The other day we were discussing about the purpose of life and how some people have not defined theirs yet. It sure is difficult to agree to one purpose as the situations and circumstances keep changing in lives of each individual but in a narrower note, one needs to find out what they are looking for in life. Is it the happiness of life that they are given to enjoy and grow or is it being content when things are not rolling as they want?? It could also be being positive in each possible way, loving around without hurting others or achieving one’s desired goal. It depends on a person’s mindset, thought process and notion.

Should happiness be kept for later phase of life when one is settled or is it a continuous phase? This is an argument which remains till date. Nevertheless, if asked the answer to the above question seems really simple, and majority will vouch for being happy all the time but the tricky part is when it is not followed in reality. We are always striving for more, and there can never be a balance even if we have achieved our short term goal. At the same time there are groups of people who find joy in the smallest things.

While giving it a thought, the famous personalities have had an interesting background, and there are people who have excelled in their fields without attaining a formal education. This makes me thinking how important is a degree for pursing ones passion? Which factor weighs more an experience or a grade? Why does an experience always start after obtaining a degree and why doesn’t it work vice-versa. The world would have been filled with people loving their work if the latter would have been followed. This also implies that a person should follow his interests for a year or two practically and if required he/she can get a theoretical knowledge to polish their activities. There are so many individuals who work only for monetary benefits even if they don’t like their work. There are many whom given an option would switch their career to something that they love with a lesser benefit. These are the people stuck with the job they have chosen and discovered their interest with time. They are afraid of the change because to start in another field, one needs a formal education even if it is for networking or a set off in an area.

There is no one to blame on this other than our education system which emphasizes a student to chose his interest at a young age when they have no idea about what it is. What I have experienced is the difference between passionately loving what one does and being remarkable at the job. One will continue working for some years if the pay is good or they are outstanding at it, but they need to realize that the work of passion is no work. It is living each moment and day to the fullest and making most out of it. A reminder: – It is never too late to change and to let the struggles make victory sweeter for a lifetime.

Exploring a new place every week is working out well for me. It is amazing to see that there are so many places around and in town that has been discovered by few people. Kathmandu has so much to offer that one can keep choosing the things they want to do. There are different hiking trails for nature lovers, monasteries with detailed artwork, temples and ancient architecture that will make one love the place all the more. It is the hub for individuals who love adventure, cycling in unknown path and chilling by the riverside.

Visiting a place that I have never been to is one of my passions in travelling. It gives a different feeling and refreshes one’s mind and heart. It is a therapy for many. There are different types of travelers and their interests vary. Some love budget travelling while some are the bag packers, some only want luxury travelling whereas some want to cover all the places. It all depends on how one wants to travel; wanting to know the culture of the group, learning different traditions or only marking the list of places that one wants to go to. Some would find exclusivity in the drawings on the pagodas whereas the others would consider it a normal piece of work. As travelling is addictive, I take some time out on the weekends to go to a new destination. I make a video and a travelogue of the spot to give out a little information about the place that many have been missing out at. Whenever I feel the list is about to exhaust, many more locations are added to the list which leaves me amused. In this similar situation, we ended up going to the Pullahari Monastery yesterday.

Having no idea of where it was situated, we rode towards Bouddha with just a name:- Pullahari. On our way we asked the shopkeepers, monks and the pedestrians around that area. We interacted with about 50 people to exactly know the directions. Some did not know where it was; some had not heard the name and were asking us if we were sure about the name of the place. Some said it was just 5 minutes down the lane, which never seemed to end and some were guessing it wrong. We crossed the same junction in search of the place. Finally we saw it from far and were happy that it was within our sight. After some more information from passerby, it took us forty five minutes to reach. We did pass different monasteries on our ways which were beautiful. We got to the Gokarna forest and reached the monastery.

As we entered the monastery, we parked our bike and walked towards the entrance. The walk was short and we could see no one around. As we reached a little further, we could see some foreigners enjoying the view and some busy with their meals. We got to know that the place is open from 10.30 to 3 except Mondays. We saw some monks as we entered the main area. The place was well maintained as it was less commercialized. The building had scripts and drawings which looked magnificent. We could not get enough of the place with the beauty it was filled with.

On the other side, there were nine pagodas in a symmetry which looked splendid. Each one of them was the same and the sculptures on it were mind blowing. We clicked some pictures and saw people hiking towards the place too. The taxis reached till the top and were filled with foreign nationals. There were very less locals. We spent an hour and got back from a different road. While on our way back, we realized that there was an easier route to get to the monastery and the area that we reached was a familiar one. Nevertheless, the fun is to get lost, travel around and explore more. Adding one of the beautiful and must visit places for travel lovers: – Pullahari Monastery.

