Flog the flag

Ever since time in memoriam people have clung to flags, draped themselves in them, waved them, waved at them, flown them at half-mast, lowered and raised them, and sometimes even turned them into undies.

There is no doubt that nothing stirs the super patriotic spirit in all of us more than gazing up at a flag flapping proudly as we shoot the breeze. That is why we never let our flag flag. And when we get tired of singing the national anthem in front of the same old flag, we try to break some records by making the biggest flag ever, and draping it over the side of a convenient mountain. Which is what the Kuwaitis did on Ama Dablam this month.

Speaking for my own asinine self, I am a bit puzzled about the whole hulabaloo. What the Kuwaitis did was no different than what we Nepalis do all the time with our double triangle. Look at our flag at Mandala, proudly waving in the polluted air even though its edges are fraying and the red has turned into a lighter shade of pink — the message it gives is that we may be one of the poorest countries in Asia, but we rank a glorious 124 in the Transparency International Corruption Index, even beating Ukraine.

What makes Nepal really unique is not Mt Everest, Lumbini, or even Pappu Construction. It is our double triangle. So let us proudly tell the world that not all flags have to be boring rectangles. In conclusion, let me flag an important point: why not flog our flag at prominent landmarks around the world for #VisitNepal2020?