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'Video killed the radio star…' that's one song I've not heard in a long time. But now the phrase does not sound quite right.
It wasn't long ago that most evenings I turned the TV off and listened to the radio. That was the beginning of the fm craze that still lurks wild amidst the younger ones of our society. It started with just a few programmes on air and now we marvel at what that tiny experimentation has blossomed into. Concentrating at the populous capital it probably has more faithful listeners than it could have imagined of and this number is not at the least on the decrease.
What probably enabled it to be a success was that it was new, innovative and on-track with the young at heart. The latter one probably being the most significant one. FM entwined these young people into a sort of free society much like MTV had done in the eighties. It was a platform where new music was played, where they could voice themselves from the crowd, where the people behind the microphone understood their desire for music and gave it to them. Kathmanduities tired of the mundane programmes of the state run radio service had a new source of music. Hit's fm was quite right in saying -'Hits you where it matters' and it hasn't changed a bit. Fitting in for fm wasn't a big deal either because almost everybody likes change. Besides, the society already had a niche in their hearts for such welcome changes and took in the new fad with open arms.
Here the use the word fad isn't that inappropriate because there were times, when fm was still in its infancy, that some of my friends took pride in their listening to fm. Much like the pride in wearing a new set of designer clothes, better if french designed. A mixed feeling of peer pressure and inquisitiveness present in all youngsters also proved a winning hand in favour of fm. But some who thought it just only as a fashion accessory probably didn't realise that this one was a fad that had come to stay. Their short-sightedness has already been proved wrong by the array of numerous programmes being aired everyday at different frequencies. These probably seem to laugh right at their faces and those good humoured short-sighters have come in terms to laugh along at their own follies.
The single frequency that pioneered this whole fm entertainment biz was to bring about a series of other fm stations popping out with their own frequencies and their own distinctive class of music and RJ's. Among them the oldest being Hit's fm, which still has maintained it's distinctiveness, and not to forget the more informative HBC, which not only plays global music but gives a whole deal of extra information. Could it get better?
But fm's reach lay not just in captivating its listeners to open their ears but it also ignited an even greater passion for creating music. The musically inclined who had lain dormant stirred awake and now the nepalese music industry is bubbling with new bands, new sounds, new faces and new music ever on the increase. Great music and numerous bands, and an even larger number of garage bands just waiting to contribute something to the nepalese music industry.
Then there are other contemporary media, which surfaced at about the same time, like cable T.V. and of course not to forget the ever increasing internet. The internet has also captured the minds and hearts of numerous nepalese here and abroad. Even though it is comprehensible to surf the net while listening to fm it's a better solution to make fm global without the need to set up new radio towers. And what better notion than this to make fm available via the net. Such has been done too. Now for those of us who miss our home and friends can give our messages and not feel so left out of home with just a click of the lil' mouse.
Now with more fm stations to choose from its no wonder that I find myself turning the dial to another frequency whenever the programme starts to sound boring. But fm has really got me in its grip because I can't seem to concentrate on my studies with fm playing in the background. Daily studies would have been an exception but listening during exam was going a bit off-track. I meant to stop this fancy but it seems like something is missing when I turn the radio off. So now the fm plays on even while I study. And this piece of write-up is no exception for in the background the radio is now playing the song I've been meaning to hear for quite a while - 'video killed the radio star………'
"Down there is the famous Dharahara,…. straight ahead lies the Rani Pokhari ………and a bit on your right is the Ghantaghar….." says our guide and I eagerly look down. I see green everywhere, like a sea covered with green algae, and amongst them I see three squarish looking barren land with a few traces of what seems as rock and rubble. The guide on our cruise-plane sees the disappointment in most of our faces and begins to explain. I don't pay much attention to him. I'm already in my own world of my thoughts. I catch a few of his phrases here and there, understanding only that in the past few decades Nepal has undergone a massive change and metamorphosized into a sanctuary. The rest of what I hear seems gibberish.
In my thoughts, I'm with my parents in the old Nepal somewhere in the mid 2000. We leave for America in an attempt to re-establish ourselves and make a different identity for ourselves. But this was just a misty excuse. Once in the US the sun shone and the mist vanished. We were more bent on keeping our identity than making a new one. Faced with the hardships of everyday life, we cursed the day we left our home back in Nepal. However, we managed and had a life much like in Nepal in our Nepalese community. But what we did is of no major concern. What happened to Nepal from 2010-20 was our concern even in our small Nepalese community in the States. So many people started going abroad that the population of the country was at its lowest. Most had gone to the neighbouring Asian countries but nevertheless they had abandoned their motherland. In addition to that, most of these did not return. Instead they got a citizenship of that country. Nepal's foreign aid was also climbing up. So what happened ??? I've asked myself this question a thousand times but still I've never quite got the answer. I admit…..(sprattle..chug…..). "ugh…!", I say in disgust. The guide tells us - a bit embarrassed - " hee…hee…hee…corruption. Never quite goes away does it!" ( damn it! Why can't the government be more careful with only a few thousand people to look after. Let's continue.) I admit that Nepal was huge on debt and high on foreign aids but that doesn't mean that the powerful could do such a thing to our country and our pride. What they did was a huge backlash to our pride. The countries got together, took advantage of the political instability, and named Nepal as the worlds only and biggest - 'International Wildlife Park '. The words 'only' and 'biggest' were supposed to be a sort of consolation or a form of international pride. But, what pride is there when it makes you feel like you sold out your own country. They made a mockery of us and we were supposed to join in the fun. The surprising thing is that we did! There was a mutual and written agreement from both parties as the Government of Nepal and the Representative for the International Countries exchanged contracts and had a grand party to rejoice such an occasion. But rejoice they did, my foot! they rejoiced the end of our country and the dawn of their own country, a country they could manipulate and use.
