All posts by Ujwal

About Ujwal

I am an activist, entrepreneur and organic coffee farmer, provoking you to change Nepal. I spend all my time building platforms (eco-systems) for positive people to come together. Right now I am building 21st century relevant leaders for Nepal विवेकशील नेपाली दल (leadnepal.com) - A political platform Entrepreneurs for Nepal (e4nepal.com) DIE NEPAL BANDH DIE (nobandh.org) (www.exoticbuddha.com) (www.newsfeed.com.np) (www.dmslist.com) (www.shangrilacoffee.com) I live in Kathmandu, Nepal although i interact with people all over the world through the internet :) I am also co-founder of a entrepreneurs for Nepal group (www.e4nepal.com) More in: /ujwal :) Uj

The government has no business doing ‘business’ in Nepal. (Nepal Telecom fiasco)

The government has no business doing ‘business’ in Nepal.

I am seriously thinking of switching from ‪Nepal‬‪ ‎Telecom‬ to an alternate. In the past 10 years, they have continuously let me down, despite my emotional attachment to Nepali owned company. Here are 3 reasons for this:

  1. Quality = Pathetic (my calls get cut, diverted, engaged randomly)
  2. Customer service = Unfriendly and unaccountable (to the point of sheer rudeness)
  3. Price = Not cheap any more (considering the amount of cut calls or low quality talks i have to put up with)

[One small context:  I cycled all the way from Kathmandu to Lumbini to highlight Lumbini and cycling and tourism in one of the hottest days of the year and I was using the internet to highlight our campaign. While Nepal Telecom’s competitor NCell had internet coverage in most of the stops we were at, Nepal Telecom had zero connectivity (even though it showed 3G connection as on ). How sad is it when you consistently over-promise and under-deliver?

A photographer friend had to send photos to various media using NCell in bhairahawa. This is embarrassing for a pioneer like Nepal Telecom to slowly go in the direction of Nepal’s other defunct government institutions (hint: Nepal airlines, Nepal Bank Limited, Nepal electricity corporation etc ).

So how do we turn around Nepal Telecom while bringing continuing innovation in the telecommunications industry in Nepal ?

  1. Sell government’s share of Nepal telecom to a Nepali private sector led consortium. Accountability to private shareholders will improve it.
  2. Consolidate all politically affiliated unions into one ‘welfare body’ that has management, employees, alumni and other stakeholders in one body. unions accountable to political parties have no place inside a business.
  3. Build “Customers as gods” policy and make sure  ‘Under-promise, Over-deliver’ remains the mantra of the institution!
  4. Use as Nepal Telecom’s mantra for service delivery.
  5. Implement ‘Hire and Fire’ and ‘no work, no pay’ policy. Nepal Telecom employees should not feel they are unaccountable government employees.

To improve Nepal Telecom we have also got to revamp the Telecom sector. This is a government’s primary role: to “check and balance”. Here are few of my ideas for the government to restructure the Telecom sector. :

  1. Empower the oversight body, Nepal telecommunication authority NTA with an independent board of managers (No political appointees) to make sure all telecommunication providers maintain quality, affordability and service.
  2. Penalize telecom providers for each cut calls and build an automatic refund system for each cut calls.
  3. Let customers track each mobile call records and internet usage records from their devices.
  4. Force telecommunication providers to share their infrastructure with other service providers for a valid fee. This ensures further competition and superior quality of service that comes with a competing market
  5. Fine any providers heavy if they resort to deceptive advertising practices. (Example: sometimes Ncell comes up with hard to understand schemes)
  6. Have a monthly ranking of all providers published in national media based on 3 criteria: Quality, Price & Customer service. Tie extra rewards for boards and management based on this index.
  7. Publicly acknowledge (and reward) best performing telecom engineers, customer service representatives and managers monthly.
  8. Direct telecom providers to collaborate with the banking sector to build secure platform and infrastructure for mobile banking.
  9. Limit Telecom providers to offer data and voice services. Have them open another company to offer other services so that there is no monopoly or unfair advantage over start-up companies.
  10. Ensure internet enabled education in the national policy and have government help bear expenses for this thus helping telecom companies have incentive to build costly next generational infrastructure in remote areas of Nepal.

I repeat, the government has no business doing business in Nepal. Either Nepal Telecom improves from today, or it goes down the drain like its other ‘government owned’ siblings !

 

नेपालमा २१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्व बोकेको शक्ति कस्तो हुनेछ त?

