Update: Fast Food Debate
“People in Kathmandu seem to use horns more than they use the steering wheels,” commented one of the American participants of the debate on March 20. She was one of the 13 high school students from Caitlin Gabel, a high school in Portland, Oregon in America, who teamed up with 14 Nepali students to talk about the fast food industry, and how it has affected both parts of the world. They also talked about the garbage problem, environmental issues, and load shedding (a new term for the American kids).
The discussion was a unique exchange since the groups came from two very different backgrounds. The Kathmandu youth recently saw the coming of KFC, Pizza Hut, and the surge of corporate food culture to their city, while the American youth belong to Portland, a city well known for being a progressive and environmentally conscious, where all things local, organic, and fair-trade thrive. They too have tons of fast food places, but they are not really big fans.
So their advice? Some ways to deal with the dominance of fast food culture is to have gardens at home and support locally owned restaurants and farmers, like they do in Portland.
After a quick discussion of Food, Inc., which both groups watched prior to their gathering, each student from Caitlin Gabel was paired with a student from Nepal. They were given an hour to produce a five minute radio broadcast using a prop, quote, and a randomly assigned topic, all of which had something to do with food. Props ranged from a spoon to a telephone cord to a calculator.
Participants came up with themes ranging from interviewing Geri Halliwell during her visit to Nepal and Goddess Kumari on her say of Millennium Development Goals, to talking on Ergonomics and water-borne diseases to inventing a new form of potato called Syntato (a genetically modified potato). A group even managed to come up with a story about the Dalai Lama and President Obama getting locked in a room to discuss food.
The connection between the Nepalese and the American youth was an awesome experience for both the groups, and while both the groups learned about each other, including issues that are important to each.
We would like to extend a huge thanks to David Ellenberg of Caitlin Gabel for his role in making this happen as well as Today’s Youth Asia for providing us a venue. Also, many thanks to Janice Wong, Director of Operations at World Pulse for bringing the two group together.
See some photos and impressions from the American students on the Caitlin Gable blog.
Photos from the event, taken by Rishi Amatya:
[flickr-gallery mode="photoset" photoset="72157623691205960"]
By David Ellenberg on Mar 25, 2010
It’s cloudy and breezy in Portland today as I reflect on the special magic that occurred last week throughout the sunlit courtyards of Babermahal Revisited. Students from opposite halves of the world joined to discuss global issues in a relaxed setting with the goal of learning from one another. What a joyful day it proved to be as the students had fun, made friends, and talked seriously about mutual concerns. Issues were environmental, social, and political–how fabulous to be with high school students willing to spend Saturday time on such high-minded topics.
I thank all at Sattya and Today’s Youth Asia for providing such a unique opportunity to my traveling band. All were new to Nepal before and now have connections that can grow in whatever directions they choose. Warm regards to all.
By Rosa Maharjan on Mar 26, 2010
As being a part of this group i would like to thank MR.DAVID for a lovely writing … It was a pleasure for us too, to make frens from other part of the world and to hav a wonderful personality among us,like u as a guide..
Apart from MR.DAVID i would also like to thank all the members of SATTYA and the students for portland for making me a part of this wonderful program based on such critical cause…
THANK U ONCE AGAIN and hope our path of destiny crosses again………
By zinta on Mar 27, 2010
I hope V.E.N.T! and Sattya comes up with more such events, collaborations. You guys fit right in to the “out of the box”.
The pictures looked fun!
By Abiral on Mar 28, 2010
One Word :Abso-freaking-lutely perfect…wait thats two words…anyways… i never thought discussing topics like corporate food culture and socio-economic diversity…would be so much fun…thanks guys…\../,
By Vidrohi Kta on Mar 28, 2010
“What future lies in our silence” — sadly, Sattya does not represent the women or the people it claims it represents (as depicted in the site), so please save the word ‘’our’ and the picture.
Sattya ought to show some decency when it comes to depiction. It has to at first learn to represent itself before it sets off to represent the people and that would be the elite privilege few who can come online (have internet access) and vent (and thus orgasm) in the aristocratic premises of Baber Mahal.
I feel pity for Sattya, its sister site VENT and its network of wannabe new age activists who lack concrete vision if not understanding of the country, its culture (forget pop culture) and the people.
I also some times laugh at your collective belief that your cohorts promote of representing the whole of Nepal and claiming that the future lies in your benign proclamation.
Your limited signature campaigns, limited publications online and workshops ain’t worth a dime when a huge chunk of people in this country have the next meal to worry about (forget internet access). You could label this argument weak but well, the scene is such contrary to breeding orgasms by venting on corporate food culture.
So, wake up Sattya and the associated folks — Kathmandu is not Nepal and Baber Mahal with a bunch of you is not the national chautari. Grow, and first, grow up yourselves and stop, like all other groups, to further manufacture myths.
Realize that youth is a forced identity in this country. Realize also that your limited circle does not even surpass the capital’s boundaries beyond the high-raise apartments and housings.
Groups like Sattya should confess the elite background they belong to and continue what they do or shut up with the nonsense of representing Nepal and the youth.
Don’t be a ‘fast-food’ group and with Sattya, VENT has hinted its corporate like structure soon to be unleashed. Happy Activism Business, guys. I am sure there’s money – a lot to keep the fast-food going.
By Anya on Mar 28, 2010
Vidrohi, thanks much for your comment, which I actually really appreciate. You are totally right about everything and have a lot of passion in your words. But…
I’ll just speak for myself and explain where I am coming from. Your comment showed a lot of intelligence so I am kind of surprised you jumped to so many conclusions, without any facts to back them up with.
