Forwarded email:

One of my friends sent me this joke. I thought I should share it with my school friends,

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, spray all of the other monkeys with cold water. After a while, another monkey will make an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it. Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then a fifth. Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea WHY they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all of the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nonetheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana, Why not? Because as far as they know, that's the way it's always been done around here.

And that, my friends, is how company policy begins.

The reason I am listing this long research is because I feel that it reflects the current situation of Nepal. 15 years after the hard won democracy, we are still jumping for banana and everyone is pulling others leg. No one knows why we are still destroying public properties in the name of 'Fight for Right'. We all are similar to those substitute-monkeys in the above joke.... we still burn tires, stone policemen, kill each other, observe Nepal Bandh, close schools and closely follow our corrupt political leaders.. why? because that's the it's always been done around..

PS: The actual five monkeys were our dear leaders who were arrested in the revolution of 1990. In the prison, a banana named 'Democracy' was hung and and the experiment was carried out the same was as above. And now all those five leaders are out but the entire Nepal is in and whenever anyone of us reach for that Democracy-banana, everyone will beat him/her up. No-one knows why...

Jai Nepal.