Read in English here

गत केही महिना देखि संचार माध्यममा नेपालमा वैकल्पिक शक्तिको उदयको बारेमा विभिन्न चर्चा-परिचर्चा भयो। नेपाली समाजले भबिष्यको नेपालको नेतृत्व कस्तो हुने अपेक्षा गरेको छ भन्ने विषयलाई खोतालेका ती लेख र बहसले आगामी दिनहरुमा निकै महत्व राख्ने छ। नेपाली समाजलाई यस्ता लेख मार्फत झकझकाउने स्तम्भकारहरु प्रेरणाका पात्र हुनुहुन्छ जसका लागि सबै स्तम्भकारहरुलाई म धन्यवाद दिन चाहन्छु।

नागरिक पत्रिकामा पनि प्रकाशित भएको छ। यहाँ पढ्नुहोला

यसै विषयमा म वैकल्पिक शक्ति र २१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्व बनाउने अाधारहरु बारे अाफ्नो २ वर्ष लामो पृथक् अनुभव यहाँ थप्न चाहन्छु जसले गर्दा यस मुद्दालाई अझ वैधता दिन सक्छ।

दुई वर्ष अघि देशमा अस्थिरता र देशको नेतृत्वमा देखिएको दूरदर्शिताको कमी, इच्छाशक्तिको अभाव, खुट्टा तान्ने प्रवृति र चरम भ्रष्टाचार जस्ता कु-संस्कारबाट नेपालको राजनीति रुमल्लिरहेको बेला एकाएक पहिलो संविधान सभा विघटन भयो। यसले नेपाली राजनीतिमा अन्यौल मात्र नल्याएर आम नागरिकमै देशको नेतृत्व प्रति पहिले कहिलै नदेखिएको चरम वितृष्णा नै पैदा गर्यो। यो संविधानसभा विघटन भए लगत्तै सबैको मनमा एउटै प्रश्नले पोलिरहेको थियो “अब के गर्ने?”

यही मूल प्रश्न लिएर हामी समाजका विभिन्न पेशा र पृष्ठभूमिका नागरिकहरु मिली उत्तर खोज्न लाग्यौँ। लगातार २२ साता र लगभग १,००० जनासँगको प्रत्यक्ष तथा अप्रत्यक्ष अन्तरक्रियापछि समस्या राजनीतिक संस्कार मै रहेछ, त्यसैले सबभन्दा जरुरी यो देशमा राजनीतिक कु-संस्कार बदल्नु पर्छ र यस्तो अामूल परिवर्तन ल्याउन एउटा पृथक् राजनीतिक विकल्प दिएर मात्र सकिन्छ भन्ने निष्कर्ष निक्लियो। परिवर्तन राता रात नहुने र नया संस्कार जरैबाट सुरु गर्नु पर्ने स्थितिले नै एउटा २१औँ शताब्दी समय सापेक्ष सु-संस्कृत राजनीतिक शक्ति “विवेकशील नेपाली” को सुरुवाती जग बस्यो।

यो दुई वर्षमा ‘विवेकशील नेपाली’ बनाउँदा हामी भित्र मूल प्रश्न नै “२१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्व बोकेको शक्ति कस्तो हुने छ त” भन्ने थियो। हामीलाई विश्वास थियो कि यस मूल प्रश्नको उत्तर अात्मसात् गरी अघि बढे मात्र नेपालमा कुनै वैकल्पिक शक्ति दीर्घकालीन रुपमा टिक्न सक्नेछ। अब नेपालमा उदाउने वैकल्पिक शक्तिमा हुनुपर्ने २१ औँ शताब्दी समय सापेक्ष नेतृत्वका हामीले अौँल्याएका कम्तीमा पनि १२ आधारहरु तल उल्लेख गर्दछु।