There are different categories of people around us. Some are hard to deal with and some are easy going. It depends on each individual’s nature, character, upbringing and thought process. A lot of it is the tolerance power that a person has. This article goes out to the majority of people that we interact with and we ourselves can be the subject, if we relate our experiences and style of living. These are acts that occur unknowingly or unintentionally and we do not remember unless someone keeps reminding us about it. As these points are written, one can think about the situations that one has come across with the educated illiterate. This term is specifically for the people who have had so much knowledge, schooling and degree but do not know the simple rules and practices.

Educated people are those who because of their literacy have learnt many things in their lives and achieved proficiency in general. They have used their knowledge and become successful with time. But the problem lies when the educated people do not change their established convictions. This is one part of it. The other part is when the proficient ones act ignorant.

This could be related to professionals honking continuously while they are stuck in a traffic jam or could be people throwing waste from the window shield of their car. There are individuals who do not realize they are littering the surroundings and some who cannot stand in a queue for any entrance. These could be professionals to high school students. They are instances when piles of garbage are seen around corners and how people spit on the road as they walk. Using plastic bags is another example on how one is lazy to carry a cloth bag while shopping. Wasting food while attending parties and ceremonies is a common sight as well as people bargaining on small services for minimum amount is a pitiable situation. The irony is how we react and take things for granted when no cost is involved. There is no end to the list of following under this category of educated illiterate.

What I am saying is instead of arguing who is responsible for the system, one should practice what they preach. If each one of us follow these easy policies in life and inculcate in our style of living the place would be much better to live in. We should stop being in haste all the time as life is nothing but a slow moving race.

You must have known what The KTM Drive is till now if you have been a part of my blog posts (Paradiso). If not, it is really simple; we are a group of professionals working on social cause events twice every month. The events are super fun and since each drive is different than the previous, we try giving our best to the society in various ways. The best part about it is the members keep changing in each event, as it is not compulsory for anyone. Whoever can make it to the event comes for it and whoever cannot tries coming for the next. After each event there is a different level of satisfaction that each one of us experience and we look forward for the next one. The activities have taught each one of us making it a learning experience. The day leaves an impact on our lives and changes an outlook that we have towards life. With all of these, we have gotten many blessings as we have spread smiles in the lives of hundreds of individuals.

Initially we sponsored our own events, but now we have individuals wanting to contribute for our events. Since their physical presence is missing, they have been helping us in the monetary level. These are people whom we do not know personally yet they want to be a part of our events. The best part that they think is how our events are run and our accounts transparent. For the people who don’t have an idea:- We prepare a budget, flow it on the social networking sites and are contacted through different greeners all around. It is encouraging to get positive responses, messages and notes from people on the events of The KTM Drive. We are done with 43 events till date and love how people have been a part of this group around the world.

Among all of this there have been times when there are volunteers who have asked us if we provide a letter of social work if they work with us. That’s when we realize that The Ktm Drive is so much than a piece of paper says. It is always surprising to see the mindset of people. We are happy to be an unregistered organization and loving the way it is being run. There is a reason when people ask us on why we aren’t getting it registered as we are about to complete three years. The simple answer is because we work a little differently, we do not want to be concentrating in one field and would want to work in the form structure that we have created without compliance and reports.

So the other day we had a meeting with an organization for conducting an event at their institution. They asked us on why are we not planning on a long term basis and focusing on a few people to change their future rather than many. This has been a thought which has been running on my mind since a long time but the only answer that I have for this is; we believe in spreading joy and happiness even if it is for a shorter time because we are doing it from our heart. If we were to think about long term we would have taken up one field and started a company for non profit. Since all of us are working in our own fields we want to keep it this way and for focusing on a particular area, there are many organizations that are established already. We are dedicated volunteers who love what we do and want to inspire, motivate, and learn on our way.

While I say this, we are proud of THE KTM DRIVE and each person being involved with it directly or indirectly as it has reached such heights with an amazing team. What do you think about the group conducting different activities each time as it has been running?? Have you been inspired by us in any way? If yes, let us know how and with that, you are always welcome for any of our events and giving ideas.

