Indira Rana Magar, “My Florence Nightingale of Nepal”

     When Inu didi introduced me to this name, she said, “Bahini, you don’t want to miss this woman if you are doing Women’s special month of March on your radio, She is a very low profile social worker, who had given half of her life to the prisoner’s children welfare. You must invite her.” When Inu didi says with such conviction, for me it matters a lot. So I started researching for this name.

     When I searched for Indira Rana Magar on google,the first thing that was shown is the nomination for Children’s Nobel Prize 2014. I know for a lot of people, the nomination of a Nepali national in an international platform matters the most. But for me I was looking for the substance. So I dig in more. Frankly, I am very impressed by the perseverance of this lady. 20 years in this field and she has never come to the limelight until some magazine featured her for being a nomination in a very prestigious award.

     After calling couple of places, Elisha bahini from my radio forwarded me with her phone number ( I am grateful to her in all senses). A very nice humble voiced answered the call and I explained what I am planning to do and how will the entire interview is going to take place. To my surprised she thanked me so many times for asking her to come and confirmed that she will give me the interview happily.

     Saturday , the 29^th of March 2014, for two whole hours from 7-9pm, she told her story. Her struggling from a village girl whose only wish was to educate herself and become somebody and getting married to a nice guy, to the woman who had already rescued and nurtured close to 1000 prisoner parents kinds. Highly influenced by Florence Nightingale and the Nepali writer Parijat, I must say she is a great storyteller. She remembers every detail of her life. 2 hours were too brief for this lady to tell her struggle and her pain.

     

     To my answer,” Have you ever thought of giving up on the things you have been doing for the prisoners and their kids?” , she smiled and said I thought my trouble was nothing infront of these women who are behind the bars , a lot of times , for the crime they have not even done. There are times when they have murdered their husbands and they are convicted and the kid has to suffer. Some other time it is the other way round, where the woman is jailed and the husband brings another wife and the child is neglected.

     

     She said there are so many such stories that will break your heart, but for her this makes her stronger and helps her keep going on and on. The part that shook me was when she explained her first journey to Kathmandu on her own. Like most of local migrants, she had suffered the financial crunch. There were times when she had just eaten cucumber and water to kill the hunger and this one  time she goes to a small eatery where the Nepali khana set was 12/- rupees (this was back in 1990 AD) and she asked the sauji if she can have half of it because she has only 6/- rupees in her pocket. I was choked with tears when she narrated this story.

     Hats off to this lady, her persistence, patience and perseverance! She is still doing what needs to be done for the children. She stated that she has not done all this for any kind of award or recognition but for her own satisfaction. But in the due course of time when people appreciate her work, she feels happy and thankful.

The lady has triggered my braincells, someone can be so selfless and humble. Not to forget that,she does speak her mind and is very blunt and right on the face. That shows , she is very clean in the heart. I don’t know if she will win the Children’s Nobel Prize 2014 against Malala from Pakistan and John Woods of Microsoft, she surely is the “Florence Nightingale of Nepal” for me.

(Based on my first interaction, while interviewing her for the show One on One on  www.rvlradio.com)

I am Your Poodle And You are My Pug

   It was end of autumn,

In the yellow garden

playful were u with your own tail

I was riding my  car.

I glanced at you      

Glued to the spark of your eye

I barked a sexy Bow!

And you roared BOW WOW!!

2 rounds of seasons down the lane,

Now we are not 2 but 8,

I look like my aunt Piggy,       

And my bossom loves da gravity.

     We fought for the bones,

We fought for the stones,

You broke my jaw,

I twisted your tail.

Retired hurt we both come around,

No more sexy BOW,

No more Roaring BOW WOW!!

We slowly strolled together.

I wipe my nose on your cheeks,

You smile back to me,

Where I don’t have to try hard,

To say I love you, I love you a lot.

On your birthday My Pug!

I ll get you a lot of bones,

You get me a lot of stone,

So we don’t fight like cats,

We will make love like horny cows,

Let there be love and not war,

I am thinking of

Making way from 8 to 12.

( Distracted from my books, I found a poem I wrote for my then boyfriend on his birthday, not bad eh? )

Hence You’ll Be Known As The Flying Sikh

“The world will know you not by your name but as The Flying Sikh”, a name given to Milkha Singh by the first President of Pakistan, General Ayub Khan in the year 1960 after Singh defeated Abdul Khaliq of Pakistan in the sprint. A forgotten hero of Indian Sports scenario, who took the world in a spree in the 50s and the 60s with his flashing speed and world record in 400 meter sprint. I must say that I am itched to write about the biopic of Flying Sikh, created by the Rang De Basanti fame director Rakesh OmPrakash Mehra. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, the last words spoken by Milkha Singh’s father before being murdered in Pakistan, is based on the struggle of the athlete. It was not astonishing when the movie made more than 8.5 million dollars in its first week of release. The prediction by the trade pundits of Bollywood was close to 3 million dollars but the impeccable performance of Frahan Akhtar as Milkha Singh, has taken the film to a different height. He had yet again proven himself as a fine actor.

