कविता: एक हुल गोहीहरु (लेखक – केदार वाशिष्ठ)

एक हुल गोहीहरु

-केदार वाशिष्ठ

नदी किनाराका झुपडीका पीँढीहरुमा
पुसमाघको घाममा लम्पसार परेर
तल बग्दै गरेका
नारायणी¸ गण्डकी र असङ्ख्य
नदीनालाका छाल
अनि शान्त तालतलैयामा
सापटी लिएर
गिद्धका आँखा
अनि तिनमा आफ्नै आँसु भरेर

हिजोआज
एक हुल गोहीहरु
सहर पसेका छन् ।

फेरिएको छ जीवनशैली
चाहिन्न पानी
प्राण धान्नका लागि
स्कच ह्विस्की बियर र वाइनका
बन्द बोतल भए पुग्छ
ठ्वाङ्ङ आवाजसहित
तिनलाई खोलेर
घटघटघट
काँचका गिलासमा
बरफका टुक्राको पहाड पगाल्दै
चियर्स गर्छन्

हिजोआज
एक हुल गोहीहरु
सहर पसेका छन् ।

हुँदैन तिनलाई मिठो
कुनै जलचरहरु
बरु चाखेका छन् तिनले
एउटा नयाँ जीवको स्वाद
पूर्वतिर अलि तल
अनि पश्चिममा माथितिर ढल्केर
विश्वमानचित्रमा
सबैभन्दा उचा नाक भएको
लाम्चो आकृतिको
कुल्चेर ढाड त्यसैको

हिजोआज
एक हुल गोहीहरु
सहर पसेका छन् ।

हो असङ्ख्य सन्तती छन् तिनका
झण्डै तीन कोटी
तिनैलाई सितन बनाएर
सगर छुने नाको लाम्चे जीवको
ढाडमा टेकेर
भाग लगाउँदैछन्
फलमासु¸ हाडखोड¸ अनि बिलोको
तप्प तप्प चुहिएको आलो रगत
आँसुले पखाल्ने गरी

हिजोआज
एक हुल गोहीहरु
सहर पसेका छन् ।

---

साभार: Literature of Nepali

---

तपाईँलाई यी कविताहरु पनि मन पर्न सक्छन्:

• कपिल अज्ञातको मुक्तक
• मिलन बगालेको “चार सत्य”
• छेत्रप्रताप अधिकारीको “फोहोर को थुप्रो मा उभिएर”
• नकाविका “अर्को एक पेग, राष्ट्रिय सहमतिका लागि” र “भो मलाई संविधान चाँहिदैन”

---

Confronting the Truth: Nepali version of the documentary on transitional justice is now on YouTube

Please watch and spread the word
यो वृत्तचित्र पुरै नेपाली भाषामा छ। नेपाली दर्शकहरुले यो वृत्तचित्र हेरेर लाभ उठाउन भनेर नै यसलाई इन्टरनेटमा उपलब्ध बनाउने प्रयास गरिएको हो। जति धेरै मानिसले यो हेर्छन्, उति नै राम्रो। कृपया अरुलाई पनि यसको बारे जानकारी दिनुहोला र आफ्ना साथीहरुलाई हेर्न लगाउनुहोला। भिडियोहरु यो पोष्टको अन्त्यमा छन्।

This documentary was uploaded to Youtube for the benefit of Nepalese viewers. The more people watch it, the better. Please share this post and encourage your friends to watch it. The videos are at the end of this post.

The Nepali version of the documentary “Confronting the Truth” is now available on the web. Many thanks to York Zimmerman Inc. and A Force More Powerful Films for this generous move. I very much appreciate their response to my request to make this movie available online. The filmmakers’ understanding of the situation in Nepal and their willingness to keep aside their commercial interests for the sake of the greater good of our society is really worthy of high praise. (More on this in the Endnote).

The DVD of this documentary can be bought online- in fact I encourage you to do so if you like it.

Confronting the Trugh: Truth Commissions and Societies in Transition (73 minutes) (2007)

Featuring: Desmond Tutu, Jose Ramos-Horta
Director: Steve York
Rated: Unrated
Studio: York Zimmerman Inc.
DVD Release Date: July 15, 2007
Run Time: 73 minutes

Confronting the Truth shows how countries, which have experienced massive human rights violations, have created official, independent bodies known as truth commissions.

