5/7/2013
by Ujjwal Acharya
4 Comments

Girl at Delhi Airport

“Dai, will they put me in jail?” The girl, probably in her mid-20s, asked me after I showed her the gate that would open after a couple of hours for her flight to Kathmandu.

“Who? Where?”

“Indian police here. Or Nepali police in Kathmandu.”

I looked at her. She was pretty; dressed in worn-out jeans. “Have you studied in college?” I asked her.

“No. I got off with a boy when I was in last year of my school; he turned out to be a drug-addict and I left him to go to Gulf.” She said, now more frank and honest with me. Earlier, when I asked her name and address in Nepal, she stared at me a couple of minutes before uttering a name and an address. Continue Reading →

4/29/2013
by Ujjwal Acharya
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Responsible Social Media

(This write-up is published in April 2013 issue of Samhita – a quarterly publication of Press Council Nepal.)

Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, during his speech to mark the Press Council of Nepal’s anniversary in September 2012, talked critically about social media and its content. He said:

“Social media have become very useful and effective for quick dissemination of news, quick feedback & quick response, but we are seeing indications that the content & language uploaded on social media are becoming challenge to society, social harmony, national unity, national integrity & individual’s privacy.”

The Prime Minister’s comments were not unfounded given that most of the politicians are criticized heavily on social media. He also proposed that the scope of the Press Council should be expanded to the Internet and that the quasi-governmental body should actively facilitate print, electronic and social media to ensure decency in content & language.

Earlier in February 2012, PM Bhattarai’s comments on social media during the program to launch ‘Beginning of Digital Signature’ were harsher and naturally it met with a lot of criticism. Continue Reading →

1/16/2013
by Ujjwal Acharya
5 Comments

Summer Love, read & enjoy!

736245_10151201384991275_779231123_oDo you love reading Chetan Bhagat? Or love stories? Ever wanted to read something similar in Nepali?

If your answers are yes, Summer Love by Subin Bhattarai is definitely a must-read.

The newest publication from FinePrint Inc is purely for a joyous reading, something you may want to take with you while you are traveling; and read, enjoy and forget. Well, may be not all the characters as some of them are not easy to forget. Continue Reading →

1/6/2013
by Ujjwal Acharya
3 Comments

Shankar Lamichhane Quoted

Shankar Lamichhane

Shankar Lamichhane

I had long heard Abstract Chintan: Pyaj (literal translation: Abstract Discourse: Onion) is one of the finest books ever written in Nepali. Shankar Lamichhane at his best, but somehow I had distanced myself from it for long time. That was possibly because I see life as beautiful and don’t want to get into reading something on absurdity and emptiness of life.

Last time when I went to the book exhibition, I could not help but ask one of the attendants to find me the book. It took more than 15 minutes, and costed Rs. 73 (there was a discount I don’t remember) but as soon as I read the first essay on it, I felt ‘wow, how could have I missed it’.

I have collected and translated some of the best lines I found in the essays so that you could feel what it’s like. I highly recommend reading the book that was first published in 1967 and had won the Madan Prize in Literature! Continue Reading →

12/28/2012
by Ujjwal Acharya
0 comments

(Social) Media Predictions 2013

It’s not easy to predict but in the coziness of warm bed, I decided to predict how Nepali media, especially in connection with social media, is going to change in upcoming year. Feel free to add your own predictions in comments!

I’m prediction that 2013 will see introduction of mobile news applications (for iPhone/iPad/Android) by mainstream media, more social media integration by mainstream media and more media outlets! Continue Reading →