  1. परिणाम-मुखी:  यो शक्तिले परिणाम-मुखी मूल्य मान्यतालाई अात्मसात् गर्ने माटो र समय-सापेक्ष परिवर्तनशील सिद्धान्त बोकेको हुनेछ । हामीले अौँल्याएका यस माटो र समयसापेक्ष सिद्धान्तले कम्तीमा पनि यी ८ सुं-संस्कारलाई आत्मसात् गरेको हुनेछ – दायित्त्वबोध, उत्तरदायित्व, संमृद्धि, सशक्तीकरण, स्वतन्त्रता, विविधता, सेवक सरकार र समय-सापेक्षता।
  2. मध्यम-मार्गी: यो शक्ति मध्यम मार्ग बाट चल्नेछ जसले एकातिर नागरिकलाई जिम्मेवार र अर्को तिर नेतृत्वलाई जवाफदेही बनाइराख्नेछ। नागरिकलाई संमृद्धिको संवाहक बनाएर सेवक सरकारले लोक कल्याणको निश्चितता दिन तिर धकेल्नेछ।
  3. नरम-पन्थी: नरम पन्थी (चरम पन्थी होइन), संवेदनशील र संयम विचार बोकेका नैतिकवान् नेतृत्वले नै यो देशलाई एकतामा बाँधी राख्न सक्नेछ। यो शक्तिले जहिल्यै फरक काम भन्दा पनि भएकै काम फरक ढंगले गर्ने चेष्टा गर्नेछ।
  4. समतामूलक संमृद्धि: यो शक्तिले नेपालमा समतामूलक (समान) संमृद्धिलाई मूल मुद्दा बनाई राजनीतिलाई लोक कल्याण मुलक अर्थतन्त्रमै केन्द्रित राख्नेछ।
  5. प्रणाली अाधारित: समस्या मान्छेमा होईन संस्कारमा हो। त्यसै भएर प्रभावकारी व्यक्तित्व भन्दा पनि यो शक्ति प्रभावकारी प्रणालीमा अाधारित रहनेछ। यो शक्तिको प्रभावकारी प्रणाली (संरचना) भित्र सरकारको जस्तै ३ निकाय हुन्छ- व्यवस्थापिका, कार्यपालिका र न्यायपालिका। उक्त शक्ति भित्रको व्यवस्थापिका चाहिँ वर्तमान राजनीतिक शक्ति जस्तै हुनेछ देश हाँक्न चाहने नेता र कार्यकर्ताले भरिएको। अनि यसको कार्यपालिका चाहिँ शक्ति हाँक्न चाहिने कुशल कर्मचारीतन्त्रले भरिएको हुनेछ। त्यसैगरी यो शक्ति भित्रको न्यायपालिकाले चाहिँ यसको मर्म र मूल्यमान्यतालाई जोगाउन नैतिकता र अनुशासित राख्ने शक्तिशाली दायित्व बोकेको हुनेछ। यी तीनै अंग स्वाधीन हुन्छन् र उनीहरुबीच नियन्त्रण र सन्तुलन कायम राखिएको हुनेछ जसले गर्दा यो शक्ति जवाफदेही, कुशल, सुंसंस्कृत र पारदर्शी रुपमा चल्न सक्नेछ ।
  6. आत्म-निर्भर कार्यकर्ता रहेको: नेपालमा राजनीतिक शक्तिहरु भ्रष्ट हुनुको एउटा मूल कारण तिनका कार्यकर्ताहरु परनिर्भर हुनु हो। यसलाई शुरुमै निमोठ्नु अत्यन्त जरुरी हुनेछ। अबको कुनै पनि वैकल्पिक शक्तिले हरेक सदस्यहरुलाई अनिवार्य रुपमा स्वरोजगार वा अवसर सृजना गर्ने दिशा तिर धकेल्नै पर्नेछ ताकि अरुको शरण वा प्रभावमा पटक पटक यसले अाफ्नो घुँडा टेक्नु नपरोस्।
  7. मूल्यमान्यतामा अडिग: यो शक्तिले अाफुलाई सु-संस्कृत राखी राख्न अाफ्ना हरेक सदस्यहरुलाई मूल्य मान्यतामा बाँच्न झक्झकाईराख्नेछ। दृष्टिकोण, निति वा कार्यशैलीमा सदष्यहरु बिच चरम बिभेद भए पनि शक्ति अघि बढ्छ तर यसले बोकेका मूल्य मान्यता सबै सदष्यले अात्मसात नगरे यो शक्ति विलिन हुदैँ जान्छ।
  8. नेतृत्व विकास गर्ने पद्दति: यो शक्तिले आफ्नो संगठन भित्र यस्तो सबल ‘नेतृत्व विकास प्रणाली’ विकास गरेको हुनेछ जसले लगातार बनाउदै गर्ने नेताहरु भित्र शक्तिमा पुग्ने मात्र होइन, पुगे पछि राष्ट्र र जनहितका काम गरी परिणाम देखाउने खुबीले भरिएको हुनेछ। यसले उत्पन्न गरेको नेताहरु जीत-हारको वातावरण होईन, जीत-जीतको वातावरण बनाउन निपुण हुनेछ्न्।
  9. पारदर्शी र योग्यतामुखी: अबको वैकल्पिक शक्तिले पारदर्शिता र योग्यतामुखी प्रणालीलाई भित्रैबाट अात्मसात् गरेको हुनेछ। चन्दाको श्रोत संकलन देखि चिया खर्चको विवरण सम्ममा  यसले पारदर्शिता लागू गरेको हुनेछ भने नेतृत्व बढुवामा योग्यतामुखी प्रणाली नै संस्थागत गरिएको हुनेछ।
  10. नियमित नेतृत्व फेरबदली: अन्तत: पद र शक्तिले सबैलाई भ्रष्ट बनाउँछ । तसर्थ, संगठनभित्र नेतृत्व नियमित समयान्तरमा परिवर्तन हुने संस्कार एकदम जरुरी छ। वैकल्पिक शक्तिले अाफु भित्र बनाएका प्रणालीले नेतृत्वलाई नियमित रुपमा फेरबदल गर्नेछ। २१औँ शताब्दीमा त्यागको तुलना परिणाम मुखी योगदानबाट गरिनेछ जसको वैज्ञानिक तरिकाले लेखाजोखा गरिएको हुनेछ ।
  11. युवा केन्द्रित: यो शक्तिको श्रोत र प्राथमिकता भनेकै युवा पिंढी हुन्। युवा र युवा ऊर्जा बोकेको नेतृत्वले यसको मान्यता र नयाँ राजनीतिक संस्कारलाई गाउँ गाउँ सम्म लैजाने छन् र नयाँ शक्तिको नेतृत्व आफै लिने छन्।
  12. म्याराथोन दौडाहा: अन्तत यो वैकल्पिक शक्ति १०० मिटर होइन, लामो रिले म्याराथोन दौडने मनसायले खडा भएको हुनेछ। नेपालमा त्यही शक्ति सफल हुनेछ जो कुनै कार्यमा लाग्दा अरुलाई उछिनी पहिलो भएर भन्दा पनि त्यसलाई सफल नतुल्याए सम्म अरु भन्दा पहिले थाक्नेछैन।

