Identity takes the centre stage on the first episode of Hamro Insight! The group of five young adults discuss what being Nepali and being British means to them. With a growing Nepali diaspora in the UK (made up of a large amount of former Gurkha Army community), dialogue where young and old come together to discuss and dissect culture, values and identity is much needed.
Having plenty of experience working with young and now, the older members of the Nepalese community, sometimes I am not sure whether I am more optimistic or pessimistic about the future of the UK Nepali diaspora. The young people on the table bring with them experiences and journeys from Hong Kong, Brunei, UK and Nepal! Who knows – there may have been more!
I realise it’s difficult for many to agree that identity doesn’t have to be fixed. I was born in Nepal but we left as a family when I was only two… and having spent majority of my life growing up in different countries, spending more time with people of contrasting cultures and traditions – now as an adult – I am more comfortable knowing that I am a mix of the places, people and experiences I have been exposed to AND that has made me who I am and it’s difficult for the person I am to fit into just one identity or ‘group’.
My one year in Nepal as an adult at times made me feel like an anomaly. That my idea to ‘return to Nepal’ was more a romantic vision I had. While I sat here watching this video and thinking about the question initially (something along the lines of “is Nepal just for holiday”), I came to the conclusion that currently where I am in life, for me Nepal is more a work destination… where I go to deliver Tracing Nepal, do work around information and awareness and get to live the projects I dream of as ‘lexlimbu’.
I connect so well with Nepal and the people, just like how I connect so well with the people wherever I go, all we need is time. I find that there’s slightly more time in Nepal.
Fascinating and this topic is guaranteed to be endless.
Looking forward to more!
