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A Nepali name

 

 

‘What’s in a name?’ Juliet tells Romeo in William Shakespeare’s classic tale ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

 

The context I am trying to dig varies from Romeo and Juliet but it is still about the name.

 

Chelsea, Richmond, Cambridge, Oxford, Duke, Morgan, Thames, Triton, Princeton, Aberdeen and Columbus: these all are names. But what are inside these names?

 

Well, these are the names of the world’s top American and British educational institutions. Prestige, glorious history and higher educational values are deeply encrypted in these names. These alma maters are the dreams of  students worldwide. People consider themselves  the luckiest to be associated with these names.

 

But guess what? We also have schools and colleges with the same names in our very own Nepal. After all copying (according to copiers: it is not a copy, it is an ‘inspiration’) is one of the best things most of the Nepalese can do.

 

In recent years, educational institutions have mushroomed in every nook and corner of Kathmandu. To allure students through renowned names of the western world, Nepalese college operators are merely imitating those names rather than focusing on quality of education. As the result of cut-throat competition, to attract students, every page of newspapers is covered with glossy advertisements. Likewise, those advertisements aired on FM, radio and those broadcasted on TV channels are merely promoting western names.

 

It is a globalized world and one can pick names from anywhere but it doesn’t seem appropriate to copy well-known names simply to attract students. Here, my intention is not to dishonor or demean educational institutions with western names nor I am being anti-western. The bottom-line is about my concern over the fading Nepali identity among  educational institutions which nurture kids and youth of the nation.

 

Schools show knowledge and show the path of life to students. They influence every single kid affiliated with them. The institutions that impart education should first know their values and identity. Then only they can offer real education of values and identity to their students. It is doubtful that institutions which cannot even select appropriate names for themselves could, inject values of patriotism into the students’ budding minds.

 

The Nepali language  does not lack of fine words so that  institutions are compelled to choose  names from other parts of the world, which are already well-known. A bitter truth, these days is that students are embarrassed by Nepali names. They feel Nepali names are too ‘Paakhey’, whereas, western names make them feel proud. It does not matter if it is a ‘Nepali’ Cambridge or ‘Nepali’ Oxford, all it has to be is something western which makes them feel modern.

 

I am also not trying to say that institutions with western names provide poor education.  Any institutions could be equally competent or not.

 

The fact is, I miss “own-ness” –  ‘affnopan’ in names. For me, own-ness is the basic of identity.  This fact clearly differentiates the western named Nepali educational institutions with the western schools and colleges.

 

Why don’t we promote the names which carry Nepali values? Instead of picking a renowned name, picking a hidden name and letting it shine through quality education would be something worthy of doing.

 

We have numerous Himalayas, rivers, flora  and fauna, unique culture, unique places on the earth which are truly and purely Nepali. Why don’t we pick those names? We can set those unused names into the young minds and this can help them to mingle with true Nepali values as well.

 

It is high time for every Nepali to think about raising the feeling of nationality and promote our unique values and identities. And let this journey begin with a name, a Nepali name.


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