के यी २१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्वका आधारहरु हुँदैमा सफल भइन्छ त? सोध्नु होला। यही आधारहरु बोकी गत मंसिरको संविधान सभाको निर्वाचनमा हामीले निर्वाचन अायोगमा दल दर्ता भैनसकेको हुनाले काठमाडौँका चार क्षेत्र १,४,५ र ८ बाट चार स्वतन्त्र युवा उम्मेद्वार खडा गर्यौँ।  चारै जनाले स्वतन्त्र रुपमा कुकुर छाप लिएर कुल ३०६६ मतको सम्मानजनक नतिजा ल्यायौँ। एक महिना मात्रको चुनावी अभियानबाटै दुई क्षेत्रमा अहिलेका चार प्रमुख दल पछि पाँचौँ स्थान अोगट्न सफल भयौँ र यी ठाउंमा एउटा नयाँ शक्ति भएर अाफूलाई सावित गर्यौँ। यसरी अगाडि बढ्दै गर्दा ‘विवेकशील नेपाली’लाई अहिलेसम्म देश भित्र ७३ जिल्ला तथा देश बाहिर २५ मुलकमा भएका झण्डै १ लाख नेपाली नागरिकहरुले अपनाइसकेका छन्।

यिनै २१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्वका अाधारमा चल्दै आएको २ वर्ष लामो हाम्रो क्रियाकलापले हामीलाई विश्वास बढाएको छ कि नेपाल भित्र अब जीत-हारको होइन, जीत-जीतको वातावरण बनाउने शक्तिले नै नेतृत्व पाउनेछ। अन्त्यमा हामी वा कुनै पनि वर्तमान र भविष्यका राजनीतिक शक्तिको अौचित्य यौटै रहनुपर्नेछ – नेपाललाई शान्त र संमृद्ध बनाउने ‘हाम्रै कालमा’। यो हासिल गर्न सबभन्दा बढी तयार र बलियो शक्ति त्यो हुनेछ  जो २१ औँ शताब्दी समय-सापेक्ष नेतृत्वले भरिभराउ हुनेछ।

उज्वल थापा, अध्यक्ष
विवेकशील नेपाली
[email protected]

पीडिएफमा डाउनलोड गर्नुहोला यो लेख

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Tour de Lumbini (Cycling from Kathmandu to Lumbini)

I have a dream, to see Nepal host world’s top cycling event ‘Tour de Lumbini’ watched by 100’s of millions worldwide, just like the ‘Tour de France”.

