Dassain, a Hindu festival, is recognized and celebrated by many in Nepal as the biggest and most important national festival. As per the historian Bhagiraj Ingnam the festival has a dark history -- a history of past regimes wielding it as a tool to subjugate and control the indigenous population. As such, to many the festival is actually a symbol of oppression and suppression.
On May 23, 2020, a mob of 50-60 so-called higher caste villagers lynched half-a-dozen Dalit males. Not long after, the story mostly disappeared from mainstream media in Nepal. But that's NOT surprising in a society of people whose minds have been corrupted by the Caste System.
Nepal needs a revolution...a revolution of the mind.
What one does in life must be for oneself...not in a selfish way, of course. That is, the justification for and the drive behind one's most important decisions, actions, and values must be intrinsic.
I visited Nepal for the first time in three years the Summer of 1993. During my stay in the country, I wrote to a number of my friends abroad. This is a reproduction of the first snail mail I sent my good and dear friend E in the US. It provides a glimpse into what Kathmandu was like then.