जाडो याम

कालोपनले भरिपूर्ण आकाश, 
अब भरिन थाले सूर्यका किरणले 
ढकमक्क फुलिरहने फूल ती,
मुर्झाउन थाले अब चिसोपनले

गर्मी  भयो भनि कराउने ती  बालकहरू,
अब कुद्छन् खेल्छन् बाटैभरि 
गयो गर्मी एकैनास 
मानौ तेज हावासरि……

हिजोसम्म चाहिने ती पङ्खा,
थन्किन थाले अब दराजतिर
हराए ती पातला लुगा, 
आए केवल बाक्ला मात्र

बढ्यो जाडो सहरदेखि गाऊँ
बनाउँछ अब तातोतिर जाऊँ
प्याराे लाग्छ अब सधैँ घाम
लागेर हाेला अब जाडाे याम
लागेर हाेला अब जाडाे याम 

A catastrophe occurred in 2019, the coronavirus. Due to the corona virus spreading rapidly many countries started lockdowns, and my country did the same. Schools and workplaces were closed and people started to stay at home.  Life became hellish. We couldn’t get out of our houses but staying inside had almost gotten the best of us. Later, schools had started online classes. I was in my room all day, in front of the screen looking at the teachers and books. The one thing I hated the most about being online was that I just couldn’t enjoy myself reading books as much as I used to physically. It felt as if the good times of life were just sucked away to the depths of the ocean where we couldn’t reach.

But finally, the lockdown ended after 2 years. After two years of hellish experience I finally got to get out.  I started going out everyday, at least for an hour. I couldn’t play as I used to back when the lockdown had not started. And at long last, schools reopened. On the first day I was really excited, as if it was the first time I was ever going to school. School seemed like heaven. Interacting with all those people made me feel like finally things have gotten better.

But even in the best places, there are flaws and this one had some too. The first one was that masks were still necessary. Masks suffocated people and when it was a scorching hot day masks would be covered with sweat. 
Afterwards, I realized that I could not write much after lockdown. Even though I gradually improved my handwriting after lockdown I could write no longer than 5 minutes continuously. So, doing homeworks was tough. But the best part of being outside overwhelmed the hardships, interacting with people. And that year I learned that maybe sometimes you like the ones that you usually did not value much about more than others. That year, our English teacher officially resigned. And later I found that I just had good memories of him. Even though he was one of the most strict teachers that had taught us he was still the one who let us lose the most.  And surprisingly, I was the one who annoyed him the most in the four years that he taught our class. I usually did not do his homeworks and he scolded me quite a lot. But after he left, whenever I thought about him, I only felt like those were good memories. 
After the lockdown, I got back to my old hobby. Playing Table Tennis. Even though I still can't play just as well as I used to back when lockdown had not started, it still felt good. When the lockdown was still there I used to go up to my terrace at about 6 pm. And did different things like making paper planes and skipping. But the thing I am happy I did in lockdown is that I learned to play guitar.  To sum it up, life outside is way better than life inside a house. It would be as if a frog is watching the sky from inside the well.

आमा, बुबा र म मात्र बस्ने एक सानाे र सुखी परिवार थियाे । खुसियालीमा बितेका हुन्थे मेरा हरेक दिनहरू, अनि  घरकाे वातावरण रमाइलाे थियाे । म स्कुल जान्थे र मेरो पढाइ पनि राम्रै थियो । एउटा राम्रो परिवार, राम्रो घर र त्यहाँबाट प्राप्त हुने असीम शान्ति । यी सबै कुराहरू थिए मसित । तर…..मलाई लागेकाे थिएन मराे मनकाे शान्तिलाई यसरी कसैले हरण गर्छ भन्ने । त्यही दिनदेखि आजसम्म  कुनै पनि शान्ति छैन । जुन दिन ती महिला हाम्रो घरमा आइन्, त्यो दिनदेखि मलाईआनन्दको निन्द्रा आएको छैन। 
आजभन्दा करिब ९ महीना अगाडिको कुरा हो । पहिलो पटक ती महिला हाम्रो घर आएको । ती महिला घरमा आइन् र राती त्यही सुतिन् । मलाई त गाऊँको मान्छे हुन् त्यसैले एक दुई हप्ता यही घरमा बस्ने हाेला भन्ने लागेकाे थियाे । तर हुँदाहुँदै महिनाै बितिसकेकाे थियाे । भोलिबाट ती महिला हाम्रो घरमा बसेको करिब दश महिना पूरा हुन थालेछ ।  

