LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Nepal: Land of culture & many more

THE advance technology has made the life easier. Nowadays, hi-tech has become essential for the development of a country. Due to the rapid digitalisation trend in all aspects of our life, it is almost impossible to predict how our living conditions will change tomorrow. This makes us wonder how much of the regional and ethnical characteristics of each country may be preserved or maintained in the global culture of the future. We have faced the reality that the English language is a necessity to gain access to the Internet, the treasure of information knowledge.

This situation has forced many non-English speaking countries to adopt early education of English as an official policy. However, it is obvious that the history and culture of each nation will still constitute or remain as the roots of its very existence. Therefore, we must make an increased effort to treasure, protect, and rediscover our traditional culture.

Over the past years, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has been trying very hard to promote Nepalese tradition and cultures abroad with the various government, non-government institutions. Besides this, various individuals’ contribution in the Nepal’s promotional work should also have to be taken as a granted.

This writer had also been participated in the various programmes held abroad and had delivered many lectures on Culture. Having interaction with the people around the globe and their way of working style has given me opportunities to take lesson and think about how and in what direction we should carry out these tasks in the future. What aspects of Nepalese traditional cultures would be most appropriate to be introduced abroad? Who should be the target audiences? What would be the most effective way to do this? There are no simple answers to these questions.

With the limited amount of resources in carrying out these tasks, however, priorities must be set up. During several trips abroad, I often encounter taxi drivers asking me whether I came from mountains (Nepal). Such is the degree of knowledge on Nepal on the part of the general public on most other countries.

Nepal’s various musical groups, dance troupes had staged in Asia, Europe, and America with great success and were also able to win the heart of those so-called civilised Westerners. But the people from Pacific-Rim, Africa and Latin America are still totally unknown about Nepal except one thing: “ Mount Everest lies in Nepal”.

With the impression of invisible scene in their mind while talking formally or informally in different programmes and places, this writer’s many friend have said, “I never knew Nepal was a country with such a sophisticated level of the arts”.

“I will have to go to Nepal and see Himalayas and Mount Everest, Lumbini — the birth place of Lord Buddha, the land of Living Goddess culture can have a far-reaching effect on other spheres of society.
Generally, those who go to such performances in America, Europe belong to the upper-middle class with a relatively high level of education, and strong purchasing This writer had an opportunity to visit various cities of Korea at the invitation of Republic of Korea Government for the KOICA’s programme early this month.

Though I had also visited the same place earlier, but throughout my recent travels, I gained an experienced of something new ideas from Korea which were not implemented earlier. I was surprised to find that, for almost every historical or cultural site, there was excellent literature explaining the history, art and archeology of that particular site, fully illustrated with nice colour plates.
These were available not only in their native language— Korean, but in widely spoken international language –English and some other languages as well.

His Majesty’s Government of Nepal has designated the Year 2003 as Destination Nepal. And we are due to host the 50th anniversary of the first human foot on the top of the world — Mount Everest on May 29th this year. There are many things we should do to prepare for this big event.
To tap this golden opportunity in the promotional work of Nepal’s vivid traditional culture to sports, treasure products to newly developed tourist destinations, targeting the thousands of possible visitors we should have to workout efficiently and smoothly to properly introduce our cultural to mountainous heritage.

Currently there are guide books and information panels in English for most of our temples, museums and other historical sites. Many of them, however, are less than satisfactory. If we can improve their contents as well as English we would be doing a much better service for our visitors. We can produce in several other languages high-quality information materials on Nepalese historical places as well as aspects of traditional Nepalese art and culture.

Foreign tourists who display greater interest in our cultural heritage are usually those with higher education, while being in a position to exercise greater influence in their respective societies. This is all the more reason for us to significantly upgrade the way our rich cultural heritage is introduced to foreign visitors.

Also, as many countries have designated the 21st century as the “Century of Culture”, we should also have to join in this great mission. This would certainly cooperate in spreading the traditional arts, culture and world heritage sites to the foreign visitors.

And this could give the impression and lesson to the foreigners that Nepal is not only a country of top of the world’s snow-peaked majestic high mountains, but also a country of having plain terrain rich traditional culture, birth place of Light of Asia — Gautam Buddha, land of Living Goddess and brave Gurkhas, place for varieties of birds to flora and fauna and many more.

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