"It's been wonderful," I have said, plunging into the recollection, selecting the best and the worst moments. On a blog post dated March 8, 2008, I wrote: "To a third world journalist like me, the fellowship means a lot. It means that it is possible for a journalist working at a vernacular magazine to make it to the byline in one of respected US newspapers."
Even after I left Pittsburgh, a profile I filed few weeks back, has been published. Now I realize how prescient I was.
I am fortunate to take stock of the things I learned and things I am taking back to Nepal. Living in a friend's apartment in Springfield, Virgina, I am preparing for a culture shock which I still believe would not be that tough to overcome. I am returning home on September 7. I will be entering to a whole new Nepal, rather a democratic republic Nepal. With caveats, I would say, the democratic and republican credentials of my country are yet to be tested.
The media scene in Nepal has changed, too. The en masse resignation of five top editors and a prominent cartoonist of Kantipur Publications and the split in the biggest media house has paved a way for new possibilities. The breakaway group has launched a new publication that will publish two broadsheet dailies: Nhu Nepal in Nepali langauge and New Republic in English.
Meanwhile, Sudheer Sharma, former editor of Nepal Weekly, the magazine where I work, has been appointed as the editor of Kantipur daily, Nepal's most influential newspaper. Prashant Aryal, former assistant editor of Nepal Weekly has been elevated to the magazine's editor.
With these developments, I can't wait to be back in Nepal amidst the changes and challenges.
1 comment:
yes mr. Deepak, we r eagerly waiting to you for your new idea, spirit & your great knowledge. I thik, we are missing you here. your presence here will be a strong binding factor in this hour of crisis. we expect your sincere help from the core of your heart.
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