Worthy of reading

NOV 17 -
Reading is regarded as a way for people to acquire knowledge. But reading just anything cannot easily provide satisfactory knowledge. I read the content that interests and fascinates me. For example, I read newspapers, essays, articles and dozens of books every month.

There are several ways to read. Some people read thousands of pages very quickly. Such type of reading technique is called skimming. When someone takes a longer time to read text then it is called scanning. However, it depends on what type of material a reader is reading. Some may prefer to scan newspaper columns and essays. Moreover, other may prefer to read or briefly reread novels, stories and poems. It is not how you read but what you read that matters.

In my opinion, in our society we lack good readers. This can be seen from the literary merit and scarce number of works published by Nepali writers. There are works of many great Western contemporary writers that are quite popular in our motherland. On the contrary, not many Nepali writers are well known or well read in the West. This leads to burgeoning questions such as how many Nepali writers have published their readings at either the national or international levels. On the other hand, how many literary critics has Nepal produced or how many people here are interested in what our nation’s own authors have written. I think this lack of interest is due in part to the lack of reading. Our literary circle does not necessarily have clear expertise.

Everybody is trying to make money out of literature. But litterateurs should rather focus on making people more literate. Some people in villages do not even have textbooks to read, a newspaper to purchase nor the Internet to surf.  It wouldn’t be very surprising to find that many people from rural areas have never seen Google or Facebook. A reader therefore, would be much more interested to read the works that provides him knowledge and ideas rather than worthless information.

It seems to me that, the well-known publishers are publishing the works of well-known writers and the small faction of literary critics is promoting them. Moreover, much of

the media attention is given to those writers or publishers who are relatives of some political parties or editors

in one way or the other.  Until and unless this form of nepotism is not longer prevalent in our society, it would be difficult to receive genuine criticism and review of writer’s work. Thus, a publisher should focus on publishing content that can be beneficial to society or the community in general rather than beneficial to just himself or herself.

Nothing is permanent in this world and everything changes with time but an idea always survives. In my short lifespan, I have accumulated thousands of great ideas and knowledge from the works of many known and unknown writers. My simple idea in this short column was to exemplify that I would love to spend my valuable time on worthy material rather than worthless material and I think reading is just a way to know how.

Posted on: 2010-11-18 07:38
Published: The Kathmandu Post

A Journey

One poem accepted and published by, "Hanging Moss Journal" edited by Steve Meador.
You can kindly check the link below:
http://www.hangingmossjournal.com/guestpoet/Santosh_Kalwar11.html

I hope you will enjoy the poem and have wonderful journey of life.
May God bless you all !

The Farewell Speech by Queen Elizabeth I

The Farewell Speech by Queen Elizabeth I

Mr Speaker,

We have heard your declaration and perceive your care of our estate. I do assure you there is no prince that loves his subjects better, or whose love can countervail our love. There is no jewel, be it of never so rich a price, which I set before this jewel: I mean your love. For I do esteem it more than any treasure or riches; for that we know how to prize, but love and thanks I count invaluable. And, though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my Crown, that I have reigned with your loves. This makes me that I do not so much rejoice that God hath made me to be a Queen, as to be a Queen over so thankful a people. Therefore I have cause to wish nothing more than to content the subject and that is a duty which I owe. Neither do I desire to live longer days than I may see your prosperity and that is my only desire. And as I am that person still yet, under God, hath delivered you and so I trust by the almighty power of God that I shall be his instrument to preserve you from every peril, dishonour, shame, tyranny and oppression, partly by means of your intended helps which we take very acceptably because it manifesteth the largeness of your good loves and loyalties unto your sovereign.

Of myself I must say this: I never was any greedy, scraping grasper, nor a strait fast-holding Prince, nor yet a waster. My heart was never set on any worldly goods. What you bestow on me, I will not hoard it up, but receive it to bestow on you again. Therefore render unto them I beseech you Mr Speaker, such thanks as you imagine my heart yieldeth, but my tongue cannot express. Mr Speaker, I would wish you and the rest to stand up for I shall yet trouble you with longer speech. Mr Speaker, you give me thanks but I doubt me I have greater cause to give you thanks, than you me, and I charge you to thank them of the Lower House from me. For had I not received a knowledge from you, I might have fallen into the lapse of an error, only for lack of true information.

