Financial Freedom

 I have been into banking industry for over six years now. Few months ago, I got transferred to Baglung, slightly remote place than Pokhara. Despite being placed at the headquarter of the district, many customers come from surrounding villages for various banking needs. This experience has been quite different from my previous posting. 

 

Our Compliance Department (now AML/CFT) provided us a long list of savings accounts to update their KYC (Know Your Customer). Almost a third of them were joint accounts which remains a common practice as many couples prefer opening joint accounts over individuals ones even though there isn’t any separate exemption or benefit. Therefore, I asked these couples to also open separate single accounts primarily to increase our target and also encourage them to operate independently; I was left surprised by their reactions. 

 

In a typical Nepali household, men are primary breadwinners; often working abroad whilst women manage the household. And what spreads like a wildfire in Nepali media; especially tiktok and youtube, highlight couples involved in infidelity, adultery or elopement. There are numerous instances where mismanagement of shared funds leads to arguments and, in some cases, divorce.  

 

So, one day I asked a lady to open a separate single account. Her husband who had accompanied her immediately declined the proposal, reacting with visible frustration. He questioned significance and implication of this action. He represents a common concern among men; fear of misappropriation of their hard earned money and also reflects the deeply rooted patriarchal norms in many households. 

 

While these concerns are understandable, they highlight broader patterns in the Nepalese household Economy. Even today, women are often denied access to basic financial services or limited in asset ownership. For example, land ownership is mostly transferred to a female member's name only to avail reduced taxation benefits rather than as recognition of ownership. Similarly, DMAT accounts are also mostly operated by male family members. As per Nepal Economic Forum, women hold fewer bank accounts (687/1000 vs men’s 1314/1000 ) highlighting ongoing inequality in the sector. 

 

While discussions around women empowerment and shared financial responsibilities are increasingly common, it’s equally important to first address the system and culture that doesn’t allow women in semi-urban and rural areas to have financial access and liberty to manage finances for their own good. Many women earn modest income through weaving, knitting, preparing local liquor for communal activities, or running small shops and enterprises. Integrating these women into formal financial channels could help them prosper, reducing dependence on family members or external intermediaries. Various research also show that women’s income is used towards meeting her household needs, child’s education, healthcare and nutrition. So women having access to financial systems and decision making, is not just good for themselves, but supports overall family and society.  

 

Opening a joint account can symbolize shared effort towards prosperity, but sometimes having the option to manage finances individually can be empowering and fulfilling.  

 

 

 

Thailand - A scam

 

Number of Nepalese are fleeing abroad in search of HOPE, Hope that they would have a

Life, Life that has a Living, Living that has a Standard and Standard that’s not for present

only but also to many futures.

While lucky ones get their visa stamp affixed, many are left stranded in a homeland too. For these and many other people in the country, getting their passport stamped at least once is a dream. Depressed are the young people who are compelled to renew their passport without being stamped.

Nepal still ranks at 101st in the strongest passport in the world. Entry to many developed countries isn’t a cup of tea of citizens holding this passport. Even with valid visa on hand, they have to encounter numerous allegations, confrontations, judgement at immigration of many international airports.

In this context, Thailand has been one of the cheapest destinations and go to country to many Nepalese. Number of people visiting this country has grown manifold, given the distance of travel, economy of both countries and the availability of budget airlines.

 

I had seen enough reels on Instagram about the tourism of Thailand lately. However, I was appalled until I visited the country on my own. For any Nepalese individuals, international tour means travel outside India, skyscrapers, beaches and white people.

 

I had already experienced beach life in my last trip to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, however, I wanted to explore more of this country with beach lives like in Hollywood that would directly make to social media. This unfortunately had to be settled down and got crashed in a few minutes immediate after the arrival into the country.

 

We reached the hotel at late night and the floor tiles was instantly a red signal. When we reached dining hall for morning breakfast, the crowd was full of Indians and only Indians. Some very bad tasting Indian dishes were also available for breakfast; particularly because the hotel knows their customers. Likewise, we could also see huge number of Indian people in small markets, restaurants and budget friendly shopping malls like MBK. Apart, I could also explore whole of little India on my way to Prathunam Night Market.

 

Likewise, many travel agents who knew our identity spoke to us directly in Hindi, our pickup drivers were confused because they expected some Aryan faced Indian would show up and the next check in hotels were all run by Indians or manager was an Indian and there were number of buses carrying huge team of Indian tourists.

