It was March 2008. We were outside the ATM machine of Everest Bank in Naya Baneshwar. We ie Prakash Sharma, John and me. Prakashji and I are only witnesses of that incident.

The characters are John, an American citizen, and another Nepali character we don't know. At that time, Prakashji and I were working in the Nepal office of an international non-governmental organization, John was the 'Deputy Regional Director' for the Asia region of that organization.

John was standing in line to withdraw money from an ATM. Inside, a man was withdrawing money from an ATM. Two more people had been added to the line behind him.

When the person inside the ATM came out, it was John's turn. He ran towards the ATM. He was just about to enter the room when the person behind him pushed him forward. 

John got angry at that, pulled him and said, "Don't you see, I've been in line here before!" But the man didn't care about John's words, didn't even stop, and entered the ATM. "Is this how you behave in your country?" John got angry. 

After withdrawing his money, the man left the ATM and went on his way, proud of being able to avoid John's turn. When John entered the ATM to withdraw money, Prakashji and I looked at each other and said, 'What are you going to do, man?'

...

Another incident is from August 2008. 

I got out of the London Bridge train station and reached the bus station. I wanted a bus to Liverpool Street train station. London was new to me. I was nervous on the one hand, on the other hand in a hurry. After wandering around the bus station for a while, I found the bus I was looking for. I hurriedly boarded the bus. 

When I got inside the bus and looked outside, I realized that there was a long line at the bus boarding place. I have been riding the bus after missing the turn of many people. I rolled my eyes. A couple of people are looking at me in surprise. I felt ashamed after seeing that. 

...

October 2024 also has another event. My friend Thaneshwar Sapkota and I were returning to London from Kathmandu. After getting the boarding pass at the airport and going through the security check, we were at the waiting area to board the ship. 

We had time. He was also hungry. We went to the store with the intention of buying some food. There were also people from other countries. They were queuing up. We also joined the line. 

When we were in line, two people stood right in front of us without the line. Thaneshwar said to the two people who were standing in front, "Hello sirs, we are in the line." 

Then they moved back. But did not stand in the real line, stuck parallel to someone behind. 

...

The first of these representative incidents was an American citizen who made the impression that the Nepalese were uncivilized. In the second incident, he had to feel ashamed when he arrived in Britain with the Nepalese habit of not caring about his turn. The third incident showed that even though time has changed, our habits regarding turn have not changed. 

In the context of Nepal, we are ashamed to take turns. On the other hand, the feeling that I am somehow bigger than others, so I don't fall in line, probably also played a part. In some places the need to queue is not felt at all. He who is strong will advance. 

But even those who move forward in turn have not gone very far. Even if it seems to get something a little faster, it is only temporary and complacent. At first glance, the rule of turn may seem simple. But such small things make foreigners think about Nepal or Nepali. It may occur to them that we are wrong in ordinary and simple things, and so in important things. So that others can trust us less. 

Turns are seen as important in developed countries. Taking turns is a characteristic of the British. No matter how big or small the job is, they stand in line and wait their turn. It has become established as a culture. It respects the presence of other people. In Britain, if someone tries to change their turn, they are considered rude.  People have to bear a kind of stress when there is no tradition of

turns. Waiting is a very difficult task in itself. Nobody likes to wait. Time passes more slowly when you wait than at other times. It causes psychological stress to people. Therefore, the queuing system has been made to make people's lives psychologically easier and it is believed that it reduces people's stress. 

Be it government or private office, or anywhere else - in any place, if the person who came later works faster than the person who came before with the influence of his power, then the person who came before is unfair. The work of the person who came first should be done first. The work of the man who came later must naturally be later. This is what happens in a civilized society. If we have not been able to do that, then we understand that we have not been able to build a civilized society. The