I have always found myself being different from others. I’m not normal, is what they have made me believe. I’ve been away from home for about 6 months. I’ve had no contact with my family. It seems they’ve really forgotten about me. After hearing what I had to say, they had created a toxic environment. Saying they were going to “fix me”. I tried to stay quiet and go with their toxic behaviour but I couldn’t handle it any longer.

I had to escape.

So, I got my own apartment. And I’ve been living alone at 23 with my girlfriend. 
I always thought I was weird for liking girls. Since I was a girl myself. I thought something was wrong with me. But I never told my parents. Maybe I just knew that they were homophobes and wouldn’t handle me being a lesbian. I thought that maybe it was just a phase and I would eventually get out of it. I was taught strictly that heterosexual marriages were the norm and same-sex marriage was a sin. Fearing I was a sinner, I kept my mouth shut, suffering alone at 12 without telling anyone.

My parents are first-class homophobes. Like everything I owned had to be pink. Everything my brother owned had to be blue. We were expected to act feminine and masculine. While I sat doing all the chores in the house, my brother did nothing. I wouldn’t really blame him as he sometimes tries to help me but my mother just kicks him out of the kitchen. They expect me and my brother to get married after 25 and produce grandbabies for them.

By the time I was 14. I had more knowledge about my sexuality. My source was, of course, the internet. There, I learned that it was normal to like people of the same gender.

I was in 9th grade at the time. That’s when I first saw her, Lucinda. She was a transfer in our class. She was fairly very attractive. She had black hair, blue eyes, thick eyebrows, long lashes and heart-shaped lips. It was almost love at first sight. I had completely drowned myself in the thought that I would never be able to be with a girl as beautiful as her.

“Mary” was considered the most beautiful girl before Lucinda. She was always jealous of her. She often bullied Lucinda. No one spoke up to her fearing they would be her next victims.

Lucinda always seemed lonely. She sat alone at lunch. She didn’t have any friends. She was totally capable of destroying Mary’s popularity. But she didn’t do anything. She always sat back and let people bully her. She seemed like a very kind soul who just didn’t want extra trouble. Since we were both lonely people at school, I befriended her. I didn’t mind getting bullied by Mary for befriending Lucinda. She had already been bullying me since the 5th grade. I never got why she needed to do that.

Lucinda and I instantly got close. It was like we were childhood best friends. We just clicked. We had a lot of things in common. From a friend’s perspective, she is an amazing person. From a lover’s perspective, she is the most beautiful, creative and passionate and kind person I’ve ever met.

I enjoyed being with her a lot. By the end of 12th grade, we had become so close that people on the street often stared at us or asked us if we were “lesbians”. We always said we were best friends but I knew that we both didn’t like calling ourselves some platonic best friends. So, at the end of 12th grade, I knew I had to confess my feelings. I always had a feeling she liked me back. The feeling was, in fact, true. She instantly took the rose from my hand and started kissing me. Honestly, it felt like paradise.

After dating her for 5 years throughout my bachelor years. I knew it was time to come out to my parents. I thought it was now or never. I thought they would understand me better since I was an adult and accept me as I am. I didn’t expect them to accept me right away. But coming out was a huge mistake. They started taking me to temples and started hiring people to do witchcraft on me. They even took me to the doctors but the nurses just asked my mother if she was crazy and asked me to contact them if I needed any help. I stayed quiet for a month. Waiting for them to come to their senses. But after it seemed like they weren’t gonna change at all, I left. I left home.

I got an apartment with Lucinda. Living with each other made us closer than ever. Of course, we fought sometimes. We weren’t perfect. But I guess relationships do need some conflicts because every time we fight, we end up getting even closer to each other.

I always knew I was going to marry Lucinda. So, after 6 years of dating, I finally proposed to her a month ago. She accepted it with flying arms and kisses. It felt like the first time she accepted my proposal. Like paradise. I truly loved this girl.

During June this year, we even participated in the pride parade. We made so many new friends. It was the best month ever. My brother cut off all his contact with our parents. They were very toxic to both of us. Turns out they started forcing marriage and responsibilities on him. He needed to break free. He left home as well a month ago. We’re very close. We’ve always been close. We call each other twice or thrice a week. Just last night, he told me he found out he was bi and was dating his first male lover. I was extremely happy for him. And we got even closer because of it. We even went on a double date. His boyfriend is absolutely amazing.

My parents have been trying to get in contact with me and my brother after he left. Maybe they realised that they won’t be able to survive old age without their two children who they absolutely tormented. After consulting with my brother and my girlfriend. We’ve decided to give them one last chance since they are our parents after all. I’ve invited them to the wedding in 2 months. We have no intentions of meeting them before that. But I guess only time will decide whether they deserve their own children or not.

