Random hits on the keyboard

As I was running along the long sea beach this morning, I remembered my Geography teacher from school. We were generally good at Geography. We understood the Earth’s rotation and revolution, the Tropic of Cancer, the seasons, all the respectable parts of the subject. But one chapter haunted the entire class: tides. Our teacher tried his best. He spoke about ships waiting patiently on the shore for high tide, about the water level rising and falling twice a day, and the special high tides twice a month because of the Moon. It was fiction to us. The classroom collectively surrendered. Back then, there were no YouTube tutorials nor ChatGPT to explain it better, so the chapter quietly passed without much discussion. We memorised it word for word, line by line, and never questioned it again. Today I stand in Cox's Bazar , and tides are no longer a textbook chapter. I saw that the water level was higher this morning. The running route that I took a few days ago was under waves today. I w...

I woke up at 04:45 a.m., as usual, and got ready for my run. I had not picked the direction yet. The pollution was in the orange zone, which is unhealthy for a sensitive group. Technically, I am not in the group, but I had to be cautious. I believe that skipping a run is more harmful than a bit of pollution, and at the same time, being in a location which has (relatively) better air, probably South Lalitpur. The Rato Machhendra Nath festival has started. On my way, I prayed and headed from Nakkhu along the bank of the Bagmati River. I have never taken the route. I only saw the place from across the river. The location looked less urban. The paddy field and grassland gave me a feeling of old Kathmandu.  Only four kilometres away from my home, the air felt cleaner. The rain the night before had settled dust, but the road was muddy. Deep breathing was possible - this was a reward for waking up early, before the city woke up.  I am extremely fortunate to be able to enjoy my mornin...

This past month, I explored walking and running through the streets and trails of Kathmandu and Kritipur. Last Saturday, I ran out to Syuchatar, which is only a few kilometers from Ringroad and surprising history. What most people don’t know is that Syuchatar once had a small airport. Today, the Nepal Electricity Authority occupies the site.     I read an article by CK Lal, about that airport - in connection to Cold War. It was fascinating read, as always, added a bit of information about my surrounding. Frayed coattails of Uncle Sam For me, Syuchatar was not a frequently visited location. But in the past year, I've visited there multiple times, because of proximity to my home and its view to the valley. Despite being just 2 kilometers west from Kalanki, Ring Road, Syuchatar feels like an escape. It's one of the few 'villages' close to the heart of Kathmandu that still retains a sense of the countryside. Walking through, you can still see domestic cows grazing l...