Aayush Niroula is an almost nobody in terms of the real world. He is doing odd jobs to shape a future that is almost as bleak as the space inside one's socks. He claims, however, that he is hanging in there. He has been writing poems since childhood. He also writes short stories and other such stuffstuff. All of which come to him either in moments of absolute boredom or when some inspiration hits him. Currently, he is studying Bachelors in Development Studies at National College.

Ajapa Sharma is a liberal feminist, a poet, a sociology student and researcher. She enjoys graphic novels and foreign films.

Amendra Pokhrel is a freelance writer. He has a Bachelor Degree in Journalism and Mass communication and is currently enrolled in Masters of Arts in English program at IGNOU. His articles have appeared in several magazines, tabloids and newspapers published in India and Nepal. He worked in ECS Nepal Magazine as an assistant editor before deciding to freelance. He is a great admirer of Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s magical realism and would someday like to write a novel imitating his lyrical style of prose. He likes traveling, reading and writing. 

Anjana Luitel is a student of Master's in human and natural resource studies at Kathmandu University and an active member of Yatra, a youth led and managed organization working in the field of youth and environment. She is currently working as a Yatra project coordinator of the wetland conservation program, Nagdaha ko Yatra, which is supported by the Embassy of Denmarl. She also successfully coordinated the World Wetland Day 2009 program where for the first time in Nepal, seven different youth organizations formed a consortium to address the issues of wetland. 

Arun Budathoki is an Editor for Loesje Nepal and Live Support Nepal. He has been writing poetry since 10th grade. His writings have been published in The Kathmandu Post, The Weather Report (published by Sampad Birmingham, UK) and other publications. He has a bachelor's in Economics, Political Science and Public Administration from Nizam College in India. He is currently pursing MA degree in International Relations at University of Northampton, UK.

Ayush Joshi is currently doing his Bachelor's in English and Mass Communication. He is working at an NGO in the field of developmental communications.

Bal Bahadur Thapa is a teacher, poet, writer, translator and a film and theatre enthusiast all rolled into one. Born in Palpa, he went on to do his master's degree in literature and then philosophy from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, Nepal. An executive member of NWEN, an association of Nepali Writers in English, his short stories and poems have been published in The Nepalese Clay, a literary magazine. Recently, he translated and produced Henrik Ibsen's play, The Lady from the Sea. He is also a part of a film society called Cine: Sankipa, which screens world cinema every alternative Mondays at Gurukul in Maitidevi. Currently, he is working on his first anthology of poems and a collection of short stories.

A wistful wolf wandering in wilderness.

Bishal Thapa currently works in New Delhi and wouldn’t mind receiving an iPod.  

Chirag Bangdel is a writer, artist and poet. He has freelanced for major papers and journals in Nepal and has written columns for magazines. He is the author of But to Dream, After Midnight, Fermenting Flowers and Uphill Darjeeling–four collections of poetry. His collection of short stories and haikus, Mist Around the Stupa is soon to be published by Chautara Publications, Netherlands. His poems make a unique expression through experimentation with spaces and silence. As an artist, Chirag exhibits regularly in the country and abroad. Chirag is also actively involved with “Voices in the Dark”, a radio play he wrote and directed in 2003, which has been much talked about.

 

Deepti spent her childhood in Kathmandu and her teenage years in Tokyo. From there, she went to the US to pursue her bachelor's and MBA in Marketing and International Business. She is currently working as an intern analyst in the Private Banking Group for Union Bank of Switzerland. She loves reading, writing, traveling, hiking, swimming and running. She hiked to Everest Base Camp last year and recently accomplished her goal by finishing her first Chicago Marathon. Deepti lives in Chicago with her husband.

Dibyendra Hyoju has been passionately writing poems since 2007. He is fond of writing poems about the shades of life, love, beliefs, and the nature. He loves this art form because it allows him to pour out his feelings in the form of vivid imagery and words rather than smoldering them inside. His favorite poets are Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Pallav Ranjan and Donna Doyle, among others. He is currently doing his Master of Technology (M. Tech) in Information Technology at Kathmandu University and works as a software developer at Madan Ruraskar Pustakalaya. His poems have been published on voicesnet.org. Read more of his poems at dibyendra.blogspot.com.

Elipha Pradhananga is a reporter for V.E.N.T! Magazine. She likes reading books but watching TV is her favorite pasttime. She has worked for various newsletters such as Sportsweek 2008 and 2009, South Asian Universities Festival (SAUFEST) 2008, Breaking the Silence and so on. Not so sure about the future, she is trying out all kinds of new things. She is currently studying media studies and finding out that she is interested in public relations. 

Fidel Devkota is an independent filmmaker.

Khushbu Agrawal is a staff writer and blogs editor for V.E.N.T!  Magazine. She is currently pursuing her graduate studies in Economics at Tribhuvan University, and is the founder and research officer of Center for Research Excellence at Kathmandu College of Management, where she received her undergraduate degree. She was awarded with Nepal Bidhyabhusan and Nepal Chattra Bidhya Padak by Honorable President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav for her educational excellence. She won VOW Magazine’s Outstanding College Women of the Year award in 2005. Contact her at khushbu AT ventzine DOT com.

