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“I am afraid of this city where the lying down people look like the dead. And the standing up ones, like the walking dead.”

SOLD, Patricia McCormick (88)

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“I study the scene in front of the bus the way I studied my letters in school.”

SOLD, Patricia McCormick (68)

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“I feel a tiny sting on the backs of my legs, and I realize that Aunty has thrown a handful of gravel at my heels. To keep me moving forward.”

SOLD, Patricia McCormick (57)

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“This delicate stranger, it seems, is speaking to me. I steal a sideways look at her.”

SOLD, Patricia Mc Cormick (43)

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“I smelled the rain before it fell”

SOLD, Patricia Mc Cormick (25)

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“In the evening, the brilliant yellow pumpkin blossoms will close, drunk on sunshine, while the milky white jasmine will open the slender throats and sip the chill Himalayan air .”

SOLD, Patricia Mc Cormick (9)

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Week 16 Blog

Week 16 Blog

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu

Samrat Upadhyay

Pages read: 165-191

Word count: 500

Nani Memshaheb is rude to the guy that works at their house named Ram Mohan. There was a guy who Nani Memsaheb brought when her husband was sick and Ram Mohan was making her tea. His master called him and asked him if his hot water was ready. Soon Nani Memsaheb’s husband found out that she was with another guy. Ram Mohan was still mad from the insult Nani Memsaheb did on him. He was trying to cover her up with some blanket when she came home late at night but she woke up and shouted at him. After Nani Memsaheb’s marriage, she started calling Ram Mohan “ramey”. He didn't like it. He saw Nani Memsaheb in a petticoat and a bra but it was never his intention. He was just trying to walk outside and calm himself by walking in the garden. In the morning when Ram Mohan went to give them tea, Nani Memsaheb asked if he was the one that was looking at the balcony from the garden last night. Ram Mohan denied it. A few days later the master and his wife were arguing and the master had a heart attack. Ram Mohan doesn’t remember what NANI Memsaheb exactly said but his master replied and a sharp, hurt tone saying, “ Of course, my thoughts don’t matter, my feelings don’t matter”. It turned out that his master had a minor heart attack and the doctors let him leave after he spent a couple of days in the hospital. But his muscle was not feeling well after the heart attack so he had to go to the doctor several times. Ram Mohan started to think that his master will only live a few months and is worried about what Nani Memsahed will do when he’s gone.

This week's part of the reading revolves around motivation and thematic ideas. The first quote says that “Her long hair ran down her shoulders and her back. I couldn’t help staring. When she took her eyes from the moon and saw me there in the garden,  she froze for a moment,  then quickly went inside ``.(177). In this part what motivated Ram Mohan to look at the balcony was how his master's wife was dressed. He was outside in the garden for something else but his eyes went to her since he saw a girl with fewer clothes on.

The part that was interesting about this week's reading is that Ram Mohan does a lot of things for his master and his master's wife but in the return, he gets no respect. I think that’s how many people in Nepal that work for rich people get treated like. The work that he puts in for them is undescribable and they still don’t see him as a good person which was sad to hear. He also got blamed as a pervert when he was putting a blanket on the master’s wife after she came home really drunk.

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“A few days later they had another argument and my master had a heart attack.......His face flushed, then turned grey and he started to rub his chest and groan. I was holding a bowl of chickpeas so I could only watch as his chair tipped and he fell to the floor.”

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (184)

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Her long hair ran down her shoulders and her back. I couldn’t help staring. When she took her eyes from the moon and saw me there in the garden,  she froze for a moment,  then quickly went inside.

Arresting god in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay

(177)

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Symbolic Book Cover Re-design

