A Web of Dreams | Online | wavemag.com.np

Having stepped into the office of Dreams & Ideas, Kathmandu's celebrated web-designing firm, for a rendezvous with the three brothers, Abhinav, Deepankar and Sarobar Kasaju, I was greeted with charismatic smiles.

Cyber Nepal, Nepal's first Internet magazine and the trio's first project, is popular among the youth. The content is based on entertainment and includes Nepali music videos, MP3 downloads, beauty-queen profiles, and yes –even a weather report. Their other projects include: ecards.com.np, the first Nepali cards site containing only Nepali photographs; and afterslc.com, a special endeavor to provide a guideline of colleges, universities, and +2 institutes to SLC graduates.

As I sit down with the Kasaju brothers, they warm the environment with their childhood stories. "We were born in Tansen, Palpa. Our childhood was mostly spent in hostels. Though hostel life was fun, we wanted to stay home with our parents." recalls Abhinav, the eldest of the three. "We weren't so naughty and obdurate, but we had our share of fights. Deepankar and I would constantly quarrel with each other. As a child, we were never friends." he admits. The boys grew up in an intellectual family environment; their dad, Binaya Kasaju is an established name in the field of journalism in Nepal. " Our dad is our inspiration. As a child, he inspired us to achieve in our lives. He taught us the meaning of life and the hardships." Deepankar, the second brother continued.

The introduction of the Internet in Nepal has not spanned many decades. Just a couple of years ago, access to the Internet was limited to the capital city. I asked the group what brought them to the cyber world and what their beginnings were like as web designers. "It was in the year of 1993 or 1994. We were the first ones to bring home a computer in Palpa. In those times, possessing a computer was a big thing. But, we were not allowed to touch it. This kind of restriction heightened our curiosity, so we tried to get any information we could about this illustrious foreign object. An abundant number of tourists used to visit our hometown, so we started asking them about computers. Some of them talked about the Internet, which simply fascinated us. One day, we bought software from a traveler. It cost us four thousand rupees. The software contained guidelines on web designing. With the help of that software, Abhinav and I created a website. The website was fully functional and we named it Cyber Club. We also added animated videos to the website."

Their father owned an offset press and got them involved in graphic design at a very young age. They started designing a magazine named Satya, along with many brochures, posters and cards at thirteen. This background in design helped them in their web design course." We frequently visited Katmandu for various reasons. During one particular visit, we approached Mr. Dilip Agrawal, CEO of World Link and showed him the website Cyber Club, which we brought on diskette. He appreciated our work and provided us a hosting space. This encouraged us tremendously and we decided to give birth to an Internet magazine. Since we were young, we thought about producing a magazine based on entertainment. We decided to cover the areas of music, films and fashion of Nepal in our magazine." Abhinav explains.

Then, the days of struggle started. Soon, their family settled in Katmandu. They were studying while pursuing their careers. "Those were hectic days. But, we were lucky to have found the right contacts. Our work schedule would begin at night when we spent time contacting various music artists, film stars, models, etc., requesting appointments for an interview. It was hard to explain to them that we were an Internet magazine. People did not understand; some even asked us for a copy of the magazine and it took time to explain that the magazine could only be viewed online!" Thus, as journalists and photographers, they started collecting information for their site. After days of hard labor, the site was ready to be launched. In 1997, their baby was finally born. The site, amongst other things, featured profiles of music artists, film stars and photo galleries. The highlight of the magazine was CyberPal— youngsters sent in their profiles and interacted with other club members. The feedback was extremely positive. Young people loved it and made many friends through the website.

Abhinav and Deepankar worked for World Link as web designers for approximately two years. In those days, Sarobar would constantly visit his brothers and help them with their tasks. "I was always interested in art. Since both my brothers were involved in web designing, I got interested in the field too. I used to spend a lot of time with them in their office. That was a training period for me." At present, Sarobar is studying in grade 12 in Capital College, as well as working with his brothers.

Till date, they have done many web projects, including the website for MS Nepal, HitsFM 91.2, pop stars Nima Rumba, Nabeen Bhattarai, Manoj Shrestha, and an international assignment for the Association of German Post Graduate Studies. They are also get the credit for making the first Nepali film website --Baadal Paari.