Fantasy – The Romance of a Busy Broker

The Minister in Disguise

Once a minister wanted to know the real situation of the country. So he disguised himself as an ordinary civilian and began to move around alone. Nobody recognised him as he walked through streets and markets, listening to people.

However, some policemen noticed this strange stranger and suspected that he was a terrorist. They arrested him and asked for his identity. The minister denied being anyone special and said he was just a citizen. The police did not believe him, interrogated him cruelly and threatened to keep him in prison for a long time.

At last, the minister revealed his real identity. The police were shocked and apologised again and again. The minister forgave them, but he advised them to make careful investigations, so that innocent people would not be troubled.

Moral: Never judge a person by appearance, and investigate carefully before punishing anyone.

A Good Deed in the Dark

Himesh was on the terrace, watching the last rays of the Sun. Suddenly, he heard a shout coming from the street. He ran down the stairs to see what had happened. Out of his horror, he saw a man lying on the street. The floor was full of blood.

A few people stood around, afraid and unable to decide what to do. Himesh did not wait. He knelt beside the man and saw that he was still breathing. He tore a piece of cloth and pressed it on the wound to stop the bleeding. Then he asked a neighbour to call an ambulance and told another to inform the police.

Within minutes the ambulance arrived, and the injured man was taken to the hospital. The doctors later said that he survived only because he reached the hospital on time. The man had been hit by a speeding motorbike. The next day, his family came to thank Himesh with tears in their eyes.

Moral: Quick help in time of need can save a life.

Madhav Prasad Ghimire is a renowned Nepali poet who has made a great contribution to Nepali literature. Inspired by Rabindranath Tagore, he belongs to the romantic tradition. His well-known works include Gauri, Malati Mangale, Himal Pari Himal Wari, Aswathama, Rajeshwori and Shakuntala. He was honoured as Rashtra Kavi, the poet of the nation, and he is one of the few Nepali poets to gain both fame and fortune.

He is one of the last of the oldest generation of poets, whose contemporaries, Bal Krishna Sama and Laxmi Prasad Devkota, are now historical figures. His works, such as Gauri and Malati Mangale, portray harsh social truths and were praised by the people. Though his own life is simple, his verses are varied and complex. Some call him a Himalayan poet and others a poet of love and harmony, but he is a true lyric poet.

His will to live inspires many people. He says that easy exercise or yoga, positive thinking and creativity are the three mantras for a long life. He values education, as it leads a person from darkness to light, and thinks youth should learn this from him.

Anuradha Koirala was born on 14 April 1949 in an educated family and studied at St. Joseph Convent School. Inspired by Mother Teresa, she taught in Kathmandu schools for twenty years. She married young but suffered domestic abuse and three miscarriages, so she left her husband. As she saw that even Maiti sometimes rejects women in such a condition, she felt the need for an organisation to shelter them.

In April 1993 she started Maiti Nepal, meaning "Mother's home", in a small house in Kathmandu with her own savings. At first she helped eight abused women open their own shop. With UNICEF's support, the organisation grew into one with many branches.

Its vision is a society free from the exploitation of women and children. It offers awareness programmes, counselling, skill development and women empowerment. It prevents girl trafficking, rescues trafficked girls from brothels in India, and shelters, counsels and rehabilitates them, since society often does not accept them.

Koirala says her happiest day will be when Maiti Nepal is no longer needed. She has received 38 national and international awards, including the CNN Hero Award in 2010 and the Padma Shree Award in 2017.

My father is fond of gardening. He keeps himself busy caring the flowers in the garden.

After the preposition "of" we use a gerund (verb + ing).

He is the consultant whose advice I rely on.

"Whose" shows possession: the advice belongs to the consultant.

The man who is wearing a blue jumper is in the garden.

"Who" replaces the repeated noun "the man" and joins the two sentences. It can also be written as "The man who is in the garden is wearing a blue jumper".

I was born in a remote village, from which indelible childhood memories recur all the time.

The relative pronoun "which" (with the preposition "from") refers to the village and joins the two sentences. "I was born in a remote village whose indelible childhood memories recur all the time" is also acceptable.

There is someone at the door who wants to speak to George.

"Who" is the relative pronoun replacing "he", the person.

JG Farrell published 'The Singapore Grip', which was his last complete book.

"Which" introduces a non-defining relative clause about a thing (the book).

This is the house in which we spent our childhood.

The relative pronoun which replaces the house; the preposition in comes before it.

The hotel in which we stayed was not very comfortable.

The relative pronoun which replaces there (the hotel), with the preposition in placed before it.

where (or in which)

The house, where I spent many years, is ruined now.

Where refers to a place, and means the same as in which.

This is the house which belongs to my uncle.

"Which" is the relative pronoun for a thing (the house) and acts as the subject of "belongs".

The garden where we spend a lot of time every day is beautiful.

"Where" is the relative adverb that refers to a place (the garden).