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I would like to see the world watch cyclists travel from the base of Mount Kanchenjunga (3rd highest mountain in the world, all the way through beautiful hills of Nepal down to the birthplace of buddha, Lumbini. I am sure, this would be the loveliest as well as the toughest cycling race in the world! And this would take one concrete step closer to building a prosperous Nepal within our lifetime. I decided to enter the annual ‘Tour de Lumbini’ to help fulfill this big dream I along with many other Nepalese have. ‘Tour de Lumbini’ is an annual cycling rally (not a race yet) from Kathmandu to Lumbini on the eve of Buddha’s birthday. I decided to support this noble initiative which has a potential to make it big within the next decade. This event is hosted by “Tour de Lumbini” a non-profit with support from World Cyclist Foundation headed by World cyclist Pushkar Shah along with various cycling activist movements such as Kathmandu Cycle city, Dharan Biking club and Butwal cycling club along with noted environment activists like Megh Ale and Lumbini, birthplace of Buddha promoters like Rajendra Thapa.   Tour De Lumbini 2014 khasing rai

3 days before ‘Tour de Lumbini’: May 8, 2014 As I started preparing for my event I had a stark reality in front of my eyes. I had barely ridden a cycle (bike) for 10 whole years now. So a few days before ‘Tour de Lumbini’, i borrowed a mountain bike and start training for an hour or two a day to ready me mentally for my trip and minimally prepare my body for the drubbing i was about to receive. As the bike I had was not in condition to go on an extended trip, I managed to borrow a newly bought mountain bike and gears from a friend, Ishan Adhikari. I met with the organizers and veterans, taking advice from them what to bring and how to prepare myself both mentally and physically.

Day 1: Boudha (Kathmandu) to Kurintar (120 kms) – 3 days until Buddha’s birthday -May 11  day 1 map

The day started ominously. I started from home with a flat tire which luckily i filled the air at the local bike maintenance store nearby. ‘Tour de Lumbini’ started from Boudha at 7:30 am in the morning and it passed through the holy Pashupatinath temple and then proceeded to the historic Basantapur Durbar square (ancient palace of the Kings of Kathmandu). There we stopped to buy Nepal flags and posed for a quick group photo before we moved on to the base of the famous monkey temple of Swayambhunath. We were soon off to Kalanki the door way out of Kathmandu. The total distance we would be cycling today was 120 kilometers with the end destination being, Kurintar besides the beautiful Trisuli river famous for its white water rafting.    As I started riding off to Kalanki, I could feel my lack of preparation. I was given a crash course along by experienced cyclists on how to change gears, how to move down-hill and uphill efficiently (basically to conserve my energy). I was already having a hard time as I passed Naikap, harder by the time I reached Thankot and finally i reached Nagdhunga the exit point of Kathmandu valley. My butt was beginning to hurt a lot since I was not used to the hard cycle seats on such long trips. The long downhill from there on all the way to perhaps Malekhu was a huge relief although it was a dangerous descent with sharp bends and big trucks and adventurous micro-buses constantly cornering us along the edges of a tight, badly maintained highway. Which reminds me why don’t we citizens, ask why the roads there are not maintained as they should be. We do have a law “Right to information act” through which we can use to easily get information from any public institution in Nepal on where they spent, what they spent on, who the contractors are, and what was the deal made etc etc. I do recommend we all use this act, when we see any problem. As we descended towards Malekhu we made our first major stop for lunch along the highway where we ate a quick lunch and refilled our water. Our tour doctor along warned us of dehydration and asked us to fill our water with “jeevan jal” oral rehydration packets as they were the best antidote to cramps and other critical problems faced on such an exhausting journey. I must add that  I had never had that many jeevan jals ever in my life as on this trip. (not even when I had severe dysentery). I easily was drinking 5 packets of jeevan jals a day along with at least 9 liters of water each day during the trip without having to go for a single round of pee :) . Surreal but interesting ! 10448650_10152541120927774_989489728547957205_o

The locals constantly mistook my “jeevan jal” bottle for petrol ( “Why are you carrying petrol ? does this cycle run on petrol ? ” They would ask :) )

The whole day, my cycle’s back tyre was turning up flat every few hours. I had to stop and pump it with air about 5 times. Only when i was nearing the end of the day, when it dawned upon us that i was probably riding a bike which was actually half-punctured the whole time. I realized in hindsight that this was quite dangerous actually since the bike would always slide along the road every time I went downhill. I reached the end destination of the day on the campgrounds at Riverside Spring Resort at around 8 pm in the evening escorted by other bikers as it was already dark and i was riding a half flat tire. So ended perhaps an adventurous and many times dangerous day. I was so tired that i promptly went to sleep  in a tent. While others were singing and dancing nearby to celebrate their journey. I was busy recharging my body because I knew Day 2 I know was going to be tougher and much hotter!

