Mehreen Arif
FSB Nepal and HealthRight International
Kathmandu, Nepal
Living in Nepal has evoked a myriad of latent emotions within me that I or rather my surroundings had aided in suppressing. Having studied identity and race discourse in depth during college as part of my English degree curriculum I read works by esteemed historians and authors and wrote numerous papers on the caricaturization of identities and the premise of a nebulous nationalism when it comes to immigrants and first generation immigrants reconnecting or connecting (for the first time) with feelings of American or their native patriotism. I revisited those papers today and entered into a deep rumination and an eventual realization that moving to Nepal for two months is gradually making me relive my yesteryears in Pakistan. It has enabled me to connect with my roots on a more spiritual level that I had been yearning for the past 5 years.
My time here is rekindling my memories of the beauty of South Asia and South Asian life. And oh how I missed this.
1) The splendor of speaking in my native language and reconnecting with rare and authentic Urdu (اردو)
words extracted from literature that are not usually spoken in conversational language…
2) The divine taste of the mangoes – and one of the most popular varieties cultivated in South Asia since centuries is known as “the King of the mangoes” because Pakistani and Indian mangoes (imported to other parts of South Asia including Nepal) are known to be the sweetest mangoes across the globe. If you haven’t tasted a Pakistani or an Indian mango (whether it is a Langra, Chaunsa, Sindhri or an Anwar Ratol) you haven’t lived…
3) The beauty of wearing shalwar kameez and embroidered cotton kurtis (South Asian short blouses) with abandon…
4) The delight upon seeing stationery shops (with Oxford mathematical tools like compasses and dividers reminding me of my O-level geometry classes), map houses (where geography books and maps are sold), the odd khokas (roadside food stalls) and paan shops (a betel leaf wrapped delight), the churiyaan (bangles) and mehndi stalls (henna), the incessant traffic, the beautiful terrain and ancient banyan trees to even the species of crows in South Asia that I have yet to encounter anywhere else…
5) The Nescafe gold instant coffee jars, the Cadbury silk bars, Spout gum, UHU sticks (glue), Surf excel (detergent), guava and mango pulp drinks, mithai (South Asian desserts), digestive biscuits, sarsoun ka taail in it’s most pure and organic form (mustard seed oil) and South Asian food… all types of Nepali food – fairly reminiscent of Pakistani and Indian cuisine as well…
6) Playing mesmerizing Bollywood songs and movies and watching invigorating Pakistani and Indian talk shows – usually accessible online only in South Asia…
7) The euphoria and sheer excitement of watching a Pakistan v.s. India Final Cricket World cup Championship match and failing to conceal my uninhibited jubilation when it culminated in Pakistan’s historic ICC (International Cricket Council) win since 1992…
8) The adroit craftsmen selling handicrafts, artifacts and souvenirs around places of worship or at museums…
9) Being greeted by a cacophony of sounds from the numbing noise of construction drills or honking horns when walking on the occasional unpaved road alongside a sewer redolent of animal excrement or rubbish discarded by shop owners… (okay maybe I didn’t miss #9 all that much)
10) The affable people all around who are ever willing to lend a helping hand and the circle of mutual respect often missing from Western cultures that binds the South Asian populous – whether it is showing respect in the form of greetings like “Namaste/Namashkar” and the joining of hands, or saying “Salaam” with a gesture of raising the hand to the forehead, or letting elders walk in front of you and addressing family members with their distinct titles highlighting and appreciating their familial roles, from Didi (sister), Bhai (brother), Bhabi (sister-in-law), Jeeja (brother-in-law), Uncle, Aunty etc….
I can keep writing and adding to this list but that will take too much time and space. This was just an attempt at sharing a portion of a huge piece of what South Asia means to me and how I take pride in calling myself a South Asian American.
Moreover, June was the month of fasting (Ramzan) for Muslims all over the world and in Nepal. After fasting we celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr. Eid is a time of celebration and festivity spent with family and friends marking the end Ramzan. We fast to get closer to God, to understand the suffering of those less fortunate than us and those who cannot afford to have three meals a day. It teaches us patience, perseverance and resilience. Ramzan was a bit more special for me this year because I am in South Asia for one and secondly it overlapped with the Tibetan holy month of Saka Dawa. The video above shows a Tibetan prayer service that I observed at the Swayambhunath temple and I understood how Tibetan Buddhists also share the same core principles of a holy month with giving thanks in order to receive blessings. And with this I wish you Happy Saka Dawa and Eid Mubarik from Nepal.