The Dashain spirit has gripped the nation. Hundreds of thousands have left Kathmandu for their hometowns, making the city a desolate place. People have cast aside their worries and problems, albeit temporarily. After two years of enduring Covid, they are now left to deal with the effects of a faltering economy and rising prices. Perhaps inflation's effects are overlooked for now, lest it dampen the festive spirit. But the harsh reality will once again dawn with a vengeance. People's endurance has been stretched thin in the past two years, yet politicians have done nothing significant to alleviate the nation's worries.

Apart from the constant bickering among each other and jostling for plum positions, the government has so far failed to do anything substantial to revive the ailing economy. Instead of collaboration between the bureaucracy and the elected representatives, we have seen the Finance Ministry at loggerheads with Nepal's central bank. Differences between the finance minister and the governor of Nepal Rastra Bank arose over dwindling forex reserves, eventually leading to the governor's suspension. This event spiralled into a series of reinstatements and resignations. Nothing beneficial has come from this public display of antagonism.

If there is a lesson to be learnt post-Covid-19, it is that of economic diversification. The ushering in of democracy some 30 years ago brought with it a promise of economic prosperity. Instead of economic diversity, we have, over the years, become reliant primarily on tourism which was devastated by the pandemic and is yet to fully recover. The other key contributor to the state coffers has been the foreign exchange earned from remittances of migrant workers. But this has come at a cost—the outflow of youth from rural areas who otherwise could be instrumental in the country's economic progress.

Agriculture is still the sector that engages a sizable section of the population. Still, those involved in farming do not see it as a path to sustainable livelihood, and thus fail to invest enough, over and above the amount needed to feed their families. If the government is serious about economic growth, it should work to gradually reduce our reliance on imports, at least on the products we can produce domestically. The chronic foreign reserve crisis threatening the country would have been less severe had we diversified and employed the youth to build the country rather than sending them abroad and helplessly relying on remittances.

It is time for introspection and never too late to take measures to benefit the nation rather than serve the interests of a few. Concerns are many, but we must gather the strength to tackle them with vigour. Meanwhile, we could perhaps imbibe some positivity from the ongoing festivities. If it can be seen as an omen, the political parties were able to give a final shape to their closed Proportional Representation list on the day of Fulpati, the seventh day of Dashain. Timely elections are not a cure-all. But in this Dashain spirit, we hope the November 20 polls will help solve more problems than they will create and put the country firmly on the path of peace and prosperity.