 

Day 2: Kurintar to Narayanghat to Arun Khola (92 km) – 2 days till Buddha’s birthday day 2 map photo credit https://www.facebook.com/TDLP4P I woke up around 6 in the morning and went near the river Trishuli to reflect on the wonderful beauty and serenity of Nepal’s country side. If only we can harness the power of this serenity, Nepal will be prosperous in our life-time. I also did some warm ups to prepare my 37 year old body for the exhausting day ahead [ that incidentally now looks like a 47 year old :) ] Around 7 in the morning we were debriefed by our tour organizer Rajendra Thapa and our tour doctor followed by a minute of silent reflections recommended by Tour promoter Megh Ale to spread positive energy among all the participants, we again head out towards the Terai (plains) of Nepal. Our initial burst of energy slowly became tempered with the increasing heat as we descended down onto the hot plains of Narayanghat (about 42 kilometers away). As we neared Narayanghat I could feel that more than anything the heat would be my worst enemy. It was one thing to cycle through uphill but with the sun bearing down harshly on the cyclists, I had to buy water at every few kilometers and had to rest in shade in order to avoid the ever increasing chance of a heat stroke. IMG_7703

As we neared the forests overlooking Narayanghat, I knew I needed a longer rest than usual if I were to cycle through this day. Painfully just before noon, we reached Narayanghat where the local Lions club had prepared a welcome for us and had sponsored a lunch for us there. We rested there for a few hours. We were joined here by cyclists from Dharan. I was beyond exhausted from the heat stroke so had to give up cycling for the rest of the day. Our destination for the day was Arunkhola about 50 kms west of Narayanghat. We reached ArunKhola around 6pm and the local school there had provided for us tent space on the school grounds and food which we accepted with gratitude. Arunkhola town lies on the banks of a river. Because of the extreme heat, we dared to go down to swim in the river and had a good splash with local kids eager joining with us, curious strangers. Tour De Lumbini 2014 khasing rai We got a pleasant surprise from nature as in the night a cool breeze flowed through camp grounds which eased our rest (unlike the upcoming night at Bhairahawa).

 

Day 3: Arun Khola to Daaune to Butwal to Bhairawaha (89 km) ( 1 day till Buddha’s birth day) day 3 tour: photo credit Tour de Lumbini The highlight of the day was two-fold. One was the big climb uphill of 8 km of the Daunne hills and the midday rest at Devdaha ( believed to be the maternal home of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha ). I started my uphill ascent into Daunne at 6:30 in the morning without even having breakfast because I wanted to avoid the intense heat from the morning sun while I was climbing Daunne. At around 9:30 am I finally reached the village of daunne at the top of steep 8km, and was instantly wowed to find Daunne had free wifi internet! The Rest of Nepal should learn from Daunne on how to be entrepreneurial and customer friendly :). IMG_7701 I finally managed to upload my pictures of the trip to social media from here. The terrible Nepal Telecom 3G network is literally non-existent outside of kathmandu despite its outrageous claim that it’s internet is widespread. [ I have only disgust at the way Nepal Telecom is run and how it is grossly mismanaged and going down the drains, because of political interference. Plus I believe the Government has no business doing business in Nepal. It should do what it is best at which is ‘monitoring’ and leave running businesses to the citizens!] As I uploaded my photos of the trip, I couldn’t help notice a nearby restaurant owner was making fresh “Cell roti” in a huge frying pan. I rushed in to buy 5 of  these super-fresh Cell Rotis and gorged them down with fresh milk tea. It was probably the freshest Cell Rotis I had ever tasted in my life and I loved them. To add to that, i gulped down fresh locally made curd. After an hour of rest and experience sharing with other riders,  I added ‘jeevan jal’ to a fresh bottle of water and was off a terrifying 7 or 8 km steep downhill ride. My fingers ached from the constant brakes I had to use to slow myself down from falling off the cliffs of daunne.   As we reached the plains, the roads became one torturous straight line and hot air started catching up on us and by the time we reached ‘Buddha’s mamaghar (maternal home)’ we were gasping from the hot air that was tormenting our faces. Each ‘chautari’ I could find, I would rest. It gave me an opportunity to mix with curious locals, informing them about our purpose and our dreams to make a prosperous Nepal. khasing rai 2   In Devadaha, the local chapter of FNCCI hosted us and kindly provided us with Dal bhat with fresh salads for lunch. The local salad was with cucumbers, and carrots and onions cooled both our mind and bodies. As we rested for a welcome function, my mind became restless with anticipation as I was in a place Buddha probably came by in his youth to his maternal home. My curiosity got the better of me and I decided to explore the nearby archaeologically excavated areas even in the scorching heat. The positive energy of Buddha probably flows in these areas even today. A friend and I cycled to 3 major archaeologically important areas which Lumbini development trust had identified as possible maternal home of Siddhārtha Gautama (Buddha). Plus it gave us a chance to mingle with a few local young men and women and find out about their dreams, their values, their concerns for their nation and their ideas to transform this area. A lot of people we met were ones who had immigrated from the hills decades ago in search of better future and local Tharus, indigenous to this area. riders

