rediff.com: Jyoti Shukla's Diary

Jyoti Shukla

Bleeding Paradise
I wish I could set the clock back in Nepal -- and hold it there.
"If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here." Thus goes an old Urdu couplet about our very own Kashmir.
But anyone who has visited the mountain kingdom will beg to differ. As I do.
I was among a group of journalists that flew to Kathmandu a few years ago on February 14, Valentine's Day. We fell head over heels in love with that small but uniquely beautiful Himalayan country once we experienced its raw serenity and unpolluted beauty.
Nothing had prepared me for the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayan ranges rising out of nowhere, reaching up to the blue sky. I saw them standing proudly among white clouds in a bright blue sky. The beauty of it all gave me goose pimples.
The river that ran along the road awoke the child in me. I could see its bed through the crystal-clear water. For a moment, I was tempted to jump in and gather the beautiful coloured pebbles I saw there.
And that glorious, deafening silence. So loud was it that I didn't hear a sunbathing crocodile slither into the river. But I saw him, and many of his brothers, despite being taken in by the surrounding Chitawan jungle.
Nepal, I think, is the only country where being an Indian gets you royal treatment. The rupee is treated like the Holy Dollar we Indians worship. I paid five Indian rupees for something I wanted and got back 10 Nepalese rupees with the image of King Birendra....
When I think of the king who is no more, I see the image of his simple castle. I see snapshots of Kathmandu, Pokhra, Nagarkot and Bharatpur, where I saw Indian faces outnumbering Nepalese. Where I saw some of the most grandiose glimpses of Mother Nature. Where, on Valentine's Day, I fell in love with an entire country.
It is these images that make the assassination of the royal family a personal tragedy to me. I wish I could set the clock back there. How I wish.
Jyoti Shukla longs for the age of innocence.
Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh
Tell us what you think of this diary

HOME | NEWS | CRICKET | MONEY | SPORTS | MOVIES | CHAT | BROADBAND | TRAVEL
ASTROLOGY | NEWSLINKS | BOOK SHOP | MUSIC SHOP | GIFT SHOP | HOTEL BOOKINGS
AIR/RAIL | WEDDING | ROMANCE | WEATHER | WOMEN | E-CARDS | SEARCH
HOMEPAGES | FREE MESSENGER | FREE EMAIL | CONTESTS | FEEDBACK

	I wish I could set the clock back in Nepal -- and hold it there. "If there is a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here." Thus goes an old Urdu couplet about our very own Kashmir. But anyone who has visited the mountain kingdom will beg to differ. As I do. I was among a group of journalists that flew to Kathmandu a few years ago on February 14, Valentine's Day. We fell head over heels in love with that small but uniquely beautiful Himalayan country once we experienced its raw serenity and unpolluted beauty. Nothing had prepared me for the snow-covered peaks of the Himalayan ranges rising out of nowhere, reaching up to the blue sky. I saw them standing proudly among white clouds in a bright blue sky. The beauty of it all gave me goose pimples. The river that ran along the road awoke the child in me. I could see its bed through the crystal-clear water. For a moment, I was tempted to jump in and gather the beautiful coloured pebbles I saw there. And that glorious, deafening silence. So loud was it that I didn't hear a sunbathing crocodile slither into the river. But I saw him, and many of his brothers, despite being taken in by the surrounding Chitawan jungle. Nepal, I think, is the only country where being an Indian gets you royal treatment. The rupee is treated like the Holy Dollar we Indians worship. I paid five Indian rupees for something I wanted and got back 10 Nepalese rupees with the image of King Birendra.... When I think of the king who is no more, I see the image of his simple castle. I see snapshots of Kathmandu, Pokhra, Nagarkot and Bharatpur, where I saw Indian faces outnumbering Nepalese. Where I saw some of the most grandiose glimpses of Mother Nature. Where, on Valentine's Day, I fell in love with an entire country. It is these images that make the assassination of the royal family a personal tragedy to me. I wish I could set the clock back there. How I wish. Jyoti Shukla longs for the age of innocence. Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh Tell us what you think of this diary
HOME \| NEWS \| CRICKET \| MONEY \| SPORTS \| MOVIES \| CHAT \| BROADBAND \| TRAVEL ASTROLOGY \| NEWSLINKS \| BOOK SHOP \| MUSIC SHOP \| GIFT SHOP \| HOTEL BOOKINGS AIR/RAIL \| WEDDING \| ROMANCE \| WEATHER \| WOMEN \| E-CARDS \| SEARCH HOMEPAGES \| FREE MESSENGER \| FREE EMAIL \| CONTESTS \| FEEDBACK