Remembering Kathmandu streets Ljubljana LJUBLJANA: I miss the disorder of a Kathmandu street, the filth, the garbage heaps and the squares marked with struggling lives,” remarked eminent novelist Evald Flisar as we sauntered down an almost empty square in the heart of Ljubljana, the Slovenian capital. Posh and classy, very European, the Preseren square, Kongresni Tra, famed Namo shopping mall, and the spacious streets were all deserted except for an occasional figure or a vehicle. River Ljubljanica flowed peacefully. Its placid green waters gruesomely reminding me of the muddled Bagmati back home. On weekends everyone in the capital drove to the seaside and in a very Christian spirit, not a supermarket could be found open on weekends. Everything was clean and organised to the extent of being bland. Soon I learnt how addicted I’ve grown to bustling street life and chaotic traffic on the Asian streets. A day before though I had seen enough crowds at the historic Napoleon Square. There in the company of leading national dignitaries including the President of Slovenian Dr Danilo Turk, Culture Minister Majda Sirca and Mayor of Ljubljana, I had read my poetry at Slovenian Book Days. I learnt how everyone knew about my arrival in the capital as Evald had written a column in the national daily, The Delo, about his recent Nepal visit describing the launch of his The Price of Heaven, Travel Stories about Nepal and India, and a Slovenian translation of my poetry as Jezero Fewa & Konj. Amidst the flurry of media attention at the Napoleon Square even the President talked briefly with me about Evald’s column and the Nepali polity. Before getting elected as the President of Slovenia, Dr Turk had been the right hand of Kofi Annan and served the UN as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. A brief conversation with him revealed how closely he had witnessed the recent developments of the Nepali polity. When the King declared Emergency, he revealed, they were in touch with all the political parties and prominent leaders, even with the then underground Maoist leader, Prachanda. Evald had also published a photograph of my house highlighting how a poet can make a house from the earnings from his writing. The President congratulated me on being able to travel so much and succeed as a poet. I learnt how Slovenia like Nepal was so full of detail about the past, had become an independent republic, breaking away from a once a socialist republic in 1991, almost the same time when Nepal became democratic. Known as Heart of Europe, Slovenia like Nepal is a little proud nation, bordering major European nations like Italy , Austria, Croatia and Hungary. Slovenia also shares mountain affinity with Nepal due to the Alps . Many Slovenian climbers have climbed Everest and many more have died on the Himalayan heights, their cherished home. Like Nepal though people looked at poetry as supreme art, they refused to invest any money in it. The centre square in Ljubljana was named after a famous Slovenian poet Preseren. He stood looking into the distant corner, a winged Muse above blessed him. On asking what the poet is looking at, a local poet escorted me to the nearby corner and showed me a woman’s statue. This, he said, is the focus of poet’s gaze. The poet fell in love with the lady but she married someone else. This rejection transformed an ordinary poet into a great creator. Today he stands in the city centre before his ladylove’s house and watches her under the benevolent shadow of the Muse. (The writer can be reached at writer@yuyutsu.de)