Asking ourselves

Suresh Poudel

Following the promulgation of New Constitution, Nepal has been confronting the shortage of petroleum supply and other essentials for around two months now. Life is being more difficult due to the limited supply of petroleum and other basic needs. The constraint in supply has a political origin but it has affected all political and non- political beings in the country. Different sections of the society have different say in this regard which has resulted into the blame game between India and Nepal. The ongoing situation has given ways to debate on different aspects of Indo- Nepal relationships.

Nepal has virtually a unilateral trade relationship with India where the former depends heavily on the later for the supply of petroleum including other goods therefore the disruption of the supply from India has affected lives in Nepal. In the response, the government of Nepal is assuring its citizens to bring the situation to normal by saying it is working towards it. In this article, I am not going to add the issues on Indo-Nepal relationships. Instead I want to ask myself and countrymen a few questions which I believe they are supposed to ask themselves before indulging themselves in a blame game. 

The questions are: Have we ever created opportunities within the country? Have we ever thought of future energy demand? Have we ever accessed the potential of our human resources? Have we ever debated about our job market? Have we ever talked about building national infrastructure in tourism and other important sectors of the economy? Have we ever analyzed the future course of national economy and its interrelationship with rest of the world? Have we ever put our ideas in capitalization of remittance? Have we ever looked closely on the development of rest of the world? Have we ever encouraged learning science and technology to assure better lives for future generation? Have we ever followed norms as our ways of living? Have we ever done politics for the people and the nation? Have we ever thought of value addition rather than trading the same good at higher prices? Have we ever valued education for other than earning better wages? Have we ever followed ethics in our deeds? Have we ever respected work rather than ensuring the better position in job? Have we ever used the raw materials and natural resources we have to change them into finished products?  Have we ever explored our mother earth to find the hidden treasures? Have we ever produced the minimum we need to sustain if we have not ensured the supply chain smooth?  Have we ever debated logically in world forums to establish our significant presence in world stage? Have we ever formulated a tax policy compatible to our national need?

These are the sorts of questions that hit my mind when I see our people expecting other nations to build their nation and supply the essentials. We are the ones supposed to find the answers to all such questions and only then we will do justice to ones who are fighting for rights and opportunities. However, the tragedy is we never got prepared to find the answers to such questions, actually never explored the questions. In a true sense, the habit of skipping problems made us unable to stand on its own feet. Nevertheless, we should not forget the harsh reality that we are the citizens of one of the least developed countries in the world. I believe we have enjoyed all rights what a poor country can offer to its citizens but we often forget our basic responsibilities as a citizen. Had we realized our true self, we would have prepared ourselves to stand on our own. In fact, we have dementia, so we become ultra-nationalist at one moment (at difficult times) and the next day our aspiration looses practical basis which throws us into difficulty.

A poem for those who have gone abroad for work

तलाउ मा ढुङ्गा हानी 
अहिले तिमी कहाँ गएउ  
बर्षउ सम्मा गहिरी खेत बाझो बस्यो
बिउ लिएर कहाँ भागेउ
यहाँ हुँदा तिमी पनि रमाउथियौ
हिलो खेल्न, पानी छ्यप न 
सुक्का खाडी तिर छौ अ रे 
छिट्टो फर्क गहिरी खेत सिन्चाइ गर्न 
तलाउ मा फैलिएको तरङ हेर्न
छिट्टो फर्क गहिरी खेत सिन्चाइ गर्न 
तलाउ मा फैलिएको तरङ हेर्न

Suyesh @ Dhaka

टकुरेहरु

त्यो शहरमा

त्यो शहरमा
जीवन प्रती कुनै राग छैन
एउटा गर्जने बाघ छैन
बिरालाहरु खाटी दुध खान पौदैनन
मुसा मार्न दुला चाहर्दैन
फगत दिर्गायु को चिन्ता ले
सिन्थेसाइज्ड प्रोटिन
र
मुल्टिभिटामिन खान्छन
आयतित प्रोटिन र मुल्टिभिटामिन

अनी
लाउड स्पिकर अगाडि गएर
अरु स्रोता बिरालाहरु माझ
लाउड स्पिकरको पिच र बास
अड्ज्स्ट गरेर
एउटा बिरालो, म्यौ गर्छ
स्रोता बिरालाहरु को तालीले हौसिएर
आझ ठुलो स्वोरमा म्यौ गर्छ

एउटा गर्जने बाघ नदेखेका
बाँकी बिरालाहरु
ताली ठोक्दै
मन्च को त्यो बिरालो लाई बाघ भन्ठन्चन (2)

Suyesh @ Dhaka

Need of an indigenous approach in achieving quality education

Suresh Poudel

Today the world has evolved into a place where only the extraordinary, talented, skilled and well educated person survives the competition in any sector one chooses to be. Some of these qualities are inherent while the others are to be developed over a period of time. As for example, learning is a process so ones level of education is determined by his/her dedication and the support s/he is provided with in the course of learning.

