Our tongue is unreasonably allured to sweet things. But we cannot do without bitterness. Most life saving medicines taste bitter. Most indigenous communities proudly include pickles made of bitter gourds in special dishes. The bitter shrub (pati) is considered auspicious and widely used for worship.  Most expensive parties include bitter drinks. To the drinkers, bitter is the new sweet.

CARACAS – US President Donald Trump has labeled news outlets the “enemy of the people.” Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has called journalists “putrid” and “immoral,” and accused them of mounting “sensationalist attacks” against him. Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (known as AMLO) has labeled them “nobodies, conservatives, know-it-alls, hypocrites,” as well as “fifí” (bourgeois, pretentious) and “chayoteros” (a term implying that they take bribes).

Smita is back to normal life. She has resumed regular office work. Looking at her, nobody can imagine the battle she just fought—the battle against the most the terrible, horrific, traumatic moment in her life. She appears as optimistic as ever and enjoys the present moment looking forward for a better future with great enthusiasm. She is full of energy, compassion and zeal. I have never seen anyone so resilient like her.

It did get a bit awkward walking into a hair and beauty salon on the eve of my marriage. No doubt I wanted to look good, but I felt guilty about spending a handsome amount on a facial that would barely last twenty-four hours. There is a well-established visual order in our day to day lives. I think I had just dared to challenge one by consenting to have the beautician bombard my face with numerous cosmetics. The glow on my face on the big day could be partly attributed to this investment and hence provided some consolation. I get complimented when I put on my favorite bright pink shirt to work. I presume the complements are a consequence of a disturbance in the visual order brought about by feminine tag to the pink.

One runs out of topic even when writing about the unending plight of an airport or an airline. At times readers may find same issue being repeatedly written about. This happens primarily as issues hardly ever get tackled inviting outrage. The idea about using TIA runway in one direction (S to N), I propped up in my previous piece, was received positively more so as it came out right in the beginning of the Mangsir nuptial season. People I met at post-wedding parties still vaguely remembered the article’s gist. But those in the fraternity, who should naturally be the first to show any reaction, generally tended not to comment.

I know you all are wondering, ‘what is the connection between anxiety disorder, youth, and meditation?’ There is a relation between all three of the above. The other day I had an opportunity to interact with some National college students regarding their struggle with anxiety. It was an opportunity for me to understand their struggles and the causes of their anxiety.

Religion is the highest flight of human consciousness. It has been central element in defining relations between humans, non-sentient life forms and inanimate objects in society. Different set of rights and obligations flow from different types of relations and as far as humans and animals go, this relation is mostly of domination and subordination leading to a vigorous system of rights but a frail set of obligations toward animals, making animal marginalization a theme of common occurrence in the anthropocentric reality.

“If you only need good grades and not the learning,” I tell my students, joking, “don’t bother using the library, learning how to use academic databases, finding and reading complex scholarly articles, and representing others’ ideas substantively and carefully in your writing.” “Just hire a good ghost writer or find another effective way to cheat me.” Students get the point quickly, and they start doing serious research and writing.

PARIS – In a recent interview with The Economist, French President Emmanuel Macron presented his geopolitical vision of the European Union’s future. In the process, he spoke of a “NATO brain death,” which sounded to many like an echo of US President Donald Trump’s own description of NATO as “obsolete.”

Today (December 5) is the International Volunteer Day, a special day celebrated worldwide, including in Nepal, to acknowledge and recognize the efforts of citizens of all age groups and economic status that put time and energies to solve local problems. Volunteers should be celebrated locally and nationally because without them it will be nearly impossible to materialize the vision of ‘Prosperous Nepal and Happy Nepali.’