 

At one of the hotels, these people wouldn’t wipe their bodies and take lift after swimming in the pool leaving corridors, lift , lobby all wet. Dining halls and lobbies were mostly covered by them for their loud trip discussions. Likewise, these men were also shamelessly seen walking on ugly hanging underwear around the beaches. Once, I was also asked if I wanted peanuts (looked much like set of mobile Chatpat stall) at Leaning Buddha Temple. Our travel agent would accompany us with only fellow Indian travelers where some thai people spoke minimum Hindi whilst Nepalese from Myanmar spoke in Nepali.

 

With time constraints and work priorities, we could only make to Pattaya so my assumptions on my observations may not hold true for sea life of whole Thailand. But the water wasn’t crystal clear. I couldn’t see a single fish or jellyfish stuck on a shore brought my sea tides and waves. Coral Island wasn’t rich with enough trees and green surroundings. I wanted to try scuba but wasn’t recommended by friend who told its scam. The diver would take you underneath to a structure with man-made sea bed, fake corals and almost no aquatic animals. Who’d spend thousands to experience artificial structures?

 

Likewise, due to huge number of people to be transported to and fro, they wouldn’t provide more than an hour to relax on a beach and bring back on a near to death rides on speed boats, no calmness, no stillness on a long awaited vacation.

 

So, to many not anti-Indians but somehow Indian allergy like me, I wouldn’t recommend Thailand as your first international trip. Maybe, you can wait another year, collect a few thousands and plan for another country, discuss thoroughly with your travel agent regarding hotels and groups you’d be catered. Do not fall into traps of budget friendly destinations at the expense of long awaited personal time.

Tangerines, Trips and Torture

A whole year of confining myself into my tiny cubicle, like hibernating until the arrival of dawn that glistens the whole sky. Far away from hustle, far away from the tantrums, far away from the reminder: only to be high above the clouds setting the journey of thousand miles.

 

They say never stop dreaming. I had this manifestation of stepping into a new country and it feels surreal to bring into reality leaving all the anxieties behind only for peace and well-being.

 

But this quest of travelling solo still remains a quest; a test of patience, a challenge of inner battle and management of many resources. Would I be able to confront each one of them? Maybe.

 

Countless of destination, hours of brainstorming, calculation of multiple budget heads and management of an itinerary. Overwhelming but a self-satisfying at the end.

 

I couldn’t count the number of days whatsoever, because the charges were paid, and a visa was in my pocket.

 

The other day I saw my gram feed flooded by ‘When life gives you tangerines’. As soon as my holidays started I couldn’t help but watch this series too. I didn’t weep or cry but was definitely left with many unanswerable questions. This was just a click away to only reflect and retrospect our relationships whoever could be. Series as a whole must have set a standard for all men and women in their life and their obligations to be fulfilled. I stepped out of my home with only guilt.

 

A month of living far away from home to only plan solo holiday without loved ones. Cruel enough and a compassionate son in a disguise, I lived by this only feeling for a long time. Until my flight took off, I was constantly lurking, fidgeting around thinking my parents deserve a vacation. I should be carrying them somewhere outside Pokhara too. On New Year’s day at a small family gathering, my eyes took sight of my ageing parents in a long long time. The folds of the skin had pronounced more than ever, frail body heavily shaken, gray hair had already taken toll. I couldn’t count days and years how fast they have flown.

 

Nevertheless, I ended up my holidays with a week long trip to Thailand with wonderful lifetime memories, but how would I compensate them to my parents who gave me LIFE?

Currency Notes' Worth

One day, I went to Nepal Rastra Bank to deposit some of the foreign currencies collected from our customers. Many of them were returned by NRB and you might have guessed the reasons. Many of them were either written over, soggy or mutilated.

Let's discuss about how stringent rules are in the context of handling foreign currencies and equally analyze about the note handling behaviour of general Nepalese. NRB has time and often advised our fellow Nepalese about clean note policy. Since, Nepal is still a developing country and large number of people live in rural areas, financial literacy is relatively low. Access to financial services is also minimum and many adults still struggle or have lesser concerns about digital transaction. Cash in hand can only secure themselves from all probable losses . 

Likewise, currency notes play significant roles in all rituals and festivals in our lives from birth to death. During puja we offer notes to gods, temples, monasteries and to relatives as part of blessings too. During these occasions, notes are often covered by tika, water/oil , wet flowers thereby reducing their texture and crispiness. Further, in Buddhist culture, notes are folded in a certain way to place them in mandal/mendal. Also, during marriage and funeral ceremony notes are sewed to make garlands too.

We cannot comment or discourage people of using notes in such manner during occasions, as it definitely harms the religious tolerance and particularly where people have deep faith towards gods and their religion, numerous other activities have really been a growing concern in Nepalese societies these days.

