From Cardff diaries

6th January, 2010
बिहान झ्याल खोली हेर्दा थाहा पाएँ अगाडिको बाटो हिउँले टम्म ढाकिएको । कसरी हिंड्ने होला ? फेरि चिप्लिन्छु कि क्या हो…… यस्तै कुरा मनमा खेल्छन्। जीवनमा पहिलोपल्ट यसरी हिउँ देखेको छु । अगाडि दुइटा कार छन्, त्यसका ऐनाहरु सबै ढाकिएका छन् हिउँले । रुखहरु, ठाउँठाउँमा हिउँको थुप्रोले भरिएका । साना घरका छानाहरु, फोहोर फाल्ने बाकस, बुटाहरु, चिम्नी, खम्बाहरु, जताततै हिउँमात्रै । ठीक अगाडि एउटा गोलाकार ठाउँ छ जहाँ हिउँले छोएको छैन । किन हो, ठम्याउन सकिनँ। आकाशबाट अझै बरबर हिउँका ससाना (कपासजस्ता) मसिना टुक्राहरु खस्दैछन् ।

यहाँ आएपछि देखें-यहाँको बादल छिट्टै हिंड्छ, एकदम छिटो । मोटरहरु त्यस्तै, बाटोमा मान्छेहरु दौडिन्छन् (बर्गर खाँदै)। मान्छेको दिमाग छिटो चल्छ । सबै छिटोछरितो देखिन्छन्। यहाँ सबै फरक छ नेपालको भन्दा । यहाँका नियम नयाँ छन् र अनौठा पनि । Information overload ले मष्तिष्क थामिनसक्नु हुन्छ (in my case)। शान्ति छ, यति शान्त कि प्रत्येक पल सोच्नुपर्ने बाध्यता ‘कसैलाई असर पर्ला कि’ । उदाहरणको लागि –धाराबाट बगेको प्रत्येक थोपा तपतपले अर्को मानिसलाई डिस्टर्व गर्छ, अर्को, साइलेन्समा राखेको मोवाइलको भाइब्रेसनले अर्को कोठाको मानिस ब्यूँझिन्छ । यहाँ प्लानिङ गर्नुपर्छ जुन bad planner को लागि अलि कठिन कुरा हो । प्रत्येक कुरा समयमा हुन्छ, एक एक मिनेटको महत्त्व छ । जसले राम्रो प्लानिङ गर्छ, ऊ अघि बढ्छ । जस्तै, आवतजावतको लागि टिकट किन्नुपर्छ अनलाइन । Payment पनि अनलाइन जसको लागि ब्याङ्कमा खाता हुनुपर्छ । हातमा पैसा बोकेको मान्छे मैले देखेको छैन । अनि अर्को हुनुपर्ने कुरा मोवाइल । यो विनाको विदेश बसाइ (कम्तिमा मेरो लागि) असम्भव नै हुन्छ । कुरा हाँसउठ्दो छ तर वास्तविकता हो । Information overload यी कुरामा पनि लागू हुन्छन् । भाषा बुझिंदैन, ५०% जति बुझेर काम गर्नुपर्छ (in my case)। किनभने सबै विदेशी छन् । कहिलेकाहीं उल्टो बुझेर कुरा बिग्रिन्छ पनि । त्यो बाहेक यहाँको nightlife । मान्छे राति दुई बजे सुत्छन् र बिहान ढिला उठ्छन् (मेरो विपरीत)। यसले गर्दा अरुलाई पर्ने समस्या त छँदैछन् ।(हिउँ कीराजस्तै फुर्फुर् फुर्फुर् उँड्दैछन् आँखासामु) । अब पढाइकै कुरा गरौं । बेढंगको पढाइ यहाँ छैन । सबै नियमानुसार हुन्छ र एकदम छिटो । पढ्ने पढाउने तरिका बेग्लै, कम्प्यूटरमा । किताब कति पढ्नुपर्छ गनी साध्य छैन । फेरि group work मा विदेशी साथीहरुसँगै काम गरी नम्बर ल्याउनुपर्छ जुन कस्तो हुन्छ कल्पना गर्न सकिन्छ । यहाँको मौसम पनि अचम्मको छ, बिहान आठ बजे उज्यालो र दिउँसो तीन चारबजे अँध्यारो हुने । त्यसैले दिन बितेको पत्तै हुँदैन । तीन महिनासम्ममा पनि adjustment problem छ । रमाइलो लाग्दैन कुनै कुरामा किनकि यो आकर्षक छ तर बनावटी लाग्छ । चीसो यति छ कि रेडिएटरको तातोले रातदिन जहींतहीं निद्रा लाग्छ । कति हाँसउठ्दो कुरा ।

हिउँ केही पग्लिएछ । एकदिन सबैकुरा पग्लिन्छ । यहाँ सबै राम्रो छ, सफा छ तर पनि आफ्नो कोही, केही छैन । यहाँ मेरो आकाश धर्ती छैन । आफ्नोपना छैन । त्यसैले जीवन स्वदेश हो परदेश हैन । यहाँ सिकेर, जानेर, बुझेर देश फर्किनुको विकल्प छैन । Looking forward to being in Nepal….

