When Raunak Jha first came to Kathmandu for his +2 about a year ago, he was shocked to see how dirty the city was. Jha, who is from Sarlahi, mentions that he had heard people complaining about the pollution in the capital but he didn’t realize how severe this problem was before seeing it for himself. And now that his initial excitement over living in Kathmandu has died down, he can’t get over his irritation with the massive unmanaged waste problem in the city.

Mia Tuladhar feels that photography has made her more adventurous and bettered her communication skills. She mentions that she started taking photos on her cell phone and because they came out quite good, she realized she had a flair for photography and took it up a bit more seriously after that.

Today, there are a lot of graphics illustrators working here in Nepal and elsewhere in the world as well. Thanks to new media, graphic illustrations have become a big part of the contemporary art culture. However, now that every other artist seems to be making graphics their medium of self-expression, it gets difficult to stay original and unique. According to Dhiraj Manandhar, a graphic illustrator and artist in the making, to create uniquely different work one has to be ready to put in the extra effort and enjoy the process as well.

Japan is possibly one of the most intriguing countries in the world. Be it its quirky and deeply unique culture or its great food, Japanophiles (a specific term for anyone who admires and likes Japan or Japanese ways) not only love the country for its food or anime but also for its amazing history of literature.

After watching quite a few K-dramas over the past few years, I’ve realized that it’s the less dramatic ones that are relatable and based on everyday lives of people that is my cup of tea. And that’s why I enjoyed watching Romance is a Bonus Book. It tells a heart warming story of a struggling single mother, Kang Dan Yi, and how she finally manages to get a job after taking a few years off to look after her daughter in the competitive, harsh and fast paced office setting of South Korea.

We have all watched videos on Buzzfeed and Tasty of American barbeques and elaborate sandwiches that made us think, “these Americans really know how to work their meat”. However, when it comes to the availability of these authentic foods here in Nepal, the restaurants in Kathmandu don’t have much to offer, except for regular burgers and grilled chicken wings. And these, I must admit, look nothing like what we see online.

Believe it or not, we are surrounded by an alarming amount of toxins on a daily basis. Think the glass cleaner you use to clean your windows and the liquid detergent on the sink are safe? There are a lot of synthetic chemicals in those pretty purple air fresheners as well as the lovely scented candles you bought last week, not to mention the washing powder you scoop into the machine every other day.

Admit it, the Delhi smog has had you thinking about the safety of the air we breathe. After all, isn’t Kathmandu just as bad, if not worse? We wake up to our furniture coated in dust (didn’t we wipe that table down just the day before?) and find ourselves covered in grime by the time we get back home. But apparently the quality of air in Kathmandu isn’t as bad as it is in the capital city of India. That, however, is no reason to celebrate.

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Life after Dashain and Tihar is hard. First, I have to say goodbye to my family members and come home to an empty, often dusty, apartment. Though I live with my husband in a one-bedroom apartment with plenty of plants and a cat, our home feels a little strange after the chaos (aka my beloved extended family) I get used to having around during the festive season. Going to work is difficult after a month of playing cards, partying, and binging on Netflix.