While globalization has made a huge impact in Nepalese economy, fellow countrymen are huge followers of western culture and traditions creating a very materialistic societies where economy is very slow or in a negative direction. One morning, a young customer asked me fresh notes of 500 rupees, reason only for making a flower bouquet. Now, where did this thing originate from and why are social media influencers promoting such culture? There are enough flowers for making beautiful bouquet but our people have been displaying their wealth and fake affection by exchanging flower bouquet made up of 500 and 1000 rupee notes. 

Sometimes, it triggers me more that our stale minds have become hyper active to only practise and learn cultures that have zero productivity in our lives. Our human tendency or maybe huge unemployment has led us flow ourselves into fake emotions and extravagant splurge of money. 

In a country where we worship Laxmi puja every year, avoid ourselves from stamping our foot on currency notes, we have lost far behind in understanding the core value of money and notes. Our behavioural pattern has not only cost our country's economy but our own social norms and values. 

This year, Nepal Rastra Bank has declared that they won't be distributing fresh notes but only clean notes, the happiest people are the ones who have understood the reason behind it. The comment sections are  often flooded by people blaming this action as a motive to deplete Sanatan dharma. But I'm hopeful that people would gradually immerse into spiritual awakening to identify good and bad and choose be wise to celebrate our rich culture and traditions. Happy Festivities.

The Science of Accepting Bodies

I remember the line from my high school principal who said that everything is the cycle; like the Earth which is round. Early men walked naked, ate raw foods and when human civilization continued, they started wearing clothes and slowly changed their consumption pattern by cooking foods. Now, again the cycle is slowly heading towards the initial phase.

Thousands of years have passed, humans have had maximum accomplishments and advocacies about various agendas keep circulating everyday. But sometimes, there are many hindrances really obstructing people from going extra mil or adapt newer lifestyles. Maybe, we tend to resist change by our human nature.

I recently had this privilege to go on a tour to Andaman and Nicobar Islands, one of the most secluded yet majestically beautiful places of Earth in Southern India. My observations about people, culture and tradition through various activities made me really question about faith.

I could see newlywed couples everywhere for their honeymoon. Men had little mehendi on their palms and feet while ladies had their full hands and legs freshly mehendi painted. Likewise, their hands were also covered fully by huge set of bangles and other accessories around their neck and lastly sindur not to be missed.

They have their own faith in culture and tradition that has abode them to certain rules and regulations as newlywed, but me as an outsider felt, were these all necessary even when they are out of town, far away from their relatives when they are on their non-traditional dresses? Some of them were definitely not very comfortable with their accessories and neither were their dresses complimenting their accessories in any way.

Further ahead, we were on a beach and who doesn't want to dip into the sea and get a little tanned? While there are enough beliefs of people getting dressed in their swimsuit, bikinis, shorts, my interpretation about beach life turned out a different one here. Not only women, men were also not even prepared with their clothing in the seas, I felt, maybe they were not comfortable with their bodies? Or maybe, I was wrong. There were changing rooms too but people were swimming and taking dip into water on their own clothes they wore. Elderly women were obvious to play water on sarees. And finally young girls despite wearing skimpy dresses or shorts weren't really beach friendly enough for beach activities.

One thing I have come to understand is that no matter how far we may go, our inclination towards our culture and tradition doesn't easily fade away. We are constantly clinging onto what ifs for a long time. Not every human is blessed with same physical appearance and feature but it shouldn't obstruct the preferences of our clothing in a modern world. Of course we need to strictly comply with eating healthy and exercise regularly but sometimes we cannot fight with our genetics and body functions. Social media is deceiving and advertisements can lead toxicity too. The beauty standards set by our societies and especially beauty pageants should be considered less.

India, being one of the fastest growing economy in the whole world and blessed with beautiful geography and landscapes with highest population carries enough prospects. It has access to seas for long and major states experience maximum summer. People should be smart enough to adapt lifestyle of their choice with no judgements and explanations.. Fancying bollywood movies cannot only influence unless Indians themselves adapt changing circumstances.

Divine Mothers

If you ask anyone or if you feel there is any relationship purest to the core, there is nothing like Mother- Child Relationship. The love and sacrifice by every mother towards their child is truly immeasurable and no material on earth is worth to pay back them.

For these and several reasons, every year on various dates across different countries Mother’ Day is celebrated worldwide to recognize the divinity of fearless and faithful Mothers and its very imperative no one could obstruct on this scared day.

In Nepal, as per Hindu Calendar, Mothers’ day is celebrated on the day of Mata TIrtha Aunsi. Religious people either fast or cleanse them early morning, perform puja , worship gods and goddesses including Mother and offer them sweet delicacies gifts. Children pray for sound health, long life and prosperity of their mothers.