~Ending this note with a pat on our back for the awesome work ~

Our 43^rd event at The KTM Drive was an unplanned and surprise visit at Disable Newlife Center located at Gokarna. The kids were very happy to see us as this was our fourth event with them. On the first event we had divided them in groups and planted saplings around the premises of the organization. We had also flown kites with the kids on the festival of flying kites. Each event gave us an amazing feeling and made us realize the small things that we have taken in our lives for granted. These differently able kids inspired us on how they have been taking care of each other and living their life without complaints.

We gave them stationery which included an exercise copy, pen and also with that distributed a juice and biscuit to each child. As soon as each one of them received the copies, we asked them to write or draw the first thing that came to their mind. As soon as they heard that, they asked if it could be anything, and as we agreed to it, we said whatever that they wanted to. There were smiles on their faces when they heard “anything that comes to your mind”. They thought it was a competition but we cleared that question of theirs. Some started sketching, some started writing poems, some wrote jokes, and some had no clue what to write. Pasang
who cannot speak and write properly was having trouble writing her name. When one of our members wrote the name for her, she blushed. There was another child who wrote a beautiful poem which had a deeper meaning. One of the smaller kids who couldn’t write properly drew and when I asked him what it was, his imagination made a round shaped object a cloud which we would have otherwise taken as a sun. Some thanked us for taking time out to visit them. This other kid made three houses in his drawing for the three of us who were there and when I asked him what about his? He said I don’t have one yet. The talks, conversations, expressions from the kids made us emotional and question why people are not born the same, with equal rights and opportunities.

As the others completed the task, we were surprised to see how innovative they were. It was astonishing to see the output and just then we asked them to write a wish of theirs and what they wanted to be in future. Some wanted to become an artist, some wanted to be a nurse, one wanted to be a web developer, the other one wanted to become a doctor. Some chose singing and each one of them had a dream that they wanted to pursue.

If we were given one wish, I am sure each one of us would have a fancy one, but these little kids wanted drawing copies, geometry box, hair band, some clothes, and more love from us and such days to be repeated. Some wanted pencils, erasers and sharpeners and we fulfilled their wishes then. It was amusing how their wishes were immaterial and the smallest. They showed us their sketches and drawings which were amazing and some of them sang for us. There was a poem written by one of the kid expressing his thoughts to his mother which was very touching.

They thanked us for a wonderful time and we wished them luck for their exams. Spending time with these kids and making them do different activities added more fun to the day. They asked us to come back sooner which we surely will be going with their wishes. We did not want to leave as we were attached to these kids but we had to. The day left an impact on each one of our lives as much as theirs. It surely was one of the memorable days of our lives as we learnt so much from them.

Some days are added as the best ones in our journey of life. It could be because of particular adventure or could be with the awesome people that we are with or could be amazing conversations or something that we love doing. One of such days was over the weekend which started with Ktm Drive event and ended with a place that we decided last minute.

We had planned on visiting the tea garden early in the morning on a Sunday. That plan got changed to a drive towards Sindhuli highway as soon as all of us got ready for the drive. The three hour drive was perfect with the views that we experienced and the conversations we had. We saw clear mountains ranges and the roads had twists and turns. As we crossed every bridge it gave each of us a feeling on being outside Nepal. The narrow roads were smooth to drive and hills on the other side looked magnificent. The river patch made the place more beautiful.

As we drove we saw very less houses, minimum eating joints and one school on our way. We spoke about how tourism needs to flourish in Nepal, how these places are not discovered yet, and how lesser facilities are around the place. We were discussing on how difficult it would be to get a mechanic in the middle of nowhere if the car broke down. On the other note, we were happy to see no traffic as there were few vehicles on the road. The greenery was at its maximum and we could see different types of trees.

As we drove along the road, we had good conversations and we were getting to know
each other better. Just then, we crossed an area called Nepalthok where we could see white sand near the Sunkoshi River. It looked surreal from the road. We asked for directions to get there and as we were driving towards the sand we met two kids carrying sack of potatoes and walking towards the river side. They were below ten years and were carrying weight double their size. We gave them a quick lift and reached the banks of Sunkoshi River.

We were at the paradise and the place was perfect. The view of the hills from the white sand and the sound of the waves of the river was bliss. We rolled, jumped on white sand and finally got to the riverside. A four wheeler drive was super fun and so was chilling near the river bank. We stayed for a while as we basked the sun after playing with water. We captured some moments but the beauty was already captured by the lenses of our eyes.

It was time to head back as we took a different route and it was an adventure crossing the gravel and rocky road. We searched for a restaurant and finally found one. After a great meal we head back. On our way back we had the most interesting talks as one topic lead to another and we were back home in no time. It was one of those days which has been the best on our list.

