Nepal in the Blogosphere

by ROMA ARYAL

FROM ISSUE # 158 (February 2009) | IN THIS ISSUE
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The number of Nepali blogs are growing by the hour. While there are those that receive a minimum number of hits, others that have more universal themes have become virtual chowks for intense debate. Less than a decade since the first blogs began to gain popularity, Nepali blogs are all over the internet.

Nepali political blogs are popular in the blogosphere, the politically conscious people that we are. Most are regularly updated and contain in-depth analytical writing. Blogs like Blogdai, United We Blog!, Mailabaje and MySansar have been running for a long time–the monarchy and internet censoring, the April Uprising and now the new government. But they don't restrict their content to the small picture. One of Blogdai's recent posts, for example, includes an extensive analysis on the repercussions of Obama's government on Nepal. These political blogs, which claim to have a readership of international officials and Nepali politicians, have a clear political stance unlike most of their newspaper counterparts.

But Nepali photo and video blogs are also a growing scene. There are blogs by professional photographers such as Images of Nepal but amateurs are also feeding their work into the blogosphere, offerring fresher perspectives to Nepali photography. The majority of photo blogs however, are still hung over with the touristy, post-card like stream of photography. Finding off-beat photography is a challenge–but you'll have to search sites such as Deviant Art, to get a peek at budding Nepali talent behind the lens.

There are few Nepali blogs that have poems and stories, where discussion is as lively as politcal blogs. But there are lots of blogs for sheer entertainment on the internet–whether you're a sadist and want to have a laugh at someone else's misery or if you're into celebrities. While Cyber Sansar, an entertainment website, leads the latter, you can find the more obscure blogs at Weblali, where there's a thorough listing of Nepali blogs.

Blogs seem to be gaining popularity because they connect Nepalis everywhere and let them feel a part of the Nepali community. In fact, a lot of Nepalis have started writing their blogs in the Devnagari script. However, it's time that we started branching out into unknown territory–rather than focusing only on politics.

Increasing number of blogs don't necessarily mean that the quality is getting better. But if you take your time, click link after link until your fingers wear out, you'll find some pretty good treasures.

Blogdai: www.nepalnow.blogspot.com
Mailabaje: www.nepalinetbook.blogspot.comUnited
We Blog: www.blog.com.npwww.mysansar.com
www.imagesofnepal.blogspot.com
www.phalano.com
www.weblali.com