Chinese Spring Festival - Kathmandu

Today I went to the Chinese new year
celebration at Hotel Annapurna,
organized by Araniko Society
-the only organization of Chinese speaking
community in Kathmandu. The society mainly
consists of the engineers, doctors and other
graduates who were once students in various
Chinese Universities. Oddly though I was in
a very informal attire wherease the majority
came in suits. Speaking of the suit, I cannot
help but laugh inside when I think about the
suit or rather its attributes of that worn by
my friend Ravi Manandhar, my name
sake in China. A very stocky and short fellow,
this big Ravi - as he was known in China (Da La wei,
meaning big Ravi. I was called by peers and
teachers as Xiao La wei, small Ravi
when we were studying Chinese in Beijing),
wears his suit always with a pen on the upper left
pocket. I checked yesterday to seewhat kind it
was, an old dot pen. I tried to ask him about it,
but he just ignored.

The program started off with a very lengthy speech
by the Chinese ambassador, explaining all aspects
of how the new year is celebrated in China. Well
he said in Northern China, people do it by eating
dumplings, and lighting fire crackers and so on.
I don't remember now what he said about
what speciality the people in the South follow.
I thought it was all firecrackers and chinese
dishes of the locality all over China, no speical
place for the dumplings.

It was then followed by a short speech by the maoist
minister for culture and Chinese dances. Oddly
though, there was a troupe performing dance on
a song from Indian movie. The young kids
looked to be picked out straight from one
of the hundreds of dance bars in town.

Liquor and food was in overflow in the party
that followed. Though a new threat of bird flu
has hit Nepal, most people did not seem to care,
except for Bhuju, my doctor friend who kept on
calling any chicken dish as 'bird flu'. Raj's french
cut beard and spiked hair was a good match,
only that he is a bit 'unstable' fellow and most of
what he says are rubbish. But he says he is
doing well in business.
Met a lot of other China returned Nepalese friends.
Bhuwan told me how he worked with a
Japanese company for a season somewhere
in Russia before returning to Nepal, to utter
dismay of his Japanese boss. Lots of people
probably did not recognize me as I have lost
so much weight. Manoj Man seems to have
become a chatter box and he was welcoming
guests as they came in. Baikuntha's son has
almost become a kid now.

Its scary how time flies..