---

Since 1983, truth commissions have been established in over 20 countries, in all parts of the world. Confronting the Truth documents the work of truth commissions in South Africa, Peru, East Timor, and Morocco. Taking testimony from victims and perpetrators, and conducting detailed investigations, truth commissions create a historical record of abuses that have often remained secret. They identify patterns of abuse, and the structural and institutional weaknesses, and societal and cultural problems, and weak legal systems that made the violation possible. To remedy these faults, they recommend governmental, societal and legal reforms to address the pain of the past, to safeguard human rights and due process, and to ensure that the horror will not be repeated.

Adhocism and the culture of press-release journalism – I

Let me start with some examples.

1. Kantipur as a tool of Maoist propaganda: “Prachanda shortlisted in the 100 eminent personalities of the world chosen by China”

   

   Kantipur functioning as a tool of Maoist propaganda: "Prachanda among the 100 towering personalities chosen by China"

   On 16th march 2010, the official mouthpiece publication of Nepal’s Maoist party wrote (Krishna Sen Online): “UCPN-Maoist Chairman Com. Prachanda has been selected among the 100 towering personalities from the different sectors of the world to take part in the Shanghai Expo that is going to be held after two months in Shanghai, China. During the period, continuing for 6 months, Prachanda will take part in a special interaction programme there. In the Expo, science and technology, industrial production and economic development will be exhibited.”

   In reality, the organizers of the World Expo Shanghai had approached many celebrities for it’s campaign named “100 celebrities talking about the World Expo Shanghai.” The official notice of the organizers from 2009 says that they had received manuscripts from 90 such celebrities and expected the number to exceed 100. No other credible news source talked of it as China’s recognition of the personalities as “the 100 most eminent in in the world.” It was just a publicity campaign and an attempt by the fest organizers to gather wider recognition..

   It was a time when Maoist Chairman Prachanda was trying desperate measures to get back to power. To increase his bargaining power with others (including India), he was trying to portray that China was giving him importance. Such a publicity gimmick was given front-page coverage by Kantipur just a day after it was published in the Maoist mouthpiece (see picture). Another daily paper Naya Patrika went as far as to say that Prachanda was selected as one of the 8 world leaders.

   The reader comments in the above pieces show how these papers succeeded in garnering support and sympathy for Prachanda. A few months later, Kantipur ran a report from the Expo. It read: “although it was advertised that Chairman Prachanda would address the Expo, he did not participate in any such event. The Nepalese Embassy in China said they had no knowledge of his participation as a special speaker in the event.”

   If they were mistakes, I am not aware of the paper which calls itself the country’s largest selling daily apologizing for them, leading me to believe that it was deliberate. I have also written of some other examples of Kantipur operating as a PR agency for the Maoist party.

The new and the old

Be careful when you hear of the new vs old distinction.

Nepal: 2006 (picture: thefirecollective.org)

The mass demonstrations in Egypt earlier this year now famous by the name of “the Arab Spring” overthrew Hosni Mubarak and apparently heralded Egypt into a “new age” of democracy, freedom and prosperity. While the revolution was being tweeted, I was not sure whether to feel happy or sad for the Egyptians as they were going through what we in Nepal have already been through. We were told that the “old” was ugly, bad and evil and had to be uprooted at any cost and replaced with the “new”- a dream that was not only successfully sold, but also nicely executed. This dream was so dear and hypnotic, it led to a decade long bloody war and even years after its formal end, continues to have many ardent supporters.

Egypt

During the previous years, Egypt had maintained its identity as a fast progressing economy in the middle of a very difficult region. Although the whole region was plagued by religious extremism, Egypt’s secular regime still provided educated women the opportunity to wear the dresses they liked. Like all countries following the 80-90s path of economic liberalization and capitalism, inequality was on the rise in Egypt, but it’s economy was growing substantially. Egypt had good relations with Europe and America and the collaboration provided great opportunities for Egyptians in science, research, education and trade. Outside their country, the Egyptians also enjoyed the positive image of their country- contrast that with the kind of treatment the people of many other countries in the Arab region receive.