Here’s where I am coming from in all this. I studied journalism and then photography, but could never bring myself to do anything with it cause it meant going to work for some corporate newspaper or selling people’s images and that would be my way, I was told, of “making a difference” since “media is important.” Not that I even wanted to make a difference. The whole world is totally fucked anyway, right? What could I do? That has been my thinking for most of my life, and I never did anything besides travel, at least wanting to know the world if I could not save it, wanting to help individual people whose paths I crossed, and wanting them to help me.
Actually, now, I still think the world is fucked, not matter what I do. And yet every time I watched a relevant documentary from somewhere in the world, for example, I would think how great it would be if some people in a village in Nepal could get to see it too, since it was an issue they were facing. Or seeing a film about garbage collectors in Cairo recently and how they organize themselves and reject people’s scorn of them, well, I want to show that film to garbage workers of Kathmandu. Seeing documentaries has changed my perspective on the world, not saved the world. Watching them is something I love doing, and I just want to share that with others. I want to tech people to make them too, so we can have better perspectives from within Nepal.
Ok, so to address some of your specific points-
The graphic of “what future lies in our silence”- well, we struggled a lot with creating images for the website because none of us are designers. At this point, that was the best we could do, though we are looking for volunteer designers who can help us improve the way we get our ideas across.
About the elitism thing- well for me, that’s the worst thing about Nepal. I hate it and its not something that I am used to. Yeah, its true that only the rich people in Nepal have internet. I support organizations who try to make it accessible to more people. Unfortunately, the infrastructure is not there in Nepal. I don’t know what I can do personally to help with that. I am open to ideas and willing to donate to organizations that do that. But just because the majority of the country does not have internet, does that mean we should not use it? I really want to make media accessible to all, but this is something that is going to take time and resources and dedicated people….which is why we built a website- to be able to draw those things in so we can do other projects,
About Barbar Mahal- I totally agree that place obnoxious, however that’s where we were given a free venue. We don’t have one of our own. And if we did, it would be nothing like Barbah Mahal. You seem to have the perception that we have tons of money and are sitting around getting rich off Sattya. Actually, the organization has never gotten even 1 rupee from anyone. Rather, we have all been putting countless hours into it ourselves, and a fair amount of money from our own pockets. Yeah, we do hope to get some funds- not for anything else except buying cameras to teach workshops to people who don’t have cameras and maybe never would, buying the rights to screen films, paying someone to dub them into Nepali so they could be understood by the ‘non-elite’ people, getting books, and maybe a space that represents us better than Barbar Mahal. And about corporate structure, really I have to laugh, cause I think if you saw how we do things, it is the farthest thing from corporate. We have no boss, make our decisions using a consensus style, and we are a COLLECTIVE not a corporation. Sadly, sometimes people don’t take a bunch of people who hate hierarchical structures seriously, so we have to give ourselves titles to present them with if we have to. But that really had nothing to do with being corporate. Its just a way of telling people, I for example, am dong the documentary programs at Sattya. The whole “happy activism business” is maybe true for a lot of NGOS- and that is EXACTLY what I want to work against.
As for our “limited signature campaigns, limited publications online and workshops”- Sattya has just started. Really, we don’t have any signature campaigns. We are just trying to get a few things going, share some of our thoughts, and see what happens. Yeah, I don’t have a concrete vision, but I have a general one. We have lots of ideas that you might find not so bad, but the thing is we don’t have money to implement them yet. The on thing that I have said from the start of this idea was that it was really important to me that we include people from outside this ‘elite circle.’ REALLY REALLY IMPORTANT. The only program we have run since Sattya was formed, really, is this fast food thing. And for that we needed young teens who spoke English and lived in Kathmandu, to be able to converse with the English speaking American students. This does not mean every event will be based on this criteria.
The part about being “wannabe new age activists,” I mean, what does that mean? You mention that while we are doing our thing, there are people worrying about their next meal. I agree, totally. I have often thought, why the hell am I buying this camera- this could feed people for years. A camera is not really going to change anything, anyway, right? I still struggle with it still, to be honest. I don’t know the right answer. I mean, here we are, both you and I, online typing messages while people are worrying about their next meal. I don’t know how to change that.
Also, I am not sure where you got the idea that we represent the whole of Nepal or youth. We certainly don’t. I don’t feel I represent anyone but myself.
I really like you attitude, though of course I do find some of your comments totally off the mark. I don’t feel like I need pity. We are all just people trying to do something in this world, though I agree that some have good intentions and others not as much. I think you would be surprised by how much we agree and share a similar worldview. If you have concrete suggestions for us, please share them with us anytime and I will take them seriously. Criticism is a great way to keep the ego in check, so please do offer it up, but I honestly think its going to be more useful to all if its constructive. Thanks.
By ayushma on Mar 28, 2010
When a poor child gets cavity because he cannot afford toothpaste and a rich one gets it because he has had too many sweets, it is advisable that both be taken to the dentist. There are problems at both ends, and both need remedies. And isn’t it a greater pity for the richer child, that even in being in a position to make a better choice, he has failed to do what’s best for him?
Why do we see the rich-poor distinctions in terms of heirarchies that always place the rich above the poor, better off, more priveleged, more educated, more intelligent, more powerful, exploitators more worthy of a guilty conscience.