I am not a person who cries while watching movies, firstly because I believe it is fictitious and secondly I feel it’s too dramatic to cry over a movie. But I admit, there are moments in this film that had made me choke, gave me goosebumps and made me jump in excitement. Few scenes I would like to mention is when he was beaten up in the barrack right before his sprint, and how he with such fresh wounds took to the track and won the race. Another very heart shaking moment was when 12 year old Milkha finds his whole family butchered during the Indo- Pak partition and he manages to escape. 

Such scenes had made this movie gripping and interesting from the beginning till the end. Sonam Kapoor as Biro, first love of Singh was there and yet not there, which was absolutely fine coz the whole story was about the struggle of an athlete’s career rather than a love story. The story was never shifted from its prime focus which was Milkha Singh, the athlete. Not to forget that the flashback scenes were very brief and precise, this cut the extra length to the movie.

Such amazing story must have been sold for a lot of money, that is what anybody would think but to my surprise Milkha Singh sold the whole story for mere Re1 and his sole purpose of sharing his story was to inspire the coming generation to do something in the field of sports and make a mark for the country in the world. This also shows how humble and down to earth he is and his dedication to the field of Indian sports. In return the director of the movie Rakesh Mehra gifted him with a currency note printed in 1958, the year, Singh won his first gold medal in Commonwealth games. 

There has been a lot of detailing done in the movie. Milkha Singh provided the minute details of his life, his struggle and every event of how much he practiced, his training hours, his wins and each and every detail to the director and his team to make it very realistic. He even trained Farhan Akhtar on small details like his hands movement and his head posture while running to make sure the character looks real. Special admiration to Farhan Akhtar, not only for exceptional acting but also for working so hard in building the character. He trained himself as a professional athlete for 6 months, lost tremendous amount of weight, grew hair and build his body to look like Milkha Singh. That is called dedication, sincerity and justice to the character he was playing.

A must watch if you are looking for a good and inspiring movie but do read a little bit about Milkha Singh before you watch the movie, just in case you can’t relate to the story. A big recommendation for the filmmakers of Nepali film industry who talk so much about experimental movies that they forget the fact, movies are for your audiences for entertainment. If you make a movie for yourself, you should not release it commercially in the market and just keep it in your library for your future reference and satisfaction. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag proved that you need a strong storyline and close to life characters, for a movie to be successful. A tight slap to some people from film fraternity of Nepal who claim that item numbers, sleazy scenes and abusive language makes a movie successful.

Chyatiyeko Mero Desh

The day is here,

The postponements gone,

Anticipations ended,

After the halt.

Times were ruthless,

Hearts are sour,

Smiles did vanish,

Envious minds.

Let the feeling escalates ,

Let it be the positive one,

We are for each other,

In this critical time.

Hold the hands,

Yearn for the best,

Coz the country is,

Looking upon "Us".

( A poem by an introvert patriot)

Some times presence of mind can save you

(I came across this write up in my Facebook and I thought I have to share it on my blog so 

that as many girls can see it and can stay alert. Please care to share it)




1) What should a woman do if she finds herself alone in the company of a strange 

male as she prepares to enter a lift in a high-rise apartment late at night?


Experts Say: Enter the lift. If you need to reach the 13th floor, press all the buttons up to 

your destination. No one will dare attack you in a lift that stops on every floor.


2) What to do if a stranger tries to attack you when you are alone in your house, run into 

the kitchen.

Experts Say: You alone know where the chili powder and turmeric are kept.And where the 

knives and plates are. All these can be turned into deadly weapons. If nothing else, start 

throwing plates and utensils all over.Let them break. Scream. Remember that noise is the 

greatest enemy of a molester. He does not want to be caught.


3) Taking an Auto or Taxi at Night.


Experts Say: Before getting into an auto at night, note down its registration number. Then 

use the mobile to call your family or friend and pass on the details to them in the language 

the driver understands .Even if no one answers your call, pretend you are in a conversation. 

The driver now knows someone has his details and he will be in serious trouble if anything 

goes wrong. He is now bound to take you home safe and sound. A potential attacker is now 

your de facto protector!



4)What if the driver turns into a street he is not supposed to - and you feel you are  

entering a danger zone?


Experts Say: Use the handle of your purse or your stole (dupatta) to wrap around his neck 

and pull him back. Within seconds, he will feel choked and helpless. In case you don’t have 

a purse or stole just pull him back by his collar. The top button of his shirt would then do 

the same trick.


5) If you are stalked at night.


