my paper plane:

In my room, one day

wrapping my dreams into a paper,

i folded it gentle,

and i creased it well,

to produce 

something that can give wings,

to my dreams!

And, when i did it,

it was not just an ordinary Paper Plane,

beacuse on it,i had my dreams wrapped.

And, with heights of anticipation,

i came out, to show my plane:

the sun, the flowers, the tress and the road ahead

blowing air into it, i let it go, beneath the clouds,

it twisted in the air, and took some sharp turns,

it took heights, and flew making me proud,

and i was there happy, because

my dreams, had wings now!

 With some time of excitement, 

my plane had to face hard time, 

there was a black cloud eyeing it,

there was a broken branch of a tree waiting it,

it was hard when my dream stuck on that branch,

that was high and unreachable, 

and then the black cloud surrounded the sky,

pouring drops of water, that fell hard on grounds,

I saw my plane, that looked now fragile,

it was wet and destroyed in a while, 

i felt a hollow on my gut, 

seeing my dreams crunched,

the rain, hid my tears,

and i hid my determination that day,

i hid my fear the very day,

and learnt a lesson for my such days in my lives to come:

When you give your wings to your dream,

give it some endurance too,

and give it strength to fight, the branches and the rain,

and fight hard on every situation, or

the might flight of your Paper Plane will go in vain.

Now, why should we leave the school?

What if a school going girl entering into her puberty would ignore going to schools? Put yourself into a situation when due to lack of proper sanitation facility at school where you shall have no other choice rather than to use the toilet in disgust? Would it be fare enough to compromise on education and dignity only because of lack of proper sanitation facility in schools?

Above are only few of the questions that pose challenges to sanitation at schools and directly hinders the deliberation of going to schools. The case is worse for the girls who have entered into their puberty. Owing to lack of proper sanitation facilities (that may also be used as private area) in school, girls during their menstruation have no choice other than to ask for a leave. This phenomenon at one hand deprives the school going girls from their rights of access to education and at other makes them feel vulnerable. This is an issue that is required to be addressed for inclusive education rights and to ensure education for all.

Shree Adarsha Balika Secondary School of Biratnagar-10: an education avenue for 700 girls of poor and marginalized groups residing at Biratnagar Sub Metropolitan City had a similar context. The issue of this school came in light from a research conducted by Citizen's Action Forum of Biratnagar, on situation of school sanitation at public schools of Biratnagar Sub Metropolitan City. It was found from the report that the lack of proper sanitation facility with a provision to dispose sanitary pads resulted in reluctance of students to attend the school. This was evident by decreasing rate of attendance of girls and increasing number of requests for leave during school. The school administration owing to technical and financial constraints was not able to take control of this situation.

What  happened to address this problem, for Adarsha Balika Secondary School, was a great relief for the school as well as to the students of this school. The story is a remarkable deed of achievement for the school and for Lumanti Support Group for Shelter that piloted the installation of "Incinerator" in the school latrine. Lumanti, working in WASH sector in Biratnagar Sub Metropolitan City since last three years, invested in rehabilitating the existng school latrine- making it more spacious with private space for girls and installing an incinerator for management of sanitary pads.

So, what exactly is an incinerator installed in school latrine? When asked this question, Mr Nielsh Shrestha, Technical Supervisor of Lumanti, who designed this school latrine with incinerator, described about the structure, “This particular incinerator, in this school latrine is a system that protrudes from the latrine. The incinerator has two sections; upper and lower separated by an iron-gauge. The interior of the latrine has a small opening from where the sanitary pads is disposed into the upper section of the incinerator. The lower section of the incinerator acts as a fire chamber."  Mr Nilesh adds, "When this incinerator installed latrine in the school comes in use, fire is lighted once in a week in the lower section to burn the sanitary pads in the upper section. The ash collected in the lower section is collected and would be disposed in the nearby fields."

"The structure itself would not itself solve the problem but can be solved from the regular use of this new asset and it proper management. The school shall see the system would effectively function and would benefit the students of the school", Mr Hari Narayan Yadav, Principal of the school remarked. He added, " We are more than proud to have such system in our school, I would like to appeal that such systems be installed in other schools too so that the school going girls would not have to be deprived of education mere because of their physiological problems."

Everyone in the school had a happy gesture seeing the new structure of their school. What had the students of the school say? All of them had the same happiness, same joy and same voice, "Our happiness has no limits now. Now, why should we leave the school?"

We want everyone to share this happiness and same joy. Now why should girls leave the school?

Now-before

(This poem is dedicated to all my friends from the college with whom i can now rarely can have such pleasant time. Cheers to you all.)

