Peer pressures, sibling bonding lead children to fall prey to drugs

KATHMANDU, May 17 : A small group of youngsters gather in a small corner, away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd in Dillibazar. They pass a packet and a bottle among themselves. All of them pop in a small tablet and gulp it down with alcohol.

Suddenly the appearance of a boy hushes the group. The boy comes straight to his brother and asks him to come home. Instead, the elder one persuades his sibling to join the group and imitate the seniors.

"My brother told it was fun to have the tablet so I tried it out," said 13-year-old Sanjiv Ghimire, after taking a tablet. When he talked to The Sunday Post he was already under the influence of the drug, and was having a "kind of weird feeling"

The case of Ghimire brothers’ is just an example of how a druggist in a family influences other members, especially his own siblings. A major reason for the ever-increasing number of druggists is linked with the transfer of habit from elder siblings and same age cousins. Experts warn that parents who have a druggist in the family need to take utmost care to save the younger ones from falling into the trap.

Ivana Lohar of Richmond Fellowship Nepal - a rehabilitation centre - says that the children are at risk in their own homes, if anyone of their cousins or siblings gets hooked on to drugs.

"When a brother or sister catches a druggist sibling, generally the user is successful in convincing the younger one to be a part of it, and not to expose the secret," she sad.

Ghimire is an example of how the elder sibling can impress the youngsters. "I know it is bad to take drugs but if my brother is taking it then it shouldn’t be that bad," says Sanjiv Ghimire. "I gave him the tablets so that he would not reveal my secrets to our parents," said elder Ghimire defiantly, but requested not to reveal his name.

When a kid starts spending more time outside; remains aloof; and sulks for minor issues, the parents should keep a close watch eyes on him. Sometimes parents can even know the secret from the younger kids who are not as careful in keeping it.

For instance, Druba Shahi (name changed on request) found out about his son’s habit when a strip of antibiotic tablets fell from his younger son’s school bag. "I was shocked at first," he said. Later, Shahi discovered that his elder son was also into drugs.

"From my experience, I think parents need to be aware that their children can begin taking drugs from anywhere," he said. He also added that to avoid children getting hooked to drugs, parents need to provide a homely and happy environment.

"You need to maintain understanding with your children so that they do not even think about drugs as a way to become free," he adds.

"Chances are high that there is more than one drug user in the family,’ said Jagdish Lohani of Youth Vision, a rehabilitation centre. "In a family where there are lot of cousins of the same age, generally it is seen they take the drugs together."

Experts working with drug users say that this tendency is seen because siblings of the same age are more like friends. However, the sad part is that once two members of the same family take drugs, they unite instead of helping each other to get rid of the habit.

Lohani attributes the drug problems with the changed social structure, nuclear family and working parents. "Due to the busy working schedule of the parents, the kids’ changed habits pass unnoticed and later it becomes too late for correction," he said.

Performing rituals? Visit this shop for all your needs

KATHMANDU, May 6:Be it the festival season or a religious ceremony performed to mark birth or death in the family, it demands meticulous preparation year after year. Women folk busy themselves preparing for marriage rituals, rituals held to close the mourning period, function held to introduce the newly born to solid food and so on and so forth.

Problems, for most, lie in arranging required materials, which usually demands going for shopping over a period of time. In fact, it is not only a time-consuming task, but also demands patience and sense of where to begin from.

However, much of the problem stand ruled out if the household has older members whom can tell what to do under the circumstances. Conversely, the families, which do not have older members, have to confer with family, that might have conducted related rituals at that point of time.

But this does not in any way avert the need to run from shop to shop. For, once the long list of the items is drawn up, it is time to run from one shop to another. And fast enough. Usually, one has to even ‘book’ some items a month in advance.

"I don’t know if I will be able to finish shopping on time," said a tired and frustrated shopper, Shanti Khadka, outside a shop in busy Ason. "My nephew is getting married in a week and I have to arrange things before that."

The fact that it is a tough task to arrange required things becomes evident from what she said further. "I think we will have to make do without these items… If only there was a shop which offered all the items," Khadka said demonstrating the frustration.

There are many families taking turns of going around the city looking for necessary items. But it is also true that there are people who procure every item from the self-same shop whatever the occasion.

Welcome to Hem Narsingh Ko Pasal ( a shop, which deals in everything, needed for all the rituals ( nestled in the midst of temples and ancient monuments in Patan Durbar Square. If you did not know, the shop goes back to over a hundred and fifty years.

Fourth generation members of the Narsingh family run the shop. Prakash Narsingh Amatya and his wife are devoting their lives to keep up the family tradition.

"This shop belonged to my family dating back to generations," says Amatya, adding that the same was an ancestral heritage rather than a shop. ""I have taken over the responsibility to keep up the tradition."

Equally interesting aspect is that it is open round the clock and seven days a week. Whenever anyone wants anything from the shop, he or she can call out Amatya, who stays upstairs.

"We are ready to serve our clients at any time, says Amatya adding, that the shop belonged to growing numbers of customers.

There ïs a long list of people who are his regular customers by now. They range from lowly citizens to the leading lights of the nation, including the incumbent Prime Minister. What’s more, the shop is known to export required items to Hong Kong and London.

But this upward mobility of sorts has not set in any sense of complacency in the family. Someone who mans the shop sitting by his wife, Amatya offers free sweets to small children, who accompany parents to the shop. He has personal rapport with each customer who he welcomes with a big smile on his face.

The four-room shop is full of assortment of items. "You can get everything from rock salt from Tibet to gold," says Amatya, which perfectly describes his shop.

Yet another feature of the shop is that one has to just name the rituals one expects to conduct, before the required items start falling in shopping bags. The "must list" of items, passed down from generations, has everything under the sun in it.

"It’s much like a supermarket where you get all the items you need under one roof," said Sharada Shrestha, a customer. "I have been buying from here for many years because the shop has everything I need from time to time. The shopkeeper is very kind and friendly," she said in appreciation.

There are too many like her who are known to be buying from the shop since generations even as new customers are joining the old.

"I heard about this shop from a friend at the time when I was busy buying things for my son’s wedding," said Smita Khadka. She has been buying from the shop ever since that memorable event in her life.

Meanwhile, the importance of the shop lies in the fact that it is the only shop, which sells sadewa and sadewi. Both are species of plants believed to have the power to attract the member of the opposite sex romantically.

It is believed that if one carries this plant in his/her pocket and touches someone of the opposite sex, the one who is so touched is likely to start dreaming of the carrier of the miraculous plant. An excellent item, for the romantically challenged, this.