It was 1999. In the middle of our basic police training, we were deployed for the national election. I was assigned to Mahottari District. It was my first journey into the Terai, and everything about the place was strange. Hours of travelling on a bus, in a green plain with no hills on the horizon, were exciting. The people spoke a different language; everything was bizarre for me, different customs, a different world. It was hot, humid, and uncomfortable. Looking back, I realise that my first impressions were shaped as much by my own prejudices. My experiences reinforced many of the stereotypes I had unconsciously absorbed about the Madhesh. I saw the town as dirty and chaotic. Kathmandu was hardly a model of cleanliness itself, but preconceived notions are powerful. I was viewing the place through a biased lens. The truth is that our schools never taught us much about Nepal's diversity. We learned history and geography, but not how to appreciate differences. Even police training,...
Monologue .......