Leisure and Entertainment – A Journey Back in Time

Letter requesting a trade catalogue

Sports Club Moonlight Secondary School Lalitpur

20 Baishakh, 2080

The Manager Ekta Books and Stationery Thapathali, Kathmandu

Dear Sir/Madam,

Subject: Request for your trade catalogue

Our school has allocated a sum of money for purchasing sports goods, and as General Secretary of the school sports club, I have been asked to make the purchase. We have heard that your shop supplies good-quality items at fair prices, so I am writing to request a copy of your latest trade catalogue.

We intend to buy footballs, volleyballs, badminton rackets and shuttlecocks, table tennis bats, skipping ropes, cricket bats and balls, and a set of nets for the courts. Please also include details of the brands available, the sizes, the guarantee offered and the delivery terms.

Since we shall be buying in bulk, we hope you will allow us a suitable discount on the catalogue prices. We would also appreciate it if you could tell us whether payment may be made by cheque after delivery.

We would be grateful if you could send the catalogue and price list to the above address, or by email, at your earliest convenience. We look forward to a long and happy business relationship.

Yours faithfully, Anil Gurung General Secretary Sports Club

A Journey to Remember: My Trek to Poon Hill

Some journeys end when we reach our destination, but a few continue inside us for years. My trek to Poon Hill in Myagdi two winters ago was one such journey.

Our school had organised a four-day trek, and I joined it reluctantly. I was a city boy who found even a short walk tiring. On the first day, as we climbed thousands of stone steps from Nayapul to Ulleri, my legs ached, my bag felt like a rock and I secretly wished to go home. Several times I sat down on the path, ready to give up. It was an old woman carrying a heavy basket of firewood who changed my mind. She smiled, greeted me with a cheerful "Namaste" and climbed past me without stopping. I felt ashamed and got up again.

On the third morning, we woke at four o'clock and walked in the dark and cold to the top of Poon Hill. My fingers were numb and my breath rose like smoke. Then, as the sun rose, the snowy peaks of Dhaulagiri and Annapurna turned from silver to gold. I stood speechless. Tears came to my eyes, not from the cold but from a feeling I cannot describe: joy, humility and a kind of peace. All my tiredness vanished, and I felt proud that I had not given up.

The journey taught me several lessons. I learned that difficulty is often only in the mind, and that goals which look impossible can be reached one small step at a time. I also saw how simply and kindly the villagers lived; they shared their food and warmth with strangers. Since then, I have become more patient, more thankful for little things and braver in facing challenges, whether in my studies or in life.

Whenever I feel discouraged now, I remember that golden sunrise and the woman with the basket, and I tell myself to take one more step.

A Journey That Changed Me

A journey is not measured only in kilometres. Some journeys change the way we see the world and ourselves. For me, the most meaningful one was my first visit to my maternal uncle's village in Humla, which I made when I was fifteen.

Having grown up in Kathmandu, I was used to buses, electricity and the internet. The journey began with a flight to Simikot and continued on foot for two days along narrow, rocky trails above deep valleys. There was no mobile network, no restaurant and no proper road. At first, I complained about everything: the cold, the hard bed, and even the simple food of potatoes and barley bread. I had never felt so uncomfortable.

But slowly, the place began to teach me. The villagers, though poor, greeted every guest with a warm smile. Children walked for two hours to reach school and still arrived laughing. My cousin showed me how to look after sheep, collect firewood and grind grain. In the evenings, the whole family sat around the fire and shared folk stories and songs. I learned about their traditions, their festivals and their language, which was different from mine. I realised that happiness does not depend on comfort or things, but on togetherness, hard work and gratitude.

The journey also challenged me. When the weather suddenly turned and heavy snow blocked the path, we had to spend a night in a small cowshed. I was frightened, but I learned to remain calm and help others. When we finally walked on the next morning, I felt stronger and more confident than ever before.

When I returned home, I was no longer the same person. I wasted less food, spent less time on my phone, and began to respect people regardless of their wealth or background. I also started to think seriously about the problems of remote areas, such as poor health care and education, and I now want to work for their development.

That journey took me to an unfamiliar place, but it also took me deeper into myself.

Both Ganesh and his wife are doctors.

A plural verb "are" is used because "both ... and" joins two subjects.

The class monitor, as well as his friends, usually performs well in the extra-curricular activities.

With "as well as", the verb agrees with the first subject, "The class monitor", which is singular.

One of the students in the class is working very well nowadays.

The subject is the singular "One", and "nowadays" needs the present continuous, so "is working" is correct.

knows

Sumsher along with his friends knows me well.

The verb agrees with the main subject Sumsher (singular); the phrase along with his friends does not make the subject plural.