NAMASTE
With all the nature that surrounds this small country, the everlasting beauty of this place holds a rich and diverse background filled with the history of its culture and traditional landmarks. We take a lot of pride in our culture, tradition and values with the will of spreading our humble and kind hearts to those around us. Nepal is home to about 27.8 million people and despite most people suffering from poverty, they are still able to offer all that they have to those who have nothing at all.
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| ~jxbmphotography© |
There was a situation that I was once faced with during my visit to Nepal where I had drifted away from my mother while shopping in the streets of Kathmandu. I was alone and lost. It was getting late and I didn't own a mobile phone at the time. I waited at the same place for god knows how long; a woman was watching me from a distance. It was starting to get really dark and cold and I was beginning to fear staying out for too long in a place where I had no idea the routes to. The woman's clothes were reduced to basically rags and I noticed that she was barefoot, cuts covering her toes and ankles. She approached me and asked if I was waiting for someone to which I explained to her my situation; she immediately felt my distress and informed people nearby about me. Still waiting, I spent a long time talking to her about her life which was pretty sad in itself. Her husband was severely ill so she had to try and do what she could to support him and her two children; sometimes she would go days without any food or water, giving what she could earn to her family.
Despite not having much money for herself, she noticed how I had been standing around for the past few hours and mentioned how I must have been starving. A woman who had barely enough money to feed herself was standing in front of me, offering to buy a snack for me to fill the void in my stomach. Taken aback I stared in awe, completely touched by her thoughtful actions, unable to comprehend what had just happened which made me ashamed of the thoughts I had as a child where I was actually embarrassed of being Nepalese.
My mother arrived about an hour later, panic and distraught aware in her face as she embraced me, her words filled with relief and joy. I had informed her of the woman who took care of me from the moment I had dispersed from the presence of my mother. She was very grateful and offered the woman money in return for watching me and keeping me company to which she surprisingly refused saying it was just a mother's instinct to do what she had done. Regardless of her persistence, she gratefully accepted it at the end and we bid our goodbyes.
Looking back at this, I am very proud of the big hearts that most Nepalese people hold, not everyone is good but most of the people that I have come across have made me happy to be a part of a community bound by love and affection for everyone around them. From this moment the saying 'those who have nothing have the biggest hearts of them all' was something that I was now able to understand; I was able to realise how important it is to help those who need it, despite what you are going through yourself.
-B