Sometimes, the only way in which the rich are better off is in terms of the sheer quantity of the things they possess, more priveleged in terms of their ability to indulge themselves into apathy, more educated to the extent that they’ve numbed all their senses, more intelligent only in the mind, without any regard for body or soul, and more powerful as they face a meaningless existence as they mindlessly conquer everything around them. The rich need a change, the privelged need an opportunity for something new as well; rich or poor, priveleged or underpriveleged, all of us deserve the opportunity to identify with ourselves beyond these segregations.
As long as we see ourselves and people around us bound within these categories, we will continue to tragically undermine individuals on both ends.
Poverty is a harsh reality for Nepal, a blaring, biting reality. But to see that as the only reality, in a way, distorts our very perception of reality.
I hope Sattya can be a place where the supposed privileged can have a space to explore themselves to find something more than this tag to identify with. I hope that the supposed unpriveleged ones can do the same. I hope being poor can be of some value, of some dignity within this new equation. I know that there is a lot I can learn from others, more than I can ever hope to impart. And the greater the contrast between our lives, the more we can hope to learn from each other. Let’s hope that Sattya can offer us ways in which we explore something genuine. Put us under a common umbrella and see how we’ll end up surprising ourselves.
As an end note: I applaud the spirit of a rebel. And I’m hoping that a true rebel is someone who lives for his own cause rather than against all other causes.
By Anya on Mar 28, 2010
I think we should talk about this topic more and I am glad it was brought up so we can get open dialogue going. It is an important conversation to be had, and probably one of the more taboo topics in Nepal, or a touchy one at least. I think giving our real names would make the conversation a more legit one.
Some of you might in interested in checking out this book perhaps:
Classified: How to Stop Hiding Your Privilege and Use It for Social Change!
We, people who have internet and the potential power (though I really don’t feel that way most of the time- this is not how I would be running things) did nothing to have what we have, but we can choose what we do with it.
By pranaya on Mar 28, 2010
Dear all,
I can’t speak for Sattya, but I can try to speak for VENT. First of all, I’d like to pose the question that people have asked for many years: What is the point of art in a world like this? There are people who would have us believe that art doesn’t matter, that in a world with so much suffering, poverty, hunger and death, what really does art matter? I joined VENT not out of a misguided crusade to save Nepal. My ambitions were never that grand. I didn’t think VENT represented all of Nepal or even claimed to do so. What I liked was that it gave voice to a demographic that is often ignored and belittled: the youth. Sure, these voices may be limited to Kathmandu, Pokhara, Dharan and other urban centres, but does that make it less important? Don’t the residents of urban centres have as much right to express themselves, to call themselves Nepali, as those living hand-to-mouth in rural areas? What VENT does might be limited, the voices it airs might also be limited, but its scope is endless.
Everyone needs to start somewhere, and we always start with that which is closest to us. I understand writing, it is how I am able to express myself and so I will write. I might not save lives with my writing, I might not put food on the table of those going hungry in Nepal right now, but I will strive for something. I believe that the arts serve a purpose, whether that purpose be to educate, to spread awareness or to have others think critically about all that is around them. Art needs to be functional. And it my desire to attempt what art has always attempts: to depict and in depicting, try and change that which is wrong.
I don’t think that the people behind VENT and Sattya are the privileged elite that people make us out to be so often. Maybe I’m mistaken, but aren’t most of us just middle-class? Living in Kathmandu might automatically confer some form of privilege ad visibility, but it, in no way, elevates one to the status of “elite.” The Marxist understanding might claim that revolution needs to come from the workers, but usually, revolution comes from the middle-class. Art comes from the middle-class. The upper-class are too busy trying to preserve the status quo and the lower class are too busy working to put food on the table, and so it falls upon the middle-class, those with enough to eat, and but not enough to blind themselves to the realities of life. And it is when the middle-class, people of some privilege, realise that there is something wrong that protest, revolution and change truly begins to happen. But all that aside, Vidrohi Kta, you are right in a way. We do need to acknowledge our privileged backgrounds. What I don’t see is how VENT or Sattya claimed otherwise.
I don’t claim to be anything but what I am. I am a Rana, I have had the privilege and opportunity to be educated at some of the best schools in Nepal and am at one of the best schools in America. This is who I am and I am not going to hide behind a facade just because I am ashamed of my upbringing and privilege. Those were things I couldn’t help and things that I am not responsible for myself. What I am responsible for is where I go from here. What I do with my privilege, whether I use it to further the advantages that I’ve had for myself and my kind or try to even the playing field by trying to make sure the privilege doesn’t end with my kind.
My faith in VENT comes, in part, from its present and a whole lot from its future. Initiatives like these are not the problem, they’re a part of the solution. Initiatives like these help create a platform, a forum that allows people to share and think and to understand in different ways. I know many NGOs and foreign projects start out with the same lofty goals but seem to get sidetracked along the way. VENT (and Sattya) have just started out. They have little in terms of financial support, proper facilities or even an office. We all work out of our homes, on our own computers, on our own time. No one pays us anything.
They help create a new breed of individuals who don’t belittle art and creativity the way past generations have done: if you do well in your SLC, you take Science, or you’re business-inclined you take Commerce, but if you do horribly, then you choose the Arts. I don’t claim to represent Nepal. I only represent myself and I don’t think VENT is even claiming to represent all of Nepal, neither is Sattya. We can only be fully responsible for our own thoughts and our own actions, everything else is beyond us. What matters is what we do with our limited freedom.
