I am a very bad person when it comes to talking about the past. I don't remember much. However, I am making a daring attempt to write as much as I can about my childhood school and Dashain-Tihar experiences. I don't know how much I remember. But I am trying.

I grew up in Ombahal, Kathmandu. I started my education in the arms of my neighbor's teacher Prem Prasad Paudyal. He was very pleasant. Gopal Yonjan's wife Rinchen Yonjan also came to teach me. Poet Bhimdarshan Roka also came to teach me at home. He used to discuss topics far beyond books. His words were very interesting. 

Shankar Lamichhane was a close friend of my father. I also spent a lot of time with him in my childhood. Looking back on the days gone by now, I feel that I have some impression of those blessed people. 

My first school was a British Primary School. There, a rule was implemented that Nepali students should study in Nepali schools while studying pre-primary. Then the principal there, K. Doyle, told my dad Bhuvaneshwor Amatya, 'Open Kanti Ishwari Shishu Vidyalaya, I will become its principal.' Then Dad opened Kanti Ishwari Shishu Vidyalaya. The first students there were me, Mikha Mathema, Anil Pahadi, Anup Pahadi, Dina Bangdel, Anil Chitrakar. British and Swiss teachers used to come to teach at that school. Later, it was established as a school where members of the royal family also started their literacy.

After studying at Kanti Ishwari till class 1, I joined St. Xavier's School in Godavari, Lalitpur. The most interesting memory of Godavari for me is 'Father Queen'. He taught us how to catch snakes. I studied there for four years. It was a boarding school. At that time, it took two hours to reach there. While studying there, I was a little weak in Sanskrit. After studying at Godavari till class 5, I was sent to North Point in Darjeeling, India, to join class 6. There, I found Hindi difficult. I had no complaints about other subjects. I don't think I complained at all when it became clear that one cannot move forward without passing every subject.

I repeat, my memory is very weak. That is why I do not remember many things from my school life. While writing about the things I remember, I remember the incident when I was a scout in Godavari School. At that time, a rumor was spread in our group. After that, I announced in the scout group that I would not eat meat from now on. My teacher and father tried hard to change the declaration made in front of everyone, but I did not agree. They said that you cannot break the ‘Scout Promise’.

When I was at North Point, at the age of 13, I wrote the song ‘Jab Sandhya Hongo’. Due to my cleft lip, I was not very open with others. I wrote that song after I liked a girl there. That girl does not know – what a hit the song I wrote for her became! I wrote that song in Hindi, and later converted it into Nepali.

I feel great joy when I remember the Dashain-Tihar festivals of my childhood. Memories of that time come back again and again. Looking back on those days, I remember two pairs of bhotos and suruwals. Why do I keep thinking, Dashain means two pairs of bhotos and suruwals. I liked and still like Indrajatra, which falls on the eve of Dashain, even more than Dashain. I still come to Nepal during Dashain, wherever I am. For ten days, rituals are performed at home, Jamara is kept and Tika is also applied.

When I think of Indrajatra, everyone thinks of Kumari. Since my grandmother and the one who took care of Kumari were very close, I sometimes remember playing with Kumari inside the Kumari's house. During Indrajatra, I used to get sweets from the Kumari's house, like a pigeon flying in a square corner. What I remember after Indrajatra is the kite flying competition during Dashain.

At that time, flying kites, fighting and stealing other people's kites was considered a form of prestige. There was a kind of competition among the neighbors, saying, 'Who is the best at flying kites?' During the Dashain holiday, the inner city of Kathmandu was especially abuzz with kites. At that time, from morning tea gatherings to evening drinks, kites were the talk of the town. Looking back now, I think that even though there was a big competition in kite flying at that time, it still united the society. Who cut whose kite and how? It was a big topic of discussion in the city. There was also a discussion about the type of kite and the thickness of the thread. 

Among us boys, there was a competition to see who could write a love letter on a kite and drop it on the roof of the girl they liked in the neighborhood. It was not uncommon to blow up a kite and drop it on the roof. I was not immune to that playful nature. That is why I still find kite flying very enjoyable.

During Tihar, I especially liked Lakshmi Puja. 'Animals' made of sugar in various shapes were also offered in worship. They were only available in one or two places in Kathmandu, and they were pink in color. It was also available in front of Akash Bhairav. After the puja was over, I would eat it all. I don't remember playing Deusi-Bhailo during Tihar. I don't think there was much of a tradition of playing Deusi in the Newar community at that time. 

Mha puja, which was celebrated with family, was also very important to me. Maha puja means worship of one's own body. I have never forgotten this knowledge that my grandmother taught me as a child that it is a puja to thank the body for giving space to the soul. That knowledge is very important to me. During Tihar, the elders used to play Okhar and Langurburja a lot. I also enjoyed watching it. Perhaps those who were drunk would make so much noise that it was scary to sit there.

When I was studying in Kathmandu, there was a break for Dashain-Tihar. However, I don't think there was any homework stress like there is now. There was never any tension of 'I have to do homework'. I don't even remember! If there had been such a big stress, I would definitely have remembered it. Since the boarders were in school, there was no tension of homework. It was thought that holidays were for traveling and having fun. Why do teachers now stress students by giving homework? I don't understand. Perhaps, homework was given to them so that they would not go out of the house and would be engaged at home. But, that wasn't the case in our time. 

The longest holiday at North Point was also in the month of May. Earlier, holidays were also given in the summer. However, later, the summer holidays were removed and three months of holiday were given in the month of May. During the month of May, my father used to take me to Calcutta and buy clothes. At that time, the clothes bought in Calcutta were considered 'special'. Then I also remember living in Kanti Ishwari Bhawan in Hetauda. I remember eating Halwa, Swari and goat's milk for breakfast there in the morning. Now, looking back, I never said, 'This is the subject I don't like' in my school life. However, I was always very interested in studying subjects related to art and culture. I am still interested in history, art, and culture. Perhaps that is a mark of my childhood.