Truly speaking it is rather difficult for me to encompass in words the feelings and experiences I gathered from my visit to the UK, and the true hospitality and love I was offered. I was given a great opportunity to visit the UK from 14th Feb until 3rd March 2003 at the invitation of HVP UK and many other friends in the UK. I didn't believe in the beginning that I was going to visit the UK, because visiting overseas countries was something that was completely out of my imagination. It was obvious that for a person like me, from a remote part of Nepal, visiting abroad on my own finances was not really possible. But, it is true that sometimes even a thing that is never dreamed of does come true. Generous contributions from well wishing friends of HVP in the UK aided the materialisation of this fundraising work. This is how I had an opportunity to visit the UK.
On 14th of February I flew for the first time. I had a very exciting and safe journey and eventually stepped onto the soil of Great Britain, the country about which I had heard and read a lot from my childhood itself. As I got off the plane, I couldn't believe for a while that I was thousands of miles away from my country and that I was now in the UK. I arrived there in the evening and kept waiting at Heathrow airport with the slightest sense of fear in my subconscious, thinking that no one was going to come here to pick me up. So I cannot explain how happy I became when I saw Mrs. Nirmala Shrestha, who has been like a mother to me and who was the wife of the Late Dr. Bihari Lal Shrestha, the founding chairperson of HVP. She was with her son Himal Lal Shrestha, standing just in front of me saying "Vishnu!", both with smiling faces ready to embrace me. We drove all the way home to Hemel Hempstead. I immediately felt like I was back home in Nepal, as the inside of the house was very spiritual, welcoming and there was such a relaxing atmosphere.
I had a day rest on 15th of February and went out only to see around Hemel Hempstead with Aama (Mrs. Shrestha) when she did some shopping. In the evening we went to participate in a grand feast organised by a group of African people residing in that area of Hemel. So many people with their national dresses from different countries in the African continent were there and I felt lost amidst them for a while. But slowly I gathered courage and asked myself why I didn't dare to talk to these friends and why I just kept being shy and sitting alone in a corner. I then started talking to them, and found that I could have wonderful discussions with them. I was so moved by their simplicity and politeness and most importantly what impressed me so much was their dedication and commitment towards raising the living standards of African communities in the UK. The one thing only that put me in a great dilemma was that they proudly claimed that the origin of humankind was African, and that the first man had, therefore, originated in Africa. Whereas in Nepal we are taught that the first man was "Manu" who was born somewhere in Jumla, one of the remotest and most hilly parts of West Nepal. Since then I have been wondering which of these, if any, is right. It will always remain unanswerable.
My fascinating but hectic tour to the UK began on 16th of February with my friend Mark Lobel. For the first time in my life I had had to make a train journey - from Hemel Hempstead to Euston. I was a bit nervous, wondering how I would meet Mark. But all the worries subsided as I got off the train and I saw Mark ready to greet me in the Nepali way, with a huge Namaste. The first thing we did was to climb the London Eye to have an overall view of that mega city, the city where about 10 million people reside (this is about half of the total population of Nepal!). He showed me some other important places like the London Aquarium and Madame Tussauds. We went to his home to have lunch. I was very glad to have had chats with his mother, sister and his friend. I felt honoured to visit one the most beautiful parts of London.
At the same time I felt like the Nepali people are less concerned about looking after public and communal places than the people in the UK; that's why we are not sincerely interested in preserving the cultural and natural beauties of our country. On the other hand Kathmandu, such an ancient and culturally rich city, is sadly becoming more polluted and is suffering from terrible mismanagement. This is what greatly troubled me throughout my visit.
On 17th February, at the Hemel Hempstead house, I was so glad to see my friend Matt Daw and we gave each other a big hug. We then headed towards his home in Guildford and by the time we arrived there it was becoming a lovely evening. Guildford is in the middle of the beautiful Surrey countryside, inexpressibly beautified by Nature. Matt's father, Mr. Norman Daw was there at home to welcome me. We went to observe the School of Economics based in Guildford. I was astonished to see people discussing the Geeta and learning Sanskrit. I thought for a while 'Where am I?" Mr. Brian Wright concisely explained the deeds of the School of Economics. I was so touched from what they have been doing for the betterment of society through these Eastern values with the maxi "Know Thyself". I then grew ashamed because we here in Nepal, the origin of such invaluable teachings and morals, are becoming misguided and have thus started to disregard them. While we were having dinner, he asked me if I had a mantra which I chanted before any meal. I was about to get nervous! Luckily, I remembered the one that we chant at here at HVP together with our dear students before every meal. "Sahana Bhawatu Sahnau Bhunaktu" Thank God! We went on talking until midnight.