“I, Mia Shrestha stand here today not to give a motivational speech but to share the story of my life that I have been hiding and I think I am ready to let you all know this part of my life. A particular story I am really grateful for. This is my first time sharing this story with anyone else. So here it goes. I always knew I was different from others. My friends always talked about developing feelings for the opposite genders but never for the same one or both genders. I developed feelings for both genders so I thought something was wrong with me and I had some issues but I was too scared to talk to anyone about it or ask anyone for help. I thought if I ever told any of my friends about it they would laugh at me and call me “weird”.

I was too curious so one day I googled it and found out that nothing was wrong with me and I was just a part of a community where there are a lot of people who are like me, the LGBTQ+ community. I found out I was bisexual, an individual who likes both genders. I was happy that I finally got answers to all my questions through google and it gave me the joy to learn more and more about the LGBTQ+ community. Once while talking to my friends during lunch break, somehow we landed on the LGBTQ+ topic and my friends seemed to be really supportive and had a lot of knowledge about it. So I decided to come out to them as they were the ones I trusted the most once and I was surprised by how supportive they were about it. It was the first day of 10th grade and surprisingly a new girl came to our school. The moment I saw her hazel brown hazel eyes, her waist long black hair. She was wearing a long blue bodycon which complimented her body perfectly and she looked gorgeous in it. I felt like I had never seen anyone as beautiful as her. I went to her and introduced myself and she told me her name was Alisha Neupane. Later on, I learned that she was also part of the community which made me ecstatic. I wanted to confess my feelings toward her but was too scared about it. Six months later I still had a crush on her and we got closer in those months and I gathered all my courage to confess my feelings. Surprisingly she reciprocated my feelings. Eventually we began dating, we were young but it felt right. 6 months passed and we were happier than ever. We told our friends about it and they supported us too. But right after giving SLC things started going downhill. She became distant and rude, and I felt like she got annoyed with me. One day she came to me and told me that she was pretending to be a part of the LGBTQ+ community and all this was a joke. She made 6 months a joke. I was completely shattered and heartbroken. Of course we broke up. We blocked each other and became strangers but with a lot of fun memories together. A week later my friend sent me a screenshot of a picture of her holding hands with a girl in which she had written the caption “My love forever and ever.” I was shocked to see it but somewhere in my heart knew that it would happen so I ignored it. I moved on slowly but surely. I graduated from high school and joined a university. One Saturday I was chilling at my house when I received an envelope from Alisha. It was her wedding card. I was happy for her but somewhere debating if I should go or not but I remembered the time when we had promised each other that no matter what we would always be there for each other at their happiest times. So I decided to go. She looked different but pretty. She was the most beautiful bride I had ever seen. When she saw me, she was shocked. It was extremely visible on her face that she did not expect me to be there. She would have not expected me to be there as she did not come to even see me off as I moved to my dream university. It was hard seeing her getting married to someone else but deep down I knew she was happy and that made me happy. She is now happily married. Whereas I got married to an amazing woman named Maria who loves me very much. We are even planning to adopt kids. We have been married for 2 years and I am really happy. Thank You”

This was the first time she came out to the world. No one knew that she got married to a girl as they had court marriages. Only people from her close family and friends knew about this secret. She now felt like a huge burden had come off her as now she can freely walk around calling Maria her wife and holding hands without thinking about what other people would think as she was a public figure to be more clear a public speaker.  

