“Ukali lamo…"

The song made Bandipur famous, and the town has lost none of its old-world charm as some students from Hong Kong found out recently. But who says culture shock applies only to foreigners?

by AMRISHA VAIDYA

FROM ISSUE # 176 (August 2010) | IN THIS ISSUE
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AMRISHA VAIDYA

The benches are rickety, the roof is made of tin sheets nailed to the rafters, and the walls are plastered cement. In a classroom made for 20, there are double that number crammed onto the benches. Curious eyes peer in through the windows.

A group of students from Hong Kong, here on a UNICEF-sponsored study trip, ask the students what they want to be. "Teacher!", "Nurse!" the 8-graders shout eagerly.

"If I become a nurse, I can help my family and sick people in the village," said one girl.

At Mahendra High School of Jamune in Bandipur, the UNICEF Young Envoys from Hong Kong at first found themselves with culture shock – surprisingly, so did I. But we were soon carried away by the infectious enthusiasm of the students. Bandipur's landscape and location, sitting high on a ridge overlooking the Marsyangdi and with the Himalchuli forming a spectacular backdrop, gave us a perfect setting.

UNICEF set up the activity to help students from developed countries to better understand the challenges and potentials of poor countries. Hong Kong's citizens are major donors to UNICEF's programs for education and health around the world.

What overwhelmed me was to unexpectedly find that I had more in common with the students from Hong Kong than those from my own country. Growing up in Kathmandu, my exposure to the English language, and the globalised world that it had introduced me to, meant that I was more familiar with the outside world than the condition of my contemporaries in other parts of Nepal.

Growing up, my ambitions varied depending on which television show I had watched that day. One day I wanted to be a lawyer, the next day a Transformer, and at some point long ago, even a Pokémon master! I'm used to waking up and flopping in front of my computer, the daily ritual of Facebooking and web browsing beginning well before my breakfast of cereal and juice.

How different from Bandipur it all was. Yet, I am told that Bandipur is actually much better-off than most other remote districts in Nepal where facilities in schools are even worse. Tourism and traditional trade have meant relative affluence for the old capital of Tanahu, which is visible from its clean cobblestone streets and the quaint Newari-style brick houses of the bazaar. Bandipur's residents have placed a great deal of emphasis on improving access to health, education, sanitation of its citizens. And it shows.
 
Most of the students of Mahendra High School get up at dawn to help their parents in the fields before leaving for classes. When they return home, there are more chores to be completed.

We marvelled at the diligence and hard work that the school children had to put up with. And by the end of our stay, I envied their closeness to the land, their familiarity with the cycle of the seasons, and the agility with which they hopped down the terrace fields to school and back. I also envied the clean air, the sweet water and the spontaneous laughter of strangers.

"The students got a taste of life which is totally different from Hong Kong, explains John Ku, a student from Hong Kong. "No matter how they use their experience, it will definitely be fruitful for their personal growth and give them insight into the aspect of serving others."

In Kathmandu, we complain about not being able to get homework done, but for the children in Tanahu, homework first means household chores and only then the teacher's assignments for tomorrow. Yet somehow they manage both.

As we got on the bus to head back to the capital, the children came to say goodbye. Their happy faces got me thinking about the gulf between us, but more than that, about our common heritage and the nation we share. The students of Bandipur didn't have much, but were hopeful about the future and had a markedly more positive attitude about life than those of us from the cities that enjoy all the comforts and trappings of modern life. As I saw the Young Envoys off at Kathmandu airport that week, I knew the students from Hong Kong felt the same way.