Matt and I left Guildford on 18th February and headed towards Cambridge, the next stop on the agenda. However, on the way, Matt asked me if I had ever been on a boat. I, indeed, had never been on a boat, a man from the country which has been enriched by so many fast flowing rivers originating in the Himalayas. So we had a wonderful boat ride from Westminster to Tower Bridge on the Thames River. We then got on the train from King's Cross and got to Cambridge in the evening. My friend Rebecca Richards, who generously worked very hard to sort out everything and coordinated my busy itinerary with many friends in the UK, was there to meet me, along with Claire Bennett, Line zu Ermgassen and Lynda Wilson. They took me to show their colleges, each claiming that their college was the best one in the whole of Cambridge University! We visited some colleges such as Trinity College, King's College and St Catharine's College. We then went to take part in the Evensong in the Chapel of King's College, the most beautiful chapel in Cambridge. It's my first experience in a chapel. Rebecca then invited all of us to have dinner in her house, where we all went on talking for hours. It was already so late by the time we got there. I, however, was still eagerly waiting to meet Dr. Ricardo Richards, the husband of Rebecca, because he had not yet returned from his work. Eventually he also arrived and we greeted each other. We could not have that long a talk as it was already past midnight.
The next day, 19th February, I had to fly to Edinburgh, Scotland on the same day. Rebecca and I got to Stanstead airport. The plane took off and I enjoyed witnessing the beauty of the UK from high up in the plane. The plane landed in Edinburgh airport after an hour and I got off the plane and began walking to the luggage-reclaiming place. To my surprise Mrs. Dorothy Caddell was already awaiting me near the luggage-reclaiming place itself. What a happy-go-lucky life. I was so moved by her motherly care that I regard and respect her as my own mother. When I got there, it was a cool evening. Edinburgh for a Nepali is obviously rather cold anyway, but it was manageable. Dorothy then drove her car until we reached her daughter's house. A PhD degree holder who did her research work on education in Dhankuta, Nepal, Martha is fluent in Nepali and therefore we greeted each other in the Nepali way.
Afterwards David and Granny also arrived and we went on talking and talking about Nepal and HVP and so many other things. After a delicious meal we went to Dorothy's house in Westlinton, which is about 17 miles away from central Edinburgh. The house was so beautiful with especially beautiful gardens. Small, but beautiful.
I was there as a representative of my school, HVP, and therefore one of the main objectives of my visit was to observe some of the schools there in the UK. Dorothy had organised some visits to some schools in Edinburgh. So on 20th February they had organised the first school for me to visit; Colinton Primary School. We spent a couple of hours at the school and I visited different classes with the teachers. I first felt apprehension that I would not be able to deal with the teachers and students. But, I instantly boosted up myself and said to myself, "Vishnu, go ahead. You are from Nepal and have been teaching children at HVP over the last 16 years. What's there to be afraid about?" So I talked to the students in different classes and the lovely students kept asking me loads of questions and I kept on answering. That day I wore my Nepali cap with pride. Classrooms are very spacious and have all the materials including overhead projectors, computers and televisions. Teaching there is completely child-centred and this is why I found the students very active and so interested to participate in classroom activities and discussions. There were never more than 20 students in each class. This school had also some Nepali students who were the children of soldiers in the Gorkha Army. I became so happy when I had an opportunity to speak in Nepali with them. I asked some of them if they would like to go back to Nepal. They said, "No". This worried me at some level. Mrs. C. Lumsden (the Head Teacher) Ms. Jennifer Wee as well as other teachers, in spite of their busy routine, gave me their time to make my stay at their school a memorable one. In Nepal we have to manage with very limited teaching materials like chalk and a board rubber. Sometimes we have more students in a classroom that it should normally accommodate, and beside this our teaching methods put more pressure on the tender minds of the students and it is, therefore, more like rote learning rather than a creative, personality developing method of teaching. Similarly we went to another school named Echline Primary School on the same day and I felt that the teachers had got lost amidst so many teaching materials. Martha and I had a little walk and I was overwhelmed to see the Forth Bridge. That evening we had been invited to dinner by Dorothy's friend, Jill. The house was so beautiful and was set in an ideal place, from where the glittering and magnificent lights of Edinburgh can be perceived through the window. And Reuben, Jill's lovely only little son showed me around his house and he explained the use for the things like the computer, the telephone and the mobile phone. I found him so lovely and lively. Later Martha also arrived and we all had dinner together. The happy memories with Jill and her son Reuben are still so spanking new. We left the house late and arrived in Westlinton at about 11:30 at night.
On 21st of February Dorothy, a lecturer at University of Edinburgh, took me to her university and I talked with some teachers of the university for a while. Martha took me to show me around Edinburgh on an open bus. We saw many beautiful and gorgeous places from the open bus like Edinburgh Castle, which is the centre of attraction and glory in Edinburgh. Similarly, we visited St. Giles church, the biggest church in Edinburgh.
