Tag Archives: life in a day

Pushkar Shah – Cycling around the world in 11 Years

Posted on January 25, 2012 | 4 comments

I was watching a film ‘Life in a day’ and the Korean cyclist reminded me of a cyclist from Nepal–Pushkar Shah. 

I remember I was still in Nepal when he took his bicycle and went to conquer the world. I haven’t heard about him for a while so when I did my research found his website

http://www.pushkarshah.com/ 

Who better than the man himself to describe about him and his mission. 

“On November 29, 1998 I set out on an 11 year-long journey to capture my dream, the dream of riding 221,000-kilometres around the world on my bicycle to spread the message of peace and hope for my country and for the world. This mission is not about material gain or international fame. It’s simply about spreading the message of peace. If you see a Nepalese guy panting and puffing on a bicycle with a sticker “I ride therefore I am” please yield and for one second think about how you as an individual can contribute to world peace. This is my tenth year and I have already toured 150 countries and hope to complete the world tour in a total of 11 years. During my tour, I visit schools and clubs in different communities and like to speak about peace, respect for other religions and cultures, living in harmony, respect for human rights and democratic values. 

I like to meet civic leaders and exchange views. After graduation from college, I worked as a school teacher and participated in the Democracy Movement in Nepal in 1990. I was arrested and imprisoned many times for my political activism. It had a deep impact on me and I decided to embark on a world tour spreading the message of Peace. I began my journey with only 100 Nepalese Rupees (One Euro) given to me by my mother. I have no official sponsor and have thus far been able to pursue my dream through the kindness and generosity of the many strangers who have befriended me along the way. 

When I began my journey ten years ago, many people did not believe that such a trip was possible and said that I would get no further than India. As of July 2009 I have visited 150 countries in Asia, Asia Pacific, North America, Central America, South America, Caribbean, African, Middle East and the Europe. 

In May 2010, I cycled from Kathmandu to the Everest base camp.” 

Here are some of the photos of his trips. 

I know that he was a courageous man to even attempt to cycle around the world with very little support and money. I still remember the day he left Kathmandu, there was this big event for his farewell and it made the headlines in the country. 

Currently he is back in Nepal and is still cycling for various causes.

4 Comments

Posted in Nepal

Tagged , , , , ,

Life in a day

Posted on January 20, 2012 | 13 comments

Life in a day is a film made by YouTube to capture lives of different people around the globe on 24 July 2010. Last year YouTube asked its users to capture on film their day on 24 July and upload them. They then assembled more that 4,5 00 hours of footage from the users from 192 countries and made a film directed by Oscar-winning Kevin Macdonald.

Editor Joe Walker spent more that 7 months editing the clips into a 1 hour 35 min film and the result is fantastic to watch. All the clips are captured by handheld cameras but quality was really good.

There are a few highlights of the movie I loved. But let me start by saying that I love that Nepal was featured in the film, a big thanks to the Korean cyclist on a world cycling tour, who was in Nepal that day.

Watching this film made me realise again (some times I forget it) that there are so many different problems people face in their life while I am upset for not finding a right dress to go out in, there are people out there in the world at that moment who are starving or sick.

Some memorable clips are of a South American boy who shines shoes in the street for a living, the man who proposed to his girl with bent knees, a gay guy coming out of the closet, cute twin babies, a photographer walking the streets of Kabul (he said, “People think streets of Kabul are not safe but look it is safe. At least for us” 🙂  ).

I didn’t like the way a cow was slaughtered in the clip and also was sad to see an Americana mum with cancer as well as a life of an army wife. Some people have very hard lives and it is important that we realise that. Also there is a clip of a sick Australian man in the hospital after his open heart surgery and African culture where a woman who kneels before her husband daily.

One guy even films himself doing graffiti and stealing from the supermarket. It was sad to see a footage of a panic at a festival in Germany which caused death.

The funniest clip was of a wedding of elderly coupe who wrote their own vows. Loved their wit and humour and their view towards their life. It gets hilarious when a bride hits her husband to be with her bouquet.  Another funny clip was of a dad who faints in a birth room while taking a video of the birth of his new baby. (I said funny but it might be scary to some people.)

There were few questions asked like “What scares you?” and “What do you love the most?”  And some of the answers surprised me. Like there is a guy who is afraid of gay people while this little girl is scared of people who don’t believe in god. With the love question, I loved it when a man said he loves his family the most. J

There is so much to learn from this film. It is an emotional and real representation of our world. If you want to watch the movie, it is free on YouTube.  Here is the link

 

You may also like:

*I’m Addicted to Game of Thrones *The Hunger game *The Man Who Sued God

13 Comments

Posted in Movie Review

Tagged , , , , , , , ,