Madame Butterfly is a self-help book fanatic who has read close to 100+ books on how to better herself. Her favorite pasttime is hanging out at the book store and browsing through the aisle of self-help books for hours on end. She loves reading the back section of products, especially shampoos and face creams, and attempts to correct them every chance she gets. If she could be an insect, she will be a butterfly because it's so damn fragile, unlike her.

Manasi Prasai is currently doing her master's in English from Patan Multiple Campus. Along with studies, she is involved with 1 Degree Initiative, a youth organization that encourages small acts of kindness to make a difference, and is a regular contributor to Expressez-Vous, an international blog site. She has been writing poetry mostly for herself, but now feels that it is time to share it with the wider world. She is interested in reading, music, dancing and traveling (which she hasn't done as much as she would like to.)

Neeraj Gorkhaly is a DC correspondent for V.E.N.T! Magazine. He is a research associate at the National Academies in Washington, DC.  He is also a mentor for the John Glenn School for Public Policy-Washington Campus, and member of the American Civil Liberties Union. He studied the NAFTA agreement in Mexico and was a John Glenn Fellow at the World Bank. He has a B.A. in Economics and International Studies from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. His loves classic rock n’ roll and is always up for a good live show or a nice heated discussion. He currently lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Nirab Rimal writes poems, takes pictures, makes doodles, paints, sings and loves to make graphic designs. He is an Osho sannyasin who is inspired by the likes of Swami Anand Arun, Arundhati Roy, Vikram Seth, Shel Silverstien and Osho. He is also inspired by the evening sun, monsoon, meditation, beautiful poetry and good works of art. He is a former TV personality and is currently doing his bachelors in mass communication and multimedia. Nowadays he reports for the publication department of Osho Tapoban where he also translates, publishes the monthly newsletters and helps with the annual magazine. Read more of his blogs at oshoinme.blogspot.com, where he goes by the name of Swami Aatmo Neerav.    

Nirman Shrestha is an avid photographer who managed to buy a nice camera for himself last year. Before that, he used borrowed camera to take pictures. He carries a camera with him everywhere he goes because he read somewhere that to be a true photographer you always have to carry a camera, and that left an impression on him. He reads a lot—news, books, blogs, discussions on the net—you name it. Nirman has a master’s in water resources engineering from Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belguin and currently works there as a research associate. Nirman’s dream project is to travel all over Nepal for a year and document his travels in both picture and writing. He is currently looking for a sponsor. Contact him at streetclickr@yahoo.com. You can see more of his photographs at http://www.flickr.com/photos/streetclickr.

Prabhat Lamichhane is an alumni of Kathmandu University and University of Cincinnati. He is an Environmental Engineer for Hamilton County/Ohio Environmental Protection Agency and resides in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Prajwal Kafle studied in Lincoln School in Kathmandu, Nepal. Having grown up in the midst of different cultures, faiths and perspectives, his life has been pretty colorful. He is the founder of maventime.com and currently lives in Florida. 

Prakash Subedi has been writing poems since his school days. He is is affiliated with the Aarohan Gurukul Theatre and the Society of Nepali Writers in English (NWEN) and currently teaches at the Dillibazaar Kanya Campus. His recent book Stars and Fireflies has received very encouraging responses. To read his interview for V.E.N.T! Magazine, click here.

Prarthana Gurung is studying international affairs and political science at the University of Mary Washington. She currently resides in Washington D.C, and is working in the public health NGO sector at Friends of the Global Fight Against AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. She enjoys listening to The Tallest Man on Earth, reading puns, and star-gazing. 

Pratik Rimal is an aspiring poet and writer who is currently majoring in English and Journalism at St. Xavier's in Kathmandu, Nepal. His hobbies include reading novels, playing cricket, chess, badminton and other indoor and outdoor sports. Lately, he is absorbed in writing poems and articles. Read more of his poems at and poetpratikrimal.blogspot.com and articles at pratikwrites.blogspot.com.

Pratul is a girl with punctuated laughter.

Pukurey, a Journalism undergrad student, feeds on the irregularities the world has to offer and tires to make the most of it. While he is clueless about what he wants from life, he enjoys living and is always high on life, and at the same time complaints about it. Just one of those random faces in the crowd with a nonsensical smile on his face, he dreams of becoming Alexander Supertramp, a nickname given to an American itinerant who hiked into the Alaskan wilderness with little food and equipment, and died four months later (his story was made into a book and movie, Into the Wild).

Rahul Kumar Shakya is a fourth generation photographer who grew up surrounded by cameras and photographers. “Even as a child, I had always thought of being a photographer,” he says. Rahul is currently a second year student pursuing bachelors’ degree in Mass Communication/Journalism and Sociology/Anthropology. Whenever he can, he spends his time helping out in the family operated photo studio, which his grandfather established nearly half a century ago.

