We just got done with Dashain and now Tihar is here. And our bus byaparis will continue to fleece the customers and our incompetent government will not take any action. Yes, a few bus drivers will get arrested, some of the buses will be impounded for a while but that’s about it.

Our highways are in shambles and due to dilapidated roads, we hear about bus accidents and deaths but our buffoons are in no hurry to repair our roads and take action against bus drivers who drive like crazy. And our netas don’t care because when they have to go out of the Valley, they either use the Army helicopter or charter a private one and then never pay the bill at all.

As most of our Hindu festivals, Tihar signifies the victory of good over evil. But in this land of ours, it seems that we only have evil-doers who seem to defeat their own breed and continue to have fun while we the people have no option but to hope for a better tomorrow which may never come.

I think we should stop celebrating Dashain and Tihar or any other festivals until we get rid of the parasites running the country. Do we really have any reason to rejoice and celebrate our festivals when those who are supposed to lead us are leading themselves to illegal riches and brewing social disharmony while we pray to our Gods to bring peace and love in this land? It seems that we are all waiting for a saviour to save us all from evil but we are either lazy or afraid to take our stand and face the evil-doers and kick them out of this country.

Our dictator Lokman still has a month to either defend himself, resign, or leak all the so-called secret files online and head to one of our bidhesi embassies, in Lainchaur, and apply for political asylum or something. We all know that our politicians and civil servants are corrupt and Lokman is not a saint either. If Lokman was minting money by extorting from civil servants and byaparis then he must have divided the loot among our top leaders as well. You can never walk alone when you are making millions of Rupees illegally and if you don’t share the loot, you will get in trouble.

It seems that we just have to keep on witnessing the same game where crooks battle other crooks and, either way, we will just have crooks running the show again and again.

Our incompetent government seems to have no idea how to provide relief to the earthquake survivors. If they had appointed Dhurmus and Suntali to head the reconstruction effort then most of our displaced families would be living in real homes instead of temporary shelters. And instead of needing billions of dollars, our government could finish the works in less if the ‘comedy’ couple were given responsibility to head the reconstruction authority.

The Desi President will be in town after Tihar. And our government tells us that it will be better if we stay home and rest from the ‘Tihar’ hangover. Why on earth do we need a public holiday when a bideshi comes to town?  Did Modi Bhai declare a public holiday in India when our Emperor was having his samosa and chai in Delhi? I think it would be better if visiting head of states and VVIPs arrived early in the morning and took the last flight out of the country. And our VIPs should also do the same to save us from traffic jams.

Yes, we no longer have a King in this land but now we have hundreds of mini-Maharajas and they too seem to want to get the same royal treatment as well. Nothing has changed since we became a ‘Republic’. Yes, Gyanu Uncle no longer gets to live in Narayanhiti and enjoy chiya kharcha from the state except the security folks still guarding his mansion. But our netas seem to continue to exploit and loot us all and they have become no different from the ones they seem to have replaced.

Our civil servants always have the last laugh. Politicians come and go, power players change, but our hakim sahebs will get to enjoy the loot and share it with whoever is in power. We only talk about our netas and their circus acts but the real problem with this country is in the bureaucracy. Those who entered the civil service after the 1990 Andolan are now our hakim sahebs. They have seen it all from Mandaleys to Morons to Maoists to Madhesi netas. And the reason why we have yet to witness any reform in our bureaucracy or the system as a whole is because our civil servants teach our ignorant netas how to make some moolah while in power.

And yes, there a few good ones who seem to resist pressure from politicians when doing their job but our netas only like dishonest, corrupt and incompetent civil servants who will pay for promotions and lucrative postings. Tihar will come and go. The Desi President will come and go. We don’t know what Lokman will do. But we all know that just getting rid of Lokman is not a victory of good over evil. We need to get rid of all the clowns who continue to ensure that evil wins in this land while good takes a back seat and do nothing but sulk!

Guffadi is a grumpy old man who blogs at guffadi.blogspot.com. You may contact him at [email protected]