नेपाली भाषा नेपालको सम्पर्क भाषा तथा भारत, भुटान र म्यानमारको केही भागमा मातृभाषाको रूपमा बोलिने भाषा हो। यो भाषा भारोपेली भाषा परिवार समूहमा पर्दछ। यो भाषा नेपाल र भारतका केही स्थानकाे आधिकारिक (सरकारी कामकाजको) भाषा पनि हो। खासगरी सन् १९९० पछि लाखौँ सङ्ख्यामा नेपालीहरू आप्रवासीका रूपमा विदेशिन थालेपछि अस्ट्रेलिया, बेलायत, अमेरिका, क्यानडा, युरोपेली सङ्घ र खाडी मुलुकहरूमा नेपाली भाषीहरू छरिएका छन् । नेपालका करिब आधा जनसङ्ख्याले आफ्नो मातृभाषाको रूपमा यो भाषा बोल्ने गर्दछन्। देवनागरी लिपिमा लेखिने यो भाषामा २ किसिमका वर्णमाला छन् । स्वरवर्णमा १२ र व्यञ्जनवर्णमा ३६ वटा वर्णहरू रहेका छन्। अक्षरको लेखन र उच्चारण एउटै हुने यो भाषा सिक्न निकै सजिलो भएका कारण यसको लोकप्रियता बढेको हो। नेपाली भाषा विभिन्न समयमा विभिन्न नामले चिनिन्थ्यो; जस्तै -: खस कुरा, पर्वते भाषा तथा गोर्खाली भाषा आदि। यीमध्ये खस कुरा सबैभन्दा पुरानो नाम हो। खस जातिहरूले बोल्ने भाषा भएको हुनाले यसलाई खस भाषा भनिएको हो। यो भाषा पश्चिम नेपालको कर्णाली क्षेत्रमा विकसित भएर पूर्वतर्फ फैलदै गएको हो। 

Minecraft, developed by Mojang is a sandbox video game. It was an independent computer game designed in 2009 by self-taught Swedish programmer Markus Persson also known as notch who later sold the game to microsoft. At first, Minecraft was released on Microsoft Windows, Mac, Xbox 360, some mobile phones and PlayStation 3. Minecraft is a game that lets us create our own experience. Although this article is about Minecraft, it is very hard to define what minecraft really is. It offers a limitless world to the players where the only thing limiting them is their own imagination. Minecraft is not just another sandbox building game, the most interesting is its blocky appearance. It is a virtual world made of blocks, where the player is meant to be surviving using a variety of blocks and being safe from different mobs. Minecraft has randomly generated worlds, which means no player will ever encounter the same thing during their playing journey. Minecraft as of may 2020, has more than 126 million players. Although minecraft is a simple game, what makes it more than just another game?

Minecraft helps build a community while learning teamwork. Minecraft has a multiplayer feature where you and your friends can play the same game together. Minecraft also allows its players to freely make and use their own textures to the game. Minecraft lets its players code and make changes to the game for themselves. There can be plugins found for whatever you want to do in minecraft. These plugins are made by the vast community of minecraft players. There are texture packs and shaders which can help players make minecraft more than just a sandbox game. There are different kinds of minecraft servers offering many mini games for free. This game provides liberty to the players whether to make a small dirt house or a completely jaw-dropping huge mansion. There is no one way to play this game, and what this means is that it appeals to a grander audience. The aesthetics of the game also contributes to this. The pixelated textures make this game very easy to run on most of the potato computers out there. Minecraft’s simplicity makes it playable on most computers. The simplicity of the game makes it attractive while it's in the player's hand to make it interesting and complex.Minecraft is a lot more than just a sandbox game. 