A person from a landlocked country has no way to see the sea. So one has to go abroad to observe the weird and unfathomable span of sea. Dorothy had already planned to show me the sea because she knew that I had never seen the sea before. So Dorothy, Martha and I reached North Berwick Beach. I cannot explain how astounded I became, seeing the superb beauty of the sea. I was almost wordless for a while. Then we came back to Edinburgh and went to a restaurant named Mother's Restaurant to have dinner, where I had had Mexican meal. This was my first meal in a restaurant in the UK. The last day in Scotland was 22nd February and on the morning of this day we went to see Cramond Island Beach. The weather was unbearably cold. We went on a walk there for about an hour and came back to the train station where we had our final words waiting for the train.
I travelled down to Newcastle by train, then from Newcastle to Darlington by bus, and then from Darlington to York by train. I got to York in the evening and just as I got off the train, I found Zena in front of me saying "Namaste Vishnu!" What a surprise! We had never met each other and had communicated with each other only through e-mails. I asked her how she could recognise me and she replied that I was looking around just like a completely lost man. Mr. Bryce Taylor, founder of OASIS, an organisation specialising in innovative work in the field of human relations, in particular 'development education', was also coming towards me with his smiling face. We all greeted and hugged each other. We got to their home in Boston Spa, about 13 miles away from York, in the evening. No sooner had I got inside their house, than had all my tiredness and stress melted away. The calm and spiritual atmosphere inside and around the house made me feel so relaxed. Bryce and Zena are both so spiritual and peaceful and are true figures of love and peace. We kept talking about Buddhist philosophy and its importance in the present terrifying world. Bryce said, " I love Buddha so much, that's why I have statues of Buddha in all corners of my garden. One day I would like to visit your country and meditate in the Lord Buddha's birthplace." But after having these kinds of discussions with them I became extremely ashamed. I am from that country where Buddha, the forerunner of peace, was born. Buddha has now become the symbol of world peace, for which the whole of humankind is desperately seeking now. But most unfortunately, Buddha has greatly been forgotten in my country where he was born. His teachings of peace and non-violence have no value and people are indulging in the barbaric activity of killing.
On the morning of 23rd February they took me to OASIS where they had me participate in a discussion programme. I had to get ready to go to Leeds on the same day. I was so honoured to have met Zena and Bryce whose greatness in simplicity will always remain a guiding force for me. At around 2 p.m. my friend Matthew Tindale, who worked as a GAP volunteer teacher at Central HVP in 1992, came to York to pick me up. In Leeds I met Matthew, a friend with whom I had worked at HVP about 13 years ago. He drove all the way into the deep countryside, which was so pleasurable and incredibly beautiful, and took me to a place where a huge rock was situated. On Sunday, he took me to his church in the evening. I enjoyed listening to the beautiful tune of the hymns in the church. The next day, the 24th February the plan was to go to visit a state school named Allerton High School where Matthew was working as a science teacher. This school has, on average, 32 students in each class. The students' enthusiasm and passion to learn was quite praiseworthy. What made me so astonished is that the school had many students from different ethnic backgrounds, from Punjabi communities, Jewish communities, Muslim communities and Hindu communities. On 25th February, early in the morning I left Leeds for London. I saw Mrs. Angie Harris, the mother of my friend, Andrew Harris, who had come to pick me up all the way from Ealing. We hadn't ever met each other before and I was so thrilled to finally meet her. We travelled by the underground tube-train and got home to Ealing. The first person who came to meet me here was one old friend, Vicky Booth, who had travelled all the way from Guildford. I can't say how happy I was to meet her there. Later in the evening Ruth Harris, Claire Harris, her two lovely daughters and her husband, Michael Harris returned home and we all kept talking until we got tired. During our talking we used to miss Andrew who was that time in Mumbai in India doing research work for his PhD. I was very much moved by the hospitality I was offered by the Harris family and the motherly care that I received from Angie Harris.
On 26th February Angie drove me up to Durston House School, which is an independent school. This school was the school of Mr. Peter Craze, father of GAP volunteer Emily Craze. I found the independent schools so different to the state schools in the UK. Durston House has only 16 boy students in each class and is unbelievably quiet and the teacher-student relationship is so close that every student gets special care and love from all the teachers.
