BY MADAN LAMSAL

We live in a land of many factions, and with coalitions of fractions. Where ministers come and go, like rapid transactions. But lo and behold, the government's tale untold! Incomplete it remains, or so we are told! The nation ails and is in dire need of cures. Yet hospitals lack medicines, which only augments its lures! Oh, those in the government – ‘what a rotten bunch!’ So, no wonder the people’s discontent continues to crunch!
We have taps, but they have no water. We also have hand-pumps, but they don’t work. As for electric pumps, well, we don’t have electricity! We even have departments, but they simply don’t work. When you try to call them, the call doesn’t go through. And if it miraculously does, there's no one to answer on the other side! There are department chiefs, but they are always on vacation. Their assistants are present, but they claim to 'not know' anything. You consider complaining, but there's no one to listen. The application was submitted, but it wasn't accepted. The report was prepared, but it was all in vain!
The project was accepted, but not the budget. An announcement was made regarding the budget, but it wasn't allocated. There are approved positions, but they remain vacant, from courts and hospitals to universities. And the few positions that are occupied are mostly held by frauds. The presence of political pimps is ubiquitous, like hovering ominous black clouds!
Competent government employees who refuse to become 'yes men' are often transferred. If the minister is satisfied, the secretary is not, and vice versa. Even when both are content, the subordinate employees are not. And when the subordinates are content, their bosses are not. Just when everyone seems agreeable, the 'order from above' mysteriously disappears. Once you manage to address that, you're asked, 'What do we gain from this?' The file sits right on the table but remains unapproved. After numerous visits, the boss finally agrees to approve it, only to be transferred to another department!
We have technicians ready to operate a machine that doesn't exist yet. However, when the machine finally arrives, there's no one available to operate it! The machines are not procured to be put to work, but rather to generate hefty commissions. These commissions have predetermined rates set within the budget. Eventually, the machine malfunctions, triggering a new cycle of purchasing another machine!
There are industries, but they lack workers. Once you manage to acquire workers, there's a lack of electricity. When electricity finally arrives, there are often issues with either the wiring or the switch! With great difficulty, you manage to produce but struggle to sell. What is in demand is not available, and what is available is not in demand. Even when there is both demand and supply, payment is elusive! When you write an email or make a call, there's no response. Sending someone to their office proves futile as they refuse to meet with them. If you consider complaining, you soon realize there's no one available to listen to your grievances!  
Travelers are lined up in queues, but tickets are scarce. When tickets become available, seats are not. They claim to have an online presence, but their websites refuse to load. Once the site finally opens, the computer freezes. The printer is present, but the card is missing. When the card is available, the printer is nowhere to be found. And just when both are accessible, the server goes down!
The employees don't resemble employees, and the ministers lack the qualities of true leaders. Even the governments themselves don't resemble what governments should be. There are individuals in positions of leadership, but they lack essential leadership qualities. Despite claims of being available, they are difficult to meet. And when you do manage to meet them, they refuse to listen or take your concerns seriously. The foundation stone-laying ceremony sparks hope that progress will finally occur, but the construction fails to materialize. When the construction is eventually completed, you realize it serves no practical purpose!
Schools are scattered across the country, but there is a severe shortage of books. Colleges exist too, but studying there does not guarantee knowledge. Admission to reputable institutions is challenging, yet finding employment after graduating from less prestigious ones is even more difficult. Acquiring certificates may be possible, but securing a job remains elusive! You believe something to be news, only to discover it was just a rumor. Conversely, what you assume to be a rumor sometimes turns out to be actual news! Crimes occur, but the identity of the criminals remains unknown. If you happen to know who they are, proving it becomes challenging. And even when you manage to provide evidence, they easily escape the consequences!
The fertilizers that farmers need fail to reach the market, and even when they do, many farmers are unable to obtain them. Timely availability of seeds is a challenge for farmers. Even if they manage to acquire seeds, their crops often don't thrive. And when the crops do grow and produce fruit, the farmers struggle to find a market. Occasionally, they find a market, but profits elude them. Government subsidies are available for agriculture, but the actual farmers rarely benefit from them. Those who do receive subsidies often have no connection to farming!
You frequent a bank to obtain a loan for opening an industry and pay a hefty commission to the person who arranges the loan for you. After much back and forth and many meetings, when you finally receive the loan, you realize that the prices of many goods have skyrocketed. The industry you originally planned is no longer economically feasible. Opening an industry is one thing; finding the land for it is a completely different story. You try to sell it, but you don't find any buyers. Similarly, when you want to buy it, the price is well beyond your capacity!
You encounter humans - a lot of them every day. But humanity is becoming rarer and rarer. The country is supposedly ours but those running the country on our behalf may not represent our interests! That's why we still have the country, but it's become a place that perhaps no one desires to inhabit. And those who want simply can’t. The opportunity for even the competent ones is so scant!  
One is in a hurry to create things, while another is in a rush to destroy them. One is busy patching things up, while another is busy demolishing them. It's hard to understand why certain things are happening and why certain things are not happening! What a bizarre country we have created, where everything seems so tangled up! It's difficult to discern the beginning from the end!
You, too, keep complaining – 'this is not right and that is wrong,' don't you? But monsieur, by now, you must also realize that a million things are happening in the country while another million are not! Or do you still not realize it? Things exist in this country not necessarily to serve the purpose of their creation; perhaps they were created solely to exist. Furthermore, certain things are made with the intention of being unmade later. That's how things are in Nepal! I hope you understand now!"