आमा र बुबा धेरै दयालु हुनुहुन्छ। यति दयालु हुनुहुन्छ कि पाहुना महिनाैसम्म घरमा बसे पनि उहाँहरूलाई समस्या कुनै समस्या परेकाे भान हुँदैन । महिनाैसम्म घरमा बसेकी पाहुनालाई अहिले पनि भगवान जसरी व्यवहार गरिन्छ । आमाबुबाले त आफ्नै परिवार जस्तो ठानिसके ती महिलालाई। हामी जहाँ जान्छौँ त्यहाँ ती महिला सधैं पछ्याउँछिन्। हामी कतै बाहिर जाँदा पनि सधैँ आउँछिन्। जब हामी कतै बाहिर जाने याेजना गर्छौँ । उनले हामी कहाँ जाँदैछौँ के लगाएका छौं जस्ता प्रश्नहरू सोध्न थाल्छिन् र अन्ततः मेरी आमाले उनलाई हामीसँग आउन चाहनुहुन्छ कि भनेर सोध्नुहुन्छ र उनी सहमत हुन्छिन् । यसरी उनी सधैँ जता पनि आउन खोज्छिन्। तर जुन अवसरहरूमा उनी हामीसित आउन नसक्ने भनेकाे आफ्नाे काम पर्दा मात्र हाे ।  त्याे समयमा पनि हामी कही घुम्न गयौ भने उनी सधैँ केही न केही सामान ल्याईदिनु भन्छिन् । त्यो सामान किन्न पैसा पनि दिदिनन् । आमाबुबाले आफैँले  किनिदिनुहुन्छ।

मेरो जन्मदिनको अवसरमा हामी परिवारमात्र बाहिर खाना ख़ान जाने भनेका थियौँ। मलाई मेरो जन्मदिनको दिन मेरो आमा, बुबा, दाइ र दिदीमात्र बाहिर जान खाेजेका थियाैँ । तर हामी लुगा लगाइराखेकाे बेला हाम्राे लुगा हेरेर हेरिरहेकी थी। टाेलाइरहेकी थिई । मैले उसलाई किन लुगामा टाेलाइ रहेकी भनेर सोधेँ । उसले आज मेरो जन्म दिनमा बाहिर जाँदा के लगाउने भनेर हेरिहेकी हुँ भनेर मलाई भनी। मैले मेरी आमालाई ती महिला पनि हामीसँग जान्छे र भनेर सोधेँ । आमाले ऊ पनि आउँछ रे भन्नुभयो। मेरो पुरै जन्मदिन खल्लाे भएर गयो। बाहिरबाट हाँसिरहेको देखे पनि भित्रबाट ममा रिसको आगो जलिरहेको थियो।

पहिला म यस्ति थिइनँ । ती महिलाको बारेमा केही सोच्दिन थिएँ । तर जब एक दिन ती महिलाले मेरो हेडफ़ोनकाे तार चुट्टाइदिएकी थिई । त्यो दिनदेखि मलाई ती महिलाले जे गरेको देखे पनि रिस उठेर आउँछ । उनीसँग पैसा हुँदैन त्यसैले मेरा आमाबाबुले उनको लागि सबै कुरा किन्नुहुन्छ । म यति कुरामा खुसी थिएँ  कि उनी मेरो कोठामा सुत्दिनन्।

मलाई उनीसित धेरै रिस उठ्छ । कहिले यी महिला हाम्रो घरबाट जान्छिन् जस्तो भैसक्यो मलाई । म उनलाई हाम्रो घर छोडिदिए हुन्थ्याे भन्ने चाहन्थेँ । अन्ततः मेरी आमालाई त्यो महिलाको बारेमा कस्तो महसुस गर्छु भनेर भने । अचम्मको कुरा मेरी आमाले पनि त्यस्तै महसुस गर्नुभएकाे रहेछ । तर ती महिला दुई हप्तामा काम गर्न इरान जान लागेकी थिइन् । जसका कारण मेरो आमाबुबाले उनलाई अहिलेसम्म घरबाट जान भन्नुभएकाे रहेनछ।

ती महिला अन्ततः १० महिनापछि हाम्रो घर छोड्दै छिन् । मलाई आशा छ कि उनी कहिल्यै फर्किनिन्। १० महिनापछि म मेरो पुरानो परिवार र शान्ति फिर्ता पाइरहेको अनुभूति गर्दै छु।

Sex education is simply an education acquired to get knowledge about things related to sex, human sexuality, age of consent, reproductive rights and organs, emotional, physical and sexual relation and many more. Children have been getting Sex education in the form of their course material mostly from the age of 12 and above. The larger age group getting sex education in the form of course are teenagers. Sex education is a necessity for teenagers especially for the teenagers of this modern era.