Now,

Now, there shall be no tea together,

On that hot or that cold weather,

Now,

Now, no books to open, not any subject,

No place to go, we shall sleep for late,

Before,

Before, on any noise teacher used to scold,

Then, paper were torn and they got fold,

On 7.30 we met for tea and samosa at eight,

Teachers on class, just used to wait

Now,

Now, we shall not talk, face to face, could not hook,

But promise me, you will comment on every status on my facebook,

Now,

Now, we shall not be there to say that’s wrong and that’s right,

Also, no more together to make that apparent fight

Before,

Before 3 years time, we waited it to be over,

And on depart, we controlled our tears, but within were not sober,

Before,

Before, we came with dreams that made us apart,

And, we leave today, with our feelings attached,

Now,

Now, we shall be occupied, in our daily chores,

But, how can we forget, there’s a friend- a friend at our doors,        

Now,

Now, who’s gonna say us, what’s goin on that daily TV Soap,

To see you again, to laugh and cry that way, would mere be a hope,

Before,

Before, we smiled for each other happiness, and shed tears when someone cried,

And when the bad clouds were gone, with relief we sighed,

To mock at each other, and also to make strong criticism,

We also, learnt friendship, along with journalism

But, my dears, its not a end, its just a recess, just a recess,

On my heart, I have for you, my good wishes,

We shall meet again, on a day that would be great,

And till then, our best days, lets promise, we won’t forget. We won’t Forget.

Koma in K-town!

i am on my black-tea,
never do it with my morning teas,
but there is no milk today,
i can hear the birds chripping,
they were never here before,
or silenced by the honking horns,
becasue
this town is just different today-

You live miles apart,
and we could not go to our favorite restaurent,
might be we could just devour on street delicious,
we must carry an umbrella, a bottle of water,
we might get some fresh air, when we walk today,
because,
this town is so different today-

I shall carry my Nikon D3000,
and capture you amidst those who have outraged,
asking for the constitution,
for our nation, for all us citizens,
and, i ask you for some good poses,
the background would be not-so-useful-BICC,
would i look a journalist, carrying a camera today?
because,
this town is different today-

You love children,
and there would be so many to play today,
the schools are closed, they have nowhere to go,
please do not bore them with the tells of failed-politics,
that we discuss, sometimes worrying about the nation,
but, you can narrate them the fairy tales,
you sometimes whispered into my ears,
because-
the town is so different today-

The king's way is quiet, there would no shopping in New Road,
So no Sundae at King's Burger, no your-new-obsession Crushers at KFC
and you have to wait one more day for your new summer dress
and some more days for that long drive, i promised
Darling! i could not fill petrol in my bike today,
because-
the town is different today

tonight Thamel will not dance,
and street lamps will have to stare blank roads,
and tonight, i can cry out loud, to propose you,
with no fear of being stared by some passers-by,
or you can come learn some skating tonight,
because-
the town is so different today

and all beacuse,
K-town is in Koma today!

One place different worlds!

Each day in life is an opportunity to learn something new: like 19^th of May 2011, when I realized the meaning of “one place different world”.

19^th of May 2011, 11.30 am, I attended a meeting of stakeholders of this city on Solid Waste Management. The programme was good, the agendas were good too. In fact everything went good. The best part was a row among stakeholders to be in the committee for managing the solid waste of the city. But, there was no one to talk about what job they were particularly going to do, what responsibilities they were going to undertake, in fact the hot cake was only to get the roles. At that moment I wished they talked about the rights of the poor to get a better environment; I wished they dreamt that there would be no more child dying out of diarrhea in the city. The noise that was gaining some more decibels made me wake up from my dream and see what was going on in that meeting room.

19^th of May, 3.30 pm, I had to attend a meeting in the community (153 out of 153 households in this place have no toilets). The meeting was to aware people about adopting better health and hygiene practices, sensitizing them to build toilets and make use of such so that their environment would be clean and they more healthy, training them on washing hands with soap. They are poor and I feel that, toilets for them would be just like a desire for them, the way we desired an “i-phone”, and if only they would know that the latrine is more important than an “i-phone”. This was a different world to be, a different experience to learn. And, I wished that the stakeholders would have to listen what their actual needs are. I dreamt that, the stakeholders would use a “bottom-up” approach to design programmes to raise demands on their rights to water, sanitation and health. And, their raising discussion on when to start the construction of latrines, their new asset, woke me up from my dream.