It’s been a long time that I haven’t written on the blog site. A part of me always questions myself on how did I not take time to write. This being one of the best works of my day, how could I ignore it for a while? Why did I let thoughts play in my mind and not find time? There are so many thoughts on my mind and the topics to write have almost reached a page. I should finish writing on the topics and keep the flow from now on.

This year started with the note on me preparing a book out of the published and interesting blogs and completing a novel. With so much on the plate it seemed like things went on a different direction for the first two months of this year. Nevertheless not to keep the wait for long, the books should be ready sooner.

Writing requires a lot of time and I am sure each writer knows exactly what I am talking about. It is an idea which is spoken out loud but at the same time a writer needs to think from various perspectives on how broad can they reach. After accumulating all the thoughts, the writer needs to check the grammar and search for the best designs to make the read more appealing. The next step is adding photos and changing the font which lastly leads on proof reading the article. The last is the most complicated job as a mistake is common. The changes keep happening as the writing is read, which takes ample of time to convey the right message.

The things I have learnt are any thought cannot be written in haste. It needs patience, consistence and majority of it depends on mood of the writer. Writing right after the moment has passed gives the perfect description unlike the situation which is described after a week. There are times when the writer’s perspective is taken differently as compared to how they want to portray their outlook.

If you are not in the habit of writing, start sooner as you are missing out a lot. Writing is a power in itself that helps you express, emote and clears your mind. It gives answers to questions you have been reasoning about and asking questions on. Writing can be simplest on whatever you are thinking as it is a piece of your thought trying to converse and communicate. If you haven’t noticed yet there goes my first blog after a while which says how much I have missed blogging!!

Being the founder member of this group, my experience has been amazing. The ride has been really good and it has taught me ways of living, made me realize how blessed we are with the things we have. It gives me different energy and enthusiasm to plan the events each time which is unexplainable. The magical blessings from thousands of people have been heart warming. As we have touched the lives of about five thousand people, we are willing to learn more and give the most to the world.

The best part about KTM drive for the members is that it is not a compulsion, nor is it a strict rule that once they have joined the group they have to be present at the event. The decision of being a part of different events is left on them and it has made them more participative. Since everyone wants to give to the society in some or the other way, The Ktm Drive has created a platform where one can give ideas, involve in different activities as well as sponsor the events and connect with many people. The group is a combination of professionals from different fields which makes it more interesting. The events are held on Saturdays which makes it easy for everyone as it is a holiday.

The people who observe our events question me on why don’t we get ourselves registered and work as an organization. The simple answer to that is: – We are not a NGO but work like one and we believe we have inspired and motivated many. We have ourselves discovered so many things as each event has been a learning curve. The next part where people are inquisitive about us is on our working area, which is diverse, from planting trees, to distributing saplings, visiting old age home, rucksack projects, bakery and ice cream treats, sponsoring kids for their education We are involved in all which surprises many. The reason behind this is we want to give to the society in whichever way we can and we do not want to be restrictive. Since good is happening with each creative event we do not concentrate on one field.

40 events, which included visiting Montessori’s and meeting the notorious and innocent kids, coordinating at schools , hospitals for plantation program, collecting clothes for rucksacks, awareness program at various orphanages, playing games and flying kites with differently able kids, finding individual sponsors for the event, taking permission from the Agriculture Ministry for collecting number of saplings from Chobar nursery, it has been an awesome run. There are instances when there have been people excited to hear about the events we do and promising us that they would be involved in one way or the other and they are times when individuals have not bothered to take care of the plants they grow. We have met extremes. This encourages us to reach more people and make them understand that the act of giving in itself is never wasted and should not only be in thoughts.

While we plant and monitor saplings at different places, we spread the benefits of Mother Nature who has given us in abundance. We do the bit we can, spread smiles and give gratitude. An idea of making the town greener which has gone out to various social causes is appreciated by all. We have a logo, a site to ourselves (www.ktmdrive.com) which explains about upcoming events, what The KTM Drive is all about, how to be a part of it. We got shirts printed for ourselves. There are sponsors, who have deposited money not wanting to know which area we would use it for. They know how we roll, what we do and are assured it would reach the right place. That’s what we wanted to be: – transparent. Our work shows what we are.

There are moments when we were asked on what are the benefits we achieve from the events? To this I would just describe in a line saying that :- “Some achievement are not material, each one of us involved in the drive has received satisfaction, inner happiness and are proud of ourselves for doing what we are doing.”

