Nepal,Tibet, China and myself 1

My earliest memories of school history books is the
constant politics, business, scholarly exchanges and wars
between Nepal and Tibet; and Tibet and China; and China
and her neighbors.

At that time, Tibet was a sovereign, free country,
like Nepal or Australia.

I wanna go back to where it all began.

In around mid sixth century, there was a Nepalese
princess, Bhrikuti, who was married off to a Tibetan Emperor,
Shreng Cheng Gampo, by the girl's father, Anshubarma,
to forge a diplomatic relation so that the wars between the
two countries would cease by virtue of this. The Nepalese
bride is thought to have spread Buddhism in that part of
the world. She is still known and revered as 'Green Star'
among the Tibetans. If not for her, there would have
been no Tibetan sect of Buddhism, no monasteries, no
monks and no Dalai Lama or any Lamas.

There is also a very touching story of a young teenage
sculptor named Araniko from Kathmandu who
was invited to participate in the decoration of Chinese
Capital, Beijing, upon invitation by the then Emperor of
China, Kublai Khan. One of the monuments Araniko himself
built still stands in downtown Beijing, by the name of Bai
Si Tha, or White Pillar. Today, hundreds of Nepalese youth
have been trained in China as Doctors, Engineers,
environmentalists, business experts and so forth.
The bond is ancient, modern and alive. Today the Chinese
companies dominate the building of roads, bridges,
and other massive structures in Nepal. I am here,
well and prospering in a way, powered by Chinese
education, Chinese food, Chinese love and care. I owe,
a huge part of my life to China, Beijing and a town
called Wuxi in particular.

At that time, Nepal was protected from Chinese invasion
by the buffer zone of Tibet, who had to bear the brunt of
the super power of the time. Kathmandu people, the
Newars, were the major tradesmen supplying goods and
commodities to Tibet. There still are various families in
Newar families of Kathmandu whose grand fathers or great
great ones travelled to Lhasa. Its no wonder the trade between
Nepal and Tibet is still one of the biggest revenue generators
for both states.

But today, fate has it, owing to Tibet, Nepal is still a free
country and not a part of China. Tibet is a region in
China, poor and backward. China on the other hand,
as everybody knows, is already a super power, slowly
consolidating her position in the world she rightfully
deserves, among the top nations.