I Shall Return

I am currently studying my MBA in India with a scholarship provided by the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu. I have been here almost an year. Things are different and the life style is completely different where I live in the southern part of India.
I know I am not in a very far country like the US or Australia. But sometimes I look back at my country from here and ask myself, “Should I return?” I see Nepal as a politically imbalanced country that is filled with uncertainties. The actions of the leaders make me feel that Nepal is lagging behind and that our country is not a huge concern for the world as there are other bigger things that it has to think about.

I listen to the news everyday with some hope, but I rarely get to hear any encouraging reports. I wonder if my MBA degree will make any sense in Nepal. I know that an entrepreneur should be backed by government support. But when there are problems like load-shedding and political dramas that could lead to the closure of any business at any time, a potential investor would certainly not be motivated to make an investment in Nepal.


Getting a job can be the best thing, but are there job opportunities? I can see good job opportunities in nearby places like Bangalore and Chennai after my MBA that would pay me much higher than a normal MBA would receive in Nepal. This again makes me think if I should return. I can now understand why Nepalis who have gone abroad don’t want to come back. I did not make any investment for my studies here in India, but there are other students who have spent a lot of money and flown to Australia, America or Europe. For them, coming back and staying in Nepal with all the negative vibes would not only make them feel frustrated but their investment too would go to waste.

The leaders are always busy, and they barely think of the country. The development of the country is moving very slowly. I have been hearing about the Tarai fast track project since my school days. It has been more than 10 years but it is still incomplete. Railways in Nepal would probably still be a dream for my grandchildren. There are negative vibes all around.






However, I feel the social existence. How would I live my life without my family? How would I live my life without the society in which I grew up?

And despite the negative vibes, I have decided that the fat salaries will not be a greater attraction than the social life. So I have decided to return to Nepal after my studies. However, there are other people like me who have decided to settle down here. When even students in India do not want to return, why would someone who has traveled across the seven seas?


Published in The Kathmandu Post, dated 3rd April 2015.