The real thing: Meeting the Maoists, they are out for real and hope for good

Vehicles need to pay Rs 20 as tax when they enter Hetauda. Our bus stopped there no more than 3 seconds when the conductor ran to the post and literally threw the crumpled twenty rupee note on the man’s chest. “Kasari Pisa deko yar” his friend told him.He laughed it off as if he’d performed a heroic act. The bus moved on and I could see the man searching the note, which was thrown at him as he had begged for it. I was an enraged observer of it all.

I was still angry when the bus stopped at another place in Mahottari, Sarlahi to pay a similar kind of tax, this time it was a Maoist fee ( Rs 100) I later got to see the receipt which showed that the tax was being payed to Maoist Kendriya Sarkar. A commendable job, don’t you think? Earlier they did it secretly now its Public! Wow! We live under two governments, officially! Mind you it’s been more than six months of the cease-fire.
Everyone in the bus strained their necks to look at the Maoist. I did too.