कलम एउटा लेख्ने साधन हो । यो साधन प्लास्टिकले बनेको हुन्छ । तर यसको टुप्पो धातुले बनेको हुन्छ । कलम थरिथरिका हुन्छन् । जसलाई बल पेन,  फाउन्टेन पेन, जेल पेन आदि । कलमले लेख्नकाे लागि कलममा मसी चाहिन्छ ।  मसीविना कलम हुँदैन र कलमविना मसी हुँदैन । साथै कलमले लेख्नकाे लागि हामीलाई कापी पनि चाहिन्छ । कलम मानिसको पढाइ लेखाइसँग जाेडिएकाे एउटा महत्त्वपूर्ण आविष्कार हो । कलम पहिले पढाइका अतिरिक्त सञ्चार आदानप्रदान गर्न पनि प्रयाेग हुन्थ्याे । आजकल कलम धेरै कुरामा प्रयोग हुन्छ । अबकाे समय भनेकाे  कलमविना हाम्रो जीवन कल्पना पनि गर्न सकिँदैन । कलमकाे माध्यमबाट भानुभक्त आचार्यले रामायण अनुवाद गरे । कलमकै सहाराले लक्ष्मीप्रसाद देवकोटाले आफ्ना रचनाहरू सिर्जना गरे र महाकवि बने । कलमद्वारा नै चित्रकलाको आविष्कार भयो । 
मानिस एउटा समाजिक प्राणी हो ।  हामी सोच्न र कल्पना गर्न सक्छौँ । कलमलेनै  एउटा मानिसलाई आफ्ना सोच, विचार, कल्पना कपीमा उतार्न मद्दत गर्छ । कलम लेखकहरूले मात्र प्रयोग नगरी हरेक क्षेत्रका मानिसले प्रयोग गर्छन् । डाक्टर, विद्यार्थी, इन्जिनियर,शिक्षक सबै कलमकाे सहाराले आफूलाई चिनाइरहेका छन् ।  हामीले कलम चित्रकला बनाउन, बुँदा टिपोट गर्न, गणना गर्न पनि प्रयोग गर्छौँ । कलम पत्रकारिता क्षेत्रमा धेरै प्रयोग हुन्छ । पहिले टाइपको आविष्कार नहुँदा राजा महाराजालाई समाचार कलमद्वारा लेखेर आउँथ्यो । 
हतियारले झुट, घृणा र रगत ल्याउँछ भने कलमले सत्य, माया  र प्रेम ल्याउँछ । कुनै दुईटा देशको युद्ध हुँदा तिनीहरूले हतियार प्रयोग गर्छन् । अनि त्यही युद्धलाई रोक्न तिनीहरूले कलमद्वारा सन्धि गर्छन् ।  यति मात्र नभई कलमकाे सहाराले नै  धार्मिक पुस्तक, कानुन आदि पनि लेखिएका छन् । यसै कारण कलमकाे महत्त्व हरेक मानिससँग जाेडिएकाे छ । कलमद्वारा एउटा मान्छेको जीवनी लेखिन्छ र ऊ इतिहासमा अमर बन्छ । कलम एउटा लेख्ने साधन मात्रै नभएर एउटा इतिहास हो भन्न सकिन्छ । 

बाटो बिग्रेको पनि करिब करिब डेड वर्ष भइसकेछ । आज बन्ला, भोलि बन्ला भन्दाभन्दै महिनौँबाट वर्ष पुगिसकेछ । यो मेरो ठाउँको कुरा मात्र नभएर धेरै जसो ठाउँको अवस्था रहेको छ । वर्षाको दुई मौसम गइसक्दा पनि बाटो नबनेको देखेर कहिलेकाहीँ सारै नै रिस उठेर आउँछ । मलाई लाग्छ यो सबै अव्यवस्थित विकासको कारण भइरहेको छ । 
दुई वर्षअघि बाटोघाटो पिच गरिएको थियो र दुई ओटा गाडी मज्जाले ओहाेरदाेहाेर गर्न मिल्ने थियो । त्यसपछि बाटो बढाउने निहुँमा सबै खनियो र बाटो त बढ्यो तर बाँकी सबै बिग्रिए । न बाटोको बिचमा भएको पोल सारेको छ, न त बाटो पिच गरिएको छ । भर्खरै माटो र ढुङ्गा बाटोभरि थुपारिएको थियो । त्यो समयमा गाडी चढ्न त टाढैको कुरा राम्ररी हिँड्न पनि सकिने अवस्था थिएन । कैयौँ हप्तापछि बल्ल त्यसलाई पेलियो । पेलेपछि त अलिक आनन्द हुन्छ कि भन्ने महसुस भएको थियो तर, हाम्रो सोचाइ गलत साबित हुन पुग्यो । त्यही समयमा पिच गरेको भए कुरा नै त्यही सकिन्थ्यो तर हैन । नगरपालिकालाई वर्षा आउने कुरा त थाहा नै थिएन होला । त्यसैले माटो पेलेको बाटो केवल भल बग्ने खोला बन्न पुगेको छ । यही बाटो नजिकै नगरपालिका छ । नगरपालिकामा काम गर्ने  सबै मान्छे यही बाटो हुँदै जान्छन् । दु:ख त उनीहरूले पनि देखेकै हुन् तर खै त काम भएको ? आज भर्खरै उजुरी दिन वडा कार्यालय पनि गएका थियौँ तर बजेट भाद्रसम्म छुट्टाइँदैन भन्ने उत्तर आयो । बाटो हिलाम्मे भएका कारण मेरो आफ्नै छिमेकी चिप्लिएर खुट्टा भाँचियो । कुनै न कुनै प्रकारले सम्पूर्ण सवारी साधन र मानिसलाई क्षति पुगेको छ । अब मलाई भन्नुस् सरकारले बनाएको बाटो हिलाम्मे भएर मानिस घाइते हुँदा उपचार गर्न चाहिने पैसा के सरकारले बेहोर्छ त ? अवश्य बेहाेर्दैन । अब भन्नुस् त यसरी हुन्छ त हाम्रो देशको विकास ? प्राविधिकहरू पनि भ्रष्ट भएको कारण अनुगमन गर्दा गुणस्तरहीन सामग्रीको प्रयोग र लापरवाहीले काम गरेको देखिन्छ । अहिलेका युवा विदेसिनु र नफर्किनुको मुख्य कारण यहाँको सडक लगायतका सम्पूर्ण भौतिक संरचना पनि हो । विदेश गएर चिल्लो बाटोमा सरर कुदेका युवाहरूलाई फेरि नेपाल फर्केर खाल्डा र खुल्डीमा कुद्न के मन लाग्ला त ? पक्कै पनि लाग्दैन । यस्तो हुँदा पनि सम्बन्धित निकाय चुप लगेर बसेको देखिन्छ । मैले भनेको कुरा सुनेर धेरैले भन्नु होला कि युवाहरूले आफ्नै देशमा चिल्ला बाटा बनाउनका लागि त काम गर्नु पर्ने हो नि तर सबैलाई थाहा भएकै कुरा हो, कि नेपालमा हामी आमजनताले विकास गर्न कति गाह्रो काम हो । अन्तत: देश विकासको एकदमै आवश्यक पूर्वाधारमध्ये सडक एक हो । यसैको प्रयोगले सामान तथा मानिसहरूलाई एक ठाउँबाट अर्को ठाउँमा जान्छन् । यस्तो मूख्य पूर्वाधारमा नै यस्तो खेलवाड हुन थालेपछि शिक्षा, स्वास्थ्यजस्ता अरू पूर्वाधारहरूको विकास गरी कसरी देश अघि बढ्ला  ? याे आजकाे साेचनीय विषय हाे ।

