She handed me a piece of paper, “Who are the real winners? Come and see the history of Gorkhali soldiers”. That piece of paper left me perplexed and ruminating on my nation. At that moment, I felt proud that I’m a Nepali, and of course, a Gorkhali—those Gorkhalis whose history is the most vigorous of all. Instantly, the thought of the present overwhelmed me and got me anxious.

Ours is the land of the Buddha, land of the great warriors such as the Gorkhali and other world-

renowned personalities. Ours is a country encompassing a multi-dimensional culture, multi-lingual, multi-religious, multi-ethnic and geographical diversity. But keeping an eye on today, we have everything in fragments and there is violence everywhere. We have demolished our history. The strategy that we have in our history is deteriorating. People are forgetting their culture, religion, tradition and moral values. A kind of procrastinating and dominating society is growing.

People are compelled to live without food, and students without education. But we never give up on our pride. Pride for what? Is there anything that we should be proud of? We have nothing to applaud today. It is worthless to praise our history and to forget about our bitter reality. Our nation is foundering turmoil, unstable political breakdowns, and swelling poverty. Our present doesn’t hold anything that gives the aroma of gratefulness nor has it been able to inspire us. We don’t have anyone whom we can aspire to be. Whenever I think about our present, it makes me pessimistic, and a kind of guilt captures my heart. The paradox of our time in history is corruption, black marketing, misery and melancholia.

Aren’t we taking our history for granted? Our ancestors must be highly disappointed and aghast by us. Well, I may sound gloomy but we can’t ignore the truth that has crept on us today. As Gustare Flabert said, “Our ignorance of history causes us to slander our own time.” It’s time for us to look back and work efficiently, so that we could shorten the gap between the past and the present.

Despite all the darkness, there is a light of hope embedded in some corner of the heart that we can keep for the pride of our history. We can be the wave of change to improve our today. We can be an exemplary leader that the next generation aspires to be. We can put effort to create a benevolent society and submerge ourselves to be good citizens. It’s time for action rather than to be influenced by sweet speeches that boast of our history. Let’s create our history ourselves. Let a change in behaviour begin with a change of heart. Let’s show the world we are the generation of Gorkhalis. And never to be forgotten is the history written by the victors.

Karki is a +2 student at Reliance International Academy