Kathmandu: A City of Temples and Universities, Yet Lacking Consciousness

Dear Kathmandu,

I have come from afar to your vicinity

with a hungry mind

I have appeared.

I have come from your city to fill my hungry mind

with knowledge

I have come here after hearing

that you have a pond of everything.

Dear Kathmandu, please do not scold me,

I saw everything within you

I saw the city of temples within you

I saw everything from well-equipped schools to universities within you.

But the irony,

I saw you in a state of lost consciousness

I have come to take consciousness from you

When you yourself are unconscious,

what will I take from you?

Dear Kathmandu, it is within you

the government of this country and Singha Durbar

They live within you

rulers who rule over the people

With all this, why are you unconscious?

Dear Kathmandu, there are questions for you

When will the people living within your city become human?

The rulers wandering within your city

why don't they listen?

To the voices that speak in favor of social justice, equality, and equity.

Dear Kathmandu, standing on your chest

how long will I have to keep revolting?

Let your Singha Durbar hear

Government, is the room empty?

(Jumla)