References:

Ward, M, September 7 2013, https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-23572742

BBC News

बसिरहेकी छन् ,छेउँमा 
मेरी हजुरआमा 
लिएर टाउकोमा सेतै फुलेको कपाल
मुहारमा मुस्कानको छाप छ।   

जन्मेकी थिइन्, महेन्द्रको पालामा
जमाना थियाे त्यस्ताे
चलन थियाे पुरानाे,
एकादेशकाे कथा जस्तै 

कथाभित्रका उपकथा जस्तै
 मनमा अनेक व्यथा उन्दै,
हेर्दहेर्दै उनी आइसकिन् गणतन्त्रमा,
फरक छुट्याउन सक्दिनन्। 

उनी पहिले र अहिले

राजा र प्रजामा,
शासन र प्रशासनमा
शैली र व्यवस्थामा
उनलाई प्राचीनता प्याराे छ,
आधुनिकताले चरम सीमा नाघेकाे छ। 
राज्यबाटै न्याय भागेकाे छ,
न्यायबाट अदालत टाढिएकाे छ,
अदालतबाट अपराधी टाढिएका छन् ,
त्यसैले हजुरआमालाई प्राचीनता प्याराे छ। 
 

From July 24th, 2019 to 27th, July there was One day-Off Test between Ireland and England in Lord’s at London. The England skipper won the toss and decided to bat first. England’s destructive limited-overs batsman Jason Roy was making a debut in this test match. England started horribly 8 for 1 as they lost their opener Jason Roy in the second over. Joe Denly and Rory Burns also got out within the thirty-six runs on the board. As skipper, Joe Root also didn’t last long and got out in single-digits score so as Jonny Bairstow, Moen Ali, and Chris Woakes all three got out without scoring any runs. Then Curran and Stone smashed a few boundaries and England was all out in 85 runs. 

On day 2 Ireland’s first wicket fell in at 32 runs on the board then Balbirnie scored a quick fifty in 69 balls. Then wicket started stumbling of Ireland too and got all-out in 207. Still, they were at the top because they were leading by 122 runs. Now the second inning started and England's nightwatchman Jack Leach scored a half-century and became not out only Rory got out. Jason Roy got brute and smashed boundaries over boundaries and scored half-century too. On day 3 as Jason got dismissed by Stuart Thompson in 72 and sadly night watchman also couldn’t score his first maiden ton though he got out in nervous 90s. Skipper Root scored 31 and Jonny again failed to score a run and Curran and Broad smashed boundaries and crossed 300 runs margin and got all out in 303 on the scoreboard.

Ireland was pleased with the target because they led by 122 and they only needed 181 runs to win the match. Ireland’s first wicket fell on 11 for 1  of Porterfield then the wickets started stumbling quickly as Woakes made a career-best bowling figure of 7.2 overs 2 maiden 6 wickets and only conceded 17 runs. And Broad helped Woakes too as he took 4 wickets. And shattered Ireland’s Dream to win the game against England and got bowled out in just 38 runs. Which is their lowest score in history. And Leach got man of the match for his excellent 1*/ 92 runs and 0/26 in his bowling. And England won the One-Off Test by 143 runs.

शिक्षा अन्धकारमा प्रकाशको किरण हो । पढ्नु र लेख्नु शिक्षाको पहिलो चरण हो। । शिक्षाले मानिसलाई साक्षर बनाउँदछ। साक्षर हुनु  भनेको जीवनमा परिवर्तन आउनु हो । शिक्षाले व्यक्तिलाई आफ्नो विचार कुशलतापूर्वक व्यक्त गर्न सक्षम गराउँछ। शिक्षित व्यक्तिहरूले आफ्नो विचार स्पष्ट तरिकाले व्यक्त गर्न सक्दछन्। शिक्षा जीवनको लागि आशा हो। शिक्षा प्रत्येक मानवको आधारभूत अधिकार हो।