Yes, there is harsh poverty in Nepal, but does that mean we be struck dumb by the appalling poverty and do nothing? I think VENT encourages people to think that this is not the way it should be, that we don’t have to shut up and take it, that expression can be just as powerful as action. VENT’s strength lies in the fact that it doesn’t box you into a certain mindset, it allows youth to say what they want, and by saying it in a public forum, they are forced to take responsibility for their words. Too long those of us in Kathmandu have shirked our responsibility to the rest of Nepal and VENT might be a small step, but at least it is a step. By exposing the youth in Kathmandu to social and political issues that matter, it encourages them to think beyond themselves, to look beyond Kathmandu. The power, or even the ability, to change Nepal lies in its urban centres and their residents. This is where the education is, this is where the awareness is, the resources and the power to actually make a difference. By itself, and by ourselves, VENT can’t change Nepal, it can barely even change Kathmandu. But it can nudge people in a certain direction, it can poke issues into making the mainstream, and it can encourage people into trying to do the “right” thing. I hope.
By Moksha Nepal on Mar 29, 2010
Hardly the “enemy” that we should be chasing. KFC and Pizza Hut(K-Hut) are as big a problem as Toyota,Addidas,Apple or Canon can be. Meaning none at all or a big one depending on how you look at it.
For Kathmanduites, the only threat from K-Hut would be in the form of health concerns. But honestly what percentage of people in Kathmandu could afford to be hooked to K-Hut so as to have anything of a chance of gettting unhealthy.
The so called locally owned restaurants are already big in Nepal. Fast food in the form of affordable “sekuwas” and “momos” are already big in Nepal. We don’t have the money or the taste for K-Hut to exist.
This whole thing just rubs me the wrong way. I appreciate the effort but..truth be told it makes me feel as if we don’t know what our coutry needs. Nepal needs media,activism and revolution but not here. What we see and learn in a devloped country may be(maybe!!!) of no use.People over there can afford to raise their voices against corporation,coffee etc etc .We don’t. The needs are different, the accomplisments are different. We got bigger fish to fry…!!
By Vidrohi Kta on Mar 29, 2010
>>Comrade Anya, I pray you won’t lay your arms down, ever and butcher the illusionary (TV-evangelism like) words that followed your post. Glad as I can be with the string of posts that have followed my sincere anger, concern and off the mark comments (Refer Sattya’s cohorts), I have no regrets though. One even defined how a Vidrohi should present oneself. Read between your own fingers oh myth constructor! And aye! I can’t afford a dentist like many Nepalis and Vidrohi Kta will go by this name. Period
Comrade, the reality that you comprehend is mature than the illusionist’s dentist equation and the other argument somewhere which doesn’t understand the political consequences of living within fenced compounds. Sad! Actually, pathetic! Accept hierarchies, dear. It’s organic till your bones.
Anya, I follow what you say and breathe each word and then as an outsider, I configure all that and Sattya’s objective with this (not just this of course but this as it appears in your site):
//Wishlist
We have big ideas and there are supplies we need to make them happen. Please consider donating any of the listed items to support our work. We also accept financial contributions. Contact us at collective@sattya.org to support our work.
your participation
a space in Kathmandu
digital cameras of all kinds (point and shoot, video, SLR, etc.)
audio recorders
Mac computers
multimedia projector and screen
books from our Amazon Wishlist (used books are great!)
documentary films (yeah, we’ve got another wishlist for that, too)
audio system
Final Cut Pro
Adobe CS4
Printing/Copies//
“We also accept financial contributions.”
Why on earth when the money needs to go somewhere else (maybe Jajarkot where even after the epidemic last year, people are still drinking from the rivers) and why on earth wouldn’t I shape my perceptions (you say misconceptions) accordingly? If grants would come to Sattya recognizing Sattya’s work, which would have been grand in that case but the setup here looks mere activism business right-on.
Comrade, I salute you when you say you are working against it, but the site doesn’t seem to communicate so. See, it is such that you are communicating and more importantly, how can Sattya as a new media use media for awareness and change when most of the brains don’t work beyond the Kathmandu Kachaura. Perhaps this should have made it to your wishlist.
I will follow your work, Comrade and take your invitation beyond just ego-checks for I believe that the frustrations are real and they need to be resolved or we will end up as one of those TV-evangelists who comment on society like people in Nepal who don’t understand that climate change is more about the economy then climate.
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>>Pranaya Ji, if you can’t speak for Sattya, why is VENT depicted as Sattya’s publication program in Sattya’s website. And by the way, do you really think youth (what youth and which youth do you talk about?) is not a forced identity in Nepal? It’s alarming, this demographic and the rights you talk about. Was this demographic ever a part of the many movements that we’ve had in the country? The other demographic which is not a part of your demographic but forms the majority, took to the streets in their heads the poison of turbulent times. They too share the unalienable right as much as you question, I believe. QUESTION MARK
If you answer YES, then we might have something to discuss further and I might as well read what you further posted. By the way, what Vent does is ‘really’ limited and the ‘endless scopes’ you talk about echo the same hegemony which dominates.
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>>Mokshya Ji, you seem to have ignored the recent news on KFC. Here’s a summary on KFC for your information and the fast food debate in Sattya:
1. Average daily turnover: Rs 1 million
2. Proportion of business: KFC:Pizza Hut — 2:1
3. VAT expectation: About Rs 4.5 million per month
4. Plans on to add three new KFC outlets
By Eonage on Mar 29, 2010
“Discussion is an exchange of Knowledge, Argument is an exchange of Ignorance”
Does anybody here have the slightest clue to how cancer spreads?