Sex education not only teaches us about safe sex behaviours, about adoloscent period and many more, it also warns us about different types of problems that might get created in early life. Sex education includes human sexuality which teaches us to know more about ourselves and our body as well. Providing sex education might as well help people open up about their questions and personal problems. sex education not only decreases the unplanned pregnancy, it also helps to reduce the amount of sexually transmitting diseases like STI, Chlamydia, HIV/AIDS and many more. Having sex education as something less important and not mandatory would instead bring a lot of problems.

If we are focusing on teens, we should definitely be positive over the fact that teenagers grow curious over time and tend to try out different things. So in this scenario let's imagine an unplanned teenage pregnancy, a female teen is pregnant at the age of 14 and they are completely unaware of various things. In this case, there is a very less chance that they will get support from their parents. But if, they were given sex ed then most definitely they would get contraceptives beforehand or just would know ways and methods to terminate the pregnancy.

People hardly know about whats going on with their body, like for example; menstruation cycle, body after an abortion and many more. Usually, even some people with uterus do not know various things and facts about their body during the monthly cycle and if we are talking about people without uterus then well, most don't either. What sex education does is create atleast a little idea or a general concept about things that happens to ourselves and of the opposite sex too.

Teens usually tend to hide away their confusions and questions, which is why providing sex education can help them open up and be clear with their feelings as well. Well sex education includes about LGBTQ+ rights, information and things related to it. It opens up a door for inclusion as well. It helps us know about our personal feelings and space and helps us open up to people. For example; a person is confused about their sexual orientation. They go through various rounds of LGBTQ+ related sex ed and finally they are able find themselves and come out as a queer.

Teens of this era are highly unaware of safe-sex and usually due to unsafe sex methods, they end up having various diseases, various dysbalance in their body, unplanned pregnancy and many more. Sex education; heals your confusion, heals your sexuality crisis, gives you ideas about various sex related things, shows you alternatives about different things, warns about your bodily changes, notifies you about different contraceptive devices and methods, etc. Which is why sex education is a need, a necessity. 
 

A witch trial, also known as a witch hunt, was a search conducted to find people suspected of practicing witchcraft. These witch hunts occurred during the 16th to 18th centuries. Although witch hunts were not so common during the 19th and 20th centuries, they were still present. Some people might find this weird when I say this, but witch hunts are still conducted to this day. But to find out more about that, we need to understand the history of witch hunts.
In the Early Modern Period (1450-1750) more than 35,000 people were executed after being accused of witchcraft. Among the executed, both men and women were included. Sometimes even kids in their late teens were executed. So how was a person defined to be a witch? Well, if a person was underweight they would be suspected of witchcraft, as a witch would need a light body to fly around. The second method of testing witches was throwing them in rivers. If a person who was not a witch was thrown into a river, they would drown, but a witch would float back up. People would mostly suspect women of witchcraft if they had some education in certain fields, mostly medical ones.
How did witchcraft gain its fame? The answer is simple, people. People started believing in witches in 931 B.C, but they never really hunted for them. It wasn’t until the 14th century that witch hunts started. In this time period so many people were accused of witchcraft when in fact most of them were innocent. They were accused of witchcraft if they were getting lucky, as people believed that they might have made a deal with a devil or used spells. If someone was unlucky, they would assume that witches put a curse on them. These were of course just human beliefs, as humans love to blame their bad luck on others and look down on others' good luck.
What were the qualities of a witch according to people? People believed that witches were able to fly, and use spells like love spells; to make someone fall in love with them. They were also associated with weather changes and bad luck. Their powers would be compared to the powers of nature. People assumed witches could use magical powers as well. To say the least, people believed witches had the power to end the world if they wanted to.
You might think that these trials were not that prevalent, but they were so common that it was like something that happened on a daily basis. People didn’t find it weird or abnormal when in fact everything about these witch hunts was unusual. Innocent people were left with permanent injuries and so many were killed, all on the basis of assumptions and no concrete evidence. You might think this was normal for such a conservative era, and while I do kind of agree with that, is it not concerning that these hunts are still being done in the 21st century?
In places like South East Asia, these hunts are still common. In a town in Zambia, 16 people were killed by “witch hunters'' in the span of 4 months. People with HIV were also accused of spreading it through witchcraft. Even in Nepa, we can see that people beat others in the name of beating the bokashi '' out of them. People are constantly tortured for things they didn’t even do because of others’ superstitious beliefs. We need to raise awareness of things like this as it is harmful to the general human society. You never know when you’ll be accused of witchcraft. You do not know who believes in this kind of stuff and you do not know who supports witch hunts. You never know when you will lose your life to these witch trials. It’s especially important to raise awareness in Asian countries as many people here are conservative and tend to be quite superstitious.
 

