Nepal- Perspectives

My first trip abroad …. .. the plane takes off from Delhi the day after the terrorist attack on Bombay. There seems to be an air of suspense in the airport . People regard each other with wary , suspicious eyes in the airport . It seems eerie ..

New Delhi airport is undergoing renovation. The dream is to make it a “world class airport” Well , the prices at least seem world class , even if at times the facilities don’t.

I look for the counter of the airline which is going to take me to the Nepalese capital , Kathmandu. Nepal Airlines seems to be a government owned airline. The staff is absolutely uninterested. They tell me that the flight will be late, . The ticket is cheap I tell myself , you will have to bear the inconvenience. The Finnair crew at the airport pass me by , the flight to Helsinki is due … . Suddenly comparisons seem very odious.

Hours go by , there is no announcement . Eventually all the flights by Indian airline companies flying to the Nepalese capital leave. I realize its painful to spend time at an airport waiting for a flight . Waiting for Godot seems less tiresome

A couple ( heterosexual obviously ) sitting next to me is wondering about the fact that Rs 500 and above denomination Indian currency notes are not accepted in Nepal. I race to change these denominations into the acceptable ones . The duty free shops in the airport are most unhelpful . I didn’t know that being rude to users was part of the “world class” airport ambience

Eventually the announcement of the flight to Kathmandu is made , and the passengers race to reach the counter . The staff of the Nepalese carrier look on .. bored . What an airline , I wonder .. They are making Indian customer care , look angelic by comparison.

We start the tiresome entry procedures. It takes a lot of time before we are seated in the plane . The plane is in a derelict condition and packed with Indians. The flight finally takes off.

The seats are extremely uncomfortable . The flight to Kathmandu is short , within half an hour the pilot makes an announcement that we are over Lucknow . Soon an announcement follows that we are about to exit Indian airspace and enter Nepalese airspace. Nothing seems to be changing on the ground . But soon the peaks of the Himalayas come into view .They look magnificent . Beyond these mountains , lie even higher mountains .. Till the Himalayas reach their zenith . Then comes the plateau .. Tibet and then China proper.One day I tell myself , I will make this trip .

Soon an announcement crackles about the crew taking position to land is made The city is set in a valley . As the plane descends we can see an urban sprawl. The plane taxies into the airport.

The airport seems dead in comparison to Delhi. A flights stand on the tarmac. Pakistan International Airways flight from Karachi has just landed before us . We could see the planes bound for other destinations in Asia waiting on the tarmac.Soon we are about to leave the airport.

Compared to the Delhi airport the kathmandu airport seems blissfully quiet in comparison . In Delhi airport one got the impression of a nation under siege with the crowds demanding a blood sacrifice. In Kathmandu the air is sleepy, if not placid. One can see flights from Qatar , Bangkok , Seoul and China. There seem to be very few signboards in English. Thankfully Nepali language is written in the same script as Hindi and thus I could read everything. In addition the Nepali language is laced with Sanskrit words , which makes partial comprehension easier.

We head out of the airport , and I search for where I should go . The place and the people seem similar to India and yet different. Luckily I spot the driver from the hotel where I had booked a room waiting for me with a name board. I get into the hotel vehicle and load my luggage. My co-passeners are Caucasian with an English accent dissimilar to any I have heard so far. I later learn they are Australians here on an exotic holiday. They ask me what brings me to Kathmandu , and I say “ am here on work” . Which actually , is part lie and part truth.

The vehicle driver starts talking to me in Hindi the moment he realizes I am from Delhi. He has stayed in India and has many memories. I smile brightly and let him talk while my eyes take in the streets and people peopling them in this city. Its 5 PM but the sun is already setting . Its cold and getting colder… The city is congested and highly polluted. I ask the driver : “ why is there so much pollution “ . He gives a wan smile : The fuel comes from India and the Indian companies supply adulterated fuel. Ahh I See is my response.

The Nepalese have strangely ambiguous attitudes towards India. Most of them have some Indian connection. . Some of them despise India and others would rather be in bed with it .The strange thing is that while I had seen many people from Nepal in Delhi , I had never thought about their origins and what kind of society they came from . My uncle’s servants are all Nepalese but my uncle’s standing instructions were not to engage too much with them. When necessary we were to speak to them in Hindi and that was it.There were Nepalese from the wealthier classes in university but I had never spoken to them other than when strictly necessary. To me they were unknown and whose existence I registered and moved on. But for the Nepalese , it is very different. They are hemmed in between India and China . India hangs over their lives like the reality of the Himalayas overseeing the Kathmandu valley.

We reach the hotel , a stately property on the Durbar Marg in Kathmandu . The ex-royal palace stands nearby in regal splendor. This hotel is still owned by the former Royal Family .Its very quiet at the reception and during the check in the receptionist misspells my name . I correct him rather brusquely and he looks up giving a rather sheepish smile .

