As I was walking through the streets of Lakeside, holding my grandpa’s hand, I saw many girls and guys walking in arms towards the lake and restros to celebrate the New Year’s Eve. I thought, ‘Nepal is catching up with modernization.’
By modernization I mean ‘Westernization’. We Nepalese are curious to adopt a western culture where the length of the dresses doesn’t matter, girls and boys walking in arms doesn’t matter at all. It’s really good to see Nepalese people going ahead in terms of modernization.
But still, is it the only thing which got modernized? May be yes! The dress code has changed; the perception of sex has changed!! What has remained unchanged??
The infrastructure of the country has remained the same. The trend of clothing changes in a week but the means of transport is the same. The good old roadways with ditches and dust, the only railway in Nepal doomed in rust. There is a smartphone on almost everyone’s hand. But the school, colleges and universities have the same old chalk/marker and a board. “The taps of Nepal are still dry at many points of life but water runs through it at such point that it doesn’t affect the whole nation.” By this, what I mean is, the toilets are dirty; the women have to carry water on their backs up the hill from the river below. Also, I mean to say whatever development has happened in Nepal is not shared equally among people.
I’m not saying that wearing western clothes is bad or walking in arms is wrong. I too do wear western clothes and I love it. But I want to see the western technology and infrastructure to hit Nepal and Nepal to get modernized in all forms, from top to toe so that Nepal can get industrialized and no one has to be separated from their families to seek employment outside the country. I want the perception of people on modernization to change.
Cover Photograph: streetnepal.com
By Ruby Tamang
The writer is currently pursuing GCE-A Level at Gandaki Higher Secondary Boarding School, Pokhara. She was recently recognized as ‘Glocal 20 Under 20’ for the year 2017.