Expert Say: enter a shop or a house and explain your predicament. If it is night and shops 

are not open, go inside an ATM box. ATM centers always have security guards. They are 

also monitored by close circuit television.Fearing identification, no one will dare attack you.


After all, being mentally alert is the greatest weapon you can ever have.Please spread it to 

all those women u care & spread awareness as dis is d least we can do for a social & moral 

cause and fr d safety of women.


Dr-Ihab Maher

My Maybelline Aunty

Restlessly I was trying to get hold of a bus which can take me to Jawalakhel. Crushed between two college girls with makeup weighing more than their own weight, I finally made it to the very trendy coffee shop. The first thing I checked out was if it was a gizmo friendly environment, I mean free wifi. And far in the corner I see her, sitting with her ever eccentric dress up: Flared brown pants, white linen shirt, fuchsia cashmere sweater and her loud jewellery. I still wonder why a woman wants to keep her hair white when it is not very difficult to maintain it to natural black.

I approached her with a smile and she extended herself with open arms. “Hello there Maiya! Its been a while I have seen you around”. I still feel safe in her embrace. I can smell her perfume, it is her all time favorite, Anais Anais. “How are you, Kanchi Fufu? yes it’s been a while. Mum sends you the things you have asked for.” I hand her the packet.

“Thank you, Maiya”. She ordered for me without asking, Hot Chocolate and Ginger Cookies. “Fufu I don’t drink Hot Chocolate anymore. Can I please get Americano, bhai”. With a disappointed nod she comments “ You cant stick to one thing, can you? I tell you…girls these days tck!”. She continues the conversation we were having. All the while she was playing with her diamond ring on her ring finger. There is a white mark on her skin under the ring coz she hadn’t taken it off for years now. This ring also got a story of its own.

She was in her late 20s. She was working for a magazine as a Copy Editor and was dating a guy who was working as a Freelance Writer. When I was growing up I saw these two people as a couple who are more like friends and less as lovers. In a friends party, Mr. Writer got buzzed with alcohol and in some high mood, took iron ring off the beer can and put it in Kanchi Fufu’s finger and said “ dear I promise I ll replace it with a diamond ring someday….yes someday”. And she was crazy enough to wear it for 2 whole years until he felt embarrassed of it and finally gave her a diamond ring.

And here I am sitting in front of her, conversing and she playing with her 30 year old ring.“The other day, early morning he wakes me up and when I open my eyes he takes a picture of me. Looks at the picture and says ‘ hey I think I just saw a new wrinkle on your left cheek’.. when he sees that I am about to lose my temper, he gets me something I wanted for a long time, the latest book by Shama Shahi. That is how I have lived with him. Time flies right in front of your eyes. Our kids all grown up and started their own nests and we still are where we used to be….madly in love!!!’. I can still see the blush on her face, just like a young girl being in love for the first time.

She looked at her watch, it was 12:21pm and she mumbles “ always late”. her eyes fixed at the door of the coffee shop. She looks at me and I smile back. She fixes her hair which is almost white with age. She asks me if I have a mirror and I take it out from my purse and give it to her. She takes out a cherry red Maybelline lipstick and puts in on her lips with her trembling hands, dabs her lips with a tissue. “I hope I look fine.” I replied with a big and mischievous smile “ yes, as always”.

At that moment the door of the coffee shop opens and the tinkling of the chimes echoes. An old man walks in with a recycled paper bag. He was wearing a finely tailored tweed coat and woolen pants. The black leather shoes were spotlessly polished and his hair nicely combed to the right side. Walking close to us he says “ Hello Maiya! God bless its been years I have seen you, the last I saw you, you were still at the age of single number. All grown into a beautiful lady but sorry no one beats my Smooch out here”. He walks closely to Kanchi Fufu and hugs her gently and kisses her. “So, ready to go for the movie, dear?” he questions. “oh yes! All set, I was here to get the stuff from Maiya.” She gets up and turns to me, smilingly says “take care of yourself, our blessing are always with you. Remember one thing, do what you think is right and rest will follow. Life doesn’t come with a guarantee card but is a result of what you do, you are strong woman and you’ll be fine, I know”.

Saying that she puts her hands around his, ”So my Darling, have you booked the tickets?…..” the voices fades as they walk together.  

(This story was supposed to be posted during Valentines Day fever but I thought love and relationships are timeless so posting it now. Hope to know your opinion)

Thought of a Drunken Wings

Desires and dreams,

Is that all you want and need?

I could barely open my scarlet eyes,

I could hopelessly flap myself,

My head spins my heart beats,

Right I go left I twist,

So that I should balance perfect.

I wish to be high but I am flying low,

I push myself with a failed attempt,

I push harder I raise myself,

Worn are my quill,

With the burn of darkness,

I stay righteous, I stay together,

You try more you try harsh,

I am not yet broken,

 I am just drunken wings.

(captured the thoughts that were trying to fly outside my head)