" Coming up you will see the beautiful Phewa lake and if you look carefully you can see……." His voice trails off as I continue my conversation with my thoughts. Then what happened? I think. Then what else was to happen. The government gave the rest of the people, except for the few thousand, a new citizenship and sent them off to foreign land to start a new life. Most of the other countries agreed to grant citizenship to the Nepalese already present. And a few others had to be convinced with a bit of the earning that came from the tourists that visited the 'International Wildlife Park'. I don't think I'd ever seen such an unanimous agreement by powerful countries.
My thoughts take me to another aspect of the matter as I watch some of the kids in the cruise-plane eagerly looking out of the window and asking questions to their parents. What am I supposed to tell my children when they ask about their true homeland. Will I be telling them that I grew up in what is now a jungle. That - where now the animals sleep I used to sleep and where animals now play was where I used to pray. And what about their ancestry? Do I tell them that there is pride in once belonging to a country which is now an international sanctuary. Whatever I tell them I guess I'll be back to square one - no Nepal, so where do I belong?
Laziness has its own virtues. After being a couch potato for most of a his life, Ladduram, definitely found himself in a fix when he realized that there are people who rely on him. Fuelled by the basic necessities of himself and his family he found that lazing around with a spare tyre round his waist wouldn't do him any good. His wife's nagging finally put him on his feet and for the first time in his life he found himself trying to stand on his own two feet.
The most debated topic in school used to be - ' Women and education'. Each year the same topic would appear in the exams - but with different names like - write an essay, prepare a debate for or against, etc…. He had most definitely sided with all his peers in saying that women needed education. Without understanding what he was saying he had memorized the essay itself. Had it been debates he would have been able to rattle off - women and men are created equal, they are the two wheels of the same vehicle, what if something happens to the husband, they must be able to stand on their own feet,… and what not. No wonder the impartial examiner naturally bestowed high marks upon him and lo and behold! Ladduram had passed SLC with flying colors.
But the iron gate isn't everything. After the iron gate comes a silver gate, a golden gate, and lots of other gates. It won't do anyone any good just to sit around waiting for the keys to be brought to him. But alas Laddu had spent his time after SLC waiting for the keys to drop on his lap. Sitting on his sofa, watching cable TV, living on his fathers bread had not just made him a great ball of fat but also given him stretch marks. Each day he sat there watching TV, hearing health hazards of being a couch potato. But like all of us the useful things went through one ear and passed out either through the other ear or through his mouth, giving advice where not required. His fattiness was not just a mixture of food and slouching around but also contained the junk that the TV gave him. Doubtful it was that one day the radiation would turn him into a super fat guy.
So now Laddu found himself without education and after his fathers death without a money plant, and if he didn't get up and earn some money he would pretty soon find himself without a wife too. And if he didn't start working soon enough he'd have to start paying alimony with the little money he had.
He had a roof above his head and with that he began to think. 'Well,', he thought,' I've got a house, and clothes. That's two necessities I needn't be wary of. The only thing I need to worry about is food.' Obviously Laddu wasn't a farmer, after all who in the city has a vegetable garden big enough to feed one through the entire year. Of course there's the family business. But Laddu wasn't the type to go into the stereotypical son-follow-fathers-business. He wasn't ready to put out a sign that read 'Laddu & Sons'. So now he put his thinking cap on.
He thought and thought. Then finally - Eureka!
He'd found the solution. He would add a couple of storey to his house and give the rooms for rent. To him it was a grand idea. It didn't matter to him that his house had drinking water problem, or that the weight of another storey would weaken his houses old structure. No….. for all Laddu cared the house would rake in lots of money. Even at the cheapest price his small rooms would fetch quite some money. He dreamt on.
So now that Laddu has found a nice source of income, Laddu is still a couch potato, watches cable all day. It's been ages since he last took a bath but what to do - no water. The tenants and their children scream all day and night, but he is deafened by the money. For all he can see is the money raking in and the TV staring at him. His wife is still nagging him. His children are becoming more like him. He has two spare tyres around his waist and probably would be a good sample of the - made in Nepal tyres. The only addition is a spectacle upon his nose.
In fact he himself has become quite a spectacle, because from where I stand he looks just like cousin of the four legged P.I.G.
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