Excerpts of an interview with Paribag:
Q: Tell us about your journey from Gorkha to Britain?
A: I came to Kathmandu to study. Then I went to Britain for further studies. I started to work for newspapers in course of studying. Currently I am an editor.
Q: Has your work contributed in promoting Nepal?
A: In 2001 a journalist in Britain had asked me if there were journalists in Nepal. As a journalist myself, I told him that in the nation where lord Gautam Budha was born, it was obvious that journalists are also born. I had to tell him that Nepal had many prominent journalists, writers and intellectuals. In Britain people still ask about the Nepali language, its structure and also the political structure of the nation. At first they don't recognize you as a Nepali, but after identifying yourself as a Nepali they perceive you in a good manner.
Q: How are you managing your expenditure by running a monthly magazine?
A: There are more than 150,000 shops that sell newspapers in Britain. I had faced difficulty before my paper reached all these shops. Our distribution compared to other newspapers is up to standard. At present we are not facing difficulties.
Q: Do you read newspapers published from Nepal?
A: Yes, almost all of them. I read all the newspapers that comes online. How will I spend the days without reading Nepali newspapers?
Q: How do you see journalism in Nepal?
A: Had not there been the presence of intellectual sectors where would have the nation gone? From the media perspective, our nation has reached a condition of Afghanistan. One thing that is lacking is that the foreign troops have not been deployed in the nation. There was a revolution in media after the 1989 uprising. If the time permits, Nepalese have shown that they can do anything.
Q: How do you see Nepalese politics?
A: I had the opportunity to study foreign problems and politics. The pace in which the economic development was seen in foreign nations, this established a notion that the development is not everything in the west. Their cases are related to education, health, transport and economic development. Whenever the issue of nationality and image arises, all the parties unite. But here in Nepal, there is irresponsibility in providing services in education and health sectors and also providing food and work to the people. There are many opportunities in Nepal. But no one has heeded this direction. This is very sad.
Q: Is the security situation satisfactory?
A: We have two big nations as neighbours. There are some problems. Had the two nations relations been better, our nation's security would also had been better. The political parties should have understood that work is bigger than talking. This inability to understand on the part of political parties is creating difficulties for the people.
Q) What is your main aim of coming to Nepal?
A) There are many writers in Nepal. The intellectuals in Britain have noticed the newspapers published in Nepal. I have come to take the vision of writers and journalists of international standard of the nation. We have held discussions in our group to translate Nepali literary works into English and translate good English works into the Nepali language. The books published in Nepal has not even reached India. I am here to arrange management for taking Nepali works to Britain. There is a huge demand for Nepali books in the British market.
Q) Many Non resident Nepalese come to Nepal, but some are alleged of being involved in spreading Christianity and supporting the Free Tibet agitation?
A: I am not a religious person. Sometimes I visit temples. More than the temples I visit monasteries. Sometimes I go to church. I feel that this nation is the abode of gods. The nation has practiced Hindu religion for 300-400 years. I feel that Nepal is a dark nation below the bulb. I also feel that gods live nowhere else than in Nepal. We are yet to understand this nation.