शिक्षा नै देश विकासको मेरुदण्ड हो । शिक्षा ज्ञान तथा सिप सिक्ने तथा सिकाउने पद्धति हो। शिक्षाले मानिसालाई अन्धकारबाट उज्यालोतर्फ लम्काउँछ। शिक्षा निरन्तर चलिरहने प्रक्रिया हो। यो जन्मेदेखि नमरुन्जेलसम्म कुनै न कुनै रूपमा चलिरहेको हुन्छ। ज्ञान सिकाउने तथा विद्यार्थीलाई पढ्न सघाउने काम शिक्षक, गुरु तथा अध्यापकले गर्दछन्। शिक्षा धेरै किसिमको हुन्छ । शिक्षाले मानिसका मानसिकता र व्यवहारमा सुधार ल्याउने 

काम गर्दछ । त्यसैले शिक्षित मानिस बढी समझदार र शान्त हुन्छन्। शिक्षाले मानिसलाई जिम्मेवार बनाउँछ । समाजका नियमको पालना गराउँछ। शिक्षित व्यक्तिहरू विचारपूर्वक काम गर्छन् । शिक्षित व्यक्ति सबैकाे प्रिय हुन्छ । शिक्षा भनेको जीवन जिउने आधार पनि हो। शिक्षा पुस्तकहरूको गहन अध्ययनबाट हामीले आर्जन गर्न सक्दछौ । शिक्षा कसैको जीवनी, क्रियाकलाप आदिबाट  पनि  अनुकरणीय शिक्षा प्राप्त गर्न सकिन्छ। 

प्रकृति ज्ञानको गुरु हो । प्रकृतिबाट हामीले धेरै शिक्षा पाउन सक्छौँ । शिक्षा मानिसको ठुलो हतियार हो। जुन हामीले आफूलाई चाहिएको बेला प्रयोग गर्न सक्छौँ।  शिक्षा ज्ञानको तेस्रो आँखा हो। शिक्षा सूर्यको किरण र अन्धकारको जून हो। तसर्थ शिक्षा व्यक्ति, समाज र राष्ट्रलाई परिवर्तन गर्न सक्ने महत्त्वपूर्ण दस्ताबेज हो। 

अनुशासन शब्दको अर्थ नियम पालना गर्नु र मर्यादा भित्र रहनु हो । मानव जीवनमा अनुशासनको ठुलो महत्त्व  रहेको छ । मानव जीवनमा जुनसुकै काम गर्दा पनि अनुशासनको प्रयोग हुन्छ । अनुशासन मानिसको जीवनको हरेक पलमा महत्त्व छ । अनुशासन नभएको मानिसलाई पशुसँग तुलनासमेत गरिन्छ । अनुशासनमा बस्न हामीले सानैदेखि सिक्दै आएका छाैँ । सानो छँदा घरमा आमा बुवाले हामीलाई अनुशासनमा बस्न सिकाउँदै आउनुभएकाे छ भने विद्यालयमा गुरु गुरुआमाले।

अनुशासनले मानिसको जीवनमा ठुलो भूमिका निर्वाह गर्दछ । मानव जीवनमा अनुशासन र शिक्षालाई एकै रथका दुई पाङ्ग्रा भानिन्छ । यसकाे अर्थ शिक्षा र अनुशासन मानव जीवनमा उत्तिकै महत्त्वपूर्ण छन् । यदि एउटा व्यक्ति पढाइमा एकदम अब्बल छ तर ऊ अनुशाशित छैन भने ऊसले समाजबाट मानसम्मान पाउन सक्दैन । भविष्यमा ऊ एउटा उदाहरणीय व्यक्ति बन्न सक्दैन । 

अनुशासनकै कारण मानिसहरू एक अर्काको मानसम्मान गर्छन् । अनुशासन मानिसमा मात्र नभएर अन्य प्राणीमा पनि पाइन्छ । अनुशासनले गर्दा नै मानिस महान् बन्छ । अनुशासन मानिसकाे गहना हाे । गहना लगाएकाे मानिस जसरी सुन्दर देखिन्छ त्यसरी नै अनुशासित मानिस पनि सुन्दर देखिन्छ । अनुशासन भनेकाे मानिसकाे भित्री साैन्दर्य हाे । अनुशासनविनाकाे मानिस जीवनमा सफल हुन सक्दैन ।

Wormholes, based on the theory of relativity by Albert Einstein, are the bridge that connects two points in space and time. It is as if space and time are folded, the points in space which were far away would be near and can be connected. Wormholes are basically shortcuts that allow one to travel from one location in the universe to another in a shorter amount of time.