A world of magic is said to be an imaginary world, but some people believe it exists.

I am Mike, a college student and I’m 21 years old. As almost all students I was bored of my high school life and wanted something different. One fine day, I was walking down the street. I had secretly bunked my class that day. I suddenly heard some weird noises. I ignored them and kept walking and finally I saw something like a portal that had appeared out of thin air, exhaling something antique like. Quickly, I noticed that people were walking past it as if there was nothing. So I tried to walk away too like any other person would, minding their own business, but for some reason I could not suppress the will to see what was happening. I’d always liked to explore places and go on adventures. I was curious and searched for some place different, different from the world I lived in. So, with curiosity and an adventurous will I jumped into the weird looking thing. Just as I entered the portal I saw some people fighting but I could not believe my eyes. They were using some sort of magic. The fight was furious. Both fought as if they were fighting to survive.

After seeing them fight I looked around and I saw people fighting as if they were involved in some sort of war. I felt like running so I turned around but to my surprise the portal was not there. My legs started shaking like crazy and I was about to cry.  I got in and I found myself in a world that looks totally different from ours. There were cars flying in the sky and all the buildings in front of me were tall. I thought I traveled to the future but found that it was a parallel dimension where things worked differently. I saw Adolf Hitler’s statue there and  below it was written “The man who sacrificed himself for the world”. I  was surprised. But the next thing I saw almost gave me a heart attack,  I noticed that the statue had Hitler dressed up like a scientist. Then I walked around for a bit and I saw tons of people there including myself but I was not a Male or a Female. I was a transwoman. I was shocked for a moment but then thought that’s perfectly fine. Because of the conditions I had grown up in I had the wrong mindset.  But then I saw another portal. I thought maybe I could go back to my own world, but unfortunately I didn’t. I got into another world where there were tents all around. And people were working in the fields. I saw myself again but this time as a woman and surprisingly there was another me working with me. The other one was a member of the queer community.

Seeing that, I thought that if we could live together with people of all genders without any discrimination than the world would be a better place for everyone. But that wasn’t the end of it. I saw a portal again but this time I was forced to get in  and I found myself falling on my bed and it's morning. My homework is being done by my magic and I return to my regular life.

