Before long, my garment brand Thread Garment became a full-fledged clothing supplier. We produce men’s wear and supply outlets all over Nepal, even selling tracksuits, sleeping bags and thermocots, which previously used to be imported, to the Nepal Police and Nepal Army. My clothes with the Made in Nepal tag are now sold in Malaysia, Qatar and Dubai, the very countries where Nepalis work.  (Original link: https://nepalitimes.com/banner/cut-from-a-different-cloth)

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The sacrifices I made during my foreign employment, communicating over letters with my newly married wife that took 28 days to reach, working around the clock without keeping track of time, or missing key milestones as my sons grew up, all paid off for me in different ways.

Despite being from rural Nepal, I managed to build a house in Kathmandu and got extra income from the rent. My sons have both completed their bachelors in IT and have well-paying jobs. They will soon be going abroad for their Master's.  (original link: https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-saudi-to-sauji?s=08)

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When I first went to the UAE in 1992, it was for two years. I ended up staying away for over three decades working for the Dubai Port Authority (DPA).

After crossing 55, the retirement age for foreigners, I left in 2022. By then, I had spent more time in the UAE than in Nepal. Somewhere along the way, Dubai started feeling more like home.

I used to be sad leaving Nepal after a vacation, but later started feeling like I was returning home when I boarded a Dubai-bound flight. I cannot pinpoint when that switch happened.

(Original link: https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/return-of-the-native)

I was sitting on the terrace of a building that was under construction in Doha. Night had fallen, but it was still hot.

Beads of sweat dropped on the page of my diary in which I was writing a poem, making the words illegible. Illegible but indelible. I still have that poem with me.

Words are all I have. I have gone three times to the Gulf to work. I have composed poetry at construction sites, under a lamppost in my labour camp, or in a crowded room with 11 other Nepalis.(Original link: https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/prisoners-of-the-green-passport)

My hard work paid off. When I was promoted to Assistant Manager in two years, I was described as the fastest-developing crew member to assistant manager in Burger King Middle East history.I still recall reading that email in tears right before my shift started.

For those of us who have had to struggle our way up, when one of us makes it so do others in our network. My younger brother and sister had it much easier because I was around to take care of them, their education. I am now building a house for my parents. We have come a long way. Being able to give back to my family and to Nepal is a privilege that makes me proud.

(original link: https://nepalitimes.com/banner/proud-to-give-back-to-nepal)

Even as a kid, I could feel my family's standard of living improve when my father left for Iraq after a failed trucking business in Nepal.

It crept up in small ways. Instead of five rupees for lunch money, I now got ten. Or the clothes my mother bought me were of a better quality. Birthday celebrations got bigger.

Immediately after Iraq, he hopped on a plane to the UAE to work at an Abu Dhabi-based hospital as a supervisor of security guards. It was a relatively easy job, and he earned well.

I am not sure why, but the UAE has fascinated me ever since. Original link: https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/from-retail-to-selling-chiya

When I remember my poverty-stricken childhood, what comes vividly to my mind is how my mother and sisters walked for three days from my village in Ramechhap to Godar with sacks of potatoes and returned with salt, masala and tobacco.

Dasain evokes many memories of childhood in people, but for me the festival was a time to finally eat rice, a welcome break from makai and kodo. I used to run around barefoot and it used to be painful, so after seeing an image of Ram and his paduka in a copy of the Ramayana, I improvised my own wooden slipper.

Original link: https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/for-better-or-verse-in-the-gulf

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The road goes on and on and on. You feel like you have been driving forever, only to realize there is still 1,000km of asphalt left.