धरानको उच्च जातिको ब्राह्मण परिवारमा जन्मिएकी प्रतीक्षाले बाल्यकालदेखि नै आरामदायी जीवन बिताउन पाएकी थी । नेपालको एक सुविधायुक्त सहरमा बसेकी उसलाई बाल्यकालदेखि नै अध्ययन गर्न प्रोत्साहित गरिएको थियो ।  नेपालको झापाकाे बेलबारीमा करिब वि.सं. २०२४ सालमा घटेको घटनामा आधारित एक कथा हो ।जहाँ प्रतीक्षा खतिवडाले नेपालका गाउँहरूमा शौचालय निर्माण गर्नका लागि लड्नु परेको थियो ।

प्रतीक्षा एक सहरमा हुर्केकी, राम्रो सुविधा, शिक्षा र जीवन प्राप्त गरेकी केटी थिई । उसको जीवनमा कुनै पनि कुराको पनि कमी थिएन । ब्राह्मण परिवारमा हुर्केको भएर होला उसलाई आफू सफा र स्वच्छ रहन मन पर्थ्यो र आफू बसेको वातावरण पनि स्वच्छ रहोस् जस्तो लाग्थ्यो । उसको सबैले व्यक्तिगत स्वच्छता कायम राख्नुपर्छ भन्ने धारणा थियो । धरानमा त्यति बेला शिक्षा आर्जन गरेर, परीक्षा दिएर, विद्यालय सकेको प्रमाणपत्र प्राप्त गर्ने एक मात्र महिला ऊ बनेकी थिई । यी सबै उसको परिवारको सुविचार र खुला सोचाइको कारण सफल भएको थियो । उसको यो उपलब्धिले गर्दा उसको टोलका धेरै छोरी चेलीलाई पढ्न दिइएको थियो । तर समाजमा सफल, असल मानिसलाई पनि बाँच्न सजिलो हुँदैन रहेछ । उपलब्धि पाउँदा पनि मानिसहरूले उसलाई छाडेनन् । छोरी चेली भएर धेरै जान्ने हुन खोजेकी भनेर उसले सदैव सुन्नु पर्थ्यो । उसले विद्यालय गएर पढ्नु पनि त्यति सजिलो थिएन । तर पनि उसले आफ्नो परिवारसँग शिर ठाडो पारेर जिउन सिकेकी थिई ।

केहि समयपछि उसले धरान कै एक विद्यालयमा एक शिक्षकको रुपमा जागिर खान थाली । त्यस विद्यालयमा काम गर्दा उसको भेट राजेश दर्जीसँग भयो । राजेश राम्रो शिक्षा प्राप्त गरेको एक अल्पसंख्यक समुदायको युवा थियो । प्रतीक्षा त्यहाँ शिक्षक हुँदाको समयमा ऊ राजेशको मायामा परी । परिवारको विरुद्ध गएर राजेश र प्रतीक्षाले विवाह गरे । अन्तरजातीय विवाह गर्नुको परिणामहरू प्रतीक्षालाई केही पनि थाहा थिएन । उसलाई सानै देखि उसको माता पिताले सुरक्षा दिनुभएको थियो र जीवनमा उसले धेरै भोग्नु परेन । तर विवाह गरेर राजेशको घर बेलबारी गएपछि ऊ अचम्ममा परी । उसको नयाँ परिवार र उसको परिवारमा सबै कुरा फरक थियो। उनीहरूको बानी, उनीहरूको खाना र उनीहरूको संस्कृति । उसको ससुराले त उसलाई काम गर्न, पहिले जसरी विद्यालय  गएर पढाउन दिएनन् । प्रतीक्षाका ससुरा बा पितृसत्तात्मक समाजको एक बलियो वकिलको जस्ता थिए । त्यो समाजका महिलाहरूले कुनै पनि किसिमको पेसा आयआर्जन गर्ने कामका लागि घरबाहिर निस्कनु अकल्पनीय थियो । प्रतीक्षालाई एकदमै अप्ठ्यारो भयो । ऊ आफ्नो घर फर्केर, राजेशलाई छाडेर जान्छु भन्न नि सक्दिन थिई । उसको घरको ढोका उसका लागि अब बन्द थियो ।

