Why are there columns of Yellow tiles in the side walk?

For the visually impaired

All the new sidewalks that are being constructed in Kathmandu these days show a series of distinctly colored yellow tiles running through the middle of them. It made me wonder what they were. At a point I even started cursing the government in my head, assuming that the tiles were simply objects of decoration, another case of redundant expenditure so characteristic of public projects.

When I saw a group of workers digging along the middle of sidewalk passing in front of my college, I was certain that they were in the process adding those same yellow tiles. It was too much for me, and found myself agitated every time I walked the sidewalk.

Coincidentally, I was surfing the internet one day when I recalled those yellow tiles. On Google I typed ‘Odd yellow tiles on the sidewalk’. Instantly trusty Google displayed answers on the screen. I felt a fat smile form on my face as I read. Immediately I was praising Nepalese policymakers.

The yellow tiles were being laid as part of tactile paving, a special paving used as warning indicator for people who are blind or have partial visual impairment. The tiles come with a distinct texture which the blind people can feel via their cane or shoes and that way they could follow the sidewalk with ease. But this is not the only purpose tactile paving serves.

I also learned that Japan was the pioneer in introducing tactile paving and that the tiles are used as early warning mechanism as well. Change in the texture of the tiles would suggest things like turning ahead, stairs ahead, slope ahead, crossing ahead etc. The primary purpose although remains a medium of directional guidance. In addition, there is a clever reason for coloring the tiles yellow: a distinct yellow would create contrast from the sidewalk so those with partial blindness could see distinguish it.

This was very rejuvenating revelation for me. I am seriously pleased with the government for taking commendable initiative to ease commute for people with visual impairment. I suggest the concerned authority to add tactile paving at all places in the urban centers. 

Comred

Published in Setopati, on June 6, 2016

http://setopati.net/readers-column/14527/For-the-visually-impaired/

Smoking Debut (Short Story)

Smoking Debut

“Smoking causes cancer; Smoking kills; Smoke at your own risk” Sahil could see the words and a disturbing picture of a pair of lungs all decayed and black. He held the pack in his hands, cautiously he unwrapped the seal of the pack. He could now see them, lines of sticks; cotton like material in the top. All of a sudden, “You don’t smoke boy, do you?” a hoarse voice spoke. Sahil was almost out of his breath. Scared he looked back at the voice. It was Sahil’s uncle whom he’d been staying at since the day earlier.

Shail was taken by surprise when he found the pack of cigarettes in his uncle’s study table, for Sahil had no idea that his uncle smoked. Sahil had no intentions of lighting the sticks and trying out smoking, when he picked up the pack. Most of his class mates were smokers, he’d stayed with his friends together when they smoked but he’d never tried out smoking for himself. It was not that Sahil didn’t want to smoke, he wanted to smoke but he never had the courage to ask his friends for a puff. He’d held cigarette stick in his hand before, he’d even tried smelling how a stick smells like. He was aware that cigarette stick contained tobacco in them. The only thing was, Sahil knew quite a lot of things about cigarette but he’d never smoked one.

Sahil’s uncle approached Sahil, Sahil still awestruck watched his uncle right in the face. Uncle took hold of the pack from Sahil’s hand. He took out a stick and from one of the drawers of the study table, he took out a box of matches; Sahil watched speech less. [STRIKE] a flame, the matchstick was ablaze; Sahil was still motionlessly watching as his uncle lit the cigarette pressed in his lips. Cloud of smoke came out from uncle’s mouth as he exhaled the puff he’d taken. And came uncle’s voice, “You can try one if you want to, I’ll tell nobody… Here you go boy..” Uncle offered Sahil a stick from the pack. Sahil was hesitant at the beginning but he did take out a stick and pressed it in between his lips.

