Hi, this is Banjara. As you probably know, I am from Pokhara, Nepal. I like to call myself a designer. And, on one particular day, I found myself sitting in the banks of the Begnas lake at around six in the evening. I’d been coming to Begnas for a while now.
When the stars exploded billions of years ago, they formed everything that is this world. Everything we know is stardust. We exist in this world for a fraction of time. The true essence of our existence is that we are merely a dot. A dot in the earth, a dot in the galaxy, a dot in the universe. Our actions are little dots in time, space and energy of this cosmos. One thing that I find optimistic is we can make our own constellations by connecting these dots.
“Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” -Steve Jobs
Let’s start with the first dot of this particular story - Pokhara Weekly. Pokhara Weekly was a group of strangers who came together as a community. Little did I know at the time, many would remain friends for life. It was Pokhara Weekly where I would learn valuable lessons on the importance of community and people. If people came together, they can move mountains and magic happens. I would know it was far more valuable to work in a team. Everyone landed in unexpected places. Everyone got introduced to opportunities. Pokhara Weekly happened at a point in history in that time, place and situation.
Dots make lines.
I became us in communities. Us as in a group of individual dots that become lines and move parallel for a while. For a while, they define who you are; — ‘you are the average of the people who surround you’. Prakriti, Sudarshan, Shankar, Nimesh, Rishab, Pravin. Everyone is shaped by their unique set of dots that contribute who they are. When you understand that everyone is different, you understand we’re all just individuals paving our own path to growth one dot at a time.
We made TEDxBarahiChowk happen. TEDxBarahiChowk was a group effort. We were driven, passionate, and wanted to initiate a change? Driven to solve the problems of the world. We wished more TEDx events to happen in Pokhara. It was a beautiful day. Along with events and rush, I wanted a stable TED-like environment and we were trying to make Pokhara Toastmasters happen and we did. We met many wonderful people there.
However, for now, let’s move to another dot in the story - the idea that I am learning change-making. We really worked hard for the first Hult Prize at IOE Pashchimanchal Campus. We made it, and it was one of the amazing events that happened. Hult opened a few new doors for us - for me. While I am telling you this story, I am grateful for the people I met in Hult. It was ecstatic to learn about the small details of many things. Nimesh and Rishab lead the HULT for the following years. They were able to continue the momentum and I am happy to be the part of these events. Sometimes we would keep things until the last moment and rush to finish it. It would turn out okay. Life was beautiful. Our individual lines were moving parallel.
I also participated in two important events from NITEC - Student Entrepreneurship Training and Design Sprint. The events were tremendous learning opportunities. I was fortunate to apply these learning in Innovation Bootcamp 2019.
Lines combine to make shapes.
Karkhana is an education company and a maker space. They are doing revolutionary work collaborating with schools to change traditional education in Nepal. I met Roshan and Pavitra in a five-day workshop at Kumudini Homes. The workshop was for identifying maker mentors in Pokhara. I was immediately drawn to Karkhana. The culture promoted learnings, innovation, and growth. Everything was so reflective and flawless because everything was based on design thinking. I met Anu and Prajjwal, who are two wonderful people I have come across. One thing to always remember about Karkhana, Design Thinking does wonder when applied.
This is the story of dots which will connect other dots. Some dots have other stories. Some dots fade. Some dots were forgotten. In the quest for growth and purpose, I have left many dots incomplete. In this blog, I wish to connect more dots: Momo, Movies, Minimalism, Marcus Aurelius, Meditations, Memoirs. I wish that dots will be filled with colours and stories.
24/12/2018
P.S. Years later, looking back these dots connected more than ever. A lot of my friends went abroad. Some of the people I crossed path with have now become close friends and collegues. Tathyakar happened, CoTS happened, Bathokoshero happened, trek to Shey Phoksundo happened and many other things are happening. One answer was people. I am looking for others. The world is beautiful.
22/06/2025