The term wormhole was taken in reference to a worm digging the surface. If we imagine a worm on the surface of an apple, the worm can take a shortcut from one side of an apple to another by burrowing through the center of the apple to the other side. The theory of the wormhole also works in the same way as a traveler can take a shortcut from one point in the universe to another by traveling through a wormhole. Thus the word wormhole was given life. 

After the first theory presented by Einstein, there are many other theories suggested by different other scientists. Therefore there are many types of wormholes. There are multiple ideas about the different types and functions of wormholes however, there are six primary types of wormholes that scientists agree exist. 

1. Traversable - These are the kind of wormholes that we are familiar with in terms of science fiction. Traversable wormholes are the ones that we can pass through from one point in the universe to another.

2. Non-Traversable - These are wormholes that nothing can pass through because the wormhole collapses; it only has an entry point, but no exit; or the particle entering it would be destroyed before reaching the other side.

3. One-way wormholes- These are one-way-trip wormholes, meaning you can only travel once through them, and you would need a separate wormhole to return.

• Black Holes - Black holes are considered as a type of one-way wormholes. Anything can enter a black hole, but due to its intense gravitational pull nothing can escape.

• White Holes – White holes are the opposite of black holes. Here it throws out the objects but nothing can enter in it. It is believed that the objects that are pulled by black holes escape through white holes. 

4. Two-Way- These wormholes are round-trip wormholes that allow one to go and return through the same wormhole.

5. Intra-Universe- These wormholes are located inside the universe and are for traveling from one point to another within the universe.

6. Inter-Universe wormholes- These wormholes connect from our universe to another parallel universe.

This universe is a massive place. Words cannot describe how big it is. The universe is told to be 93 billion light years in diameter. Let me remind you, a light year is the distance a ray of light passes in a year. To be more clear, a light year is 9.46 x 10^12 km. That’s 9.5 trillion kilometers. And again, we are talking about the observable universe. We don't know if there is much more. For every grain of sand on Earth, there are 10,000 stars out there. And, for every star in the milky way, there is a galaxy in the universe. This shows how massive and huge our universe actually is.
So, have you ever thought about the fact that we may not be alone in this universe? Are aliens really true? Have there been civilizations in the past or is anyone living right now, on a planet millions of light years apart from us? Let's take the universe out of this question because even if there were any civilization very very far from us, there would be no way to communicate with them. Even if we would have the technology to communicate, we wouldn’t be able to physically travel to the place.
It's also not certain that there have been civilizations in the past. What we do know is that there have been and there are planets that are suitable for inhabitants. This means that if life were to occur there, they would be able to sustain themselves. So, why does the universe seem so empty if there are millions of planets that have conditions just like earth that can sustain life? Have there been civilizations and they have died out? Or is it that we are the only living things in this whole universe?
This is the fermi paradox, no one has an answer to it. There are only ideas, as it is a paradox. And, there are many possible explanations for these kinds of things. We really don't know what is right and what is wrong. The only thing we can do is to come up with the explanation that makes the most sense for us. The answers to these questions may be much more ridiculous than we have thought it is.
An explanation to this question might be that something like a “Great filter” exists.
The great filter is a theory that there is a boundary to a civilization.It is a concept that eventually there is a time when there is no way for a civilization to advance more.The great filter is said to be impossible to overcome.It is said that many civilizations evolve to a certain point but they eventually come to an end, and that end being the great filter.
If this is true, we are either safe and will be a civilization that can be able to visit the whole universe, or we may be coming closer and closer to our end.
So if there is a great filter, we may have already passed it, without even noticing it. Maybe this is the reason we are living and we are alone. Maybe life is not easily formed, and we are the only living beings in the whole universe. If this is the case, we are the civilization that has passed the great filter and this is good news.
But, are we thinking ahead of ourselves? Maybe complex lifeforms are not rare at all. Maybe we are one of the civilizations that are yet to cross the great filter. Because of the heavy odds against us, we are most likely not to cross the filter.
But, there are not only these outcomes to this paradox. There are many more which we can study about. The universe is massive and we don't know what it holds, we don't know anything about the universe right now. It seems that to get the answers to these questions, the only thing we can do is wait, and wait, and wait until we get a reliable answer that everyone can agree with.

