But, when between walking from your house, to the bus, to the taxi to, and the entrance of the school yard, all you hear about is Paras and his patriotic act, you are inclined to a) puke at the sheer annoyance of hearing the same name all day or b) start to formulate your own opinion. I decided to go with the latter because I´m sure whether we meant to or not, we all have by default.[break]
So, read this, my two paisa on Paras if you like, but if you will spew at the thought of having to hear about this event once more, I suggest you carry on to the next article.
First of all, I have hardly followed the news on this. Shame on me I guess, but I have no regrets. As a tried and true Nepali, I am used to having the front page splash with that brilliant royal blue every now and then. So, I don´t give it much notice, especially when there is so much more going on in the city (I, for one, was eagerly anticipating the crowing of yet another beauty queen!), country (preparations for NTY 2011 - or lack thereof) and the world (erm, it was Assange, to be honest).
Except this particular shade of blue, I just couldn´t shake. No matter how little effort I put into informing myself, I was pretty much forced-fed news and updates and controversies affiliated to the incident at Tiger Tops through status updates, twitter tweets and random conversations.
So, excuse me if I have failed to get the facts straight, then again the facts seem to be constantly evolving and hence, fabricated, so do any of what we know and don´t know really matter? But, for the purpose of this tale, I have unscientifically and un-expertly gathered that our dearly beloved ex-prince Paras was holidaying at Tiger Tops when Sujata Koirala´s jwain made a supposed comment about him being reduced from royalty to rags. (Fact or fiction, you tell me). This upset the former prince, who accordingly made an attempt to sit outside and let the cool air chill him (how now, that´s a smart move there). But, upon the snarky jabs being made repeatedly it seems our brave hero did what any of us mere civilians are legally barricaded from doing - he pulled out his pistol and fired (blank?) shots (or not, it´s still not certain by any accounts given by the same person even (hint hint, Rubel).
The first recounting of this story took me back to 2006 and the somewhat similar episode wherein Dick Cheney shot a hunting companion.
Anyway, Cheney´s was a verified accident whereas according to the “jasta ko testai” reprinting of a letter sent by Paras to Nagarik, it seems his empty firing was, at one point in memory, intentional - then again, it seems he didn´t send the letter, it was a faithful and patriotic imposter!
If there´s any lesson to learn of what little we know of what may have happened that fateful night, Paras apparently pulled out his pistol for the honor of our country!
So, in the Shakespearean words of Julius Caesar, “Friends, Romans (ahem, Nepalis), country (wo) men, lend me your ears” - next time someone insults, nay, not just your country, but your employer, your family, your face, your hair - do what is exemplary - not in words alone, but by deeds - pull out that pistol and wave it around (even if you do or do not fire it).
And, if you haven´t loosened up your muscles and your tongue enough, down a few glasses, heck, a few bottles should smooth that track. Because, as a friend and recent graduate of an MA in Peace Studies said to me, “Each citizen should be equipped with a pistol - hey, if the royal family and the parliamentarians practice peace with pistols - we should too!”
Don´t walk away from a meaningless banter - that would be too civilian of you. Don´t try and reason with your opponent - that would require too much rationale. And, by George, don´t try and hear your challenger out because, hey, the insults may sting, but they may be true still. Just pull out that pistol and fire a few (empty) rounds. That´s what patriotism is about.
But, if you disagree with me, well that´s quite alright, so long as you keep that pistol in your pocket.
(nepaliketi is a ktm-based blogger over at www.nepaliketi.net)
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