Ranju Tamang loves words because they have the ability to inspire you or even discourage you. She feels that poems do not get enough credit in the literary world and if all citizens were a poet, the world would be a better place.

Richa Neupane is a student at National School of Sciences in Kathmandu, Nepal. She loves reading good fictional novels and writing poetry. Her favorite subject is English. She wants to learn to play the guitar at some point in her life.

Rishi Amatya is a photo story editor for V.E.N.T! Magazine. He got hooked into photography after college and got his creative juices flowing when he opened up for Kishor Kayastha, a renowned Nepali photographer, at a photo.circle event. Recently, he was chosen for a photo.circle travel grant to attend Chobi Mela, an international photo festival in Dhaka, Bangladesh. View more of his photographs at mt-ris.deviantart.com.

Sandeep Kumar Shakya is a self-motivated photographer, who has been playing with cameras since his childhood. He grew up learning the tricks of the trade by assisting and working with celebrated and award-winning cultural photographer Pradeep Shakya. A constant learner, he believes in giving himself assignments to improve and hone his skills.          

Sanjana Shrestha is a book reviews editor for V.E.N.T! Magazine. She has a Master's degree in Literature in English, and discovered books rather late in life. She was 15 when she stepped into a library first and was 16 when she picked up her first book to read. She thinks reading is a 'way in' and a 'way out'. This defination is subject to interpretation. An avid world cinema and theatre enthusiast, she also likes taking pictures of bridges but hates looking down at the river that flows under it.

Shashank Shrestha is currently studying Communications (Media Writing emphasis) and Telecommunications at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee where he is the senior photographer/staff writer for the university’s newspaper, Lee Clarion. Before heading to the states, he was a reporter/photographer for the WAVE Magazine in Kathmandu, Nepal. He is a self-taught photographer, self-proclaimed mocker and a Pearl Jam devotee. Read more of his blogs at mindfartoro.blogspot.com.

For the past year, Shirish Pokharel took time off from his studies with a short stint as a teacher, worked at a paper for several months and travelled to places inside and outside Nepal. Right now he is writing like crazy, but mostly loves to sleep. He enjoys taking pictures with his non-DSLR Canon camera and posting several thousand words at a time in sporadic outbursts on his blog. He says he will do any type of work for free food.

Shuva Laxmi is a freelance journalist who likes to write about things that affect our lives like water, air, earth, economy, politics, policies, etc. 

Siddhartha Thapa is a regular columnist for News Front, a weekly English magazine in Nepal. He is master's candidate for Sustainable International Development at Brandeis University in Massachusetts and has a bachelor's degree in Political Science with a minor in Peace and Conflict Resolution.

Slok Gyawali is a student of political science and business. He hails from Kathmandu and loves his privacy.

Sujana Upadhyay is a consulting editor for V.E.N.T! Magazine. She recently received her graduate degree in Peace and Reconciliation at Coventry University in UK. Before going abroad, she was a communications officer at Practical Action-Nepal, a development charity that works closely with some of the world’s poorest people using simple technology to fight poverty. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing, photography, yoga, and meditation. Contact her at sujana AT ventzine DOT com.
 

Sunita Gurung likes to write poems.

Suraj Upadhyay is an undergraduate student of Forestry Science at the Institute of Forestry, Kahmandu Forestry College. He has been actively involved in environment conservation through his membership in different forums like Bird Conservation Nepal, Friends of Zoo, Student Forum for Forestry Research and Environment Conservation, Self Help Environment Awareness Camp, etc. He has been a junior ranger of Lassen Volcanic National Park, California, USA since 1997. He is currently working for development and conservation of Olive (Oleo causpidata) in Dolpa with grant from Seed Tree, Nepal. Read more of his blogs at greenearthnepal.blogspot.com.  

Tripti Dhungana is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Media Studies at Kathmandu University. She is a passionate about anything that is related to risk and adventure, and is a crazy bike rider. Apart from her studies, she does event management for various shows.

Umes Shrestha is from the Kathmandu valley, trying to specialize in concert and band photography, but he shoots anything, anytime, anywhere. He mostly loves metal and hardcore music, commercial artists and bands have never really interested him much. He has always been inspired by the music he listens to and it is a big part of his photography.

Vipul Kabra is a second-year student of Bachelor of Business Administration at Kathmandu College of Management. He started writing articles and getting them published since the beginning of 2005. He has a good number of them published in the English daily, The Himalayan Times, which he believes has invoked a writer in him. In addition to writing and reading, he enjoys playing table-tennis and chess, and loves to watch horror and action-packed movies.

Yuko Maskay is the founder and managing editor of V.E.N.T! Magazine. Nepali in origin, Yuko grew up in Tokyo and later continued her studies at Chaminade University of Honolulu where she was the editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper. After receiving her undergraduate degree in English Literature, she moved to San Francisco and worked as a writer/editor for various media. She currently lives in Kathmandu, Nepal.