For the past 20 years, as a media nomad, I have covered stories across the Asia-Pacific region. Lately, I've been roaming across Nepal and have by now visited most of the country's 75 districts.
Earlier this year, during a three-month stint through the country with the screening of the documentary Frames of War, I started writing a travelogue called 'East-West' exclusively for our online edition (posted below). Most personal blogs are self-indulgent and exhibitionist, which is why I'd never felt the need to write one. Through these dispatches, however, I wanted to share the travails of our travels.
We got many more comments on these postings than bylined reports in the hardcopy edition, and this encouraged me to revive East-West and make it a regular feature of the Nepali Times website. The postings will be more like 'travelblogues', a format that allows the reader to get a much deeper understanding of the ground reality than is allowed in a standard news format.
By definition, the postings will be subjective. But in these complicated times it is perhaps useful to have someone interpret, analyse and explain without being didactic and opinionated. These aren't diary entries, but they are essentially still journalism, and I want to take you along in my travels.
Joining me?