My Republica

Babu Ram Neupane

The contributor for Republica.
news@myrepublica.com

Unleashing the American mind

Published On: December 5, 2020 07:00 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

With a clearly diminished global leadership status after a failed coronavirus pandemic response, thinkers and critics around the globe are wondering if America, diplomacy and multilateralism are back again as claimed by President-elect Joe Biden.

I voted for democracy in America

Published On: October 22, 2020 07:00 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

I lost my democracy and freedom to speak the truth the very day I lost my brother. A compassionate and empathic Biden can never be likened with ruthless communists on any counts and measures.

In quarantine, in America

Published On: May 3, 2020 12:41 PM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Too much freedom spoils a country and its characters. I have evolved as an unstable character since I started working from home beginning mid-March because of stay-at-home orders owing to the coronavirus pandemic. My workspace keeps changing from couch to study table to dining table to the kitchen island to deck depending on my mood. I can occupy any space I want anytime. Had it not been for the coronavirus, I would be working from a space that is neither assigned nor reserved to me.

America’s nightmare moment

Published On: April 11, 2020 09:01 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

America has lived through many pandemics most of which have had economic and political ramifications. The current COVID- 19 pandemic has had additional psychological dimensions to it. It has evolved to be extremely devastating for America. The public health crisis has surpassed the worst nightmares experienced in recent history since World War II.

Together we can beat the pandemic

Published On: March 29, 2020 08:13 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

I have a pollen allergy. Even a slight exposure to it greatly agitates multiple organs of my body and often causes debilitating headaches and intermittent fevers. Every spring, I still venture out to nature walk like a warrior donning facemasks and respirators to take on the pollen head-on. For I love to devour spring smell and glory notwithstanding my physique’s loathing of its byproduct (pollen), which is a given and plentiful in the suburbs of American south.

Spring of life

Published On: March 14, 2020 08:52 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Spring is all about the grandeur of nature. The red and pink rhododendron blossoms smile effusively against the snow white mountains. Simal(red silk cotton tree) blossoms wondrously beam by the frothy rivers in the vales. White, pink, purple and magenta petals of pear and peach blossoms flash shy smiles while embraced by the breeze by hamlets and creeks. The orchids magnificently sway by the tree branches in the woods. This is perhaps the best of all seasons to learn from nature and live accordingly.

Rustic symphony

Published On: February 29, 2020 09:47 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

This year’s Swasthani Bratakatha recitals and Mahashivaratri festival celebrations are over. Sadhus and Naga Babas (naked yogis) from India have already left the Pashupati temple premises upon receiving dakshina (monetary gift) from the Pashupati Area Development Trust infusing some cash to the demonetized economy of the southern neighbor.

Truth and ecstasy

Published On: February 16, 2020 11:56 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Faking complete knowledge is not wisdom. Therefore, it is a wise thing to say “I don’t know”. Only the people who can admit to not knowing tend to be more intellectually and emotionally confident than the ones who pretend to know it all. Herein lies the openness to the path of learning and knowledge.

Call of the wild

Published On: February 2, 2020 08:37 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

We had a dog which often followed whenever any member of the family went to the fold in the field in a distance from the village. When the dog was around, I loved to pelt stones, twigs, and earthen clumps at the monkeys that would appear in the field during winter even though there were no crops to destroy. It was my favorite pastime. The inner ape in me made resurgence upon noticing the macaques when our dog was around as I had found a dependable ally and protector in it. We were a team together.

We all are tourists

Published On: January 19, 2020 09:17 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

The tradition of treating guests as deities (atithi devo bhawa) may be theoretically sound but it is practically an impossible and flawed concept as no human beings can shoulder the burden of fulfilling all the unrealistic expectations and wishes of the people. Hence, the concept of hospitality and relevance of tourism has to be redefined at regular intervals to adjust to the ethos of the epochs and ever-changing socio-political dynamics.

Ode to winter

Published On: January 5, 2020 08:44 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Winter is the best custodian of the nature. It may seem to muck things up but it rarely sucks them up. It makes beautiful young lady joggers look like shabby decoys wrapped in multiple layers of apparels installed in front of a store of a stingy uniform business owner. Likewise, handsome young men joggers look like nondescript and rundown scarecrows erected in the farmers’ fields.

Shopping in America

Published On: December 22, 2019 11:09 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Shopping is a complicated matter. I did not realize it until I came to America.  On my first visit to an American grocery store, I was shell shocked when I did not see any counters (as is case with Nepal’s most stores) aimed at preventing the shoppers’ direct access to the items. The shoppers could be seen all around the store like the bulls that had just broken free from their leashes. They were holding the items close to their eyes and reading something carefully.

Love and rural life

Published On: December 8, 2019 11:34 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

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.

Feast and fun in country side

Published On: November 24, 2019 09:02 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

It’s no sin to turn your back to the sun occasionally even if you worship it. It behooves well to plan for feasts and fun in the sun as it requires bare minimum resources in the countryside. You just need to snatch a couple of corn pods from the bunch, peel and extricate the grains, roast them in a handi (earthen fryer) and mix them with some roasted bhatmas (soybean). Never worry about thetna (half-roasted grains) as they team up with the soybean to fight hunger effectively.

Carnival and sacred river

Published On: November 10, 2019 01:00 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Nowadays, most brides do not bother to cry. This trend has turned a joke less hilarious which mentions that brides cry and grooms laugh for the last time during their marriage

Preserving purity of festivals

Published On: October 27, 2019 01:30 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Major festivals across cultures have their roots in rural life. They also share similar rationale for celebration. The reunion of family members, sharing of good time, food, blessings, and worship of gods/goddesses are their universal themes. Unsurprisingly, they are embraced, modified, and commoditized by the urbanites, exurbanites and suburbanites in no time.

Recalling Dashain memories

Published On: October 12, 2019 01:30 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

I used to travel five hours through a secluded forest rumored to be infested with tigers and beers to go to my maternal uncle’s house on the day of tika. Primary motivation was dakshina

On autumn glory

Published On: September 21, 2019 12:30 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Nature looks uniquely splendid in the autumn. Its anarchic arrival is palpable when village farmers paint their exterior home walls with various colors

Does intoxication fuel creativity?

Published On: September 7, 2019 12:30 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Many renowned writers have been known to write under the influence of alcohol and various drugs. Why creative people seek out stimulants/intoxicants such as alcohol and drugs is still an unsolved mystery.

Conversation with digital darlings

Published On: August 24, 2019 02:00 AM NPT By: Babu Ram Neupane

Don’t go coy with these faceless digital darlings. Get mollycoddled by striking a lovely conversation with them now