यो बाहेक प्रतीक्षाले आफ्नो नयाँ घर र नयाँ जीवनमा झेल्नु पर्ने ठुलो चुनौती थियो स्वच्छताको   । राम्रो स्वास्थ्य र व्यक्तिगत मर्यादा कायम राख्नका लागि व्यक्तिगत सरसफाई एकदमै महत्त्वपूर्ण हुन्छ । ऊ धरान सहरकी बासिन्दा थिई जहाँ अधिकांश घरमा शौचालय हुने गर्थ्यो । तर त्यस्ता सुविधाहरूको अभावमा बेलबारी उसलाई पछाडि परेको ठाउँ जस्तो लाग्यो । त्यहाँ त एउटा शौचालयसमेत पनि थिएन । दिशापिसाब जाँदा खुल्ला जङ्गल घारीमा जानुपर्ने थियो जुन कुराले उसलाई साह्रै चिन्तित बनायो । जङ्गल घारीमा जाँदा विभिन्न साँप, किराहरुको डर पनि हुन्थ्यो अनि स्वास्थ्य पनि जोखिममा हुने गर्थ्यो । सानैदेखि सफा वातावरणमा बसेकी, हुर्केकी, सहरको राम्रो शौचालय चलाएकी मानिस एक्कासी त्यस्तो ठाउँमा पुग्दा उसलाई गाह्रो पर्यो । उसले राजेशलाई एक शौचालय बनाउन सल्लाह पनि दिई तर राजेशले “यो हाम्रो संस्कृति हो । पहिलै देखिको परम्परा हो ।” भनेर उसको कुरो टालिदियो ।  

केही समयपछि राजेशको बुबाको निधन भयो । घरमा प्रतीक्षालाई रोक्ने एक मात्र शक्ति, उसको ससुरा बाको निधनपछि ऊ विभिन्न महिला सशक्तीकरण कार्यक्रम इत्यादीमा सहभागी हुन थाली । उसले तालिमहरू पनि गरी र आफू काम गर्छु भनेर अठोट लिई । तालिमपछि ऊ स्वास्थ्य मन्त्रालयको परिवार नियोजन महाशाखामा काम गर्दै बेलबारी निर्वाचन क्षेत्रको जनस्वास्थ्य व्यवसायी भई । बेलबारीमा महिलाहरूलाई महिनावारी हुँदा, सुत्केरी हुँदा ध्यान दिनुपर्ने सरसफाईको बारेमा ज्ञान रहेन छ । त्यस कारणले त्यहाँको धेरै मानिसहरूको निधन पनि भएको रहेछ । यो थाहा पाएपछि प्रतीक्षाले आगामी दश वर्षमा समुदायका २५० घर परिवारमा पुगेर महिलाहरूलाई प्रजनन स्वास्थ्य, सरसफाई पोषण र अन्य स्वास्थ्य विषयमा शिक्षा दिई ।

उसले यति गर्दा पनि आफ्नो घरमा शौचालय बनाउन सकिन । घरका अरू सदस्यले नमानेपछि आफ्ना ४ छोराछोरी लिएर ऊ घर छाडेर गई । अनि आफैँ एक घर र शौचालय बनाई । बिस्तारै समय बित्दै गएपछि उसको श्रीमान राजेशले पनि उसलाई सहयोग गर्यो । उसले बेलबारीको आफ्नो घरमा शौचालय बनाएर स्वच्छता अभियानको सुरुवात गरेकी थिई । त्यस अभियानलाई उसले नाम दिई “स्वच्छ तन स्वस्थ मन अभियान” । बिस्तारै मानिसहरूले उसलाई देखेर, पैसा बचाएर शौचालय बनाउन थाले र अहिले बेलबारीमा स्वास्थ्य, सरसफाई र शौचालयको निर्माण र त्यसको समुचित सबैमा भएको छ । बेलबारीका मानिसहरूले प्रतीक्षा खतिवडाका कारण व्यक्तिगत सरसफाईको बारेमा जानकारी प्राप्त गरे साथै विभिन्न स्वस्थका विषयहरूको बारेमा पनि जाने । प्रतीक्षाले बिस्तारै विभिन्न संस्थाहरूसँग काम गर्न थाली र बेलबारी मात्र नभएर नेपालका विभिन्न गाउँहरूमा उसले स्वास्थ्य, सफा सुगर, सरसफाईको ज्ञान बाँड्न थाली ।     
 

“Mama I don't want this, I want the expensive one”. David was shouting at his mom Ramisha. David was an extremely spoiled boy. He was the son of a very renowned businessperson. Since his childhood he got everything he wanted. His parents loved him the most and catered to all his needs. He always used to show off in front of his friends but he never let anyone else touch them. Even if anyone did, he used to be angry and rude. He grew up and his demands were getting more and more expensive. If his parents wouldn't buy that he would be angry with them and throw a tantrum. David academics was not good and it was going down day by day. He was a bully at school.