In this world of tough competition, quality education is the one thing that each one of us aspires for. Very few of us are lucky to have our home in city areas where most of the educational facilities are easily available. In contrast, many families migrate from villages to the towns, from small towns to big cities, etc just to search for the best possible education for their children. Even in cities like Kathmandu, only handful of schools and colleges are well equipped with physical and human capitals while others are still struggling to reach the quality threshold. Most of these struggling schools might not have trained teachers and other essential human resources apart from the physical capital.

The popular schools in the city in general are providing good facilities to their students but in some cases they have not been able to give equal care to each student. This might be due to the huge number of students in those schools. This has resulted in the disproportionate level of knowledge among the passed out students from these schools. These schools generally highlight the successful students as the yardstick of their own success but the ones with average or below average result are generally shadowed by the best performers. The stories of such low performers are not heard. In this context, it can be said that even the best schools might not guarantee the best education to each child even if most of the parents work hard to earn enough to pay the fees of their children’s education.

A lot of factors influence the intake of knowledge by the study. One of the significant factors is the willingness of a child to learn.  Thus psychological dimension plays an important role in such case. If a child is taught with love and care, then the attempt to impart knowledge to him/her will become fruitful.

To conclude, enlightening young minds with knowledge and delivering the best quality education needs an indigenous approach  where the psychological dimension is adequately addressed.

The writer is an Ex-Lecturer of Economics at Chelsea International Academy, Baneshwor, Kathmandu. 

Let’s Envision Beyond The Horizon

Nepal is probably the only country in the world which is best known by the amazing and distinct human qualities rather than the physical quality of life. Bravery, courage, hospitability, kindness, hope and faith are Nepalese people’s homemade attributes. The way Nepalese people help each other at the time of difficulty is something other nations and society should learn from Nepal. This has been verified by the activities of Nepalese youth who are being involved in rescue and relief of the earthquake victims. These activities are truly humanitarian which are self initiated in most cases. Of course the earthquake was unexpected and Nepal was least prepared on its part to tackle its consequences. Nevertheless, Nepal is always blessed to have generous friends who help it at its time of difficulty.

Our close neighbors- India and China played significant role. The immediate response by the Indian government to address the aftermath of earthquake was noteworthy but it was immediately pulled into controversy taking the behavior of Indian media in quake affected areas. Other south Asian countries- Bangladesh, Bhutan and Pakistan also showed kind behavior. Other friends of Nepal also played important roles for rescue and relief.

Natural disaster itself is unpleasant. The massive earthquake and more than a hundred aftershocks that followed it, was very devastating and fearful. It took thousands of lives and made millions of people homeless. Many buildings of historic, religious and cultural importance including centuries old Dharahara were destroyed. And the economic loss is huge.

While the country was in deep sorrow, it made people feel sad and instilled some depression and frustration, particularly among the victims and their kiths and kins. In some places, though not significantly some abnormal behaviors were noticed but they were addressed promptly. These abnormal behaviors are not typical Nepali behavior but maybe the outcomes of frustrations and helplessness. Whatever be the causes, such behavioral changes are generally counterproductive which tarnish the image of the country. So the government of Nepal should take wise decisions not to allow such abnormal things to repeat.

As mentioned earlier, Nepalese people have distinct human qualities with added ingredients in the form of rich and age old culture which is temporarily vulnerable due to this earthquake. Nepal should take adept steps and Nepalese people should be creative to keep the qualities intact and save its rich culture.

After rescue and relief, the next steps are rehabilitation and reconstruction which are supposedly of long term importance to rebuild and revitalize the nation. While doing so, we should envision to see beyond the horizon. 

The writer is an Ex-Lecturer of Economics at Chelsea International Academy, Baneshwor, Kathmandu.

अदृस्य कोही

म मेरै लागी जलिरहेछु
तिमी तिम्रै लागी जलिरहेछौ
उ उस्कै लागी जलिरहेछ्
अदृस्य कोही 
सलाई काटी ले खोरी घोटिरहेछ
आगो को लाप्का मा घिउ तेल थपिरहेछ
मात्र जलन देखी बेखुशी उ
आगो को लाप्क खोजिरहेछ
सलाई काटी ले खोरी घोतेर 
उस्ले