MITHILA DIARIES

To give a shape to an age-old pending task, we started from Koteshwor at 8:25 on a chilly rainy Saturday morning. Watching the Sindhuli greeneries, eating fruits and carrots in the bus was a different experience.

Janakpur had a cool weather which was least expected and it was because of the rainfall too. We reached at Ramananda Chowk at 3:30 p.m. A hotel by the name of Sita Palace had been waiting for us. We rested and had a hot lemon drink to beat the chill.

We were fortunate to meet some locals and went to the Janaki Mandir straightaway with them, highly excited as we were. The temple was reachable within 15-20 minutes’ walk from the Chowk. We could see crowd everywhere. A quick view of the temple was enough to tell us that it was very beautiful. It had a magical look. We were spellbound at the first sight of it. The white artistic and unique designed marble monument full of its worshippers at night didn’t let us leave her sight. We went inside the temple and did darshan, received the marigold garlands and got a chance to click some photos with the pujari. Also, we went to a room inside the temple and observed the MINAPA drama actors receive gifts for their hard work in the drama performed for a few days at that time. We left the temple promising to look at its beauty in detail the next day.

On the way, we planned for the next day’s puja and bought the required things. We had dinner at hotel of which mine contained plain rice with green leafy vegetable soup, an experience again. After dinner, we started dipping the cotton wicks in the oil. Too tired as we were, we could not finish it till midnight. In the hope of finishing it after getting up the next morning, we were soon in the slumber land.  

We could hear the heavy downpour and lightning and thunder throughout the night. When we got up in the morning, the rain continued and our work seemed impossible to be completed at the right time. As Monday happened to be Buddhajayanti, and also looking at our circumstances, the puja was postponed for the next day. We got our energy back after this decision, and relieved as we were, we slowed down the process a bit.  

We had some apples and decided to have something in the local shops as a breakfast. The rain had subsided; however, the weather was hot and warm. We left our work and roamed around the area, left and right. A Hanuman temple was nearby. We went inside and felt the peace of the temple within us too. Not much people came there but the place was neat and clean and well decorated.

However, the locality seemed a bit dirty and too crowded. The drainage system was not proper and people didn’t bother much about hygiene. We could see them washing and bathing in dirty ponds.   

We could also see locals eating pani puri, samosa, laddoo, pakauda, sweets, tea etc. as a breakfast in the shops—all too oily and spicy. We had a hard time figuring out what to eat. Finally, in a sweet shop, I relished aloo chana gravy which had some potato pieces in it. Thanks to those pieces. Some bananas in a cart sold just outside the shop worked as our proper breakfast.  

The second visit to the temple allowed us to have its look in detail. We could also see the shopkeepers selling items for the Sunday special puja. We clicked the beauty the temple bore and visited the Museum inside. The museum walls were decorated with Mithila Arts which told the story of Goddess Sita (Janaki).

Walking in the midday heat made us tired again. On reaching the hotel and having our food, after a short rest, our battle continued for the cotton wicks for the next day.

Leaving aside our work, the eve took us towards the unexplored areas. The bus park remained at a distance of about 30 minutes’ walk. A five-star hotel could be seen nearby. However, nothing much was seen as far as the markets or shopping was concerned. Our returning back was in an auto, after which we had our food and were back to the wicks again. We finished it at around 10 p.m.

Although it had rained throughout the night, we were able to proceed towards the Janaki Mandir at about 8 a.m. the next morning after guru came to our place and readied everything for puja. We went in an auto for Rs. 100 and the Mandir opened at 8 a.m. Our puja began in front of the main temple near the entrance and it took about 3 hours. All went well. As it was a public holiday, many holy functions took place inside the temple premises along with cultural dancing and singing with loud sounds and the crowd again unbelievable.

After the puja, we visited the nearby popular areas such as Ram Mandir, Janak Mandir, Dhanush Sagar, Ganga Sagar. All looked beautiful. There were too many worshippers seen everywhere. We could see a large number of houses being demolished and the debris lay all over the roads causing discomfort to the public. Moreover, when the rainfall had hit it, the situation could be well imagined. Also, we found out that the main market in the area was behind the Janaki Mandir, most of which were jewelry shops and readymade garments.

On reaching back to the temple in the heat, we could see the increased crowd. Our wicks were still in progress and some people were working on it. We joined and made sure it was all burnt properly. Happy as we were, we took an auto and returned to the Chowk enjoying the cool air hitting us in the heat. We also booked the tickets for Kathmandu for 7 a.m. for the next day.

The hotel served with rice and vegetarian thali at 2 p.m. After resting for a bit, sorting out our things and packing began. Roaming in the area one last time started in the evening. Some leftover cotton wicks were offered in the Hanuman Mandir and a few things were bought as gifts for Kathmandu. A try of local silver necklace of 1 kg in a jewelry shop was a sweet experience. After having our dinner, our packing continued and we slept early.

