evening. He has his own
side of the road where he places his chana
chatpat truck and sells his chatpatey
and panipuri. I look at his pots
of grams and peas and bujiya and
chillies and lemonades. They are no different than those I used to eat at my
hometown Itahari, but yes, the stories those vendors share is extremely
different. I found that few days back when his share of place was empty for
quite a week.
When I could enjoy his panipuris again, I asked him where had he been. He with a wide grin on his face shared he had been to Janakpur. I could sense his joy as he started sharing about his family at Janakpur and how he had come to Kathmandu
to meet their needs. Kathmandu for him is a madhouse, where he says he can
drift the attention of the confused people with his mouthwatering panipuris.
Another share of the very road is of corn vendor
didi, who is here from Karnali for her children. Roasting the corn she gasps,
how her children, for whom she had shifted her place, are now ashamed of what
she does for their living. Kathmandu is a grey area for her, where she has
lived half of her life but could never belong.
Kathmandu!!
“But that’s
the paradox of expectations; they are infamous for generally never being
fulfilled.” I borrow the words of Kundan Dutta Chaudhary to describe
Kathmandu.
Kathmandu had always been my dreams.
You will definitely know what I mean and how much I
mean it if you have spent your childhood outskirts of this capital city. Yes, I
had heard about the pollution. I was also aware about the scarcity of resources
here. My parents were apprehensive when I first shared my whim of coming here
alone. But, they permitted me and living here for five years, now, when I
look back, I must thank Kathmandu for giving me the guts that I have right now.
I know it’s not the place but the experiences that shape you but interestingly Kathmandu provides you with all those bitter sweet unique stories which you can never live elsewhere.
I know it’s not the place but the experiences that shape you but interestingly Kathmandu provides you with all those bitter sweet unique stories which you can never live elsewhere.
It’s interesting when landlords don’t offer their rooms to single young lady but they never bother to ask where their husband is when
they are told, she is married.
“Haha. Don’t you believe this?”
Actually I am the proof. I rented a room for a year
calling myself married. I find this one the most hilarious part of my life. There
are so many other experiences.
Among the people I know, I have found Sweta Gyanu Baniya, the one, so much in love with her birthplace Kathmandu. The way she
expresses her love for Kathmandu makes others fall in love with the place. Now, doing her Ph.D. in USA, she shares, “Kathmandu feels so close. I belong here
and nowhere else.”
But, for someone who left their place for Kathmandu
can also feel the same amount of closeness with the place because they have
lived their dreams here. They have given their heart and soul for their city of
hope. They have seen their transformation as a person. For us, Kathmandu doesn’t
only represent Nepal but a dreamland where everyone aspires to move one day.
Ashish Dev, who was fortunate enough to move here from Saptari in his childhood
feels that “the rush and the busyness of Kathmandu leads some new people to
think that this is ‘hell’ but actually it’s the epitome of the modern world.”
Yes, I call him fortunate because there are people
like Anita Tamang who had lived their life dreaming about Kathmandu all their
childhood. Resident of Nuwakot, Anita shares, “I was desperate about coming to
Kathmandu. It was a foreign land for me where I dreamed of going to a good
school and living a grand life. For me this city had all the merits. However,
when I finally shifted to this place, I realized it also had all the evils.
Apart from all of these, what I believe is this place gives you the guts to
fulfill your dreams not because it has opportunities but because there’s no one
to lean onto.” She adds, “Your friend no more becomes your friend. Everyone is
running after a race of survival, that too, alone.”
It’s just like what Darwin explains in his theory ‘struggle for existence’ for those who move here from another place. And for
those, who are born here this place has taught them to believe in hard work.
Juni Deshar shares, “When I see and hear the stories of my friends who have
moved here from their villages and are struggling to fulfill their dreams, I
really get inspired. Somehow these stories has helped me shape my future that I
have thought for myself, the plans that I have made. I am not talking about the
big struggles and achievement one has to go through here, but all those little
adjustments one has to make financially and socially is worth appreciating.”
Yes, this place has its own aura. The stories aren’t
always beautiful. Many people lost themselves in the urge of finding a new
self. For many, their stories are never heard. To some, it’s a place of
innovation. What I have realized is Kathmandu makes everyone adopt a persona
and sometimes people do fail to carry their originality when adopting it.
For me Kathmandu has made me become strong at the
same time vulnerable. It has made me feel free but at the same time bounded
with the choices I make. I would have never passed through so many temples all
my life if it wasn’t Kathmandu but it has made me atheist because even after walking through every doors, prayers are unheard. It has made me become aware of
my strengths but at the same time I find myself stuck here.