आगो को लाप्क खोजिरहेछ

तिम्रो मन

बगैचा मा डुल्ने तिमी

चुटिएको गुलाबले तिम्रो मन किन छुन्थियो

आकाशमा उड्ने तिमी

पृथिबिमा हिडौ भन्दा तिम्रो मन किन मान्थ्यो

बसन्तमा रम्ने तिमी 

गृश्ममा सङ्है घुमौ भन्दा तिमीलाई किन हुन्थ्यो

समुन्द्र्मा खेल्ने तिमी 

पोखरी मा सिमित हुँदा तिम्रो मन किन मान्थ्यो 


सुरेश पौडेल
ढाका बाङ्लादेश 

A decade without thy

A decade without thy

Held my wings; to stop me fly

A decade without thy

Left me in cold; to make me cry

A decade without thy

Stole my courage; to make me feel shy

A decade without thy

Blurred my vision; to see me with my inner eye

रिङ्ग

रिङ्ग हराउदा खुज्ली हराउछ भन्छन

सोच्दै छु कतै एस्ले दुइटा अर्थ दिन्छ 

आच्कल रिङ्ग बेला बेला आउछ र हराउछ

सङ्सङै आउछ खुज्ली;रिङ्ग सँग त्यो हराउछ

कहिले सानो आकरको 

जो काटीकुटी कान्छी औंलामा अटाउछ

कहिले अली ठुलो 

माझि औंलामा अटाउछ 

कहिले आझै ठुलो 

जो बुढी औंला भरीको हुन्छ 

अरु चिज भन्दा रिङ्ग अनौठो लाग्न थालेको छ 

किनकी त्यो आच्कल थाहा नै नदिकन आउछ 

र थाहा नै नपाई हराउछ

अझ अनौठो छ खुज्ली 

जो रिङ्ग साथै आउछ

रिङ्ग ठुलो हुँदा बेसी खुज्ली लाग्छ 

रिङ्ग सानो हुँदा सानै खुज्ली हुन्छ 

तर त्यो रिङ्ग साथै आउछ 

रिङ्ग साथै हराउछ २

चिन्ता

प्रेमको मुल्य बेसी राखेउ

र त रिन बड्यो 

अरु केही धितो चलेन 

र त हृदय बन्धगी गयो

समय बित्यो 

ब्याज   बद्यो 

मलाई भने 

कतै बन्धकी हृदय 

फिर्ता न आउला 

भन्ने  चिन्ता पर्‍यो 

असल एउटा हृदय थियो 

तेही पनि बन्धगी गयो

अब बाँकी नै के रह्यो र 

गरौ भो सम्झौता 

बरु    दुई ह्रिदयको  

सुरेश पौडेल 

ढाका बाङ्लादेश 

SOMETIMES NEGATIVE MOTIVATION HELPS

Suresh Poudel

In Nepal, the government funded schools are not performing well as compared to the institutional schools. Success as measured by pass rate in School Leaving Certificate (SLC) level is low for these schools. Primary school enrollment may be satisfactory but drop-out rate is high. Learning resources are lacking and at its worst some remote school children do not get books till the academic session ends. Many government schools in remote setting have to run school in open sky as they lack classrooms and furniture. Separate toilets for girls and boys are far reach cry for such schools. Teacher is the only vehicle for delivering knowledge to the students studying in these schools because naturally these schools lack multimedia classrooms, internet, libraries, learning materials etc which modern schools are supposed to have. In addition, there are policy and management bottlenecks.

In addition, the government funded schools not giving enough emphasis on extra-curricular and co-curricular activities. Under such scenario the entire success of such schools is dependent on how a teacher performs, what he delivers to the students which in turn depends on the knowledge, skills, willingness and competitiveness of the teachers working in such schools.

The success of an individual is closely linked to the kind of early education he/she has. Nevertheless there is a clear difference in terms of education between Nepalese government and institutional schools. Apparently the institutional schools have been seemed to provide better education than the government schools. Tracing the job placement and level of earning they have after they join job might verify the claim that the institutional schools children are more competitive and skillful. It’s a clear indication that today who get admitted in a government school going to live his future less affluent, less powerful and with less comfort.

The problem is more pronounced when the student enters into the job market. Generally in job market, the employers seek more dynamic and skillful candidates to offer a job. Even if the knowledge of a government school student is at par the candidates with his counterpart from institutional schools. But the former may lack dynamism and skills due to the type of education he had while at school. For instance, most of the institutional schools mostly in city areas are providing computer education, art, singing and dancing classes, sports etc to their students. These things are helping students to develop personality and life skills which in turn help them to be a dynamic professional when they join a job.

However, Nepal being a country with limited resources, it may not be possible for the government to increase fund to achieve all of these goals overnight. Nonetheless the policy makers can make certain amendments in the policy to make optimum use of resources whatsoever available. If there is misuse of funds, it should be minimized by taking effective steps. The school management committee can be empowered to take the right decisions for the progress of the school and the students.  The efforts have been made towards these.