करिब एक हजार ६०० वर्ष  पुरानाे याे जात्राको विशिष्ट सांस्कृतिक एवं धार्मिक महत्त्व रही आएको छ । पाटनको सबैभन्दा महत्त्वपूर्ण तथा उपत्यकाकै सबैभन्दा लामो जात्राका रूपमा रहेको याे जात्रा वैशाखशुक्ल प्रतिपदादेखि सुरू भई असारशुक्ल चौथीमा समाप्त हुने गरेको छ ।

राताे मच्छिन्द्रनाथ जात्रा पाटन र ललितपुरको लागि अत्यन्तै महत्त्वपूर्ण जात्रा हो । यो पाटनकाे एक प्रकारको धार्मिक जात्रा हो । पुल्चोकको बिचमा ६० सेन्टिमिटर अग्लो कोरीट निर्माण गरेर महोत्सव सुरु हुन्छ । रथ सकिएपछि उनको मन्दिरमा रहेको ढुङ्गाको प्रतिमा स्थापना गरिन्छ । ढुङ्गा दया तबहालबाट पुल्चोकसम्म ल्याइन्छ । चकुवा ड्याहको सबैभन्दा सानो रथ भने यसको यात्रामा पूरा हुन्छ। रथ तान्ने पहिलो दिन धेरै रमाइलो गर्छन् । पहिलो दिन विभिन्न ठाउँबाट ल्याएका बाजाहरू बजाएर बाजाको धुनमा धुमधाम नाचगान गर्छन् । बेलुकी ४ बजे पुल्चोकको बिचमा पुगेपछि एक अर्कालाई भेट्ने बित्तिकै मङ्गलबजारबाट सानो रथको लागि  सानो र ठुलो रथको  लागि ठुलाे डाेरीले पुल्चोकदेखि गहबलसम्म तानेर लगिन्छ । दोस्रो दिन ठुलो र सानो रथ मङ्गलबजारबाट सुन्धारासम्म तानेर लैजाने परम्परा थियाे । अहिले याे मङ्गल बजार जावला खेल आदि विभिन्न ठाउँमा तानेर लगिन्छ । छैटौँ दिन ठुला र सानो रथ चक्रवहिलबाट लगनखेलसम्म तानेर पुराइन्छ । लगनखेलको बिचमा एउटा ठुलो रुख रहेको छ  । जसमा ठुलाे र सानो रथलाई २, २ राउन्ड घुमाइन्छ । चाखलाग्दो कुरा के छ भने ७ औँ दिन महिलाले लगनखेलसम्म रथ तान्ने परम्परा छ । ठिक छेउँमा पुगेपछि ठुला छोटो र सानाे रथ जावलाखेल पुग्छन् । दुई रथ जावलाखेल पुगेपछि ज्योतिषीले भूतजात्राको मिति तय गर्छन् । भूत जात्रालाई ठुलो रथको बनियान जात्रा भनिन्छ । तिनीहरूले राज्यको प्रमुख व्यक्ति नियुक्त गर्छन् र सरकारी अधिकारीहरू ठुलाे रथमा चढ्छन्  । तिनीहरू चारैतिरबाट रत्नले जडित कालो बनियान देख्छन् । जसलाई हेर्न मानिसहरू भेला हुन्छन् । जावलाखेलमा भोटाे समारोहपछि रातो मच्छिन्द्रनाथ धिङ्गा दहको मूर्ति बुङ्गामती फर्काइन्छ । त्यहाँ ६ महिना बिताइएपछि सानो रथ आफ्नै घर जान्छ ।

The war had finally ended in 1945, September 2nd. Innumerable people were affected by it. Some lost their loved ones, some were on the street begging for food, some were forced to fight for their country but even in the midst of all this people were happy and enjoying their lives. Among those people there lived a family away from all the war and conflicts in Syberia. The Jonas family lived there in between the snowy mountains. Their family had lived there for generations. The Jonas family consisted of 5 members. Father Sam, Mother Lia, Grandma Jess, elder daughter Lily and younger son Alexander. 

They were a happy family. Lily had just finished her high school and was searching for a college and young Alexander was in high school. Their family were very renowned shoe makers, it was a family business passed down from generation to generation. Somehow they were running their family. Sam and Lia were a lovely couple, they worked and helped each other in whatever they could. Grandma also helped in the shop with them, so the whole family was involved in the business. 

Lily was a very talkative child but she was well behaved. Whereas, Alexander did not talk much and he did not have many friends. He seemed very lonely. His parents were also very worried for him since he did not talk or interact with anyone. One day Sam asked Alexander to deliver a shoe because he was busy with something else. So, Alexander took his bicycle and he went to deliver the shoes to the given address. He reached the address in about 15 mins, since it was not far away. He knocked on the door, but no one seemed to open it. He knocked it again, then there was a voice “Coming!”. The door opened, and there was a boy who seemed new to the place. They also seemed like they were about the same age. Alexander was a little shocked to see him. He had curly hair, his eyes were big and he was cute. Just then it started raining heavily.

