It breaks my heart to see Nepali people suffer in one way or another. Line to buy rationed sugar? Tihar is supposed to be one of our biggest festivals. Its also a festival of eating sweets and right at the mouth of Tihar we get this.....Who should we blame? Do they even care?
Can you even imagine of waiting in line to buy sugar in the US? A cup of tea means a lot to so many Nepalese, and now they can't even have it easily.

By the way the caption for the photo posted above is:


People queuing up to buy sugar at the branch office of National Trading Corporation at Bhrikuti Mandap Wednesday after sugar shortage hit the Kathmandu Valley on the eve of Tihar festival, Wednesday, Nov. 10 04. nepalnews.com/rh

i'd live without sugar. Sugar is not the gas or something like that. In my opinion noone in US stands in line to buy sugar leaving their productive time aside.
There shoud be some people who really enjoy being busy somehow.
and some may relly need the sugar. If someone has something to do valuable, think twice before you get in line. Sometimes buying in black costs less than spending time in line.
Peace out

I think our great Nepali culture is partially to blame for the fiasco. We must have what is scared in the market. If no one in your neighbourhood have sugar just even for a cup of tea but you happen to have plenty for Sel Roti Jeri, somehow, you will be considered to have a so called "status quo" in the society. And I think this mentality is driving people in line for hours and hours. Of Course on the other side, chad baad ko bela ma aafno chora chori lai sel roti khuwauna kasko mann hudaina ra ?

Recently, when there was (and still is) a shortage of flu vaccine in the United States, the government asked less risked people to forgo the flu shot and let the old farts and young kids to have those vaccines. And yes, most people obliged and there was no queue in the hospital and it was not a big deal.

Imagine the same situation in Nepal. I bet the politicians and secretaries will start getting continueous phone call for "Sorce Force" for vaccines by those people who never took the flu shot in their life before but need it all of a sudden, now that there is a shortage.
You get the idea.

you know what's amazing to me, though, is that while these people wait in line for hours for sugar to make their chiya and selroti and other sweets for tihaar, they do it with such grace and dignity. they do it with peace. even if people complain, it is generally in a light-hearted, joking manner.

meanwhile, you have @ssh#les in america that fly off the handle because the car in front of them didn't go the very second the light turned green. or because the person on line in front of them at the express checkout in the supermarket has 11 items instead of 10.

yes, it's unfortunate that people wait in lines this long for sugar (like waiting in line for hours for bread in communist russia!), but at least they do it with grace and dignity. and the joy it brings them once they are able to celebrate tihaar with their families makes it worth the wait, i think.

Good point Palpali Gaaule. I am just thinking that the Nepali Government is so uncapable of doing anything positive. For heaven's sake, at least make sure in advance that there is plenty of sugar for Tihar, just small things makes big difference in bringing happiness to families. How can we expect them to negotiate a peace deal with the Maoist? You know there is a saying in Nepali " Hune Birua Ko Chillo Paat"...

Palpali Gaule - ji,

While I thank you for being so generously kind in your observation of Nepali diaspora, I must point out that one of the many reasons why Nepal is Nepal and America is America is that very characteristic you mentioned.

We Nepalis have this "ke garne" attitude, the attitude that makes us servile and push-over. While from outside it looks like we are calm, patient people - a virtue that non-Nepalis so frequently admire - the fact remains that one of the reasons we are in the political/economic/social quagmire of today is our unwillingness to kick butt, raise hell and demand better. Instead, we frequently bend over and take it like we have no choice.

I admire Americans for their impatience with incompetence, their belief that things gotta be better, their lack of complacency. We have lot to learn from our America.

My dui paisa.

*** our friends in America.***

riten, you are absolutely right. and the "ke garne" and, even more so the "haamro nepal yastai ho" mentalities drive me nuts! i once told an alcoholic bahun man in my village, in response to that comment, "tapaiko nepal yastai hunupardaina. 'nepal yastai ho' bhanera matra nepal yastai hune ho..." i really appreciate your observation. while americans certainly have a way of working hard and improving their situations, nepalis have a way (like i mentioned earlier) of handling dukha with grace and dignity. perhaps the best answer comes with finding a balance, as it usually does. americans are perhaps too far in one extreme and nepalis too far in the other. to combine the light-hearted dignity of nepalis with the american drive to improve situations would be ideal. but is it possible?

and bedrock, yeah, if the government can't provide the people with sugar, how can we expect them to provide the people with peace, opportunity, and prosperity?!