[STRIKE] Another match had been lit. Sahil’s uncle brought the match closer to Sahil’s lips. Sahil inhaled as his uncle lit the cigarette stick pressed in Sahil’s lips. Immediately after [COUGHS] ahmmm… ahmmmm… ahmmmm.. Sahil felt very intolerable, he could not keep the smoke inside himself, he coughed out all the puff he’d taken in. Sahil’s uncle smiled as Sahil restlessly coughed. But Sahil didn’t stop at that. He inhaled another puff in himself and this time he didn’t cough, he exhaled a gust of smoke out from his mouth like any other professional smoker would. Sahil and his uncle smoked together. Sahil painfully coughed a few times as he had still not learned how to inhale the smoke properly. With puff after puff, the cigarette stick got shorter and shorter, in no time the stick had diminished to the filter.

“Boy, stop inhaling, you’ve puffed in enough”, Sahil’s uncle said. And then came Sahil’s content smile. His uncle told him that he had no intentions to spoil Sahil and he’d offered him to smoke only because he felt like Sahil would want to at least try to feel how smoking feels like.

 He told his uncle, “I am never smoking again” but inside himself, Sahil was making plans about what he is going to do the next time he smoked.    

Yatra Karnali (Chapter Two)

Yatra Karnali (Chapter Two)

Soon as I came out of the airport I noticed I was in such a terrain which I'd not even seen in a dream. The headquarters of Jumla, Jumla Bazzar was surrounded by gigantic hills all around it. I kept on looking round and round time and again. And suddenly I happened to see my father as I looked around. He waved at me and called me to him. I greeted my father and with him I went to the staff quarters of his office. My father had been staying there in the staff quarters since he arrived to Jumla. The staff quarters was based in a single floored building made up of stone blocks. Almost each and every house there were made up of stone blocks, for I didn't noticed even a single structure made up of bricks.

There is an interesting thing I'd like to share, some of you might think it's rather disgusting than interesting; in Jumla it felt as if the mosquitoes which I had been so habituated with here in Kathmandu was replaced by flies. Yes, like mosquitoes here swarm around you, in Jumla flies used to swarm all around you. I knew not why there was so many flies there because the environment seemed quite clean and unlike I'd heard about Karnali region cleanliness was quite maintained amongst the people. It must have been the warm summer season that turned out to be heaven for flies. There were outrageous number of flies not only in Jumla but all round the Karnali region, or should I say places I went in the Karnali region. Even the thick forest and hills at high altitude (lekh) weren't fly less. It felt as if every inch of Karnali's land was the empire of flies and this isn't an exaggeration.

The same day I reached Jumla, me and my father went for a walk in the market place of Khalanga Bazzar. There I was amazed to see the rich stock of goods that comes in use in daily basis. Shops were well stocked with variety of goods ranging from sweets, cold drinks, chips, noodles and even electronic commodities like mobile phones and computers which I hadn't imagined to find in such a place like Jumla. I was completely amazed to see the Khalanga Bazzar's operation. You could compare it with the crowded streets of Ason in Kathmandu. There were also quite a few banks and hotels in Khalanga Bazzar. The life style of people there seemed quite similar to people here who dwell in so called the most urban place of Nepal, Kathmandu. Looking at this place of Jumla it was not possible to call than this place a remote place.

The only lack of facility that I found in Jumla was that there used to be frequent power cuts there. Although the place housed a small scale hydro power plant, there still was power cuts and the interesting reason for the power cut was that, the water meant for generating electricity was irrigated in the field's, as it was paddy plantation season. My father told me that at other times there is very less power cuts. There was plenty of water available for all purposes in Jumla. There wasn't any scarcity of drinking water unlike here in Kathmandu, where you wouldn't want to waste even a drop of water. And other important thing Jumla became the first district to provide 3G service in the Karnali region only some days before my arrival at Jumla. So, it was quite fun surfing the internet from a place believed to be so remote. Many of my relatives and friends got surprised to see me online for they had been assuming that internet was not available in Jumla. I was also among them until I surfed the net myself there at Jumla.

Market place at Khalanga Bazzar, Jumla

A street of Khalanga Bbazzar