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Week 15 Blog

Week 15 blog

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu

Samrat Upadhyay

Pages read: 120 - 165

Word count: 408

 Aditya Wonders why his wife agreed to the marriage because he thinks of himself as a non-attractive guy who is short and thin. He didn’t like any qualities that he had. Jaya was a guy who was very wealthy because of his father Somenath Rana. Kanti was a Nepali girl who lived in New York And was talking to Jaya. In May Kanti got her master's degree in economics and made preparations to go to Nepal. Kanti and Jaya had made plans to party and drink together when Kanti comes to Nepal in May. Jaya had a really bad impression on Kanti because the first time she saw him was him drinking in a bar, with different girls who he was kissing. They spent the other day at an expensive hotel and she didn’t have to worry about the money they spent because of Jaya’s father. Kanti’s mom didn’t like Jaya. She inevitably muttered to Kanti saying that “these Rana’s, the way they flash their money you think they still rule the country someone needs to tell them that the Rana rule was over when the people revolted centuries ago.” After a few months, Kanti had to leave for North Carolina and tried to call Jaya but his servant told her that Jaya had left the country. Her mother was really sad that she was leaving and had her eyes filled with tears. On the place, Kanti noticed that the man who sat across the aisle looked like Jaya, the black hair curling at the neck, the broad sulky forehead.

This part of the reading revolves around symbolism, motivation, and foreshadowing. The first quote says that “They spent long afternoons on expensive hotel rooms in the city. He had money- his father owned land all over the country- so she didn’t worry about how often he opened his wallet.” This quote is motivation because Jaya is motivated to spend his money however much he wants. He gets his money from his father because he is wealthy. It makes him spend more money because he gets it for free.

The interesting part about this week's reading was the first impression that Jaya had on Kanti. She didn’t expect him to be that kind of person. Kanti’s mom didn’t like Jaya because she thinks he’s all about himself and always tries to put himself as a bigger person. Rana’s were kings of Nepal but it doesn’t work like that anymore.

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“As the plane lifted from the ground with a thundering noise, Kanti noticed that the man across the aisle looked like Jaya- the black hair curling at the neck, the broad sulky forehead.”

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (162)

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“They spent long afternoons in expensive hotel rooms in the city. He had money- his father owned land all over the country- so she didn’t worry about how often he opened his wallet.”

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (144)

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“He often wondered why she had agreed to the marriage. Aditya himself was not an attractive man. He was short and thin, almost emaciated. He had a crooked nose- for which he  had been taunted as a child, set off with thick eyebrows and cloudy eyes.”

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (128)

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Week 14 Blog

Week 14 Blog

Arresting god in Kathmandu

Samrat Upadhyay

Pages Read: 90-120

Word count- 364

Ganesh set the wedding picture back on the cupboard and noticed it was taken at a buddhist temple named Boudha. While he was looking at the photograph, it reminded him that he was not the child of his father but the child of his mom’s lover. He used to ask his mother who the man wasBecause of the people in the neighborhood are used to talk about their family. Ganesh finds out that his wife has a lover and is talking about it with his friend drinking alcohol.Aunt Shakuntala had been raised by parents who doted on her, told her repeatedly that the man should marry would be the luckiest husband on earth. Her husband. doesn’t appreciate her.  She has two children and both of them study in Kathmandu. Aunt Shakuntala lived near Pokhara, a day of bus ride from Kathmandu. One day she was waiting for the mailman, expecting to get letters from her children’s. She had received a couple of letters before. They slowly got to know that one of their daughters Shanti was pregnant and everyone knew about it. Aunt Shakuntala was shocked and embarrassed. They started to prepare Shanti because it was her eighth month being pregnant. The baby was born on a frosty morning with tomorrow’s big, dark and with a mark on his left cheek.

Samrat’s novel revolves around the strategies of reading between the lines by thematic ideas and implied meetings. “Lamfu was one of the numerous jobless men her husband befriended on the streets, invited to the house, and tried to find a job, as if all he had to do was raise a finger and work would appear.” (101). This quote is implied meanings because it shows that lamfu fool can do so many things if he wants to. Such as he can just raise a finger and work would appear.

I was shocked when I found out that Aunt Shakuntala’s daughter Shanti was pregnant because being pregnant at such a young age in Nepal is a really big thing. You don’t get accepted in your house or in your community . But luckily Shanti was accepted and she gave birth to a healthy baby.

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“As she looked closer, however, the baby appeared charming, with large brown eyes and long eyelashes and dimples in his cheeks. It perplexed her that she had the absurd desire to define his beauty.

Arresting Gods in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (113)

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“Lamfu was one of the numerous jobless men her husband befriended on the streets, invited to the house, and tried to find a job for, as if all he had to do was raise a finger and work would appear.”

Arresting God in Kathmandu, Samrat Upadhyay (101)