Idiots…
It starts from a very small mass of cells…(One K-Hut) then it grows, it first befriends and then destroys…
Just because we’ve got bigger problems doesn’t mean we should overlook smaller(yet important) ones… just because you’ve got to save the world from aliens or Robots gone rogue or zombies don’t mean Will Smith shouldn’t stop and shit…ADIOS!!!
By Eonage on Mar 29, 2010
Wow…
Now to the more important topic raised by our SELF PROCLAIMED WEB REBEL(Behind that “Virodhi” Mask of Yours… I strongly believe lies a deeply troubled ‘elite’ that you so hate!)
Simple English…I won’t confuse my readers with +5 syllable words-of-ignorance… (Your post sounds more TV-EVANGELIST-ish than the ones by others …)
People who use the internet are not always rich… you claim to be poor, claim that you can’t afford a dentist like many of our Nepali didis bahinis dajus bhais… yet surprisingly you seem to spend a lot of time in it (considering your grammer and spell check and the number of times you’ve used the thesaurus…while writing your post).
You see… some of us… believe that we can make a change… one step at a time… some of us believe in the idea of “a better day”…
Some of us are brave enough to not hide behind the computer screen… of being part of the force that will drive the change…
Some of us…HOPE… and not just HOPE… but strive to make it real…
Some of us believe in healing…
Some of us… Virodhi kta… use our MacBooks and Cameras and Internet Access to drive a change….
By ayushma on Mar 29, 2010
Vidrohi Ji,
In spite of what Eonage says, I think your writing is awesome. I actually fell over laughing when I got to the bit about us living in Kathmandu ko “Kachaura” and enjoyed it enough to forget that the taunt was aimed at myself.
You’re clearly very intelligent and have researched our site meticulously and I’m actually very impressed with your commitment to put us down.
It is a pity that we have, to borrow another commenter’s words, “rubbed you the wrong way”. I get this sneaking suspicion that you would make a fine addition to our team. You know by now that our job description does not entail feeding people in Jajarkot, but your skills could come in handy to an organization like ours that attempts to facilitate change through the written word, among other things.
Contrary to your belief, we aren’t a money making corporate venture so we wouldn’t be able to pay you cause we got no money. But if you ever want to give your obvious talent an optimistic and constructive twist, do get in touch!
By Yuko on Mar 29, 2010
Vidrohi, I really appreciate you taking the time to comment on this site. You bring up a really good point. Everyone’s perception on Sattya or VENT! will be different. For me, I am a big believer in — you get what you give. If Sattya was not serving its population, it will die. If it was, then it will grow. Any wrong deed will eventually get exposed, and any good deed will eventually lead to better things. So time will tell.
Growth takes time. V.E.N.T! was only a flicker in our minds and now it’s a reality. Sattya was only an exchange of emails and now it’s finally happening. It took a lot of effort, dedication and frustration to manifest what was in our hearts. I’m realizing that it is easy to criticize but it’s difficult to appreciate. I appreciate now because I have seen what it takes to do what you love and to see it prosper. We are more privileged than the average Nepali, yes, but that doesn’t make us guilty of any kind of crime. It’s not a crime to be privileged; it’s a crime to do nothing with it.
We love what we do. We have a great team. We stuck through thick and thin. The youth we have been involved with are brilliant; they’re doing something with their lives. I have learned so much from them. It’s a give and take. Like I said, you get what you give. And if the intention is good and pure, the outcome will be great and powerful. We’ve just begun…
Vidrohi, I encourage you to participate in our programs. We are very open to constructive criticism; we actually welcome then because it’s the only way to grow. So keep ‘em coming…thanks!
By Anya on Mar 29, 2010
I totally agree with Ayushma! We were just saying that we really need someone to do outreach among various communities so more people to have access to some of our programs.
By Moksha Nepal on Mar 30, 2010
Anya,There are already community radios in place, that run programs against VAW, HIV etc etc. They are by far the most effective and most appreciated means of “outreach”. A fine exampel is “Community Radio Madanpokhara of Palpa” .I couldn’t think of a better way.Unless outreach for you means not the rural communities but the ones outside(who i also believe need considerable amount of brain-tasing)
Eonage, how the fuck is KFC an important problem!Nepal don’t need no war on corporation right now. I don’t think you know what we need? Your ideas are like your Will Smith analogy. Unreal enemies and a shitty problem!!
I know what to do, does Sattya?
By Vidrohi Kta on Mar 30, 2010
>>>Aye! Wow…
Self proclaimed web rebel or not, the identity is mine to keep so be it. And allow me to correct you…I don’t even come (quotes in the air) ‘this’ close to being an ‘elite’ and I hate the mentality not the class. Because the system I realize day after day is continuum.
Simple English…I didn’t have any readers in mine. Maybe that’s my ignorance and tv-evangelism is something that works both ways – largely depends on what each wants to construct and who they are selling the adverts to.
People who use the internet are not always rich. I did not claim to be poor but I claimed that I can’t afford a dentist, aye! So there’s a difference you see. I am a lower mid-middle class family and so far as spending time on the internet is concerned, well, my work revolves around it and I stay back extra hours at work to vehemently surf. I am flattered you complement my writing but for some of us, expression comes naturally and not from a thesaurus.
If you believe in making a change, obvious that it is one step at a time, good for you but at the same time, respect that anonymity is my right. What really bothers me is this claim of being a part of the force that will drive change. What force are you taking about and what change are you talking about?
