New!

Its the beginning of another new year, new classes, new students, new environment, new projects, new friends, new endeavours, and the list goes on.........

Spent New Year's Eve in Pokhara, a totally new experience for me.

Surrounded by snowy peaks, taking in beautiful sceneries, lazing on a boat on the tranquil waters, a mixture of excitement and peacefulness overcome me. It was beautiful.

Night came, we had New Year's Eve dinner in a cosy restaurant. All's well until a young girl stood beside me and ask for food, I was stunned for a moment but the waiter came to chase her away. Minutes later, a dirty looking boy dressed in only a T-shirt came and stood next to over table eyeing our sausages. Feeling sorry to see him in such minimal clothing in winter, we gave him a sausage and he went off. However, seconds later, he came back and we gave him the 'remains' of our food. He took everything, including a half-eaten sausage and whatever was left of the chicken wings. My friends laughed but I was too shocked to react. I had never tried giving unfinished food to even beggars and I definitely cannot imagine the children eating the disgusting leftovers. But all these are happening right before my eyes.

As the days went by, I saw more of such beggars and slowly got used to it. I had also learnt to it is impossible to 'feed' them, there are just too many. Reality really slapped me in the face when I saw young boys sniffing glue right in front of the royal palace in Kathmandu and the soldiers standing guard there just laughed at the boys. Is this the kind of life people in Nepal are leading?

A feeling of bitterness came over me not because of the things I saw, its because I cannot do anything to help these people.

Let's just hope things will get better in the new year!