My first impression on Kathmandu Valley

First time when I was on the way to this city, the way was very beautiful. I could see the view of beautiful plains with green planted crops in the fields, but as we drove up, through the mountains the views were much more beautiful. Watching all these views I had expected a beautiful Kathmandu valley, which was my dream place to visit.

But as I stepped off the bus and had a look all around me (at Kalanki), I asked questions to the people nearby me, like, “Where is Kathmandu?”, “This is Kathmandu, right?” just to convince myself. Because that’s not what I had expected. It was far different than my expectation. I convinced myself saying that, “This is just the polluted, crowded and stinking little place in the Kathmandu. We will go to a cleaner place in a while.” But I was wronged again when I was on the way to my brother’s room (had come to receive me), I was even more surprised. I waited for the dust free place to come so that I can breathe comfortably, but it never came. I was wondering how any place could be this crowded. How can the people in the bus (Sanyukta Yatayat)can smile by inhaling this polluted air, how can the people talk to each other, (I was like: “Don’t they know that they are gonna inhale more dust if they talk?”), how can these college girls be so happy singing (in the back seats), how can people feel so fresh in this pollution, are they pretending to feel fresh, how can the people have mood to enjoy the music the bus was playing (some dohori), how come this crowd can’t end for so long time? And many other questions were striking through my mind.

Wow, the crowd, series of buildings, houses and automobiles didn’t end for about one and half hour. Finally I reached to my brother’s room (at Kapan) through that crowded place and I ended up to a room which was again at a very crowded place. Then I came out of the room after a while to relax. Hell! Why did I even plan to relax? This is shitty place where neighbors even didn’t ask my brother if he had brought a brother, in fact my brother even didn’t know the neighbors and neither the neighbors did know my brother. I entered in the room and lied down on the bed to rest. That night, I concluded one thing about this city, “This is a dead city and I’m here at this stinking graveyard.”