His parents warned him not to be so uptight, but he never listened. They told him that everything would not be the same as always. But he never listened to them. Suddenly they got bankrupt and everything they had respect and reputation went away overnight. His father was working day and night to come back to a nice situation. But on the other hand instead of helping his father David had now started gambling. His parents were totally unaware of it. Everyday some money was being lost from the locker. HIs father got suspicious and he found out that David was the thief and he would spend it all in gambling. Due to his behavior his father was upset and scolded him. His father told him that he would never know the pain and hardship behind the success since he had only seen the money that his parents have earned, not the pain. David was not shaken by his words, instead he shouted at his parents. He blamed them for everything. His mother was crying very hard and trying to make him realize what he did was wrong. But he didn't listen to her and left. Later that night, David bought a ticket to Qatar and announced that from that day he was leaving the house and would never come back. His parents were sad but did not show their emotions because they wanted their son to visit real life and see how hard it was. The moment he left the house and stepped into the world he then realized how hard the actual life was.

Life is not an easy trial. He didn't find a proper job so he had to work in a cement factory. His life was hell because the people didn't treat him well as he was just an intern. He had to sleep in hard beds and had to cook food himself. David remembered his mother and cried. After working he realized how hard it had been for his father to get all the fame and riches. In the factory even if he did something wrong the other big officers used to scold him. He used to cry day and night remembering his family. After 2 years he finally got a chance to go to his home for the new year. When he went there he saw his parents sitting in the living room. He ran towards him and cried. He was sorry for his awful behaviour. He told them how he realized their love, support and hard work. They spent their new year together after a long time. David's father stopped him from going back and offered him a job in his own company. The beautiful family lived happily ever after. David was not the same as before he had become a more responsible and good person. 
 

संसार, डर र घृणाले भरियो
मानव जाति स्वार्थी बने
जहाँ कसैले अरूकाे बारेमा सोच्दैनन्
कसरी हुन्छ शान्ति यहाँ ?

संसारमा तब शान्ति हुने छ, जब
सबै युद्ध र सङ्घर्ष समाप्त हुन्छन्
मानिसहरू सद्भावमा बाँच्न सक्छन्
अभावमा पनि रमाउन सक्छन्  

जब प्रेमलाई साथमा राखी, 
घृणाको अन्त्य गरिन्छ। 
विश्वासकाे करेसाबारीमा खुसीकाे
बिउ छरेर सुखी जीवन उमारिन्छ……. 
त्यसैले मिलेर गरौँ अशान्तिको अन्त्य
र कायम गराैँ विश्व शान्ति । विश्व शान्ति ।।

मरुभूमिमा हराएको यात्री हुँ म 
मृत्युलाई कसरी टार्न सक्छु र 
गिद्धको नजरमा परि सकेको म  
मद्दत, यो सुकेको मुखले कसरी माग्न सक्छु र

आगोमा जलेर खरानी बन्ने कोइला हुँ म  
आफूलाई पोलेको पीडा कसरी  देखाउन सक्छु र  
मेरो रङ कालो भएता पनि 
म भित्र भएको सेतो पनलाई कसरी देखाउन सक्छु र  

फुटाउन नसक्ने ढुङ्गा हुँ म 
तर भित्र भित्र चर्केको कसले देख्न सक्छ र  
मेरो रुप कडा भएता पनि
मेरो कमलो मन कसले हेर्न सक्छ र  

चट्याङ हुँ म 
आफ्नो मनलाई कसरी तर्साउन सक्छु र   
अँध्यारोमा उज्यालो बनाउने म 
मनमा लागेको झट्कालाई देखाउन सक्छु र 
बगिरहने खोला हुँ म 
कसैले रोकेर रोक्न सक्छु र  
हात्ती हुँ म 
कुकुर भुक्यो भन्दैमा पछाडि सर्न सक्छु र ..

This generation uses social media far too much. All the time, we are glued to our screens. While I acknowledge that social media has certain advantages, the drawbacks far outweigh the benefits. Social media is impacting our lives more negatively than positively. Although it is widely believed that young people are the only ones who use social media, in reality, everyone has access to it. A lot of people are “addicted” to social media, either it is just one or many. Toxicity has become common in social media. I have a social media addiction as well. Well, I hate to admit it, but the first thing I do when I get up is browse Pinterest or Tiktok. Most people do this.

