The story is beautifully made. I enjoyed reading it though I have never been to ANA convention. Wtever is the gathering for like 'birthday ' 'pasni' 'marrige', its really shocking that all these programs end with heavy 'jaad party'. So I dont get surprise wt was happened in ANA convention. When I come out of such parties, I alwaysy take a long breath and remember " Our ego against india and the fact ( from time-India INC- Immigrants with the highest living standard are Indians)."

heheehehe.. She is all grown up.. If ANA is all about as you said "politics, seduction and alcohol" then I guess I haven't missed out much..
As usual very enjoyable piece..

Nicely written john...

It is actually like a breath of fresh air to see something creative in Sajha...

"delivered speeches by future Deubas and Koiralas......" ha ha.. nicely knitted story!!

Loved the ending .Good story with twist.

John jyu,
hats off 2 u .. now that the "southern cowboy... georgy hat hai" (O:

john bro..so this is why didnt really 'see' much of u here for sometime?the pullin power of ANA eh?;oP hehe

but its all good...for a while..these days..guess was a bit scared(yes i can be scared too!!!and not just scare others!;oP hehe)..thot u went into 'retirement' ..u know wat i mean?:oS budeskaal chita lagcha hoina?in here?;oP hehe..seeing is believin?:oS hehe..

but cheers for sharing as u so often do :oD..i just had a great experience of being in ANA thru ur words re kya ;o) hehe..dyam "ekadasai bazaraima" song?wahahahaa..yeah some thots came about when u mentioned that..thots of being jhyaap(evul thots?arghhh ke garney!!im evul i tell u !!!:o| acceptance ppl!:o( hehe..esp since it was about alcohol?:o| hehe)and u know being merry with frens..dancin to that song hehe..well not really dance(can i?wahahahah ;oP) but u know move along jpt..jump around..and of cos just shoutin along with the song tho i(we) have no idea of the lyrics wahahahaa ;oP (i still dunno wat other nepali folks thot..durin those times..me and me frens were happily enjoyin ourselves..'dancin'..shoutin along to the nepali songs that we had no idea wat the lyrics were..we just made our own wahahahaha..if we didnt know nepali words..we came out with some sounds wahhahahaa..well like to call it sounds..since it had no meanins wahahaha..ok ok..*starts takin deep slow breathes* hehe..had to slow down :oD hehe..

..seems like i got a thing for that song :o| ..so does a lot eh?which is all good ;o) hehe..

but seriously john bro..im believin a bit more on that sayn..that "bihe does change a person"..i mean duh!!u forgot her who even danced in ur weddin?:o| (ps how much drink did u have?i meant water duh!;oP hehe..malibu eh?;oP hehe..cant even remember the taste of that :o| am not really a drinker :oS..believe me!!!wat can i say?frens do say i eat beer like i eat bhat wahahaahh ;oP nah they dun say that..but i have a feeln they might wanna say that.if they did see the similiarity?;oP hehe when i do let meself eat beer?;oP hehe..)

ok now im gettn more nosey ..wat are nose for anyways hoina?not just to smell?;oP hehe..just got curious how long ago did john bro bihe took place ;o)..still not over that sayn "bihe changes a person" and thinkin about it :oS..dun scare me(more):o| ;oP hehe...i mean..without bihe ni esto buluwa chu..if bihe(tho the chances of that happenin might be too low to even think about it..its a 'wat if' scenario!!duh!;oP hehe lets not even get into why chances are low etc !:@ ;oP hehe..) urghh...scary!!:o| ;oP hehe..

oops :o| ...*tells meself* ajjai oops re?wahahahah ;oP

yeah dun mind me hoggin it up :oS..well its always about oneself aint it?:oS..but believe me!!(for once?;oP hehe)..i felt like i was havin a good convo with u :oD..tho it was me just talkin/typin about me?:oS ;oP hehe..oh well..hopefully i learn from this?;oP hehe..plus to me it felt like did a bit of catchin up with u :oD..(wt!!why has it always have to be about "ME" bhaney!!:o| hehe..)

so its all good eh?isnt it?tell me so it is :o( ..or shud i go drown in me guilt of always being obessed with 'me' in one way or another?:oS i mean i shud feel guilty right now shudnt i?for me 'actions'..me typins?;oP hehe..