And what hope are you hopping on again and again? And what on earth is healing? How many are you of ‘us’, anyways who with their Macbooks and cameras and internet access have set to drive a change that seems non-existent at all?
I ask questions because I seek answers and I don’t hop on hopes and neither romanticize change at such degrees as you do with all your expensive gears – you guys have set-up a new media to being awareness as you say but for whom.
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>> Ayushma ji, you remind me of what I tell my parents during dinner. With the advent of all this bawdy TV-comedy, many people glue themselves to television and laugh at what’s aired. Sadly, they do not realize that they are laughing at their own sorry states. So Kathmandu Kachaura, I feel pity for you when you say you actually fell over laughing. Mind you, it is you who are using the word ‘taunt’. I am just expressing myself here and nothing’s personal.
It doesn’t take a fool to realize where Sattya is going and there is hardly anything in your site that needs meticulous observation. Honestly, I don’t even seek to put you guys down. It’d be really great if you could start at grassroots, understand the root of the problems first and then gradually realize what needs to be done rather then setting up some high-school or university club-like project that will die with graduation day.
Talk about borrowing and I’ll say even our identity is burrowed –even Vidrohi Kta or ‘brave’ names that appear in this site for instance. Beyond our family names and our burrowed identity to which we relate to, what are we, who are we? And so far as your burrowed “quote” is concerned, if there are casualties in war that chief whips justify, there are then nettles that you need to clear along the way you seek of your own. No regrets whatsoever.
Jajarkot was an example among many and I know where my skills work just fine. Thank you for trying to be redemptive but save that for yourself, Ayushma. I am already fighting a system and for an “organization” like yours, I am already facilitating with the written word – wrath even.
Twist yourself to the money you will obviously make in due time course because there’s no stopping the ‘force of youth’ and the power of ‘us’ and ‘driving change’ in all of you. I am sure the corporate giants of activism are planning the funds just right—enough to serve their purpose. We are already keeping touch and this is cool as it can get.
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>> Yuko, thank you for your words.
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>>> Comrade, you totally agree.
By ayushma on Mar 30, 2010
Vidrohi Ji,
Do I see a glimmer of hope?
“It’d be really great if you could start at grassroots, understand the root of the problems first and then gradually realize what needs to be done rather then setting up some high-school or university club-like project that will die with graduation day.”
Sounds to me like the beginning of some constructive criticism there. It seems like something inside you actually wants to help us after all. Grassroots, problems, actions. Force of youth, driving change. I guess we could agree that both sets of phrases have been tossed around enough in our collective vocabulary to have any positive meaning remaining in them. They sound hollow because they’ve been turned into rhetoric, with little manifestation to see in the real world. You’ve taken the first step in giving us advice, and even though at the moment it’s a little vague, I hope you will keep them coming, perhaps in more concrete forms as well.
As someone involved in an organization already doing genuine work, I guess your interpretation of how donor organizations swallow up original, genuine intent must come through experience and is therefore quite valid. I guess to a certain extent we are naive optimists, but it was good of you to remind us to be cautious. I think this is an important issue for our team to keep in mind and I will definitely raise it with our team when we next meet.
You say that elitism is a mentality not a class. I couldn’t agree more. That is our effort here at Sattya. And you say, “Beyond our family names and our borrowed identity to which we relate to, what are we, who are we?” Yes, these are just the kind of questions we aim to pose to this elite mentality. Identities are borrowed. So what lies within, that is intrinsic to us? And why do we cling to these borrowed identities? At least to put these questions out there, whether or not we manage to provide concrete answers, might be of some good.
I guess having differences is essential to creating any good argument. But we seem to be converging as I’m finding less and less to disagree with in what you say. There might come a time when there’ll be more for us to agree on than disagree with.
As far as my response being the potential topic of conversation at your family dinner, I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoy reading your comments. You offer valuable advice in packages of “wrath”. That is your prerogative. And I sift through it to find the valuable bits with a sense of humor. And that is my prerogative.
I respect your anonymity but at the same time, it’s a pity you wont disclose who you are because I would love to have a face to face conversation with you. The naive optimist in me can’t help but feel something good will come out of it. Until then, I hope I can continue to be “entertained” by more of your enlightening comments. You know how television drama created to sedate the masses comes nowhere close to this.
Cheers,
Ayushma
By Vidrohi Kta on Mar 30, 2010
Ayushma ji,
It will be a pleasure to keep in touch screen to screen.
By Novin Y on Mar 30, 2010
nothing’s wrong with the ‘Loading-Shading’ !!!!
it’s just that we have our own way of practicing ‘Earth Hour’ day everyday in Nepal, since it’s inception ….lol…’smart’ people around world just failed to notice it.
How ’bout campaigning for the ‘Earth Load-Shading day’ in the world instead of ‘Earth Hour’ !!!!
By Rosa Maharjan on Apr 1, 2010
I just don’t hav much to say but only hav five word that is “ACTION SPEAKS MORE THAN WORDS”………..
By Eonage on Apr 2, 2010
wait… did i step(or trample) on somebody’s nerves…
whatever it may be… i hope it sent out the right signals to your brains… coming to think of it(referring to Virodhi’s last comment…not the one to Ayushma), it actually did…
There is still hope for you all… changing from extreme pessimism to just pessimism…
I owe myself a drink…
By Eonage on Apr 2, 2010
BTW(on a light note)…its not burrowed…its borrowed…
By Eonage on Apr 2, 2010
…and there are a whole lot of other mistakes(grammatical…intellectual…political…etc etc) that i would check but…i do believe you guys are capable of correcting them yourselves…
By Helly on Apr 2, 2010
Eonage you should know that we are not in a school here where we are learning “spellings”…the spelling of burrowed is not important but the thought behind it is. You seem to have a very good eye for spelling errors…but a pity it is that your skill is limited to just that.
by bringing out such a trivial issue of a small error..u r exhibiting ur own puny attitude.