At Butwal, the local lions, butwal cycling club chapters, local business houses invited the cyclists to a ceremony where they kindly helped us with water and other needed refreshments. At Bhairahawa, a political party local unit made us cyclists stand along their on-going campaign (unrelated) which caused such a severe headache for the organizers and tired cyclists. On top of this, it caused us to miss a more important press release that evening with local journalists. There seems to be a wrong perception in Nepali society that if we don’t make grand speeches and acknowledge everyone grandly, the organizers feel they have let down their guests (which is a terribly wrong assumption). As guests and participants I was saddened that the organizers were more concerned with acknowledging themselves, and celebrities than to listen to our experiences and our reasons for all this, which surely would have helped widen their perspectives. We need a revolution in “management of welcoming” is needed.

A 21st century relevant leader should focus on helping citizens meet their dreams than holding them hostage to glorify his dreams. I guess our mainstream politicians are still stuck in the 19th century.

Bhairahawa, the gateway to Lumbini, seemed like a place where average citizens stopped holding their leaders accountable, toxic, dusty, hot and roads in disrepair. I wish it could have been managed better. I can feel the lack of elected local government has been a disaster to the city’s prosperity. I had a forgettable night at Bhairahawa right from the arrival into this polluted town, added by the lack of enough rooms for all of us at the local hotel Sayapatri. I hope Lumbini never catches the Bhairahawa disease! As I tried sleeping in a room that was a little bigger than a big bathroom, I was desperately hoping the last day would be much better !”

Day 4 (Last Day and Buddha’s birthday): Bhairahawa to Lumbini (24 km) – May 14 day 4 map photo credit https://www.facebook.com/TDLP4P Today was the finale, Buddha’s birthday, the last day of our Tour de Lumbini. For me it was a day of reflections, a day to cleanse myself and renew my vow to build a prosperous Nepal within my life-time. We started our day at 6:30 pm at Lumbini Gate in Bhairahawa and waited for the Chief secretary of Nepal Government Lilamani Paudel, an avid cyclist to join us all the way to Lumbini. We started in a straight line 100 of us, joined by cyclist friends from Butwal. lumbini gate

As we made our rally to Lumbini, we passed through a nice road surrounded by Mango trees all the way to the birthplace of Buddha. By the time we reached Lumbini, the prime-minister of Nepal along with other dignitaries were there to welcome us and acknowledge our contribution to raise the profile of Lumbini around the world.

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 We rested near the closed museum of Lumbini for awhile (why do museusms close on holidays? that’s when the rest of us are free to go there !). Then we set towards the Mayadevi temple, the exact place believed to be the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautam Buddha. We rested in Lumbini for some time after which we all went on a pre-planned trip to Tilaurakot the palace area where Buddha spent his first 29 years of his life, which happens to be in Kapilvastu area of Nepal. As we went through the ruins, I couldn’t help imagining what would have gone through Buddha’s mind when he decided to leave that palace complex to wander around in search of enlightenment and meaning of life. It gave me much needed positive energy to build our nation on the spirit of Buddha’s message and to spread his message throughout the world.

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It is a wonder that such an enlightened being was born in what is now Nepal. He gave such a wonderful gift to the world and here we are in 21st century, having learnt not much of his gifts. I made my wish, that Nepalese in the next decade will internalize Buddha’s teachings and set out to make Nepal the center of prosperity and peace in the way he has envisioned. We already have Buddha. With his middle path we can be an example to the world just like he was thousands of years ago! If we can only manage to keep Buddha and Lumbini as the center of Nepal’s development, we can transform the face of Nepal by 2030. We already have with us a golden key to prosperity and peace. Will we use it or keep waiting for someone to open the door to prosperity for us? The choice is ours! Use your ‘bibek’ (common-sense wisdom). 