I started scribbling down the points of our travel in a diary so that I could write on it on reaching Kathmandu. Clicking the last few shots from the hotel terrace, we didn’t waste any moment to enjoy of whatsoever was remaining. While checking out of the hotel, a misunderstanding created a tense moment for a while which resolved soon and we thanked the Goddess Janaki for that.

So, at last, we left the divine area at 7 a.m. with a euphoric feeling. With our young speedy driver, we expected to reach Kathmandu sooner than planned. However, to our utter disappointment, he stopped on the way at Sindhuli for more time than was necessary just to be in the company of his friends. Once he started the journey, the speed continued. Despite several jerks, my sleep remained undisturbed while my sister kept on enjoying the green landscapes. Kathmandu welcomed us at about 3 o’clock. 

This is how our 4-day journey ended. All thanks to the Lord, God, and the Almighty for making it possible. All is well that ends well.   

THE DIET

Q: What? Dieting? Vegan? That too limited diet? Are you serious?

A: Oh, yes, I am. And I feel much better. (With a smile)

Q: But why do you need to lose weight? You are already so thin.

A: I want to be healthy.

This has been the conversation between me and my known ones for the past 2 months. Seriously, I am on a diet.

I used to consider myself a health-conscious person and used to avoid many things easily consumed by the majority. However, I had been ignoring some of my health aspects and this time I wanted to address them. They are medical.

So I ended up in Nature Lovers’ Group. They advised on my diet and doing exercise daily. My diet chart said that I had to be vegan (no meat, no dairy products). This would be easy had I not been restricted also on protein-based plant food. Now I had only grains, sweet fruits and some green vegetables to survive with for a couple of months.

For someone who considered oneself health conscious, the first response was to take some of their advice and add some from my side. As I had to cut off on milk and milk products, to save myself from having calcium deficiency, I decided to go on calcium supplements. So I bought soya seeds (completely forgetting the fact that this has the highest protein) and ajwain seeds and started consuming some spoonfuls of them every day. I stopped after a few days after realizing what I was doing. Also, researching on the internet and finding out about the things related to the disease, its causes, symptoms and treatment became the topmost priority. This went on for a number of days.    

The main focus was treatment. I left no stones unturned on the research. Starting with the diet, exercise, yoga and meditation took most of my time. Internet is an infinite source. The contradictions that I found on my diet and exercise had to be discussed, which I did on my follow-up with NLG after 2 weeks.

As my doubts were clarified, I started following their plan very seriously but ended up overdoing the physical activities, especially yoga and exercise (no one had asked me to overdo). The result was muscle spasm, inability to move or bend or do almost anything. This took me to the medical doctor and I got some pain relieving medicines.

So no exercise for 2 weeks, but only rest. Meanwhile, the net research went on trying to convince myself why vegan was not the option for me no matter what people said. Also, I found many quotes satisfying my thought which said something like ‘Vegan diet is not for me,’ ‘I can’t be vegan or I don’t want to be vegan because that is not me.’ The same had been my belief at that time and it continued for a few more weeks. I had decided to be on that diet for a limited time frame as my condition had demanded. So, once the deadline was over, I would eat good healthy foods but definitely not vegan. I felt the diet was killing me.

Yes, I would continue with grains, vegetables and salad and fruits; however, side by side, I won’t deny the meat and poultry, dairy products, sweets, seeds, plant-based proteins, processed food and all that exists. I would do so because that is me. I have to be me. I am who I am; otherwise, I would go crazy. I would eat those because my body needs it. Once, I even gave an example to a friend about a cigarette, trying to convince her and myself. People know cigarette is harmful to health; it is a bad thing to take but they still take it. And they take it because they need it, their body needs it. And obviously, needs have to be fulfilled if we want to maintain ourselves. Yes, this was the logic.

For someone who was so fond of eating anything outside, in restaurants, hotels or anywhere and especially the delicious food, suppressing the taste buds was almost impossible in the beginning. It was hard to convince oneself. Every time I went out, I could see people relishing all the tasty stuffs and its aroma, hard to ignore. Many a time, I have pleased myself with a deep inhalation of its aroma. But one thing kept me away from it—the fact that it is bad for me. I used to convince myself “I will take it after some time, not now.”

Since the last few weeks, things have become different. I have resumed with my daily exercise and I know my limit not to overstrain myself. I can see and feel the transformation going on within me on a whole level—physical, mental and social—a complete peaceful and blissful moment. My body seems to function well. No blockages are felt inside. It has become very light because of weight loss (although this was not necessary in the plan, neither it is harmful). When I breathe in, I feel the oxygen all within my body as if it is hollow inside. Many old physical and psychological problems have disappeared. And all the credit goes to the diet and exercise and thinking—the change in lifestyle.  

I seem to have less social exchanges after being on a diet. This cannot be called positive. Our culture has developed in such a way that almost all of our social gatherings are about eating and dining out. Unfortunately, we are more interested in following our taste buds than thinking about hygienic food. And this seems to be the trouble. Wherever I go, either I have to carry something with me to eat or refrain from eating. Can’t we have some better options?

At last, I am half way through with the current regimen. Looking at the miracle, I have decided to make it a priority throughout my life. After all, is it not what we want—a healthy body and a healthy mind? What do you say?