कोविड १९ ( कोरोना वाइरस )  २०१९ बाट सुरु भई हाल विश्वभर माहामारीको रूपमा फैलिरहेको छ | यसले मानव जातिको रहन सहन र दैनिक क्रियाकलाप निकै प्रभाव पारेको छ | यो माहामारीले गर्दा स्कुल, कलेज, अफिस सबै बन्द भएर घरबाटै सबै पढ्ने पढाउने (वोर्क फ्रम होम) घरबाट नै  काम गर्नु परेको छ | यसले गर्दा चाडपर्वहरूमा पनि निकै असर पुर्याएको छ |

 नेपालमा निकै चाडपर्वहरू धुमधामले मनाउने गरिन्छ | हरेक वर्ष दशैँ, तिहार,  छठ, होली  जस्ता चाडपर्वहरू निकै उत्साह र उमङ्गले मनाउने गरिन्छ । २०१९ देखि फैलिएको यो कोरोनाको माहामारीले गर्दा यस वर्षका पर्वहरू पहिले जस्तो उल्लासका साथ मनाउन सकिएन | दशैँ जस्तो महान् चाडमा सबै घर परिवार जम्मा भएर एक अर्कासँग मिलिजुली टीका लगाई आशीर्वाद आदानप्रदान गरिन्थ्यो भने अहिले काेराेना त्रासले गएका वर्षमा जस्ताे उल्लासका साथ मनाउन सकिएन । दसैँपछिकाे दाेस्राे महान् चाड तिहारमा पनि बत्ती बालेर दाजुभाइ दिदीबहिनी मिलेर घरघरै देउसी  भैलो खेलेर रमाइलो गरिन्थ्याे भने अहिले त्यो पनि आआफ्नो घरमा मात्र सीमित भयाे | तिहारपछि आउने छठमा पनि नदी, तलाउ, पाेखरी, जलाशयमा गई सूर्यकाे उपासना गरिन्थ्याे भने अहिले जहाँतही कोरोनाको उच्च जोखिम भएकाले  हामीले सतर्कतासाथ चाड मनायाैँ । काेराेनाबाट डराएर भाग्ने हाेइन सतर्कता अपनाउने हाे । महामारीकाे याे समयमा हामी सबैले स्वास्थ्य सावधानीका साथ यो वर्षका चाडपर्व मनायाैँ । 

कोरोनाका कारण यस वर्ष चाडवाडदेखि लिएर पर्यटन व्यवसाय र देशकै समग्र अर्थ व्यवस्थामा पनि निकै असर पुर्याएको छ । हामीले पर्व, उत्सव मनाउँदा रमाइलो गर्न मात्र नसोचेर आफ्नाे र आफ्ना परिवारको स्वास्थ्यको पनि ख्याल गर्नुपर्छ | स्वास्थ्य सावधानीका साथ चाडपर्व मनाउनुपर्छ ।

Back then, India was touring Australia for a Test Series. India was coming from a fresh defeat against Australia, losing the Melbourne Test Match. A lot of controversies arose in that Test Match. The Sydney Test Match is often regarded as the “Monkeygate Scandal”. It was said that the Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds was called “Monkey” by the Indian off-spinner Harbajan Singh. Such racist comments were not allowed at all. Harbajan was banned for the upcoming 3 tests, but India appealed to leave the series and Harbajan denied calling Symonds “monkey”, which resulted in the overturn of the ban that was alleged against Harbajan. 

