| Letters | wavemag.com.np

November's WAVE was superb. After a long time, you highlighted hip-hop. I was surprised to see so many Nepali hip-hop stars. I hope to see more on the topic. Thanks for the cool poster. - Sagr (Brj)

Hip-hop is rocking this town like never before. I'd like to suggest that you organise something like a hip-hop fest with a battle and graffiti contest, as well as shows by leading artistes of the genre. We could even find new stars!

- Dishebh Raj Shrestha, Patan

I was delighted to read the November issue. I learnt about many upcoming Nep-hop rappers, thanks WAVE. I'm a great fan of rap and hip-hop. I used to listen to English rap numbers; now, I can tune to Nepali rap songs. I hope you will publish an article on hip-hop and rap every month.

- Binit Grg frm 061, on da behalf of NB, NMS & DT youths

NOT JUST HIP-HOP

WAVE has kept me in touch with the new generation. The Nep-hop edition was good but there are many rock lovers who would be delighted if you had a piece on rock music in Nepal too.

- Ayush Sharma, KTM

Hold on! Hip hop isn't ruling everybody. WAVE has not given punk any thought. I'm sick of reading about hip-hop. Hip-hop looks good if there are gangsters, political harassment but here in Nepal, hip-hop stars dress themselves in too-big clothes and think they are the coolest. If I'm not mistaken 80 percent of hip-hop songs are copied. Why do you call yourself a music mag? The paper quality is poor. If you want, you can charge us more.

- Xristina...is ..not ..lost

Dear Xristina: WAVE is not a music magazine but a magazine that thinks young and we write about music because it is a big influence on young minds. WAVE has written about punk (eg Punk and stuff, #82) and more. However, not all Nep-hop stars are copycats. In fact, WAVE decided to bring out a hip-hop issue to inform readers that hip-hop is about speaking for the community, not adhering to style of clothing and western topics only. Rappers like GP and Sarad Singh have rapped about the political turmoil of Nepal. We need to encourage such initiative. About hiking up our price, our survey shows otherwise, but thank you for implying you would buy WAVE even then.

DECEMBER WAVE

The December issue rocked. It was fascinating getting to know more about WAVE. The poster was cool. Can you include something about Jharana Bajracharya in the Know-all, or maybe a poster of hers?

-Lex-aka-Saujan

Poster was great, liked the articles on AIDS. Thanks! Can you print a poster of Abhaya and the Steam Injuns?

- Anisha, KTM

The cover story about drugs and AIDS was marvellous. I especially loved the Useless Gyan section.

- Sun'Z-A da' Justice

I loved Canvas, Yatralogue and Pushkar's diary in the December issue. However, I think WAVE is more motivated toward music than youth issues. It would be good if you were more realistic for students like us.

– Ishmarika, Pokhara

Dear Ishmarika: We are trying to balance music with other issues, that is why we have sections such as Canvas, Yatralogue, and Pushkar's diary. WAVE is tailored for students, especially sections like Careers and Young Ideas. Go ahead and read 'em.

Reading WAVE is like a nicotine ride, I've had my regular doses for quite some years. It definitely gives my money's worth, especially the songbook and poster. What I loved the most in #120 was the AIDS story, discussion, and the interview with wildlife conservationists. And the regulars were good to go through. I'd love to have sections by Tsering Choden, Kashish D Shrestha, Vishal Rai etc. The design, print quality, and layout have improved considerably but not the quality. It's just the same. I still remember going to New Road to buy the first copy of WAVE. The articles then were original too. I can still find print mistakes, lots of ads, and of course the songbook is still so little. There have been a lot of changes lately. I guess, us regular readers, don't appreciate surprises. Please don't change your team members too often because the whole WAVE concept changes with it and you change us too. It wouldn't be right if WAVE became cheap to increase its profit margin. I'd like to have lyrics by Dr Dre, 50 Cents, The Rasmus, Sum 41, Nelly, Destiny's Child and extra-large posters. WAVE used to travel and write about the nation's situation. The photo contest has been missing too. Also, it would be great to have Hollywood actresses on the cover, especially those in the tabloids. Or you can feature Nepali models. I'd have loved free condoms with your last issue. Don't get me wrong, I don't visit brothels. I regret having missed #119 issue. I'm into hip-hop too. Merry Christmas and new year 2006. Wishing you every success.