“Hello, are you here to deliver the shoes?” he said. Alexander could not say anything, the words just did not come out of his mouth so, he just nodded his head and gave the shoes and turned back. “Hey! Wait, it's raining heavily, why don’t you come inside and sit until the rain stops?” he said, Alexander could not deny him because it actually was raining very heavily. So he walked inside. It seemed that they had just moved there. “By the way, I am Alex,” he said. That fateful night Alexander had made his first friend Alex.

Alexander and Alex started to meet more and more, they were very similar to each other. They started hanging out more and more. After that Alexander seemed very happy every day. His parents were shocked, happy and surprised by this much change, that gloomy boy Alexander now looked very happy everyday. They were together every time. Days passed and one day Alex and Alexander were at a barn near where they lived. They usually went to that barn to hangout. They were watching the sunset and suddenly Alex held Alexander’s hand and he said, “I think I’m in love with you.” Hearing this Alexander’s heart started beating faster, inside his mind he badly wanted to say that he was also in love with him but the words did not come out. His face turned red, he was smiling but didn’t say anything as the sun was setting, Alex suddenly kissed him. After that Alexander ran towards his home, went into his room, locked the door and jumped on the bed covering his face with a pillow and smiled, tears were coming out of his eyes, but they were not the tears of sadness, he was happy. He never had made a friend before and now he is in love with a boy, his best friend. It was the happiest day of his life. 

जसले मलाई जहिल्यै अफ्ठ्‌यारोमा सहयोग गर्छिन्, जसले मलाई हरेक समस्याको समाधान नडराई गर्न सिकाइन्,आफूप्रति विश्वास राखेर पछाडि नफर्कि अगाडि बढ्न सिकाईन् त्यस्ती मेरी साथी हुन्- अदिति ।

म मेरी साथीसँग भौतिक रूपमा मात्र टाढा छु । उसको र मेरो शरीर मात्र टाढा छ तर हामी मनबाट कहिल्यै टाढा छैनौँ । हामी मिलन हुने माध्यम भनेको इन्टरनेट हो । म जहिले हताश र निराश हुँदा मलाई ढाडस दिने उही अदिति हो । मैले जसलाई मन मिल्ने साथी पाएकी छु; त्यस्ती साथी आजभोलि कमैले पाउँछन् । साथी त हुनु तर दुःख सुखमा साथ दिने मेरी मन मिल्ने आदिति जस्तो । उसको असल र सहयोगी भावनाले गर्दा उसलाई सबैले मन पराउँछन् । तन जस्तो भए पनि उसको मन सफा छ । साथीक मानिसको सुख दुःखको सहयोगी हो । आफूले आफ्ना पारिवारलाई भन्न नसक्ने कुरा पनि हामी हाम्रा साथीलाई सजिलै भन्न सक्छौँ । हामीसँग बोल्ने, हाँस्ने, खेल्ने, रुने मान्छे भनेको नै साथी हो । हामी हाम्रा मनका भावना, विचारलगायत सम्पूर्ण कुराहरू साथीसँग बाँड्न सक्छौँ । यो सबै कुरा बाँड्न मिल्ने भनेको मन मिल्ने असल साथीसँग मात्र हो । मानिसले उन्नति, प्रगति गर्नमा पनि साथीको प्रेरणा,हौसला र सहयोग एउटा अभिभावकको भन्दा कम हुँदैन।

मेरी प्यारी साथीले अहिलेसम्म मलाई धेरै कुरा सिकाईन्, जुन कुरा मेरा लागि मात्र नभएर सबैका लागिसमेत उत्तिकै उपयोगी छन् । त्यसैले मैले ऊसँग जे जति समय बिताएँ ती अमूल्य थिए । ऊसँगको मेरो घनिष्ठताकै कारण ऊ मेरी प्रिय साथी बनेर मेरो मनमा बस्न सफल भएकी छिन् । हुनत मेरा मिल्ने साथी अरू कोही नभएका होइनन् । लोरेन, स्मारिका, पनि मिल्ने साथी नै हुन् । तर त्यसमा विशेष भनेको अदिति नै हो । ऊ पनि मलाई निकै माया गर्छे । म पनि उसलाई सक्दाे सहयोग गर्छु । यसरी नै हामी साथीसाथी बिचको सम्बन्ध चलिरहेको छ र चलिरहोस् ।

