REFLECTIONS A Student Magazine of Thames International College Issue 02 / 2017-18 LIVE FOR TODAY BELLE FRANCE STRANGERS AGAIN MY EXPERIENCE ON TRAINING SESSION FEMINISM IN NEPAL 4 EDITOR Letter from the Editor It is with great pleasure that I introduce the second edition of the college magazine, Reflections. In this edition, we’ve created a platform where students can collaborate and be creative. This magazine also provides an opportunity for people to connect with each other through artistic expressions, whether in the form of essays and stories or sketches and graphic art. We have curated each page with that in mind. We’re hoping that with each segment of Reflections, we’ll be able to see our family in a clearer picture. Having to work on the magazine was a demanding task, but the entire team worked relentlessly to get the final product out. One thing that makes me happy is the amount of support that we received from the Thames family. We are very fortunate that the entire college came together for this second edition. I would like to specially commend the work done by Mr. Anish Bhatta who worked persistently and operated at his true potential. The magazine includes stories that were written by students as part of a short-term course, Reading and Writing Stories, facilitated by Mr. Niranjan Kunwar. Several weeks of intense discussions, challenging readings, critical analysis and a good many hours led to wonderful stories that deal with our society’s sensitive issues. Over the past two decades, the college has seen a lot of people come and go. Most alumni are still attached to their formative experiences at Thames. To honor their time and memories at Thames, we present the new Alumni Section that contains pieces from past graduates. For a more holistic approach on the real world, the college allows the students to work in different organizations over the course of their college life. The magazine includes an Internship section that highlights the experiences of students’ lives at different organizations and some of the things they learned. We all know that the college conducts various events to engage students. The magazine includes an Event Highlights section that provides a glimpse of Thames’ extra-curricular spirit. The college always encourages students to pursue their interests by getting them involved in different clubs. There is a section in the magazine that describes these clubs, including their purpose, activities, team members and their yearly plans. www.thamescollege.edu.np REFLECTIONS EDITOR 5 We’ve also included an interview of a renowned photographer, Mr. Santosh Raj Pathak, the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Graduate Award, and Ms. Debanjana Bhattacharya, one of the first members to join the faculty of Thames. Along with these, we interviewed students who have been on a quest to be entrepreneurs. I personally feel that one of the most exciting sections of the magazine is the Teachers’ Section where some of the teachers of the college have included their pieces. Last year, the college’s students travelled to various places in Nepal as well as to our neighbour India and to Bhutan. Some even made it to France. We’ve included the experiences of the students and interesting stories from these trips. We have a section where some of the students from First Year share their initial experiences at the college. There is a saying that every artist was first an amateur. The magazine dedicates a section to the future artists within the Thames community. We are thankful to everyone who put the time and energy into their individual pieces for us. With beautiful poems, gorgeous sketches and some appealing articles, the contributors shared their love for their chosen form of art, some even for the first time. It is a matter of great privilege to us that we were able to provide them with a platform to present their individual talents, and making the magazine what it really is. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who helped us through this journey and start this magazine at Thames. I would like to thank Mr. Sujan Kayastha, the Academic Director of the college, who entrusted us with the responsibility of the magazine. He was there motivating us and pushing us to create something that can be a benchmark in the future. I would like to thank Ms. Kriti KC and Mr. Awishkar Lama who were always up for giving us meaningful advices. I’d also like to thank Mr. Hari Prasad Silwal, who helped us edit the Nepali pieces. Also, special thanks to Mr. Niranjan Kunwar and Mr. Saifullah Muhammad for being a constant support to us. I hope all of you enjoy the magazine a lot and excuse us for any kind of mistakes. I also hope the magazine inspires readers to step out of their comfort zones and start taking creative risks. Mohit Rauniyar Editor REFLECTIONS www.thamescollege.edu.np 6 CONTENTS REFLECTION ISSUE II CREATIVE SECTION 8–67 The Things Missing From My Life 10 August 12 cf“z' 13 Why do fools fall in love? 14 In Pursuit of Being Different 48 LIVE FOR TODAY 15 I love you papa ! 