anyways yeah ..im stoppin now..tho john bro..there were tonnes more things i wanted to type..cos u just made me feel a lot of things..remember a lot of things..think about a lot of things ..with ur sharing up there :oD...and yeah those 'things/feelns' were good :oD..felt good :oD hehe..

la la enuf bhakwash hehe...till another time(as long there is time?will i stop bhakwashn?:o| dyam thats a scary thot!:o| ;oP hehe)..and yeah will be hopin and waitin for u to share more ni ;o)..ke garney lob chai kahiley stop hunna?:oS ..i mean u shared a lot..but then again lob le garda..ajjai ko lai hope gardai bascha..never enuf ni ;o) hehe..

countin the days before bhauju arrives?;o) hehe...why count?type smthin each day(if ur that free ;oP hehe ..hope so :oD..)..and share with us re kya ;o) hehe..yeah yeah me lobiness has no limit :oS im controllin!:@ ;oP hehe..

cheers again for sharin john bro :oD hehe..

have a good one!:oD..and yeah dun mind me typin a tad bit too much..bit much re?yeah right!wahahaha ;oP ..sheesh!i shud learn to write short( and sweet?ewww :oS ) bhaney!:@...i wanna learn!!!!!!!someone teach me!!!ps u better have a lot of patience if ur brave and willin to volunteer to 'teach' me re kya wahahahaha ;oP....

dyam so much more i wanted to say about wat u shared..but alas!can i?:oS oh well at least i did share a bit re kya..yes it was a bit!:@ hehe

good day!!:oD

*gone before more ppl freaks out?;oP hehe*

your narration prowess, wide gamut of vocabulary and precise word selection had me in awe, john. keep it coming.

just a spare of thought. being a hyper optimistic person myself, i like to read positives of events like ana convention from a writer of your caliber. i mean while partying, seducing, boozing and flirting belong to one side of the coin, the other side happens to cover youth forum, brainstorming and other thought provoking sessions. i am dead sure that you are well aware of that side of the coin too.

keep up the good work.

Loote

loote jyu,
that side of the coin were for 1% of the attendeeessss re.. bhanthe.. hajur justo bidwan and bidushi haru ko jamghat hune thau....

hami haru ta galt jyu le bhaneko thau ma matrai thiyau...

ani ma justo ta.. kahan ho kahan.... "aakash ko phaal aakha tari maar"

and yeah, the title reminded me of the novel and now a chick flick "the devil wears prada" :)

Loote

thapap jyu,

hehe. i am in the same coterie as you, my friend. if not, then mine is worse than yours for sure. :). i am sure galt bro knows it all. just a thought which i felt like sharing. there is nothing wrong in pointing out the pale side. however, rosy happens to be my preference. a balance depiction between the two will be awesome.


Loote

Awesome as always John broDA! I am sure there were those moments this year too ;).

Loote,
As much important issue you bring about on this kind of convention, it doesn't really suit you wearing the idealistic coat (meant in good faith ;)). Let's be honest here: I did not attend the convention for any of the forums though i was part of one. And talking about brainstorming, it is pretty reminiscent of our society that we really love to give out our opinions wherever/whenever. So it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why the 1% of the youth that participated in the forums(from thapap jyu) scorned at other forums that dealt with more pertinent issues of nepal and the projects being undertaken. So, I fail to understand why boozefest and fashionfest are the pale side of such convention ;). I am guilty as charged.

Here's to your balance, the spirit of Galt's story and the ever closing gap between generations, a conversation I couldn't help myself overhear:

"naani! ani mommy daddy khoi ta?"
"....After Party ma Janu bhako cha!"

nicely narrated as usual. thank you ! enjoyed it.

oys bro,
i am not advocating any side per se of the event. i am not the one to judge which side is pale and which one is rosy either. i party as much as a normal fun-filled person does or perhaps even more :D. for me ana convention holds as much importance as any other nepali gathering here in US or anywhere else for that matter. if i happen to give you an impression that i am wearing the "idealistic coat" then here i rip it off for you ;). now there is just a sando vest to protect my integrity. :D

over the past few years, i have come across people speaking for an against the event. i have no grudge or hard feelings against any of those say.everyone is entitled to their opinion. however, when somebody puts forth a rather judgemental opinion and tags ana as a "cheap flirting station" , i think its not the crux they have seen and understood of the event in its entirety.