As time evolved, kids and their parents have been distant due to various reasons, preferably for higher education or job opportunities. When possible, they pay a visit back home or exchange greetings over telephone or web/internet. Oh, posting statuses or photos on social medias are on the rise, let’s not forget. No harm as long as there exists respect and love for each other.

However, anyone can have an only mother, but there can be many motherly figures in their lives over the passage of time. When people are kind to one another, the list of these mothers can be very long. What about the rituals to be performed if each were equally treated? Because there can be people of belief that mothers aren’t celebrated just because they give birth.

Therefore, as social media keeps trending on various dates, this pure day is no exception. We can see people honouring and applauding their mothers and motherly figures through poems, chants, words, photos or videos. Nepali people who are more concerned about their families and relationships cannot keep aside their aunts, grandmothers from maternal and paternal sides. Young fathers congratulate their wife (turned into mother) and lastly married individuals thank their mother-in laws too. 

Still no comments on people’s preferences over their actions and undertakings. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to keep up with relationships these days. Knowingly, unknowingly relationships falter and people pave their own paths. Especially while numbers of divorces are on rise, it’s evident that couples choose peace over toxicity. These are serious issues at least in Nepal because our society is either too patriarchal or we live in close proximity where words spread faster than works. 

A year one married individual wrote beautiful lines about her mother-law, thanked for bringing her child who turned into his/her spouse etc. The next year they parted ways and damn finish. Other instance, and adult posts pictures of all aunts and grandmothers in the family and all of a sudden casual jealousy, disruption erupts in their families and there’s no same celebration the following year.

What is actually missing out here? Essence of the power of mother or the power of their individuals? Aren’t we supposed to celebrate Mothers’ day everyday and keep concern about their needs? Can we rise from materialistic aspects of this societies, showbiz of business houses and social media stunts?  Shall we move from bullies; chaos we create within our families?

This emergence of time if not treated well might invite more disruptions in at least mental health of an individual or people at large. Let’s celebrate mothers individually or collectively in own form with no hidden expectation and greed. May this relationship flourish like the jacarandas during the month of Jestha in the streets of Pokhara all round the year. 

Only love.

Oh Tiktoks!!!

If there is anything Nepali people of any age group not unaware of, it must be Tiktok. With over 5 million users around the world, this application has been very entertaining and interactive one. It has in fact transformed the lives of many people either as marketing platform or honing their hidden talents.

Undeniably, the easy availability of smartphones has made people very addictive towards social networking sites and mobile applications to people of all age group; especially to Nepali people where unemployment is very high. Overuse, misuse of these technologies have clearly invited tremendous negative impacts in human lives and societies at large.

When Covid-19 broke through and the whole world experienced strict lockdown, the use of this application certainly grew manifold. In January, I contacted Omicron virus too and remained in isolation throughout a week. As a result, I finally downloaded tiktok and spent maximum hours watching tiktok videos all day. Not a surprise, I couldn’t believe how fast time flew every day. 

For many users, tiktok has somehow been a mean for survival too. Even though many marketers have been able to reap benefits by advertising their goods and services online, the cases are rather serious in ordinary people’s lives other than artists/aspiring artists. Over the week I encountered many children as active users of this application and somewhere many parents dragging their young children into their videos. Sorry, even if some were very artistic, I reported all those accounts one after another. Social media and such application should never be promoted as effective tool or platform to build young talents rather diversion of their primary focus and near to exploitation which they aren’t aware of.

A young girl as young as 5 was effortlessly dancing in Cardi B’s wap song lip syncing all those nasty lyrics which she has no idea of. Other side, a young boy had been rapping the verses of Nepali artists which has nothing but extreme misogynistic, homophobic and racial slurs. Likewise, somewhere young children are always caught on their parents’ cameras in order to go viral even when they knew their children were definitely doing something wrong in the video. A video showed a young baby scolding her mother with all those vulgar words, while the rest of the family members were enjoying capturing the video and get them uploaded without identifying what impact that such video could create in future days.

We cannot complain the artists who are mature enough to choose their genre of art but only to parents and elders who are not wise enough to monitor their children’s preferences and engagement in this manipulative world. There are number of instances where photos and videos of young children being subjected to pornography in different parts of the world. However, what I have to understand now is that there’s no privacy in anything in people’s lives, let the self-proclaimed or true celebrities be. 

The world has become so materialistic that a newly born child gets an account as a gift instead of a birth certificate. The whole process after that are all displayed sequentially leading to extravagant expenses, many of which are not definitely part of their culture and tradition. Their babies are then after constantly under the camera lens. 

Perhaps vale popularity might flourish or dollars might get credited everyday, who’s to be held accountable for unforeseeable future?