Photo Essays
2 MIN READ
Because the national strategy for tackling the virus has been all over the place, people remain scared and confused, but they have decided to get on with their lives anyway
When I was younger, I would always look forward to the changes autumn would usher in. Every year around late September, I’d start taking in the sights that signaled the coming of Dashain. The first thing I’d notice was the shortening days--the natural light getting dimmer, earlier and earlier, each evening. Darkness would start descending at around 7:45, then 7:30, then 7, and so on, as the shortening days got rapidly shorter. Starting a few years ago, by the first week of October, I’d find myself--a budding photographer--observing the darkness swallowing the gallis of Kathmandu by around 6. I’d also observe how the crowds in this city’s shopping districts would congeal into thicker and thicker masses as autumn wore on.
In this unfortunate year of the Covid pandemic, however, I was hoping against hope that I would not be witness to at least that last recurring pattern--of thickening crowds. I’d read enough media reports to know that my hope was misplaced. But last week, I decided to see for myself, and capture through my lens, the pre-Dashain activities in the larger Ason-Indrachowk-New Road area.
When I got to the shopping districts, I was immediately dismayed upon seeing shoppers readily cramming into already packed restaurants, families--overflowing bags in hand--flitting from shop to shop, and people milling around malls.
But later, as I pondered over what I had seen and as I thought about what some of the shoppers had told me, I could only conclude the following: The people are scared and confused, but because the national strategy for tackling the virus has been all over the place, they’ve decided to get on with their lives. Also, because our leaders and decision-makers have not been able to present to the public a coherent plan of action, we’re resorting, almost unconsciously, to finding hope and catharsis any which way we can--in these darkening days of autumn--by preparing for the upcoming festivals.
:::::
Deewash Shrestha Deewash Shrestha is a student of Media Studies and a freelancer He can be reached via email: deewash.shrestha@yahoo.com
COVID19
Explainers
3 min read
A message circulating on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger claims that an Indian student from Pondicherry University has found a cure for COVID-19, and the "home remedy" has been approved by World Health Organization (WHO).
Interviews
11 min read
A 1963 interview with writer and critic Krishna Chandra Singh Pradhan
News
4 min read
In two separate incidents in recent times, frontline workers have been assaulted and beaten up by relatives of patients.
COVID19
News
3 min read
Daily summary of all Covid19 related developments that matter
Features
6 min read
Here’s what you need to know about the floods and landslides wreaking havoc in districts across the country.
Features
5 min read
Ranjan Koirala’s release from custody represents just the latest failure in a series of cases bungled by Nepal’s supreme court
Features
5 min read
Uncertainty and insecurity prevail for Nepalis in Australia
COVID19
Features
6 min read
Not instituting the right measures from the get go has turned the capital into a coronavirus hotbed