On social media, we watch content creators doing bizarre things and taking dangerous risks. It is quite sad that people have begun valuing views and likes over themselves. Seeing others do those kinds of risky things and getting so much attention tempts more people to do so. Some people go way too far to get views and likes. For example wasting food, acting dumb, doing risky things, eating too much and more. This is simply ruining our lives and wasting our time. Instead of doing things that will help us in our life we are looking at the screen and not being productive.

Personally, I have observed that at family gatherings, people continuously use their phones or take pictures rather than conversing or spending time together. Social media is making people distant. Everyone is there on social media but not everyone is there physically or emotionally. Overusing social media results in social isolation and a lack of interaction with others. It's obvious that my ability to socialize has decreased as a result of my excessive usage of social media. Let me remind you that social media promotes cyberbullying, body shaming, unrealistic beauty standards, etc. The biggest reasons for teens being insecure is also due to social media, as we may know social media promotes body shaming and bullying which leads to poor mental health. To be honest not everything shown in social media is real. Social media distorts reality and plays psychological games with us to make us believe what they want us to believe for their own gain and selfish reasons.

Teenagers and children are living the social media life more than real life which causes depression, insecurities, self harm, suicidal thoughts. Social media has been affecting teenagers in a negative way. Using too much social media means grades dropping. Once our addiction to social media starts we will find ourselves spending more time on social media and not studying which will obviously lead to bad academic performance. Also other few negative impacts of social media are sleep deprivation, anxiety, body dysmorphia and low self esteem. After spending time on social media, the majority of teenage females start comparing themselves to celebrities in an effort to be slender, attractive, and wealthy like them.
The question still remains: how do we stop letting social media ruin our lives? The answer is that we can not stop social media from being toxic. Even if we spread awareness about it, the toxicity is still going to remain. In the end I can only say that social networking is here to stay whether we like it or not, whether it is good or bad. The only way we can benefit from it in a positive manner is to draw a line between good and bad and not let it influence our social and psychological well being. 
 

When my mom and dad went abroad I was the sole responsible person in the house. The only people in my house left were me, my little brother, my grandmother and my uncle (My father’s brother). You might wonder, why am I responsible regardless of my uncle’s presence? Mainly because my grandmother is senile to look after us and my uncle would not be at home most of the time. So I had to mainly take care of my brother and my grandma. Well, at first I thought it would be really easy, I could just take it easy and just be a little more responsible. But I could not be more wrong. Right after my mom and dad left I could not bear the pressure. What a hectic job it was. Rest assured my parents are already home right now. I wished I would never have to bear this much pressure and responsibility on me, which is impossible if I want to do something in my life. Getting back to the topic, the responsibility I had was just pressurizing plus there was school. I mean this is nothing compared to the responsibilities of my parents which I do understand but for a teenager like me who had never bore such responsibilities it was extremely difficult  and also a special moment in my life.

I had to wake up early (6:00 A.M) which was already too tiring and also I had to dress my brother, get him ready for school, prepare and eat breakfast, get ready for my school, complete any assignments if any left and go about my day. After that I spent 8 hours in school, came home running, picked my brother up from his bus stop, ate snacks, did my homework, helped my brother with his homework, helped grandma in the kitchen, ate dinner, completed my homework then slept. This basically was my routine for the whole day and everyday for 1 month.

My parents were enjoying their vacation whereas I was burdened with pressure. I am an SEE student with less than 7 months for final examinations and no one can understand the pressure the school gives, with extra activities at school and pressure at home. If I knew I would have to face these problems I would never ever have let my mom and dad go abroad. But on the flip side I am very happy and thankful to my parents for going abroad because I got to learn so much from this once in a lifetime experience. And also I am very thankful to them for trusting me with so much responsibility in their absence. I think I did a good job considering it was my first time with so much work and responsibility resting upon my shoulders. Regardless I would never want to bear such pressure and responsibility at such a young age. I feel like if my classes were off or if school did not give much pressure then I would have done a much better job. I think where I missed to fulfill my responsibilities was not helping my grandma much in the kitchen. I did always help my grandma with something in the kitchen but I should have helped more. This experience will also teach me to manage my work better in the near future.