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To know more about Tour de Lumbini contact here. All photos credited in blog are copyright of their owners. Hope you enjoyed it. Don’t forget to your thoughts /comments below !

10 historical actions that shaped Modern era Nepal

These actions in our history have helped much to shape Nepal of today:

  1. The culture of building temples all over Nepal ( Traders and artisans of the Malla era deserve respect for innovating and then immortalizing our distinct Nepali architecture).

  2. Unification of modern state of Nepal in the 18th Century by Prithivi Narayan Shah and his younger son, Bahadur Shah. (We are a nation called ‘Nepal’ because of their  determination! )

  3. Signing of Sugauli Treaty with the powerful ‘sun never sets’ British Empire (Bhimsen Thapa and fellow military and civilian leaders actions perhaps saved Nepal from dissolving into another state).

  4. People’s revolutions that ended the Rana rule in 1953, the absolute monarchy in 1990 and the monarchy itself in 2008. (Nepali citizens dared to remove dictatorship in 3 phases).

  5. Nepali soldiers in international peace building United Nations forces and in World Wars 1 and 2 as Gurkhas: (Their exemplary services have presented one consistent positive image of Nepal worldwide for one whole century).

  6. Community forests and  large parts of Nepal allocated as National park 1960 onwards (This has silently protected South Asia’s water table for a billion plus people, quietly delaying the ever-looming water crisis for the time-being).

  7. Madhesh Andolan in 2008 was a result of frustrations from the ruling aristocracy of Kathmandu’s oppression of the Terai plains and its natives. (This established a precedence where dignity along with fair prosperity has become a prerequisite for united, prosperous Nepal).

  8. Rejection of communal forces in Nepal in Constituent Assembly 2 in 2014: (Nepali citizens have time and again proved that united we rise, divided we WILL fall).

  9. Sanduk Ruit’s eye surgery technique literally opened eyes of hundreds of thousands of people worldwide (He has become a positive example of one Nepali rising onto become a model global citizen and set a benchmark on what must a Nepali do if s/he wants to shine globally).

  10. From early 1990’s, 2.5 million+ Nepali migrant workers left Nepal to transform Arab and east Asian countries from nomadic countries to developed countries within a single generation. (By contributing 25% of the total economy [at 2014] at the cost of their dreams, dignity, family and many with their own lives, they have been silently helping Nepal survive the continuous looting and pillaging of our country by syndicates of rulers in the name of democracy).

This is my personal view. I respect any disagreements and urge you to add your own lists in the comments below.

12 Things I dare you to do before you finish college

Dear students, I dare you to do these 12 things before you graduate.

  1. Intern: go work for free for someone at-least 1 month every year. Practical experience is what you sorely lack in school. Interning is how you ready yourself for the world.

  2. Perform: actively in school (in theatre, arts, singing, dancing & similar). Expand your horizons, build your self-confidence sooner than later.

  3. Learn: how “finance” work (specially the power of compound interest and exponential function). Wealth ensures you have more freedom to pursue what you want in life. Learn its basics.

  4. Give: 10% of what you are given back to charity. Make this a rule. True bliss lies in sharing what you have.

  5. Travel: to a remote mountain, hilly and Terai village for at least two weeks each. To know your environment is to truly know yourself.

  6. Mentor: one junior a year. To show a path forward for one (wo)man is to build a giant path for humanity.

  7. Use: right to information (RTI) law to find how your ward officials are solving problems in your tole. To hold your local government accountable is to become yourself responsible.

  8. Build: a club that solves a collective headache you all face in school or college. Together we build courage to face the fears we dare not face alone.

  9. Fail: enough times to fill a resume / cv with failures only. Behind every success is a series of failures.

  10. Play: in a team sports (or manage them). If you want to go fast, go alone but if you want to go far, go together.

  11. Start: a blog (diary) about your experiences and passions. Remember, your thoughts mold you and explain yourself to you.

  12. Grit: Use grit (persistence) to never take ‘No’ for an answer. The secret to success (at least in Nepal) is not in being the first, but in out-lasting everyone else.

Do these and you will become an inspiration for Nepal! (and much beyond)
Trust me :)

नेपालीमा