By Eonage on Apr 3, 2010
Uh… Helly…. very poor observation skills…
The comment says “on a light note”… that means… smile if you think its funny… quite simple…
By Helly on Apr 3, 2010
Uh huh Eonage…im very happy with my observation skills thankyou….im just glad im not endowed with ur worthless skills. Also to add a very dry sense of humour.
By Eonage on Apr 3, 2010
You started it… but anyways… maaf garnu hola…
By Suv on Apr 5, 2010
AH, Well this one’s for everyone la. Well I read few of the above comments and wanted to remind everyone that this was supposed to be a comment hotspot for fastfood debate nad not others. But I’m glad that it has brought limelight on some issues that none of us had seen before (thnx to vidrohi kta). I guess I have to agree with Yuko and hence with our rebel but I can also relate to what Anya has to say.
For me what Sattya and hence vent is doing is what people like us have never even thought of. It’s true that not everyone has access to internet but those who have it’s the most easier and cheaper way to contact people and in this case publish a magazine or do some workshop. Secondly, I’m sure that the money is better in use if it goes to place like Jumla and Humla in the case of Nepal but there are still few, even among Nepalese who believes in art more than in feeding the hungry. So if Vent and Sattya are reaching out for them, no one should criticize or comment about it.
that’s all for me.
Namaste!!!!
By David Ellenberg on Apr 5, 2010
I am following the discussion, and the points raised are wonderful and important. From my distant view, I see VENT and Sattya as essential components of the large questions facing Nepal.
To go deeper, each of us on the planet has a role to play. As an economically successful member of a wealthy society, I try to be right-minded in daily action. I sometimes volunteer at a homeless shelter. I give my time freely to my religious community. I donate money to various organizations working on behalf of the environment and human justice. I often think carefully about the products I buy and if they are sustainable.
I also am far from doing even more. I walk past beggars on the streets of Portland all the time. My house has many unnecessary products that I purchased without really thinking because it was easy and I had the money. I never have to worry about my next meal.
However, I believe that those of us with privilege have a role to play in making our communities better. Small actions are best because small actions are possible.
Sattya and VENT are working in ways that reach an audience as important as any other. Do not condemn the good works of others. Join them in their efforts or, better, yet start doing good works of your own.
I do believe criticism is important. I also believe that being constructive is essential. Look to move forward. Nepal’s problems are many. In fact, all countries have many problems. Moving towards solutions must happen at the local level. Using energy to be negative slows the path to improvement.
By Vidrohi Kta on Apr 6, 2010
>>>Eonage,
On a harder note, do you relate to any of the youth protests that swamped different parts of Kathmandu today (April 6)?
IF you ‘f’ do, I owe you a drink.
And if there are mistakes (all sorts of) in my post as you say, mind you, our takes vary. And you got a lot of nerve to label them mistakes. What camp do you come from – Left, Right or the Center?
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>>>Suv,
PLEASE ‘f’ allow me to comment. You ‘f’ wrote:
“Secondly, I’m sure that the money is better in use if it goes to place like Jumla and Humla in the case of Nepal but there are still few, even among Nepalese who believes in art more than in feeding the hungry. So if Vent and Sattya are reaching out for them, no one should criticize or comment about it.”
Do you know how ‘few’ you guys are and how that ‘f’ few doesn’t represent Nepal. You can’t ‘f’ worship god on an empty stomach. That’s when you know religion is surely like opium and you want to talk about ‘art’. What ‘f’ art are you referring to here? The art of oppressing the masses drunk in inflation? And how the ‘f’ does Vent and Sattya reach out?
To quote your last sentence, “no one should criticize or comment about it”, Who and what the fuck do you think are?
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>>>David
I really appreciate that you took time to post your ‘distant’ view. You really pinpointed the ‘word’ of the day as most of the above commentators (local, aliens & localiens) forget that their views are as distant as you regard yours to be. I respect your honesty.
Now coming to your view that V & S are essential components of the large questions facing Nepal is a judgment which is poor as it can get to say the least. To start with, youth is a forced identity in Nepal (a country with the highest disparity index in Asia) and organizations which have mushroomed in the conflict-ridden decade are more of the dollar manufactured models who don’t have a clue about Nepal’s culture.
I also wonder how many hits V & S gather in a day to even dare to claim such positions when they don’t even show up in the top 100 websites visited in Nepal.
Refer: http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/NP
Moreover, the ‘youth’ fraternity which V & S represent doesn’t understand the deep seated Nepali culture (which I think is vital) since they all (if not most) come from the ruling class and this fact is heart-piercing (feels like knocking them off sometimes) and borrowing/burrowing one of Nepal’s ace columnist C K Lal in his most recent article Search for Social Justice to give you a deeper view:
///The most conspicuous achievements of post-1990 economy are the private medical schools that charge an arm, a leg and then some in capitation fees to produce doctors for the poorest country of Asia. The other indicators of capitalism’s progress are the flourishing airlines industry, soaring import of cars and petroleum products and dwindling forest cover in the ecologically most fragile region of the world. However, nothing marks the success of neo-liberalism as distinctively as the culture of consumerism that had dug deep roots in urban society. The piles of refuse on Kathmandu streets testify that consumption pattern has irrevocably changed in the capital city: There are more of leftover food and plastic packets to dispose than ever before.