विद्यालमा भइरहेकाे प्रथम त्रैमासिक परीक्षा सकिएको थियो । राम, हरि र श्याम फुटबल खेल्न फुटबल मैदान गएका थिए । परीक्षा सकिएपछि उनीहरू रमाइलो गरिरहेका थिए । धेरै समयपछि मात्र फुटबल खेलिरहेका थिए । रमाउँदै आफ्नाे शक्तिले सकेजति खुट्टाले बललाई हिर्काउँदै थिए । खेल्दै गर्दा बल अचानक खेल मैदानकाे नजिकै रहेकाे बगैँचामा खस्याे । तिनीहरू बल ल्याउन बगैँचामा गए। बगैँचामा धेरै राम्रा राम्रा फूलहरू फुलेका थिए । बगैँचा अति नै मनमाेहक  थियाे । जताततै फूलहरूकाे सुगन्ध फैलिरहेकाे थियाे । आँखामा नै टाँसिने खालकाे बगैँचाकाे सुन्दरताले सबै छक्क परे। यो सबै तिनीहरूलाई सपना जस्तै लाग्यो।

यो बगैँचामा कसैले धेरै मिहिनेत गरेको हुनुपर्छ भन्ने सबैलाई लाग्याे । तर त्यहाँ बगैँचाकाे अवलाेकन गर्नुभन्दा पनि बलकाे खाेजीमा लाग्नु थियाे । सबै जना बल खोज्नमा व्यस्त भए । बल खाेज्दै गर्दा कसैकाे आवाज सुनियाे । केही समयपछि ती कराउने मानिस हामी नजिकै  आए । यसरी उनीहरूले बगैँचामा नसाेधिकन प्रवेश गरेकाे हुनाले रिसाए । खेल्दाखेल्दै अचानक बल खसेकाे भनी माफी माग्याैँ । ती मानिस त रामले पहिला पढेकाे विद्यालयकाे शिक्षक हुनुहँदाे रहेछ । तिनीहरू सबैले शिक्षकलाई अभिवादन गरे। त्याे विद्यालयमा रहँदा सबै विद्यार्थीहरूसँग राम्रो व्यवहार गर्नुहुन्थ्याे । त्यसैले सबै विद्यार्थीहरूले उहाँलाई मन पराउँथे । कालान्तरमा  शिक्षण पेसा छाडेर के गर्दै थिए कसैलाई पनि थाहा थिएन । 
“आज हजुरसँग भेट हुँदा धेरै खुसी लाग्याे” रामले भन्याे । मैले तिमीहरूलाई नदेखेको धेरै समय भयो। अनि सर याे  बगैँचा त धेरै राम्राे बनाउनु भएछ । अँ ……. अझैँ भनेजति त सुन्दर छैन । बारीमा खटिरहनुपर्छ नत्र अनावश्यक झारपातले फूलहरूलाई बढ्न नै दिदैनन् । फूलहरूकाे माझ त्यस्ता झारपातहरूले बगैँचालाई कुरूप बनाउँछ । वास्तविक जीवनमा पनि असल तथा सफल व्यक्तिकाे राम्राे प्रभाव हुन्छ जसले हरेक जीवनलाई सफलतामा पुऱ्याउन ठुलाे सहयाेग मिल्छ ।  त्यसैले हामी पनि असल व्यक्तिहरूसँग मात्र साथी हुनुपर्छ किनभने तिनीहरूको बानीले हामीलाई धेरै प्रभाव पार्छ र हामी बिस्तारै तिनीहरू जस्तै राम्राे बन्न सक्छौँ ।  तपाईंका साथीहरू असल व्यक्तिहरूसँग छन् भने तपाईं राम्रो व्यक्ति बन्नुहुन्छ तर यदि तपाईं खराब मानिसहरूसँग सङ्गत गर्नुहुन्छ भने तपाईंले आफ्नाे जीवनलाई आफैँ अपमानित गर्नुहुन्छ । त्यसैले हामीले अरूबाट राम्रा कुराहरू सिक्ने प्रयास गर्नुपर्छ।

सबैले सरको कुरा सुनेर खुसी भए ।  धेरै प्रेरणा पनि  पाए । उनीहरूले सरले भनेका प्रत्येक कुरालाई  आत्मसात् गर्ने सङ्कल्प गरे । सरलाई  आभार व्यक्त गरे । त्यसपछि उनीहरूले आफ्नो बल पाए । सरसङ्ग बिदा मागेर उनीहरू आआफ्नाे घरतर्फ लागे । सरकाे कुराले उनीहरूले आफ्नाे जीवनमा ठूलो प्रभाव पारेको कुरा पछिसम्म साथीहरूसङ्ग कुराकानी भइरहन्छ ।