Change of season adds spice in our lives. Each season has its own charm and has something new in store for us. Be it the winter cold or the sunny mornings, frozen snowy nights or the autumn breeze, it gives a different good vibe and is bliss to wake up to sunshine. Starting from the winters when it is colder in K-town compared to the previous years, the temperatures have gone to the extremes all over the world. Summers have become really hot and winters frosting. The difference in temperatures is happening everywhere because of global warming.

As the global warming discussion continued in one of our get together, a cousin asked me on which season did I like the most?” Which season you wait for in a year?” she said. I thought for a while and concluded that I was in love with all the seasons. To classify and think about it, I love winters when one can just sit in the garden or home terrace on holidays and have a great time basking the sun, eat oranges and read a book. One needs to be careful with the sunburns though. The fun part is the winter breeze while riding the bike and the foggy morning. There are times when one cannot see mile ahead while driving which gets pretty challenging. The fog gives the feeling of being in the clouds when one can touch the cotton candy and fly pass it. The winter cold is biting and chilly unless one warms themselves with layers of clothing. The plump look with layers of clothes is worth the risk. The winter cold gets in the laziness as intakes of coffee increases significantly.

I love the early spring time and the cool summers when I can flaunt my flip-flops over shorts. There are majority who love summers because of the longer days as many activities can be done. The flowers which grow during that season are lovely and the sky looks beautiful during the early sunrise and late sunset. The change of color in the sky during evenings looks magnificent and the different shapes made by cotton clouds are harder to guess. With the beautiful view and breeze the different seasons has awesomeness stored for us. It’s surprising to see how people around complain about each season. When its winters, they can’t stop cribbing about how cold it gets day by day. When it’s raining for a month in a row, they have problems as it gets difficult to travel or plan an event and during summers they complain about the scorching heat.

Each time of year adds essence in our lives. We need to prepare ourselves for the lovely weather as I am now by writing this piece on a chilly but really sunny and warm Monday morning.

The other day, I was asked about THE KTM DRIVE event which was conducted recently. I replayed the day in my mind and it got me thinking on different incidents and learning that happened on the 39th event. Since we had been conducting events twice a month, the numbers were increasing and we were already on the 39^th event in the first month of 2015.

While talking about the drive, we started the event pretty early. The idea was to give out warmers to the people in winter cold who needed it the most and not to the ones who were sitting on pile of clothes outside the temples. We had purchased a new set of shawls which was sponsored by one of our member’s grand mom. We wanted to distribute it to the elderly who were sleeping on the streets.

Each member had collected a bunch of winter clothes for men, women and children. We reached Swayambu as that was our first destination. We saw many people sitting outside the temple asking for help. These young men and women were physically fit so we left without giving them clothes. Our main agenda was to help the old and the ones who were differently able.

We gave jackets to the old men at Durbar Marq road and outside the stupa. Right after we headed to Bishnumati Bridge to give out sweaters to the children of families one of our members suggested. The next spot was Kamladi, and as soon as we reached the temple we saw a family distributing a new set of blankets to the poor which was an amazing gesture to see. As we saw how delighted they were to receive the blankets, it made us realize that there still exists kindness and the joy of giving among human race. Some wrapped it around themselves instantly and some put them aside. As we spoke to one of our experienced new member, we got to know that some needy ones sell the new blankets for money. He gave us some facts about professional beggars and artists who lived in flats and earned at a higher rate everyday!

As it made no sense to give shawls to them, we headed near the Pashupati area, where we gave clothes to the street kids. As much as it got difficult to control these kids with their actions and language, it was a different side of a kid that each one of us saw. We treated them with a cup of tea and as we observed their activities, it got me thinking what would have happened if these kids would get an opportunity to study and if child labour was abolished?

The event ended on a good note as we decided on giving the shawls the next time as we could not find people who really needed it. We did not want to give it to an organization because they receive grants and donations. This event gave all of us a reality check and raised the same question in our minds. Who are the real needy if beggars are artists, where do we find people who are suffering from the cold? How do we make a better place for the street kids who are being raised in domestic violence? Why do beggars keep collecting piles of clothes if they do not wear it?

Finding out answers to these questions are necessary because the joy of giving doubles when it is on a right note. Just giving for the sake of giving does not better the place and that is never the idea of THE KTM DRIVE!! If you can think about a place or an area where around 20 shawls can be given to the ones sleeping on the street, post in.