Nepal, Sept. 4 -- It was in the early 1990s that, for the want of anything better to do at a family function, I had picked up the school magazine of a younger relative whose house we were at. She went to one of those places that was well known at one point but has since lost its sheen. What astounded (and infuriated) me was that the main story in an annual publication meant to showcase students' academic and extra-curricular activities was a recounting of the principal-cum-owner's family vacation in the United States, complete with photos taken in a few key locations.

Mind you, this was long before itinerant and ubiquitous Nepalis had made it nothing out of the ordinary to hear Nepali spoken in almost every major city in the West. Nepal ...