It was very important for India to win and play quality cricket in Sydney after the loss in Melbourne. They had a perfect start in the 1st innings as Australia collapsed in the first session. But it was the infamous “Steve Bucknor” decisions who overturned the Out decisions to Not-Out. The Australian allrounder Andrew Symonds was caught behind in the ball bowled by Ishant Sharma but the decision was still not in India’s favor. Andrew Symonds and Australian Captain Ricky Ponting steadied the ship with luck in favor of them as a lot of “Out” decisions were overturned. Australia recovered from 163/6 ko 463 all out in the first innings as Andrew Symonds scored a brilliant “162 not out”. The odds were not in favor with the bat too for India as India’s opening batsman Wasim Jaffer was given out off a no-ball (another umpiring misjudgment). Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman batted beautifully as they both scored a century each. At that time, the Australian crowd used to believe that Sachin Tendulkar may not play in Australia again, so he got standing ovations at every shot he played. The Little Master made a lot of runs in that series, all over Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, and entertained the crowd. With the likes of Sachin, Laxman, Ganguly, Dravid, Harbajan. India got a good 2nd innings lead as they ended their 1st innings with 532 all out. The main drama was about to begin.

The match referee “Mike Procter” alleged the use of a racist comment on Harbajan. The Indian dressing team was quite unhappy with it. Australian media were backing Australian players and Indian media backing their players. The Commentators were also declaring that the decision was not true, India was getting false allegations regarding it but none of the Australian Cricket Board spoke a word on it. After all these things, Australia came to bat in the 2nd innings and declared at 401/7. India was called by Australia to bat on the last day chasing a target of 333. The decisions were still not in the fair of India as Rahul Dravid was given out caught behind which was seen that the ball hit the pad. There was not a single chance of chasing 333 on the last day with just about 75 overs left in the play. Saurav Ganguly was playing beautifully on the other end, and India was focusing on ending the Test Match as a draw. The wrong decision was still haunting  India as Ganguly was given out on a ball that was caught after it landed on the ground, which was properly a not-out case. The Australian skipper who was fielding at slip, also claimed the catch to be fair with Michael Clarke. And, it was that era where when a fielder claims the catch, “It’s out”. The umpire could have easily gone for the review, but they didn’t. Ganguly was given a false out for the catch. The Indian media showed the footage that it was a false catch, the ball clearly grounded the ground and there was still a lot of drama going on. The match progressed further and it came to just surviving 2 overs with 3 wickets in hand. India was comfortably in a position of closing that test match as a draw. Ricky Ponting, the Australian captain threw the ball to Michael Clarke in the 2nd last over of the day, and the unexpected thing happened, he took 3 wickets in a single over, and India lost the Test Match with an over to spare. The match was all done and dusted.

The time comes for a press conference where an Indian reporter asked the Australian Skipper that they didn’t show the sportsman spirit throughout the game. At that time Ponting was leading a team with a goal to “WIN”. No matter what the situation, they stepped on the field to win, just win. Ponting arrogantly answered the question asked by the reporter. Then, the Indian Skipper came to the press conference where he was asked the same question and he answered that “ In this test match, there was only a team who were playing fair and that was India”. India was out with the series already 2-0. A hearing was organized by the Cricket board regarding the issues between Andrew Symonds and Harbajan Singh. The hearing lasted for around 6-7 hours. Harbajan was banned for three test matches as given by the Match Referee Mike Proc

