The single stories about Nepalese - My reflection

This is the age of social media. We consume lots of information from these sources. The usefulness of these vast quantities of information might be questioned, but if you know what to consume, you will always find some good stuff. This YouTube video published by TED
https://www.youtube.com/watch?=D9Ihs241zeg 
was shared by one of my friends on social media. This video was published ten years back, in 2009. It is still relevant to us in many ways, and it inspired me to write stories about Nepal.

I was strolling in the streets of New York. A guy in his early thirties came to me and asked something in his language. I looked at him with a surprise! He questioned me, “Don’t you understand Hindi?” I replied to him back, "I am from Nepal". Then, he started talking in English. My wife has a similar story to share. On her first day of college at the University of Otago, New Zealand, a student from India came to her and asked, “From which state of India are you?" He didn't stop there. Further, he started to make guesses – Kerala, Tamil Nadu? She replied, “No! From Nepal,” to stop him. These are the everyday experiences of  Nepalese in the Western world. Further, walking in the streets, in the supermarkets, or anywhere you are in public places, you are thought to be an Indian until they ask about your nationality. The other single story popular among Western people about Nepalese is about 'snow'.

Everybody knows Nepal is the land of mountains- with Mt. Everest at the top of the world. But they don’t know that most Nepalese do not experience snow as they perceive it. The first question asked when you reveal your identity as Nepalese is – You must have rich experience with snow? I must always explain, “All Nepalese aren’t the Sherpas". I have only two experiences with snow, in 2007 and 2014, in my entire life.

It was August 2007, the first year in master’s classes, and an exciting discussion started with my core college mates – where should we go for the trekking? The discussion concluded with the most adventurous pick, the Annapurna circuit trail, which goes through the highest pass on the earth at 5416 meters. The first thing that came to my mind was, Yes! Now I will feel the snow. I finally felt it. After five days (one day on the bus from Kathmandu to Besishar and five days of walking), I touched the snow for the first time in my life at Thorang Phedi. It was the most wonderful experience for me. But we were not lucky to see the snowfall on that trek.

I had to wait for another 7 years to experience snowfall, the feeling of a snowflake touching my hair and reaching to fill it with childlike joy and awe. This magical moment occurred during my trip to Dadeldhura, a far-western district of Nepal. Despite weather predictions warning of extreme conditions, I decided to proceed with my travel plans, eager for this experience.

This magical experience quickly turned extreme as the snowfall caused road blockages. I watched as buses and cars slid towards the side drains, even the slowest vehicles unable to move forward, their tails skidding dangerously. Every single moment of that time remains vivid in my memory, and I enjoyed it immensely with anxiety about whether I would reach my destination on the same day. 

You can imagine how challenging it is to explain things to people who perceive every part of the world through a single narrative. Despite the vast information in our globalised, social-media-laden world, people often prefer to simplify everything into one story. They might assume that all brown-skinned, dark-haired people are Indian, that all Nepalese are Sherpas, or if not Sherpas, then Gurkhas. However, there are many other stories we need to consider before drawing any conclusions.