50 Unfinished 16 I for Me 52 Reasons WHY I CHOSE HIM 18 Exploring Hard Work 53 Sheila 19 How to Dance 54 The Heart that Hurt 20 Feminism in Nepal 56 The Four Walls 22 Being Foodie 58 STRANGERS AGAIN 24 How many times will you try? 59 Too Much for A Starry Night 26 The Strength of Positivity 60 FRIENDSHIP A WISE CHOICE 28 What does it take to meet the Ross… 32 great conqueror? 62 Serenity 34 Seeing the Unseen 36 d]/f tLg ;fyL 63 Society as a System 38 What is Life? 64 Death 40 Gazzing Lens 66 My Fright 41 The never ending urges of The way out 42 anormal human being 67 Love over Obsession 44 Happiness in Happiness Course 46 TRAVEL SECTION 68–85 Trip To Bhutan 70 Trip To India 74 Belle France 76 Director Merit Award 80 This is Thames 82 Coordinator The Magazine Team Advisors Special Thanks Design & Photographs Mohit Rauniyar Alisha Bhattarai Ayush Man Sherchan Hari Prashad Silwal Production Ranjan Shrestha Angirash Karki Awishkar Lama Saifuallah Muhammad Curves n’ Colors Aadarsh Shakya Ashma Rijal Kriti KC Devina Tandukar Sumit Singh Editors Ashwini Pandit Niranjan Kunwar Simran Silpakar Cover Anish Bhatta Niva Ranjit Sujan Kayastha Prajula Chitrakar Saifullah Muhammad Mohit Rauniyar Rushal Amgai www.thamescollege.edu.np REFLECTIONS CONTENTS 7 EVENTS HIGHLIGHT 86–99 Photography Workshop and Photo Walk with Santosh Raj Pathak 88 NORDIC TALK on ‘Future Career in Development Cooperation-Nordic vs. Nepalese Views’ 90 MOU signing with Webster University 92 Freshers and Commencement Ceremony 94 Book Talk 96 NEPAL BUSINESS GABFEST 2017 98 THAMES CLUBS 100–111 ALUMNI SECTION 142–165 SCOTIC 102 4 things every student should do before graduating 144 Social work club of Love me 147 Thames International College 103 Futility 148 Thames it Club 104 Ardent 149 The Management Club 106 Coffee Tales 150 Thames Dance Club 108 Everyone has their own story 152 Thames Emcee Club 110 I am no one 153 Theater Club 111 For you... 154 Void in my heart 155 g]kfnL /fhgLltdf o'jfsf] pkl:ylt 156 The High Pass:Annapurna Circuit Trek 158 What's next? 162 The 4 years journey at Thames 164 TEACHERS' SECTION 166–179 Towards political literacy 168 One that went 170 How are we reinforcing patriarchy? 172 Riding Through 174 Alok Vaid Menon 176 Managing Your Energy Before Time 178 INTERVIEWS SECTION 180–189 INTERNSHIP SECTION 112–119 Through My Lens 182 Thames Internship 114 The Life of a Parent-Teacher 188 My Experience on Training Session 115 Internship 116 PHOTOGRAPHS AND SKETCHES 190–206 My Internship Experience 118 My New Placeholder 119 STORIES 120–141 Maa 122 Reflections 124 Sanguine 126 Fading Away 128 In search of… 130 The Chills of Magh 132 Blessed 134 Mannequin 136 Bittersweet 138 Silhouette 140 REFLECTIONS www.thamescollege.edu.np 8 www.thamescollege.edu.np REFLECTIONS 9 Creative Section REFLECTIONS www.thamescollege.edu.np 10 The Things Missing From My Life Parima Bajracharya When I was younger, Say a few years ago, When smart phones did not rule my generation. I used to get so annoyed every morning as I woke up to the sound of People laughing loudly during yoga in the neighbourhood. If not my loud neighbors, then my dog, pawpy who Wouldn’t keep it down, when birds chirped in our garden. I now always wake up to the sound of my phone ringing. I do not rush to the kitchen to get the Times to Finish Sudoku before my brother gets to it. I do not look out from the balcony and wave at my neighbor. I do not spend time staring at the stars at night while listening To vanilla twilight. Honestly, I can go on and on about all the things I loved That I’ve stopped doing now. So I guess it’s true. As my mother always tells me, I am a grown up now. A seventeen year old grown up . And after a series of regretful moments in my life, I’ve come to the realization that life is not about getting all the Things you want from the supermarket Or having the guy you always had a crush on, like you back. And it is SO NOT always about winning. Turns out www.thamescollege.edu.np REFLECTIONS 11 Life has always been about all the small things That exist around us, That happen around us Things that makes us wonder, And pause And things that keeps us moving forward When I got up from my bed today After crying myself to sleep last night, “How stupid I was”, I realized I went out to the balcony and saw my neighbor playing With her new born baby daughter.