हिन्दु धर्मावलम्बीहरूको दशैँ पछिको सबैभन्दा ठूलो पर्व हो । यो पर्व कार्त्तिक कृष्ण पक्ष त्रयोदशीका दिन काग तिहारको नामले शुरु भएर कार्त्तिक शुक्ल द्वितीया तिथिको भाइटीकासम्म (पाँच दिन) मनाइन्छ । पाँच दिनसम्म मनाइने भएकाले यसलाई यमपञ्चक पनि भनिन्छ । यो पाँच दिवसीय पर्व विशेष गरी नेपालमा मनाइन्छ । हिन्दू धर्मावलम्बीले दीपावली (दिवाली)को रूपमा यस पर्वलाई धूमधामसाथ मनाउँछन् ।  यमराजले आफ्नी बहिनी यमुनाका घरमा आतिथ्य ग्रहण गरेको हुनाले यी पाँच दिनलाई यमपञ्चक भनिन्छ ।

भाइतिहार (भाइ टीका) तिहारको अन्तिम दिन अर्थात् कार्तिक शुक्ल द्वितीया तिथिका दिन यो पर्व विशेष उत्साहका साथ मनाइन्छ । यो पर्व दिदीबहिनीहरूले दाजुभाइहरूलाई विशेष मान-सम्मानका साथ विधिपूर्वक पूजाआजा गर्ने,मेवा-मिष्ठान्न आदि मनपर्ने कुरा खुवाउने अनि दिदीबहिनीहरूलाई दान-दक्षिणा दिने परम्परा छ । परापूर्वकालमा बहिनी यमुनाले यसै दिन आफ्नो दाजु यमराजलाई विशेष मान-सम्मान गर्दै भाइपूजा गरेको धार्मिक महत्त्व छ । यमपञ्चकका पाँच दिन यमराजले यमुनाको घरमा बास गर्छन् भन्ने हाम्रो धार्मिक विश्वास छ । भाइतिहारको दिन दीपकलश र गणेशको पूजा गर्ने, यमराजको आह्वान गर्ने, बिमिरो, ओखर, तेल,मखमलीको माला, दुबाेको टीका लगाइदिने परम्परा छ ।

लामो समयसम्म भेटघाट नभएका दाजुभाइसँग भेटघाट हुने, सम्बन्धमा आएको चिसोपन हटाई मिलन गराउने तथा सम्बन्धलाई अझ दिगो बनाउने माध्यमका रूपमा लिइन्छ । दिदीबहिनीले भाइटीकाको अघिल्लै दिन दाजुभाइलाई भाइटीकाको निम्ता स्वरूप पान-सुपारी, फूल आदि दिने चलन। भाइटीकाका दिन टीका नलगाई केही खानु हुँदैन भन्ने विश्वास छ। टीकाको दिन बिहानै नुहाएर अष्टचिरञ्जीवीको पूजा गरिन्छ  । त्यसपछि दाजु-भाइको मङ्गलको कामना गर्दै ढोकामा ओखरको तथा यमराजको पूजा गरी कालको बाटो छेक्नुपर्छ । पानी तथा तेलले ७ घेरा हाली दाजुभाइलाई छेक्नुपर्छ । फूल, अक्षता, चन्दन तथा लावाले पूजा गरी दाजुभाइको शिरमा तेल लगाइदिनुपर्छ । 

भाइटीकाका दिनमा दाजुभाइलाई लगाइदिने मखमली, सयपत्री तथा दूबोको मालाको छुट्टै महत्त्व छ । मखमली कहिल्यै ओइलाउँदैन, सयपत्रीको रङ्गकहिल्यै उडेर जाँदैन भने दुबो सधैँ हरियाे नै रहन्छ । दिदीबहिनीले दाजुभाइको यश, आरोग्य, दीर्घायूको कामना गर्दै निधारमा सप्तरङ्गी टीका लगाइदिन्छन् । सप्तरङ्गी टीकामा भावना मिसिंदा शान्ति वर्षिन्छ। दाजुभाइप्रतिको प्रेम रङ्गजस्तै गाढा तथा निरोगी भैरहने विश्वास गरिन्छ ।

स्रॊत: विकिपिडिया

Young Adult literature has always fascinated me. Always might be an overstatement but lately I’ve been engrossed in this genre for quite a while. From ‘The Catcher in the Rye’ to ‘ Lord of the Flies’, I think they’re absolute masterpieces. Probably it is because the characters and the story resembles me a lot. Whatever the reason is, when I came across Looking for Alaska, John Green (The writer) absolutely blew my mind.

