“I don’t understand why people crib and complain. Either you have to do something about it or alter your ways to adjust to what’s happening,” he says. Abhinab says he learnt this lesson from his family who hasn’t succumbed to the black market but has modified its ways to suit their needs.
According to Abhinab, his mom has been using whatever little kerosene she has been able to procure, or firewood to cook. The kitchen now remains unused, as she has created a makeshift cooking area in the rooftop of their modest home. His father walks to work and back, while his sister bought a second hand cycle and now rides around town. Abhinab explains how the earthquakes had damaged their home in Kalanki (crack and fissures in almost every room stand testimony to that) and they were just thinking about repairing it when the Indian blockade forced them to give priority to other things.
“We were anxious about gas and other utilities that repairing minor cracks didn’t seem all that important,” says Abhinab. The Karki family has had many things to worry about. But that in no way has left them dejected. Instead, they have found alternatives, not perfect but passable ones for now, and are grateful that they are fortunate than many who are living without a roof over their heads after the earthquake.
And the family’s positive outlook has definitely rubbed off on Abhinab who, even when probed, doesn’t complain about his situation but rather shrugs it off as something that can happen to anyone, anywhere.
32-year-old Suraj Gurung holds similar sentiments. He has been working and living alone in Kathmandu for the past 11 years. His family is back in Hetauda. Money has always been a problem especially since he has to support his parents and take care of his younger sister’s college fees as well. But Suraj remains undaunted by the responsibilities and hardships.
“It’s been difficult but problems can only last so long. I will keep doing my best, hoping things will turn around soon,” he says, adding that it’s been over a month that he, along with the friend he is renting a flat with at Sinamangal, has been living on either noodles or rice and pulses cooked in the slow cooker.
“There is no gas and because of the load shedding, we can’t cook much. So we just heat water, dump some noodles in it, and enjoy a simple lunch or dinner whenever there is electricity,” says his roommate Gopal Rai. Like Suraj, Gopal too is of the mindset that you can’t be down in the dumps because of the current situation with the blockade and the political upheaval. You just have to find an alternative and be ready to bear with the minor hiccups along the way, he says.
And these are minor hiccups, if you look at it with the right attitude. Sure, many think we’ve gone back to the stone ages. This is 2016, and besides a few promises of being free of power cuts in a couple of years, and more empty promises by top leaders that a solution to the Madhesh problem is just around the bend, we have nothing. But there are a few who think it’s not as bad as we make it out to be, especially by constantly complaining and cribbing about the situation.
“We make it worse by talking about it all the time. Yes, things are bad and venting is one thing but when you always talk about the same thing, it only reinforces it more,” says Abhinab. In a situation where frustration and stress run high, it’s rare to find people like Abhinab but there are some young people who are managing to hold on and keep their heads high despite the odds being stacked against them.
It’s definitely not easy and they do have their weak moments, they confess. But when your hands are tied and there isn’t much you can do, you will only be doing yourself a favor by trying to stay positive and not feeding on negative thoughts.
“If you look around, there are many options available. And I’m not talking about the black market,” says Resha Tuladhar of Mangalbazar, whose extended family has taken to cooking one dish each per day and eating together to save on LPG. And amazingly enough this has had other benefits as well. “Besides still having enough cooking gas at home, we’re much closer than we’ve ever been,” explains Resha.
“I’m not saying the blockade has been a good thing but situations like these will keep happening in a developing country, especially when we have power obsessed leaders incapable of handling such matters. We’ll be doing ourselves a favor if we are mentally prepared to work around it,” she says.
According to the 36-year-old housewife, either you have to be able to go out, protest, and start a wave of change, or you have to put up with the situation. It makes no sense to sit at home and complain when you are not willing to do anything about it. “What’s the point in blaming the politicians? Yes, they aren’t doing much to resolve the issue quickly but we, the citizens, are complacent and so they feel there’s need to take us seriously,” says Resha, adding that we are all in this plight together and so she doesn’t see the need to feel sorry for herself.
We live in a country where earthquake relief materials go missing, where urgent meetings are called only to be canceled at the last minute, or authorities walk out after a cup of tea without discussing pressing matters, where a prominent medical doctor has to go on numerous hunger strikes to bring to light the state’s ineffectiveness in addressing the same issue. Here in Nepal, the land of temples but god forsaken in many ways, no issue is urgent enough unless it concerns power or the lack thereof. And it would be good if we all learnt a lesson or two from these individuals who aren’t blaming the system or pinning their hopes on it but have devised their own system to get over the crisis, all the while maintaining a positive outlook.
“Yes, it’s hard. But if you cultivate the right mindset, it’s not that difficult either. Life might not be convenient at the moment, but there’s still a lot to be grateful for,” says Suraj, as he readies rice and pulses to cook the minute the lights are back on.
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