All You Need is Love

When I decided to move to Nepal after living abroad all my life, it wasn’t because I wanted to do something for “my” country or to make a difference. It was because I wanted to live close to my parents and know what it’s like to live in a country that was supposedly “mine”. Having left Nepal when I was only two, Nepal was practically a foreign country to me except for the occasional visits during the summer. 

My love for journalism and writing naturally led me to seek work in the media. I applied all over the place and received a response from Nepali Times. There, I met our current photoeditor Rishi and editor, Pranaya. V.E.N.T! has one of the coolest collection of photostories and a high caliber of photography because of Rishi, as well as superb editing and writing because of Pranaya. They are our creams of the crop. 

At the same time, another youth magazine by the name of Y! Magazine was gaining popularity. It was run by the publisher of Nepal's first English youth magazine and consisted of a team of incredibly talented bunch. I sent my resume out to them and received a call for an interview, which led to my first piece in a Kathmandu-based media. Yay! Here I briefly tasted the world of Nepali youth journalism and was I inspired. My time there definitely steered me in the right direction. 

I then got a gig reporting for a 3-day conference hosted by an NGO. There I met Shreyans, who would co-create V.E.N.T! with me. Exceptionally resourceful and IT-savvy, V.E.N.T! would not be even close to what it is right now without him. 

I also met Khushbu, who was working there full-time. We hardly conversed during work but as the universe would have it, we would meet again and again and again and eventually collaborate to take V.E.N.T! forward. In the midst of all the craziness, Khushbu keeps us grounded and centered. She is also the most enterprising and reliable person that you can ever meet. 

All this writing and reporting got my juices flowing and I couldn’t stop thinking about creating my own magazine. Hard copy was out of the question because it cost too much so I blurted out my ideas for an online magazine to Sanjana, my cousin. She organized a meeting of a few people, which got the ball rolling. Sanjana now overlooks the entire production of the magazine in addition to her “other” full-time job. V.E.N.T! literally bloomed after Sanjana took over, with My Two Cents, Let’s Talk About Sex! and a fiction category called TellTale. She is our mother board, mother eagle, mother earth—the glue that binds us together and the nurturing force that guides us gently, yet firmly. Superwoman with a heart of gold. I just cannot say enough about her. 

At this time, I was into the teachings of Osho, a spiritual guru, and I decided to live in Tapoban, an Osho ashram in the outskirts of Kathmandu. There I met Kushal who was a long-time resident there. He never stopped telling me how much I reminded him of his sister, Ayushma. From what I heard about her, she was something—what a compliment to my ego. When we finally met, we clicked like a match made in heaven. Today she oversees Scribble Wibble, V.E.N.T!’s creative writing workshop, the poetry section and Let’s Talk About Sex! 

Then, my parents decided to move to a housing community. There I met Jeena, our housing coordinator. I told her about my dreams to create a space where youth could have an open discussion. With Jeena's coaxing, our first V.E.N.T! debate happened in my house with 15 youth. This was a huge success and led to Scribble Wibble, facilitated by Ayushma and marketed and organized by Jeena. To this day, she never ceases to motivate and cheer me on.

During the event, I met Elipha, who currently coordinates Let's Talk About Sex! with Ayushma and helps out with a host of other nitty gritties. Tremendously hard working and dedicated, Elipha is one of the most regular writers for V.E.N.T! and has contributed significantly to bringing diversity to our features through the interviews she's done for Faces as well as Making a Difference. 

The rest of the team came after Sanjana took over and while I was out of Kathmandu. They include Dipti, our superuberly uberific illustrator (yes! She is the illustrator of Let's Talk About Sex!) and Suyog, who gives V.E.N.T! the major oomph in the graphics department. As incredibly creative individuals, Dipti and Suyog have been the driving force behind My Two Cents. Without them, this new section would have never become so diverse or gained so much popularity. Also a new addition is Aayush, our we’re-very-lucky-to-have-him, humble fiction editor who still has no idea what a great writer he is, or what a constant supply of inspiration he is to the entire team.

I cannot end this write up without mentioning Neeraj, my other cool cousin, who brainstormed ideas for V.E.N.T! with me numerous times without losing the patience or grace that comes with being a great advisor. He continues to support us in any way he can from abroad. And of course, Bunu, our other cool cat who wrote the first story for V.E.N.T! and Sujana, who attended our very first V.E.N.T! meeting and enlightened us with her unique ideas. 

V.E.N.T! Magazine was launched during the 16-hour load shedding (no electricity) in Kathmandu. This amazing endeavor could never have happened without Young Innovations, the team that created our site. They never stopped trying and even in the midst of darkness, they worked endless hours to give us all the support possible.

And then there are angels like Santosh of Today's Youth Asia, who despite his busy schedule managed to meet me for a discussion on how he could help us. We were able to host our workshops because Santosh lended us his office space in Babermahal. He never once asked for anything in return. 

Less than a year after VENT! launched, we received an email from Anya, a graduate photojournalism student in Texas who was a huge fan of VENT! She mentioned her desire to start a media arts collective in Kathmandu, a perfect timing because we were thinking the same. In its inital stages, ideas got tossed back and forth via email and skype sessions, which eventually became Sattya Media Arts Collective. Anya is currently in Kathmandu making Sattya happen with its brand new office, staff and programs. 

I now truly understand what the Beatles meant when they sang, All You Need is Love. It’s so true; all you really need is love. It’s what brought us together and keeps us together. It's what initially led me to Nepal. It's nice when people tell us that we're making a difference. Maybe we have or maybe we haven't. But, that's not what drives us. What really motivates us is purely love—love for each other, love for what we do, love for our community, love love love! Initially, I thought that money would ease most of our challenges, but I have no doubt in my mind now that it’s love that runs and sustains our magazine. Without it, an organization, a company, an anything is just an entity—cold, hard and stagnant. In the process of lovemaking, if we have managed to create a ripple, that's simply magical. 

To celebrate our 2nd year, we will be publishing a story daily this week so watch your monitor!

Happy 2nd Anniversary VENTers! I LOVE YOU GUYS!!