19^th of May, 4.45 pm, I was returning from the community, racing towards my office, 55 kmph read the speedometer of my bike, I felt a sudden rush of air crossing my left ear, and another bike overtook me. Riding the bike was a boy who was wrapped by arms of a girl with long, dark hair. I dreamt of the days when I was in love. And, an announcement about a musical concert that was today woke me up from my dream. I overtook the rickshaw that made the announcement.  I guessed the boy and the girl on the bike were late for the concert. They would have no idea that a committee on managing solid waste was being formed in the city and that there are people in the city who have no latrines and have to defecate in open.

19^th of May, 4.50 pm, I dreamt about the days when I was in love and thought where I have come today. I saw a beautiful girl and thought why I don’t have a girlfriend. A cow that rushed to cross the road pulled my attention back on my route. Why don’t they form a committee to manage such cattle? Tomorrow, I have a meeting on another community where we have to train about the use of toilets.

This mixed up world in the same place, makes me feel unity in diversity, at least a physical unity- the same place, and different worlds.

While you are waiting for your delayed flight!

It is always frustrating to wait. Wait sometimes is a sole reason of messed relationship; making someone wait is a sign of being welcomed by some fists and some unwanted sounds and sometimes a bitter silence. But, if it’s your airlines that make you wait you become so miserable because every time they come up with an innovative reason and poor you have to believe.

When stuck in the domestic airport terminal owing to the delay of your credible airlines with some innovative reason that you do not care to understand and the waiting lounge of the domestic terminal offering nothing to do, some ideas popped up in my mind for utilizing the waste-to-become time! Here I share some with you.

1.     Walk: If the last night was a night when you devoured Himalayas of calories, this time would be just a right time to burn them. Walk around the waiting area and keep changing your paces. It is sure that till you wait for your flight you might be some grams less. So Walk. Who knows you encounter some other acquaintances for your noble work.

2.     Being a Hacker: Well, use this time to go across the secured wi-fi zone in the waiting area. Use the creative bone in your head. A try would be something worth doing in here. Or, if you can’t just remain afar from you facebook, just buy some hours of internet.

3.     Be a Book Worm: With the tourism year here in Nepal and lots of tourists hovering here, you will get to see some interesting books in the town. And, if you are just lucky and see a pretty girl reading a book you know- well you got a starting conversation.

4.     A free Call: If you are lucky enough and the contribution of Nepal telecom in the waiting lounge is working, guess what, you get to make some free calls. Use this time to call someone special and say you do not want to go leaving him/her. Or, just finish your business over the phone.

5.     Drink lots of water: You must have promised everyday that today you would drink as much of water and indeed must have failed at the end of the day. If this is the case and you are stuck in the waiting lounge, then there is good news for you- the water service is a free thing to have in the waiting lounge. So drink as much as you can. But remember to go to loo before you board the flight.

6.     Test your eyes: Ready for the vision test; First close your right eye and find exactly how many hours your flight is delayed, now close your left eyes and do the same- if both the time do not match, go meet a doctor. And, if they do match- close both of your eyes and swear for your airlines. *$@!*... Hey mind your language fellow!

7.     Wait for the complimentary drinks: Here it comes- the award for your patience- your complimentary drink (of course a cup of cold drink) from your airlines. Just wish the flight is too late so that you become eligible to get that drink. See there’s always a good reward for being patience.

8.     Write for yourself: If you have followed all the above steps and have nothing left to do then write for you, just like I did this writing waiting for my flight. So, I request add some points to these writing and wish all those who are waiting: Happy waiting, Happy Journey.

(29th April, 2011, when my flight to Bhairahawa was delayed by 2 hours)

Silence

“Silence”

I can hear you breath,

I can hear the pumping of my blood,

I can hear the “failed-in-romance” song, on radio,

(That plays some rooms apart,)

Silence

I hear, nothing (meaningful) being scribbled in the paper,

I hear, your bangles, striking each other, consistently,

I hear, rustling of your clothes,

(That just looks beautiful upon you,)

Silence,

Unreal:

I hear, myself calling your name, deep down somewhere,

I hear, you laughing, in the yesterdays,

I hear, our breath, which seemed like one,

(when we kissed till eternity)

Real:

I hear, …?

I hear, nothing,

I hear, ...?

I hear, Silence

Silence,

I hear, myself, saying sorry,

(I was just, not being myself,)

I hear, myself, sobbing,

(for hurting you for long)

I hear, your anger,

(blended with your love)

Silence,

I hear, a slap, on my face,

I hear, some fists, on my chest,

I hear, you sobbing,

I hear, you killing the silence,

Smile,

I hear, myself, saying “I Love you”

I hear, you, smiling,

I hear, you, saying “I Love you”

Laughter,

I hear, us laughing,

(Laughing out loud)

(for being so foolish, throughout)

Silence?

I hear, …?

I hear, nothing,

I hear silence,

I hear, we kissing each other!

Silence!