i agree that we are no rocket scientists and the 1 % (thapap jyu's stat :D) that do brainstorm and share pragmatic and/or theoretical views on the burning issues of nepal and the diaspora dwelling outside nepal cannot be result-oriented overnight. however, i feel that we are in an inception stage not only in terms of democracy, but also in terms of social, economical and technical aspects. hence the need for brainstorming and thought provoking sessions. at least it has helped me to see things on its entirety. i hope same applied to others who participates.

as for John bro's story is concerned, well firstly, sajha is a common platform and secondly, Galt bro is in the driver's seat being the protagonist and the narrator of his anecdotes so he may project stuffs on his aspects. there is absolutely nothing wrong with it. moreover, he is entitled to his opinion. however, as a reader, i feel that narrating a story is one aspect and depicting the pros and cons of the social and cultural aspect of a society is another thing. as a writer grows with his writing prowess, it brings on more responsibilities and challenges on his/her shoulder in projecting sensitive issues of a society in a neutral and a just basis.

Galt bro, you are one gem of a writer and an inspiration for a newbie like me. i apologize for rambling and digressing but then i felt like putting forth my opinion. i hope you won't mind me. :)

Loote

Very interesting story, John. Hope all is well and there is more stuff from you in the pipeline.

Loote, I am a fan of your humour and loved reading your "Loote" series. I hear you on the responsibility aspect but I feel the best works of art and litterature often come from uncompromised and unrestrained thoughts and imagination. But that's just one sajhaite's opinion - to each his own I suppose.

Have a good day all.

Nice! It always is a pleasure to read something different. It sorta spotlights the conventional scenario for non-attenders.

Thanks Johnji. :)

sajha gazer,
i hear you my friend, and probably you are right on your own way. i guess john galt bro's views on the philosophy of writing resonates with yours.

i happen to be rather obnoxious and ultra opionated (if that is the right terminology, hehe) person at times who is never sort of opinions be it wanted or not. i am on a verge of feeling that i have hurt our john bro in the process. :(

John Bro,
i apologize if my 2 cents did hurt you. please consider myself akin to your own younger brother who dared to play a rather foolish prank game with you :)

*Loote, in remorse, falls on his knees and joins his palms together in front of his big bro for an excuse* :) :)


Loote

Nepalean,
that was my first ana in 2002, after that I never really had a chance to visit again. The crux of the entire gathering was based on heavy drinking rather than anything else. And yes, there were oh-those-typical indian haters too which i failed to mentioned.

chameli,
well...she was well grown during my wedding too...it was just the fact that I simply could not recognize her then.

yacc,
thank you so much if my piece does give you a reason to smile.....i am obliged.

thaha payen and imi,
thanks for visiting.

thapap,
thanks for agreeing with me, loote had a good reason to bring the flip side into consideration too...but you handled it well, that was the whole point of the story, good efforts go unnoticed in the end.

anon,
well...that song surely brings out memories, and as far as drinking goes, i drink too, just don't want to make it a part of living or an intregal part of any nepalese gathering. well, that year was 2002, my wife is already here, and well marriage does not change anyone completely, it was just me who lives in oblivion most of the times. Thanks for visiting.

lootejyu,
First of all, i am amazed to see how beautifully you weave the vocabularies into sentences. And i wonder what a person of your caliber was in those hatred-emanating threads.
I totally agree with what you have put forth, there has been efforts, there have been issues where people like kul chandra gautam fed ideas sought by various different people. There has been an attempt to make ANA a convention which actually underscores nepal's critical crises and to salvage it by every means. But then loote, how many people do you think actually see it as a bottomline? Glitz and glamor overshadow all humble efforts and all we have is amplitude of intoxicated public gyrating their pelvis vowing to revive their nepalese pride.
I try and put forth my gibberish so that some better members of sajha kill sometime reading it, i am still a learner, still a newbie like you.

Thanks for visiting, i respect your analysis.

Oys chill,
my eyes look for you in all my threads, i am surprised the relationship sajha has created among us, thanks for visiting, i am glad we are in harmony like we always were.
Psst....after party is still a taboo in alabama.

thanks birbhardra, why do I always read your pseudonym as balbhardra kunwar?

gazer,
The pipe line is long...and stories are lined up...but it requires a trigger called "time" to shoot em. thanks for visiting....I am anxiously waiting for yet another jetlag series.

flippy,
besides all these healthy arguments, i still insist that all you see in ana are the scenarios i portrayed here...thanks for reading.