The pink billboard with Deepika Padukone in front of the Thapathali Engineering Campus said Life is an adventure! I said hell yeah!! It is even more so when you live in Kathmandu. Every day life becomes perilous adventure for kathmanduties especially in Monsoon!!
My foreigner friends used to tell me that riding around Kathmandu in scooter is like wearing your heart in your sleeve. I laughed off their concern. But deep down , we all know it is like living by the sword. Like for yesterday when I was trying to cross road at Jwagal right after a down pour, I didn't see the other side of the road due to the flow of vehicles. I reached the middle of the road and realized that the other half was turned into a river. As I hate my shoes getting squishy I decided to walk in the middle of the street till Thapathali bridge ( only a person raised in this mad city would dare to do that!) I walk along the road divider throwing mean looks at the drivers who honked at me. How inconsiderate the drivers are for not seeing a person walking right in the middle of the road, I thought with righteous indignation! It was not a long walk till I got to the Bus stand. However, the ride to Singha Durbar was very long. Everything I did to protect my shoes went in vain as few people stepped on it while boarding the crowded bus. Ironically, I got wet inside the bus more after the rain stopped. I know everyone has faced this ( if you use public vehicle in Kathmandu!). Water dripping from somebody else's umbrella! And you cannot complain because the bus is so crammed with people that the person has nowhere to put his umbrella except for right above your head. As I got off at Singha Durbar, I left everything behind looking forward for the walk to Kamalpokhari. The best thing about Kathmandu after rain is how it settles all the dust and you can actually breathe some air! My spirited lifted and I was ambling towards Kamalpokhari with new found positivity when I stepped on the wobbly drain covers near Baggi khana. I had to pull that spirit back and then concentrate on not embarrassing myself by dropping into an open drain. This happens, if you think I am exaggerating! My sister fell right into one of these open holes in Babarmahal while stepping out of a bus! Therefore, my eyes were set in the treacherous path and I was pushing people on the road(what social distance and etiquette , we live by the rule of the land!) to make my way to safety.
Finally when reflecting my 'adventure trip' from Kupondole to Kamalpokhari, I couldn't help but smile. It is the everyday life in Kathmandu: walking in road turned lake of sewage paying no heed to the vehicles, being pushed in roads, buses, getting angry with the drivers for asking space to drive in roads. This is normal Kathmandu life. And I love this city because nobody ever cares. I love how negligent we are. Nothing shakes or breaks us! Sitting in these wet steps with soggy feet, I can still whole heartedly say that I love this city!