Since I was Queen, yet did I never put my pen to any grant, but that upon pretext and semblance made unto me, it was both good and beneficial to the subject in general though a private profit to some of my ancient servants, who had deserved well at my hands. But the contrary being found by experience, I am exceedingly beholden to such subjects as would move the same at first. And I am not so simple to suppose but that there be some of the Lower House whom these grievances never touched. I think they spake out of zeal to their countries and not out of spleen or malevolent affection as being parties grieved. That my grants should be grievous to my people and oppressions to be privileged under colour of our patents, our kingly dignity shall not suffer it. Yea, when I heard it, I could give no rest unto my thoughts until I had reformed it. Shall they, think you, escape unpunished that have oppressed you, and have been respectless of their duty and regardless our honour? No, I assure you, Mr Speaker, were it not more for conscience' sake than for any glory or increase of love that I desire, these errors, troubles, vexations and oppressions done by these varlets and lewd persons not worthy of the name of subjects should not escape without condign punishment. But I perceive they dealt with me like physicians who, ministering a drug, make it more acceptable by giving it a good aromatical savour, or when they give pills do gild them all over.

I have ever used to set the Last Judgement Day before mine eyes and so to rule as I shall be judged to answer before a higher judge, and now if my kingly bounties have been abused and my grants turned to the hurt of my people contrary to my will and meaning, and if any in authority under me have neglected or perverted what I have committed to them, I hope God will not lay their culps and offences in my charge. I know the title of a King is a glorious title, but assure yourself that the shining glory of princely authority hath not so dazzled the eyes of our understanding, but that we well know and remember that we also are to yield an account of our actions before the great judge. To be a king and wear a crown is a thing more glorious to them that see it than it is pleasant to them that bear it. For myself I was never so much enticed with the glorious name of a King or royal authority of a Queen as delighted that God hath made me his instrument to maintain his truth and glory and to defend his kingdom as I said from peril, dishonour, tyranny and oppression. There will never Queen sit in my seat with more zeal to my country, care to my subjects and that will sooner with willingness venture her life for your good and safety than myself. For it is my desire to live nor reign no longer than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though you have had, and may have, many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had nor shall have, any that will be more careful and loving.

'For I, oh Lord, what am I, whom practices and perils past should not fear? Or what can I do? That I should speak for any glory, God forbid.' And turning to the Speaker and her councillors she said, 'And I pray to you Mr Comptroller, Mr Secretary and you of my Council, that before these gentlemen go into their countries, you bring them all to kiss my hand.'

(The Farewell Speech by Queen Elizabeth I of England November 30th 1601 )

I laughed

Source: Sesam Production

hometown

I was born in the heart of the Jungle.

I was raised in a UNESCO world heritage site.

I do not know why you asked

but I know my answers will raise many eyes.

In the world full of intellectual animals,

you will not easily find the right insight.

Because, vanity kills us

while we are awake in the sunlight.

Well, my hometown

is called “Chitwan”

And I hope you will feel delight.

a poem

Who are you to dare and not share?

Maybe you are not here to care.

Then why are you talking to me.

Because I am your clock running downhill

A comment on article at Nytimes on title, "

Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post"...

This is not good that company or any industry has rights to "look into" their employee’s social media pages.
I do not know what the law is but the law has to be reinstated. No employer should be allowed to judge their employees on what they think about them. Moreover, they should rather put a "complaint box" or tool in their organization so that anyone can "drop in" their feedback and disuses that issue further. If that is done, then it will not only help the industry but also it might just improve the relationship between various stakeholders.
The only way to solve humanly problem is by understanding the magnitude of a problem. It is nowhere now an age of Big Brother but Collaborative Brothers. Welcome to this new world.


Source: Nytimes Online

Happy Dipawali

Policing porn

I am against the government policy to block pornographic material online (“Net effect,” Nov. 1, Page 6). The domain of the web, the most democratic of all mediums of communication, belongs to common people. The government should not be policing its content and deciding for the people what they should or should not view.

And it is also unrealistic to expect internet service providers to block certain sites; it is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I would like to know who in the government comes up with these stupid plans when there are clearly more pressing issues to take care of.

Santosh Kalwar

By email

Published: Letter to Editor
The Kathmandu Post

WHY I AM NOT A CHRISTIAN by Bertrand Russell

This lecture was delivered on March 6, 1927, at Battersea Town
Hall, under the auspices of the South London Branch of the
National Secular Society.
As your Chairman has told you, the subject about which I am
going to speak to you tonight is ‘Why I am not a Christian’.
Perhaps it would be as well, first of all, to try to make out what
one means by the word ‘Christian’. It is used these days in a very
loose sense by a great many people. Some people mean no more
by it than a person who attempts to live a good life. In that sense
I suppose there would be Christians in all sects and creeds;
but I do not think that that is the proper sense of the word,
if only because it would imply that all the people who are not
Christians—all the Buddhists, Confucians, Mohammedans, and
so on—are not trying to live a good life. I do not mean by a
Christian any person who tries to live decently according to his
lights. I think that you must have a certain amount of definite
belief before you have a right to call yourself a Christian. The
word does not have quite such a full-blooded meaning now as it
had in the times of St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas. In those
days, if a man said that he was a Christian it was known what
he meant. You accepted a whole collection of creeds which
were set out with great precision, and every single syllable of
those creeds you believed with the whole strength of your
convictions.