Changing We

Changing We
Greek Philosopher Herclitus has said that It is impossible for a man to step into the same river twice. It is because not just the water of river changes, to indicate the change of river; but even the person changes. He meant to say that the nature changes in every second. So does human. Hence, we can conclude up that change is the only unavoidable thing in this world! Change is present every where in the world because it is the Law of Nature. A child goes through various stages in his life, showing physical change. With his physical change, his way of thinking changes gradually. Demand for toys will change with demand for cell phone, bike and gradually freedom.
Nepal is not far from change, and Nepalese are not an inch backward in the matter of change. Last ten years has been the important and memorable phase of change. Change is generally analyzed from four factors: Political, Economical, Socio Cultural and Technological (PEST). And there has been massive change in all these factors. Life style of Nepal and Nepalese has changed drastically in a decade! There probably have been such change earlier as well, but no one can deny the fact of huge change in last ten years from 2056 to 2066.
Any Political eye can view the change of last decade. After the death of two kings in the decade, and removal of existing King, the belief of King as Supreme Power has gone by. Death of two kings turned out to be again the next mystery like that of Das Dhunga, and no one seems eager for it. Although Maoist made their step out of forest and that brought them to the power with huge expectations, they could not meet their expectations in both of the Government.  Emergence of People’s leadership showed the messy state of the country, and maybe the feeling of better to be one ruling lion than hundreds mewing cat took or is taking place. The Political Change was subject that took the headlines news in various International medias as well.
Economical change is next issue! The country has been earning huge revenue from the remittances, and it has been the strong fund generation source for the country.  When in school, we used to be taught that more than 80% of the people in Nepal are dependent on agriculture. This statement is completely wrong, as peoples are equally into service sectors these days. Lowering poverty rate is good thing for Nepal, however factors like corruption and improper management has been acting as the Economic hindrances in Nepal. One lion could fill stomach by a single zebra, but with the rise in number of cats ruling, there has been necessity of more zebras in the country, and hence the entire eco system is being affected. Annual budget sounds satisfactory, but the outcome seems completely negative. The deteriorating value of money everyday is creating a trouble. We don’t get Wai Wai in Rs 11 these days, and living in Kathmandu has been proving the expensive city!
Social Change is the change in social relationship. They represent the alterations that are seen in social structure. These change can be felt in today’s youths, where the trend of get together with a peg in their hand has been gaining space with the removal of social gatherings of old days. Practices of marriage has been changed in significant manner as the youths today focus on their career than their spouse. Although male dominance still exists in the society, but the respect towards female has been changed. System like Teknonymy kinship no longer prevails in the modern society, where female are really not allowed to take their husband’s name. Cultural change on the other hand shows the change in the cultural aspects of human behavior where there is the modification in existing cultural traits. The change in preference of folk songs has been replaced by the modern ones. Narayan Gopal is no longer the only one to rule music Industry. Youths today prefer music of Pink Floyd and music of Justin Biber! Food no way just mean dal, bhat and tarkari in today’s age. Any thing that can fulfill their hunger can be replaced with it, however dal bhat and tarkari are the compulsion for Nepalese stomach! But vuteko makai, dhido or bhuteko bhat are no more the 2 pm’s choice! That could be something like momo, chowmin, samosa etc. No more the youths wait for the fair of Dashain to enjoy. Internal tourism has been rapidly growing! And gone are the days when Nepalese need to be fan of Amitabh Bachhan, the impact of Hollywood and Kollywood has gained huge space in Nepalese culture as well! Else, a young girl studying in plus two would not die crazy for Korean gateup! Growth of media houses can be a reason for this!
Exactly like huge Political change, technological change has really gained space in Nepal. How many of you have noticed that Private bikes are now  in 50’s lot! This means there are five lakhs private two wheelers  in Bagmati itself. You don’t need to wait for Saturday to call someone at your home! You have talking machine in your cell phone itself, and you can call anywhere from anywhere! Social networking websites have been gaining huge popularity in Nepal, which shows Nepal is not lagging behind in IT sector either. You should not wait for a queue either to withdraw your money! ATM machines have been providing you any time service for this!
Change is necessary after all and change should lead towards progress. Progress does not have any definite measuring rod. Negative change is certainly not a good thing, but positive change that teaches towards environmental adaptation must be welcomed by everyone of us. It is the demand of time that brings change in our life. A child learning to use computer is a good thing, but when he sticks to any particular game that is worst thing. Hence, let us welcome and adopt the positive change, and reject and protest the negative change!
dwaipayan.regmi@gmail.com


Published in The New Paper on 100th issue of the paper April 9, 2012