Hippies Met in Nepal and the US

Although there were a lot of Hippies when I was a student growing up in Nepal, I never knew any of them personally. Although intrigued with these foreigners who had come to Nepal with the barest of worldly possessions, we never befriended anyone thinking of the phenomenon as a fad that would soon disappear. So, when I came to the United States, every American who told me that he/she had been to Nepal got the third degree from me. I wanted to know under what circumstances they had been there. I usually got three types of answers but never the one I wanted.

The most common answer was that the person had visited Nepal as a tourist. This was the most prevalent response. The second type of respondent said he had been there as a Peace Corps volunteer. I had met many of the volunteers and had known a few. We had a Biology teacher at my school who was a Peace Corps volunteer from Cleveland. The last type of reply was from diplomats and kin of diplomats. Though I "searched" far and wide, these three types were typical of people I met.

The tourists raved about Nepal's beauty and relatively inexpensive lodgings, cuisine, and gifts they had bought. They all had got their money's worth and were quite content. The diplomats just thought of Nepal as another stopover in their career though most did appreciate the peace and bucolic nature of the country. The Peace Corps volunteers were most vocal in their praise of my country. They regaled me with all sorts of stories and outlined many adventures that befell them in their two-year stay. They were so thrilled to have been there and enjoyed themselves immensely especially since their stay was paid for. But I still had to find one Hippie who had been there. Now where does one look for a Hippie in New York?

It was almost 25 years later while working in Brooklyn that I met a co-worker who had been all over the world in his Hippie phase and had spent two whole years in Nepal. He described the nation as the most beautiful and tranquil place on earth and would not have left if not for family matters. He mentioned shopping in Asan, picnicking in Godavari and living in the shadows of Swayambhunath. He talked about walking all over Kathmandu because of limited funds and the unreliability of the Sajha buses that only went to certain places. He said his greatest fear was the mangy curs that roamed the streets of Kathmandu and barked fiercely at him and his companions when they came back from their late night forays. Although he lived in a Buddhist monastery, he had converted to Hinduism in his travels through India and was a devout believer.

Amazing, isn't it? When I was assiduously looking for Hippies who had been to Nepal, I did not find one. Twenty-five years later, when I had forgotten about my quest, I met a bona fide person who had traveled all over the world with prolonged stays in Nepal and India. He also mentioned having spent two days in the gutters of Karachi sick from malaria. Now he was living in New York as a sedate husband and father. Was this a change for the better? I guess even world-roaming Hippies have to grow up.