Shopping malls and extravagant Hindu ceremonies are modern temples and current rituals of the new society. The juxtaposition of symbols is most visible at Kamalpokhari junction in Kathmandu where a generator-powered air-conditioned shopping mall, a decaying police post, a decrepit cultural centre and the spanking headquarters of Poverty Alleviation Fund vie for attention with the imposing Jain Temple, alluring cinema complex and the putrefying pond nearby as hapless pedestrians struggle to find walking space with humongous SUVs honking their way out of the mêlée. That’s a long sentence, but so are the sufferings of innocent bystanders.///
(Note to David: It isn’t just the medical schools but most of the elite private schools where future capitalists are bred, where future hegemony is manufactured. They trip on this fact and a dream such as V & S is born who can’t even relate to how it feels to be a Nepali on the road, forget being an essential ‘what did you say’)
And now that you are actually following the discussion, I appreciate what you’ve been doing in your native country. It’s a pity though, when you portray yourself as an upper hand serving the needy. It speaks of your society and let me tell you bluntly – your right-mindedness is but a mother to situations what failed societies like yours have bred. Your ‘each of us on the planet’ argument sounds like Sunday school and New Age fanatics. You forget that your economically successful background is because it sucks the blood off what your society terms Least Developed Countries. And you assist these parasites by donating money.
It is surely a privilege to not worry about the next meal, David. Ever wondered how Nepal’s trade system has been raped? I agree that those privileged have a role to play but sadly, V & S are a tickle to the largely disintegrated Nepali society, where crisis ticks as you loathe your unnecessary products back home in Portland.
Talk about the audience of V & S, they serve their own communities and not to the audience that really matter. And for once, please stop being so evangelical.
vidrohi.tumblr.com
By Looza Mahaju on Apr 6, 2010
Vidrohi ji,
Shouldn’t you be directing all your energy into doing something? Anything? Rather than try to dissuade what these guys are doing? True, it won’t solve world hunger, nor bring about world peace. They have never said so in their site. You are merely deducing them using your brilliant skills at rhetoric.
I give you that. Boy, can you shout. Your arguments are logical, well constructed and extremely thought after. You’ve, no doubt, a solid education behind it (in one of those capitalist or evangelical schools you so detest?). And, I don’t have anything against that. But I can’t help but feel sad for you, for the enormous talent that you have and how you are using it.
Sadly, you are not even doing something that’ll help the people you so rightly identified in your earlier comments, so riddled with the ‘f’ word. I am hoping that I am wrong and hope that you are doing something with the mad skills you got.
As for me, I ain’t doing much. I don’t plan to. I just want to save my neck. No, I don’t plan to hide that simple truth behind all the smooth veil of words. I want to save my neck and save my planet’s neck if it means I got to save my neck first. There.
I hope you are using your words and doing something with it.
Best regards for the venomous one,
Looza
By Eonage on Apr 6, 2010
>>>Virodhi Kta
You do owe me a drink…i relate to them… but differently…
now to comment on your “mistakes”…again…”MISTAKES”(an understanding of something that is not correct;refer to http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&defl=en&q=define:mistake&ei=Jva6S9CHHc65rAfD3u3QBw&sa=X&oi=glossary_definition&ct=title&ved=0CAYQkAE
I REPRESENT NEPAL… as much as any human being dead or alive represents the human race… YOU HAVE NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER TO “F” STATE WE DON’T BELONG… quoting your words…and right back at you…WHO THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU ARE???…
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WHAT-SO-EVER… IN STARTING AN EFFORT TO CHANGE…
YOU CERTAINLY DIDN’T TRY … YOU MY FRIEND… FUCKING RAN AWAY… INSTEAD OF TRYING TO CHANGE WHAT YOU HATE… YOU JUST STARE AT THEM…SWEAR AT THEM…AN DO NOTHING… YEAH!
“YOU DO NOTHING!!!”…
Lambasting the things you have no control over…not because you can’t have control over…but because you are too scared to gain control… that my friend… is what i call… and i suppose everybody-else calls… A LOSER…
I KNOW YOU ARE NOT A LOSER
I HOPE YOU ARE NOT A LOSER
I WISH YOU WERE NOT THE LOSER…
By Vidrohi Kta on Apr 6, 2010
Looza ji,
In full working capacity of the identity I do not want to reveal, I am doing what I can. Please be rest assured. I have been following your work for quite some time now.
Eonage,
Go fuck yourself with the feeling that you represent Nepal and the change you keep hopping on when you relate DIFFERENTLY to the mass protests. And as such, you do not belong.
Who the fuck I am? I am a Vidrohi for now and I will wash away anything in my way like a cyclone does.
Go take your lessons on representation and you’ll know how false the statement that a human being represents human race is. Do you understand the Madhes issue in representation, if I may ask?
And so far as doing something to create change is concerned, in the identity I do not want to reveal, I am doing what I can in my full capacity.
I fight the system each day.
By takla on Apr 7, 2010
well!!! i am following this discussion though i havn’t comment on it. And i think whole discussion is taking in wrong direction with out focusing on what exactly the discussion is about. And as this is open forum I think all of us are decent human being who wont use “F” word in public…
By admin on Apr 8, 2010
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