I wanted to check something to make sure it was true. Not that I doubted the celebrations or the authenticity of the record made, but rather just for the ‘heck’ of it! Or it could also have been a result of having ‘the world at your fingertips’ that my fingertip accidentally landed on this site! Whatever the reason may be, I was on the official website of the organization that lists people who have accomplished what many ordinary mortals can only dream of! I was checking the official site of Guinness’ World Records, and in the search box, typed “longest TV talk show”.
To my dismay, the page was talking about some Ukrainian talk show. There were a couple comments asking the members of the organization to update the page, and a couple more venting against the organization. Perhaps, I later thought to myself, the reason I wanted to check this site was not that I doubted the achievement, but rather wanted to see where ‘Lord Buddha’ would feature in that page. Remember, the person who set this record claimed to have done so not for any personal milestones. He had done it because while working in some store in Baltimore, he had been deeply saddened by the fact that the people coming to the store asked where on earth Nepal was, rather than asking on which shelf some detergent was.
Now with the feat achieved, many have come forth to criticize the record holder, accusing him of trying to make a personal gain by selling brand Buddha. All I say to them is, slowly but definitely, the world has finally come to acknowledge the fact that he hails from a country called Nepal, and that’s where brand Buddha originated. Perhaps the world is waiting for the Guinness Book’s page to be updated!
pezenaspm.com
All said and done, one thing is for sure. When Mr Record setter meets the next customer at the store he is working for, he will not have to face the embarrassment of identifying himself. Perhaps a board outside the store with a huge portrait of him alongside brand Buddha is something the store owner is already contemplating! To me, this was an example of one phenomenal achievement we all should be proud of; it was all about putting nation first! Perhaps you and I should start thinking of how to make our nation proud in a similar fashion.
A couple weeks later, two interesting events grabbed the headlines in this ever interesting nation of ours.
The experience of leading an organization which went on to become one of the biggest of its kind in the country, D2Hawkeye Services, had honed my skills of leadership. This was perfectly in line with what I had been made to practice inside the organization. To me, leadership is all about driving a big caterpillar excavator and not a Maruti 800, something my boss used to remind me every day. The other important quality expected of leaders at our level was the ability to take bold decisions. “It is better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission” was the motto. As a leader you have to take some critical and unexpected decisions, you just cannot let the fear of controversy come your way!
This motto is related to the appointment of Lokman Singh Karki to a prominent post of CIAA chief, which made headlines. The interesting thing about this appointment was that, never in my life had I ever imagined that in the 21st century Nepal, one appointment would belittle every other post in the Nepali government setup. With the same last name as Lokman, I am distantly related to him. There is no way I can criticize anyone that I am related to even remotely, especially in the increasingly polarized Nepali society where your surname suddenly fetches you what your good character or educational qualifications cannot.
A lot of interesting stories began surfing the moment Karki took oath of the office, when even the President had had to wake up early to do the honors. But what was interesting was how the civil society and student leaders who usually follow in the footsteps of leaders who appointed Karki began crying foul. The clamor reached a tipping point within hours, suggesting the nation was in deep crisis and it would not go back to normalcy (is there anything to suggest we live in a normal nation, I wonder?) unless the decision was rolled back.
This is where I remembered my boss. Hours later, the leaders came forth and took responsibility for the decision. There were two things that impressed me the most about these leaders. First, as leaders, they took responsibility for their decisions, and secondly, they did it openly and asked for forgiveness! This is not something that you see very often. It reminded me of a leadership theory which suggests that leadership is contingent upon a situation and you never know when true leadership will emerge.
We Nepalis at times tend to get overtly cynical of everything and fail to see the bright side. All I say is, this was a unique moment in history where we got to see true leaders emerge, albeit from a not very difficult time, but from what should have been a fairly straightforward case of government appointment!
Finally, the same morning, as the news of appointment broke out amidst all the protests, someone else was making world headlines. I was actually not sure of featuring this incident in my article, but then, I heard of a prominent student leader, who harbors dreams of leading the country one day (in view of the recent list of people who have led us, there is no reason to rule out this possibility!) making a pertinent comment on it. The news was the announcement of the retirement of one Sir Alex, who had led the brand of Manchester United for 26 years! The student leader’s comment was that this guy, who had just retired, either has some personal problem that the world does not know of, or is a ‘mere fool’. The group of people encircling him seemed to agree. And perhaps he was right. In a place where opportunities through fair means are so hard to come by, why on earth would anyone give up anything unless they are forced to? We are revolutionaries, and we will continue to wage revolutions one after another, but not go down quietly. ‘Giving up’ has never been our virtue, and we will stay this way!
hiteshkarki@gmail.com
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