I look at him rather pointedly and he smiles once again , correcting the error . I think to myself , this man is so handsome … I better not let him realize the effect he is having on me . Having convinced and disciplined myself to reject carnal temptations I was rather shocked to be attracted to this man who seemed more like a boy out of school . Lest my manner give things away , I hurriedly collected the room keys and went straight to the room

The room was as expected spacious and the housekeeping upto specification . The windows …. I caught the sight of the sun setting over the Himalaya… magnificent , a sight to remember.

I was hungry and tired … and then remembered I had to meet a Nepalese gay, “a friend with benefits” of someone I know in India. . I try calling him up , the network is awful . On trying for the fifth time , I finally get through.

We converse , and agree to meet on Durbar Marg. I then have a bath and fall asleep.

I wake up a few hours later when the phone in the room rings. “Sir, a gentleman is waiting for you in the Lobby. Are you expecting him ? “ the message is pertinent but the messenger’s voice perks me up. I have to meet the guy with this voice – I tell myself.

“Sure … which shift are you on ? “

I can sense the surprise in his voice as I can sense the surprise in mine … I immediately correct myself . Well I needed some directions to proceed to my destination tomorrow . I needed your guidance for that. The receptionist perks up , I am doing a double shift . You can take any help you would like after midnight .

Sounds great .. Midnight today is extremely auspicious .. I muse . Then loudly speak into the receiver … “Please tell my guest to be seated in the Lobby . I am just coming to meet him in 10 minutes “

“Mirror , Mirror on the wall … please tell me I am the fairest of them all “ My mirror cannot speak and I take the liberty of interpreting its silence as consent. ;-)

Where is the gel , the face cream . the moisturizer, I have got to look better than bedraggled. Anyway time to meet the gentleman who is waiting for me .

………

We are walking in Thamel , the tourist area in Kathmandu. It’s a bit like Pahargunj , the area where backpackers and foreign tourists on tight budget stay in Delhi . Pahargunj reeks of sleaze and filth. Thamel is a lot cleaner and neater. The Punjabi businessmen of Pahargunj are replaced by seasoned Nepali veterans of the tourist trade. Sex seems to be just around the corner. My contact whispers about the areas where prostitution flourishes. Its cold .. brightly lit and yet some street lights are not working. I hear that all the lights in Thamel are powered by generators. Power cuts 16 hours long are the norm in Nepal.

We see a lot of Caucasians in Thamel , very few Indians , some Chinese and Tibetans. Its getting late and my contact urges me to return . It is not safe to be here at this time , he says. Discretion being the better part of valour I take his advice and decide to head back to the hotel.

On the way back we stop at a small restaurant and have dinner . Over dinner we converse about life in India and Nepal. My contact asks me about gay life in India . My response will be carried in the next post on this blog .

We then talk about Nepal. He tells me that its tough for gay people . Though there are a few western funded organizations working for gay rights the overall picture is depressing. His parents expected him to get married in 2009 and he knew the event would come to pass soon.

I then ask him about Nepal , its prospects and how he feels about India.

He is not optimistic about his country. The country has just emerged from civil war. Nepal’s royal dictatorship had masked many ethnic , caste and linguistic fissures which were waiting to explode. Poverty is crippling with people willing to go to any extent to survive. The middle classes try and send their children outside the country . The Nepalese elite have all invested their wealth in India or in other foreign countries. He was working in the USA and sent money home which enabled his parents to survive and educate his younger siblings.

And India ?

He feels India wants to conquer Nepal in the long run. India claims the most revered parts of Nepal’s heritage as its own. He gave me the example of India claiming the Buddha and Mount Everest as its own. Though I find his comments hilarious , I change the topic and steer the discussion towards less choppy waters.

…

I am back at the hotel and enter the lobby as the clock strikes 12 . My eyes turn to the reception and I see what I wanted to see. I start conversing with the receptionist and take “directions” . Tomorrow is going to be one busy day. I ask him casually if he will be on the night shift the following night . He says yes ..Yipee … I feel like a fool

Good Night Sir , says he : I say “not so soon” and he looks at me surprised . I smile expansively and say that a wake up call in the morning would be much appreciated. “ Will be done”

Its night… no early morning 1 AM .. Everything is so silent I should be sleeping but I cannot sleep.Lets see Television and I flip between BBC and CNN. Some boring world crisis with diplomatic air bags spouting profound nonsense about world peace. Normally politics is something I love , but this time its something else. But I am tired , The TV stays on while I fall asleep.

…

The next day passes in a whirl . I meet a german who is working in Nepal in lieu of the military service he would have to perform back home. He tells me more interesting things about Nepal . There is a lot of beauty in the hills , he says looking at the expanse around us . “lot of beauty ? “ . of course , I emphatically agree – its just that the definition of beauty which can lead to the difference in interpretation.

Night – I am back in the hotel .. No , I didn’t get into bed with the charming receptionist .I did have a long conversation with him though. Maybe he will meet me when he visits New Delhi . Maybe I would have left New Delhi by that time

Who Knows?

The flight back home is uneventful . But Nepal Airlines is as customer friendly as they were earlier. At least consistency is there , I muse..

To sum up , I felt sad about Nepal. A country with incredible potential , but mismanaged by its leadership.. I just hope they achieve change which delivers tangible benefits to the people.