The teachers, particularly working in government seem to be unsatisfied with the current facilities they are getting from the government. They are doubtful about the job security. They have been demanding for the permanency of their job for quite long. In response to their demand, recently the Secretary, Ministry of Education claimed that it unimportant to make all teachers working in Government Schools permanent. His claim has got a mixed response. If it is for the quality of the education I support his view. It is because the issue to whether to make all the teachers working in government schools permanent is not much important if the teachers are qualified and competent because in an open job  market the most competent gets the best. If it is for the job security of the teachers who are really competent and dedicated, I stand for them.

If job oriented quality education is the today’s need-there needs a radical change in the policy, management, delivery and leadership of the school. In my view the Principal who leads the academic activities of a school has to be selected the way the CEOs of banks are selected. Then he should be given freedom in selection of teachers from the pool of qualified and licensed candidates. This will bring competitive attitudes among the teachers ultimately making them more productive. I disagree with the idea of making every teacher permanent. I believe security of jobs makes us lazy and less innovative in the way they perform. Sometimes negative motivation ( fear of losing) helps. 

The writer is the ex-lecturer of Economics at St. Xavier’s College, Maitighar; Chelsea International College, Baneshwor and Times International College, Dillibazar, Kathmandu.

Dear Granny

Dear Granny

It has already been more than one and half decade after you left this world which has been dubbed as the world of sorrows, to achieve the world of higher dignity and bliss. On the day you were fighting between life and death, I was standing in front of you indifference and calm. I had just entered my teenage then. At that time my age was too young to realize the pain of the struggle between life and death. When you were fighting for life, few questions which I had thought of asking you were hovering in my mind. The most important of them was who I should be in life.

Initially I could not ask those questions to you because I thought they were just silly questions to ask to the person who was fighting the last battle of her life. Before few days you died, I had collected the courage to ask you those questions but your speech had already stopped and you had already lost the sense to answer my questions. Since then I have never asked the questions to anyone but kept asking myself.

 Granny! You know my questions were questions of an innocent young guy who was setting the plan of his life. Also you know by that time I was already mature to understand the few intricacies of the world I was living. Already I had listened to the stories you had narrated about the hardship of life that you and people of your generation faced. I know you had experienced the challenges not less of freedom fighter on their own foot. So I had a reason to ask you those questions before you die.

Despite the formal education you were a great social scientist, the best educator, a visionary, a leader and of course a care taker of our family. I know you had fought more than hundred battles of your personal life, won most of them and failed few. Today where we stand  on the clear foundation you had laid for us……….(to be continued.)

धत्!

धत्! तेरो भागय
तलाई मगन्ते ले पनि भिख दिएछ्
धत्! तेरो कर्म
तलाई अरिखाने ले नि अराएछ्
धत्! तेरो नियति
तलाई चोर ले नि पाले राखेछ
धत्! तेरो पखन्डि
अधर्मी ले महायज्ञ डाकी तलाई नै पन्डित राखेछ
धत्! तेरो इज्जत्
बेबिचारी ले तलै उस्को हितैसी भनेछ
धत्!
तेरो भागय र तैले पाउने भिख्
तेरो कर्मा र तैले गरेको काम्
तेरो नियति, पखन्ड र तेरो इज्जत

बृस्टी

हिलो पन्छाएर

कोमोल टिप्छु भन्ने सोचे

तर नजिक नपुग्दै हिलोमै गडियो

शिशिर आउछ र

सहझै बहिरा निस्किन्छु जस्तो लाग्थ्यो

तर बृस्टी दोहोरियो

त्यो सुन्दर थियो

टिप्ने सहस गर्न

उस्को सुन्दरता नै काफी थियो

बस्न कस्तो थियो कुन्नी ?

हिलो छिचोल्नै गाह्रो पर्‍यो

बस्न कस्तो थियो कुन्नी ?

हिलो छिचोल्नै गाह्रो पर्‍यो!!

Suresh Poudel
Dhaka, Bangladesh

लठ्ठिएका हृदय

लगाम कस्छु ,परिधी घेर्छु

तर वरालिन्छ इछ्याहरु

नियन्तृत होस भन्छु सपनl

तर भात्काउछ यो सिमाहरु

नियम वुन्छु, बिधी सिकाउछु

तर बुझ्दैनन कल्पनाहरु

आच्कल मान्छेको मन सारो हुन्छ भन्छु

तर, 

पताउदैनन मेरा जस्ता लठ्ठिएका हृदयहरु

Suresh Poudel
Dhaka, Bangladesh

ICMPORI-2014, DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Taking the pleasure of Being the Master of Ceremony 

During the Cultural Evening of ICMPROI, DHAKA BANGLADESH