On 27th February Matt Daw had organized for me a visit to a school named St. James Independent School in Earsby Street. We got into the school, a school which had only 22 students in each class. The school atmosphere was so pleasing and academic. First of all we met the Headmaster, Mr. Paul Moss and talked to him for a while. Mr. Moss explained the philosophy of the school and I did the same for our HVP school. St James's school has, since its inception, strived to build up the sense of oneness among children from different backgrounds. The classrooms were beautifully decorated. The students chant a Sanskrit mantra "Om Pramatmane Namaha" at the beginning of each class. One of the students showed me his exercise book in which he had done his Sanskrit homework in Devanagari script. Now, it is rather difficult for me to express in words what I felt at that moment. I felt for a while like I was falling down from a branch of a tree. I am from the country where the religion, the culture and the language are all based on Sanskrit. But unfortunately, in Nepal Sanskrit is being disregarded more and more each day, and there are campaigns going on to remove Sanskrit from the curriculum in Nepal. What a great paradox again!!
We then headed towards Oxford and got there by 3:30 in the afternoon. In Oxford we visited Somerville College, Christ Church College, Ester College Chapel and Bodleian Library, and we met Tom Rogers and Jo Guiney. Matt and I then went to meet Danah Zohar, an acclaimed author who has written a number of famous books. On 28th February early in the morning Matt again arrived and Anna Marshall, Danah's daughter, who has worked at HVP as a volunteer teacher, was ready to serve us with a delicious breakfast. We had breakfast all together and went off to walk along the canal to Port Meadow. We visited St. Mary the Virgin Tower, from where we had a beautiful view of the whole of Oxford city. The other places we visited were Raddiffe Square and the Ashmolean Museum, one of the oldest museums in the world. Again we returned to Danah's house where some of my friends came to meet me. I was so joyful to have an opportunity to meet Alice Tendler, Sarah McWhinney, Rebecca Fisher and Tom again. It was a huge get together. This will always stay in my mind as a special memory.
I went to Victoria station where Gyanu was waiting for me. We then travelled by tube train to go to Finchley Central. Yadav Yogi, Siddhanta Koirala and Hom Nath Gautam were there to welcome me. It was quite a different feeling for me to find myself among Nepali brothers and sisters after many days. The next day was 1st of March, and I along with Gyanu came back to Hemel Hempstead. Aaama (Mrs. Nirmala Shrestha) was quite busy sorting everything out for the HVP UK gathering. HVP UK had organised a social in Hemel on that day. Many friends started arriving from the different parts of the UK. Friends who could come to the social were Sophie Rockley, Claire Bennett, Matt Daw, Line zu Ermgassen, Lynda Wilson, Rebecca and Ricardo Richards, Kate and Neil Marklew, Louisa Stevens, Mala Yogi, Laura Howlett, Nicky Turner, Martha Caddell, Matthew Hilton-Dennis, Claire Roberts, Mark Lobel and Aarun Naik. They all encouraged me to give a speech about the HVP Schools, Nepal and my visit to the UK. I felt as if I was going to fall unconscious because I do not usually have the habit of giving speeches in front of that many friends! I was sweating and thought that I had become dumb as well!! Somehow I managed. At this moment I felt like my visit to the UK had really become complete. Aarun Naik, my brother and friend, stayed with me at Hemel Hempstead. I couldn't believe for a while that he was staying with me in spite of his busy schedule. I telephoned sister Christine and had a long and very beautiful talk with her. On 2nd March Aarun took Mrs. Shrestha and me to Swami Narayan temple to show us around. This was the biggest Hindu temple in the west, in Neasden in London, Prabhupada Manor donated to ISKON by George Harrison, a famous guitarist and Amarawati temple, a Buddhist centre. After having visited these pilgrimages in and around London Aarun left Hemel Hempstead. Even now, I still miss that day.
Eventually, the day came to return home. It was the afternoon of March 3rd and I was busy getting ready. I became so glad to see Sanjay Pokhrel, a very genuine ex-HVP student, on my last day in the UK. He had come to meet me from Uton. Tears kept rolling down from my eyes as I had to say my goodbyes to brother Himal and sister Sulekha and the house in Hemel. Tulsi Giri and Mala Giri came to Hemel to take me to the airport in their car. I would always treasure the generosity in their hearts.
The plane landed at Tribhuwan International Airport in Kathmandu at about 2:30 p.m. on March 4th. I home, HVP School at 3:50 in the afternoon. My dear students and colleagues were all waiting for my arrival. I cannot disclose in words my happiness when I met these lovely and dear students and had this reunion with all my teacher friends after 18 days of separation. I was finally back home after my 18-day hectic but very rewarding and satisfying visit to the UK.
My friends in the UK didn't allow me to spend even a single penny from my own pocket throughout my visit. I am indebted to all of them and do not have the words to express my gratitude to them for their unconditional love, care and support. I must sincerely thank all the head teachers, teachers and students of the different schools I visited. Similarly, I have to express my indebtedness towards the respected people of the organisations who generously enlightened me with regard to their activities. Most importantly I would always remain extremely indebted to Head Sir (Mr. C. M. Yogi) who had first dreamt of this scheme and who inspired many friends in the UK to join the campaign to fundraise for my UK visit.