Not very long ago, while trying to contact some South Asian rock bands for a concert in Kathmandu, we came in contact with some really cool rockers who readily agreed to come and perform for free, but expected a nice time, including a plentiful supply of booze. Having grown up in Gangtok, where liquor is almost an essential ingredient of the local culture, I am used to seeing alcohol being sold in the open market. But coming to Kathmandu, it took even me some while to get used its ‘open’ sale in the market. Open here seemed to take a different meaning altogether: from the neighbourhood kirana pasaal to the pan dokan, everyone appeared to have a bottle or two of rum of whiskey among their fare.
The administration seems pretty lenient on the sale of alcohol, and why not? Prohibition has failed in most places so why not reap the benefits of keeping liquor in the open market by way of tax and excise revenues. I really admire open policies when it comes to substances deemed addictive and derogatory for general health and the society. Curbs and bans only tend to increase the ‘wow’ factor, leading to more serious implications.
Anyway, after my pro-administration banter, I have one question to raise. Why arrest a person who consumes the liquor, over the sale of which the administration has no qualms about?
Why penalize consumption when the sale of the same is no violation?
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
A-political comment
Adult franchise is said to be a right, but I choose to be wrong by forfeiting it. I have voted once, and that was the end to my foray into anything remotely political. I would be naive to think that I am not affected by politics, but that in no way makes me politically inclined or interested: I stand a-political.
I normally refrain from any political comments, but the recent turn of events in the Nepali political scene seems to tempt even the a-political me to have my political say. The current regime claims to be working towards a constructive democracy, and they are proudly reporting their intentions and game plan to some very 'democratic' nations, at least going by their track record - Russia, China and Pakistan.
The three nations in turn express their solidarity for the monarch and his regime by stating that whatever is happening in the country is an internal matter, beyond the purview of any foreign government. I can understand Pakistan and China's stance, the two countries themselves being under autocratic rule, but Russia...
If I am to believe even the least bit of fact cloaked under the fiction of Steve Berry’s The Romanov Prophecy, many Russians sorely miss the Romanovs. Their honeymoon with both communism and democracy having gone awry, they are said to see redemption in a monarch.
Now to put Nepal and Russia into perspective - a lot of people appear to be sick and tired of the current Nepali monarch, whom they consider illegitimate. The Russians meanwhile feel the need for a monarch. Given this scenario, let the Russians have the Nepali monarch.
I for one would be quite happy with the arrangement...
I normally refrain from any political comments, but the recent turn of events in the Nepali political scene seems to tempt even the a-political me to have my political say. The current regime claims to be working towards a constructive democracy, and they are proudly reporting their intentions and game plan to some very 'democratic' nations, at least going by their track record - Russia, China and Pakistan.
The three nations in turn express their solidarity for the monarch and his regime by stating that whatever is happening in the country is an internal matter, beyond the purview of any foreign government. I can understand Pakistan and China's stance, the two countries themselves being under autocratic rule, but Russia...
If I am to believe even the least bit of fact cloaked under the fiction of Steve Berry’s The Romanov Prophecy, many Russians sorely miss the Romanovs. Their honeymoon with both communism and democracy having gone awry, they are said to see redemption in a monarch.
Now to put Nepal and Russia into perspective - a lot of people appear to be sick and tired of the current Nepali monarch, whom they consider illegitimate. The Russians meanwhile feel the need for a monarch. Given this scenario, let the Russians have the Nepali monarch.
I for one would be quite happy with the arrangement...
Thursday, January 12, 2006
New Year Resolutions and Evolution
We are well into 2006, and having missed out on the excitement of the dawn of a New Year, I woke up this morning thinking about resolutions. Not being the type to actually believe in them, I realised that rather than making resolutions, most of which I may not keep, it would be a better idea to evolve with each New Year.
Looking back, at the recent past and the not so recent, I think I have been extremely lucky - a monetary jackpot has eluded me so far, but I have nothing to crib about: no major worries on any front, and very few regrets and frustrations. Overall, it has been smooth sailing and my boat continues to move ahead on a similar vein.
Once, not so long ago, on one of my Namaste Kathmandus, I asked a simple question at the start (picked up from Reader's Digest), "If this was the end of the world, and you had one phone call to make, to whom would it be, and what would you say?" The answer at the end of the show was, "Why are you waiting for the world to end to make that phone call - make the call, NOW!" It made a lot of sense, and taking cue from that, I caught up or made efforts to, with a lot of old friends, forgotten or ignored - a lot of Thank yous and many Sorries. It was a wonderful feeling doing that, and I am glad now that I took the initiative.
A fresh new year, and I am in the mood for an encore performance - I looked back at the years gone by, and as I said earlier, ended feeling blessed and lucky. Not many apologies, but a whole lot of Thank Yous. I thought I'd begin with the latter, and I have a list that runs long.
Thank You – couldn’t ask for the company of better people.
Sorry – anything to make amends…
Looking back, at the recent past and the not so recent, I think I have been extremely lucky - a monetary jackpot has eluded me so far, but I have nothing to crib about: no major worries on any front, and very few regrets and frustrations. Overall, it has been smooth sailing and my boat continues to move ahead on a similar vein.
Once, not so long ago, on one of my Namaste Kathmandus, I asked a simple question at the start (picked up from Reader's Digest), "If this was the end of the world, and you had one phone call to make, to whom would it be, and what would you say?" The answer at the end of the show was, "Why are you waiting for the world to end to make that phone call - make the call, NOW!" It made a lot of sense, and taking cue from that, I caught up or made efforts to, with a lot of old friends, forgotten or ignored - a lot of Thank yous and many Sorries. It was a wonderful feeling doing that, and I am glad now that I took the initiative.
A fresh new year, and I am in the mood for an encore performance - I looked back at the years gone by, and as I said earlier, ended feeling blessed and lucky. Not many apologies, but a whole lot of Thank Yous. I thought I'd begin with the latter, and I have a list that runs long.
Thank You – couldn’t ask for the company of better people.
Sorry – anything to make amends…
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