For his junior year in high school, Miles Halter, a teenager who has no friends, decides to attend Culver Creek Boarding School as a family legacy. Miles has an addiction for people’s last words and one that has stuck with him is the renaissance poet Rabelais’ dying words, “I go to seek a great perhaps”. And that is exactly what Miles is doing in Culver Creek. Like a typical school there are cliques in Culver Creek but the most notable and the largest being the rich kids and the poor kids. Miles debuts in the latter with his roommate Colonel’s help. And soon enough he is part of a mini clique himself. There’s Pudge, the nickname his friends give Miles, Colonel, his brilliant but slightly insane roommate; Takumi, the Japanese kid with the Southern accent; and Alaska Young, “the hottest girl in all of human history.” His friends at Culver Creek introduce Miles to smoking, drinking and pranks between the two cliques all while dodging the prying eyes of the ‘Eagle’, headmaster of the School.

The book shows the experience that Culver Creek has to offer through Pudge’s eyes. His life in Culver Creek is centered around Alaska. Alaska is described as an unpredictable girl with a heart of gold for her friends and anger for her foes, incredibly attractive along with unmatched intelligence and having mixed feelings towards Pudge. Pudge explains “If people were rain I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”

Pudge shows how hard it can be for someone to fit in especially in the teen years. A time when we feel everything is either going perfect or horribly wrong. A moment when we feel there are only a handful of people who understand us. Pudge and his group of friends reflect the life of every teen in one way or another. The crisis of not knowing the purpose of doing something, the crisis of not having friends you can rely on and especially the crisis of finding a place for yourself. Pudge struggles to show himself capable and grown up throughout the novel to win his friend’s trust or Alaska’s attention. Although the reason might be different, we have tried to act grown up at least once at one point in our lives. The sheer resemblance of the events and the feelings of the book attracts readers like us. 

‘How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!”

“So what’s the labyrinth?” I asked her…

That’s the mystery, isn’t it? Is the labyrinth living or dying? Which is he trying to escape- the world or the end of it?”

The writer speaks a great deal about some sort of labyrinth. A labyrinth that has fascinated the likes of Alaska. We for sure don’t know what that labyrinth is. Is it referring to life or does it symbolize love and feelings? This becomes the topic of discussion in some part of the book and rather forces us to look at things in a different way. The puzzle becomes quite important as the book proceeds. We all are in a certain sort of labyrinth at various times of our lives. The characters in this book experience a labyrinth of guilt, love, friendship, and teenage life.

Speaking of characters, this book review would be incomplete without acknowledging the great work John Green has done with the characters. The intriguing back stories, the catchy nicknames and the impressive personality they all have. I have to admit that the book was a lot interesting just because of the nicknames. They were a common and small part of this novel but still count for the massive impact they have on the reader. Characters are the base of novels such as this one. What makes a character even better is when readers can relate to them. That is exactly what the characters here help us do. Relate. The teenage spirit is the most intriguing part about this novel. This limbo stage of life we teenagers are in, runs on the basis of friendship, loyalty, identity, meaning of everything around us and a wee bit of mischief. The book really sheds light into this.

The way the story unfolds, it isn’t predictable. Why are the people Looking for Alaska? Was she kidnapped? Lost? The book doesn’t give it away until the climax. That being said, the book isn’t hard to follow either. We can understand the happenings of the story. It sometimes meets and sometimes exceeds our expectations. We have suspense that makes us wanna read more b