- Shiva aka bling bling

Dear Shiva: Thank you for following up on WAVE's progress. WAVE has definitely changed through the years, and with it, the WAVE team and the readers. You see, like our readers, our team members grow and develop other interests. They often move away. All we can do is wish them luck. However, WAVE has stuck to certain principles from the beginning, which is why we give priority to local coverage and have always had an original WAVE cover. Nepali models? We've been promoting them on our cover for the last 11 years. The photo contest is on hold for a few months, until our sponsors are ready to restart. Happy new year to you too!

I liked the article on HIV/AIDS in the December issue. In the November issue, there's the quiz on the bottom of the page but you open only #118 quiz result and every time you open one quiz result, other quiz results are dismissed. I suggest that you open every quiz result open on time. Otherwise, you are doing a great job WAVE team.

-Yogendra 'yaggu'

Dear Yogendra 'Yaggu': The results of every WAVE contest are published in the following issue. The result of #118 Win by the page, which is what we assume you are asking about, was published in #119. But thank you, we'll look into it further to make it reader-friendly.

FROM THE TARAI

I read about Bada Dasain and Tihar in the October issue. It spoke of the how saying Dipawali was not really Nepali but Dasain and Tihar are, and how we don't really know its history. Among the Madhesis also, we say Dipawali. However, I have other questions:
1. Being Madhesi Nepali, why do they hate us, the people of Kathmandu, Pokhara, and Dharan? But who are the real Nepalis? Not the pahadis, not even the royal family.
2. In Nepal, many of the highly educated people are pahadiyas, and they hold high posts in the government. Why don't they think of us? Even you think of Kathmandu only.
3. Political parties, people like Koirala, they are the brokers for India, why do you support them?
4. You discriminate us as Dhotis. Why? Many Madhesis don't even know Hindi but they are treated as Indians.
5. Come to the tarai and see how people live here. Can you write about Madhesi rights? Oh and 80 percent of the people who sell vegetables in the capital are called Dhotis. But 20 percent are Nepalis. And selling vegetables is not a low job.

-Ramnaresh, Birgunj

Dear Ramnaresh: Your letter is for all our readers. We are the young generation, we are the agents of change, we can ensure that all Nepalis are treated as Nepalis, regardless of geographical or racial backgrounds. We are Nepalis because we belong to Nepal, not because we come from the hills or the tarai. But we must also learn to respect all human beings, whether Chinese, Nepali, African, American or Indian. Here is good news for you Ramnaresh: there are many highly-educated and respected people from the Madhes, such as political analyst and engineer CK Lal, member of the National Human Rights Commission Ram Dayal Rakesh, artist Uma Shankhar Sah, and singer Udit Narayan Jha. Awareness is growing among the public however slow. But you must not let labels discourage you from being who you truly are. Take pride in being a Nepali, in being a Nepali from the tarai, but most of all, take pride in being a human being with a good solid heart, capable of respect for all fellow beings.

POKHARA

WAVE used to publish our opinions, it would be nice if it did so again. The Yatralogue in the December issue on Illam was interesting to read for those of us who have not been there. The focus on wildlife conservationists was good too.

- Jenny, Pokhara

I collect WAVE for the posters, especially of Nepali pop artistes. In the songbook, WAVE publishes Nepali lyrics and I collect those too because I'm a great fan of Nepali pop songs. Keep it up, keep it pop! The December issue was remarkable but I'm upset that the Pokhara page was missing. We Pokhrelis wait for that page.

– Sanjeev, Pokhara

I try not to miss any WAVE issue. If I do, I visit www.wavemag.com.np. I'm crazy about the posters and collect them. The December issue was interesting since the first was AIDS Day. But I'm upset that you didn't cover the Pokhara page.

- Santosh Bhandari, Pokhara

Dear Sanjeev, Santosh: We did have a story from Pokhara in our December issue, an inspirational one at that (First children's bank, unlimited, page 19) though we did not call the page Pokhara. This way, we hope to accommodate stories from all over Nepal into WAVE.

CRICKET

It's great to hear that Nepal won the title back again (Wicket by wicket, #120). With new year ahead and new challenges for ICC U-19 World Cup 06, I hope everyone is preparing for it. Kanishka deserves to be the man. And as an old buddy, I have faith that he'll lead the team to success. Happy new year!

- Mobin Das Shrestha, London