Chris woke up after his mom scolded him for waking up late. He is a high schooler, work piled up and things were getting a little too hard to handle. He freshen up and got ready for school. He ate his breakfast and ran out of the house. He was late for school but still managed to reach there on time. He sat on his bench. Beside him sat a boy named Noah. Noah was a diligent student loved by everyone. Chris admired him a lot. They both chatted for a while until the teacher came. The whole day Chris kept staring at Noah. He was in love. Yes, Chris was gay. He and Noah both were dating each other. They talked, held each other's hand, and smiled at each other. They both were so in love with each other. No one knew about their relationship except Jessy, their girl best friend. Jessy supported both of them. Noah and Chris didn’t tell anyone about them being in a relationship because society was very judgmental and they thought no one would accept them which of course was very true. LGBTQ+ community is hated by everyone which is very sad to see. It's the 21st century but still people have an old mindset. It was lunch break. Noah, Chris, and Jessy sat on a table and ate their food. They also talked about how Noah’s and Chris’s relationship was going on. Jessy persuaded them to tell that to their parents but both of them denied, they were horrified thinking about it. 

One day when Chris was walking in the hallway students started whispering things about him which made him anxious. He saw Noah crying while running. Students were laughing but he did not understand why. He ran after Noah in the bathroom. Noah was going to lock himself but Chris stopped him. When asked why he was running Noah confessed that everyone knew they were gay and dating. Due to this the other students were teasing Noah while Chris only got angrier. He went to the hall and shouted, gaining everyone’s attention. He asked who told everyone they are gay. Nobody admitted it, then it hit him. Only Jessy knew. It was the only way. The boys were heartbroken to find that their best friend, the one whom they could confide in, was the one to expose them. When they confronted her, she admitted that she was disgusted by them. Hearing that made Chris sad but angry. By now, everyone including Noah and Chris’s parents knew them being gay. Their parents scolded them, lectured them and they even expressed their disgust. They both were kicked out from school just because they were gay. They both were locked inside their house. No one supported them. Chris and Noah both were separated without any medium to communicate with each other. They were struggling. So, Noah thought of something. Noah planned to run away from the house with Chris. At night when everyone slept, he packed his bag and sneaked out of the house. He reached Chris's home and knocked on his window. Chris was shocked to see him. Noah told Chris about his plan, immediately agreed and they fled. With the little money both the boys had managed they caught a plane to another city. They started living together.  A kind couple, Zennie and Pal helped them find a place to stay. Noah and Chris were very happy that at least someone cared and accepted them. Both of them worked as well as completed their studies. 6 years passed, they now both have stable jobs. They are earning well and also have a nice place to stay. They are still in touch with Zennie and Pal. They are accepted in the society they live in.  They have planned something that is going to change their whole life. They stood in front of the adoption center  carrying their adopted daughter. Yes, they adopted a child. Now, they have a family, a happy family. Although the present was not easy for them to get, all their past struggles made it so worth it.

चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्ष परम्परागत चन्द्रमा र सौर्य चिनियाँ पात्राेमा नयाँ वर्षको सुरुवात मनाउने चाड हो। चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षलाई चन्द्र नयाँ वर्ष पनि भनिन्छ। चीनमा यसलाई वसन्त पर्व भनिन्छ। वसन्त ऋतुको सुरुवातबाट सुरु हुने भएकाले चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षलाई अहिले वसन्त पर्वको रूपमा चिनिन्छ। यसलाई चिनियाँ मानिसहरू र सिनोफोन समुदायहरूद्वारा अवलोकन गरिन्छ । यसको अर्थ "चिनियाँ-भाषी" हो । सामान्यतया चिनियाँ भाषाको कम्तीमा एक प्रकार बोल्ने व्यक्तिलाई जनाउँछ। चीनबाहेक कोरिया, ताइवान, भियतनाम, सिंगापुर, मलेसिया र जापानजस्ता धेरै एसियाली देशहरूमा पनि यो परम्परा मनाइन्छ । मलेसियामा चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्ष१५ दिनसम्म मनाइन्छ ।

चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षको उत्सव अघि निकै तयारी गरिन्छ । पाहुनालाई स्वागत गर्न परिवारहरूले सुरुमा आफ्नो घर सफा गर्छन् । तर, चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षमा भुइँ झार्नु राम्रो मानिदैन । किनभने चाडपर्वमा पनि परिवारले आफ्नो सबै सौभाग्य हराउने विश्वास गरिन्छ । यस परम्परामा पनि धेरै मूल्यमान्यता र धार्मिक कार्यहरू छन् । मानिसहरू रातो लुगा लगाएर रातो कागजले घर सजाउने र साथीहरूलाई रातो खाम बाँड्ने गर्थे ।  

चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षको समयमा अन्य मान र परम्पराहरू बेलुकाको खाना हो जस्तैः नयाँ वर्षको पूर्वसन्ध्यामा विशेष परिकारहरू खाने, रातो खामहरू साटासाट गर्ने र घर सफा गर्ने । चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षमा तिनीहरूको सबैभन्दा विशेष परिकारहरू मिठो चामलको केक, मिठो चामलको बल, डम्पलिङ, माछा, ट्याङ्गेरिन, सुन्तला आदि हुन् । चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षको समयमा पारिवारिक पुनर्मिलनको महत्त्व पनि दर्शाइन्छ ।  चिनियाँहरूले चिनियाँ नयाँ वर्षको रात्रिभोजको समयमा आफ्नो आआफ्नाे कार्यक्रमको योजना बनाउँछन् । परिवारलाई सामान्य रूपमा लिनुको सट्टा नयाँ वर्षको समयमा बच्चाहरूलाई महत्त्वपूर्ण परम्परा र पाठहरू सिकाउँछन् ।  किनभने तिनीहरू ठुला भएपछि तिनीहरूले आफ्नो परिवारसँग यो परम्परा पुस्ता हस्तान्तरण गर्न चाहन्छन् । याे परम्परा हराएर नजाओस् भन्ने उनीहरूकाे उद्देश्य रहेकाे हुन्छ ।

I always love to dress like women, do makeup like women and “act” like them. Since childhood I used to play with dolls rather than cars, video games etc and I have always loved to hangout with girls. My name is Thomas Shah. I am a gay and I am proud of it but I could never understand why do society have problems about it knowing that I am happy being a gay. Most of my childhood was spent at a hostel staying away from home at the age of  5  as my parents used to work in different provinces and they couldn't make time for me. I used to love to hangout with my female friends and because me and my cousin sister were classmates it was easier to me with hangout with them  and they didn't have any problems with it but the boys of my class always used to bully me, tease me and it was affecting my mental health so badly.

I used to wear lipstick and eyeliner from a sister who used to take care of those students who used to stay at the hostel. She was my bestfriend and my second mother. She always used to support me and I used to take her kurta’s shawl as a sari and dance every night. I used to feel beautiful and confident. Her name was Cris, we shared an amazing bond. I always confided all my feelings to her, even my crushes.  Since grade 8 I had a crush on a guy who was my friend since playgroup. He was the sweetest, the perfect guy in my eyes. He was the only one who didn't bully me among all the guys in the class. I didn't know how he felt about me but for me he was an angel to me. I always used to dream about him and somehow he knew that I had a crush on him since then he started to act weirdly and I was scared. What if I lost him? What if he stopped talking with me? and many more thoughts that used to come in my mind. My mental health got worse and there were many sleepless nights. My fear of losing him was increasing. I always wanted to talk with him but I just couldn't do it, I was afraid I would drive him away. Days and months passed by but my love for him never ceased to exist. We used to have eye contact and his eyes were the prettiest, I always admired them. Everynight I used to tell Cris about him and she noticed how giddy and happy it made me to talk about him. Fast forward, after grade 8 was over, I had to go on a family vacation where Cris persuaded me to tell my parents about my sexuality.

I was so scared and nervous. Many thoughts were running through my mind. What if they abandon me? What if they disown me? But when I finally built the courage to tell them, they took it easily and accepted me. I was over whelmed. My vacation was over and I told Cris everything about it and she was so happy for me and after 4 months I went to talk with the boy I love. His name - Nasir. His name is beautiful just like him. He talked with me like before and finally I opened up to him and the most beautiful moment was when he accepted. He used to like me too. We hugged each other and talked for like 3-4 hours and today we celebrate our 6th anniversary. I consider myself the luckiest man to have such a wonderful and supportive human by my side. Even the society has not completely accepted us but it's not about the society, it's about me and Nasir.

जति वर्षिन्छन् थोपाहरू 

म त्यति शान्त हुन्छु ।

सबै ध्यान आवाजतिर लागेर 

म सङ्गीत सुन्छु ।

कहिले कृषकको सहारा बन्छ

कहिले दुःखीको हर्ष

वर्षाले योगदान दिई

काम अनेक गर्छ ।

राम्रो मात्र गर्दैन 

तर

बोट बिरुवा ढलाउँछ

बालीनाली बिगारेर जीवन 

तहसनहस पनि बनाउँछ ।

बाटोभर जलाशय अनि खाल्डाखुल्डी  

गाडी चल्न दिँदैन यसले

काम जति रोकिए

तर

झरी रोकिदैन

जति पाेखिए पनि सकिँदैन ।

यसका पनि छन् हेर 

घरी घरी फेर्छ रूप हेर

बिगार्छ र सपार्छ पनि 

तर 

लाग्छ यसकाे अपार माया ।