
My Mother
Every morning, she quietly peeks in and offers me black tea. Then she lets me be; doesn’t make much inquiries.

No One Sings Our Song
I enter the restaurant in ambivalence. I sit across from them on the cushioned floor. A few cocktails are already

ANOTHER ONE
WORDS: CHARLIE CHAULAGAIN On Grindr, he was relatively quiet, his presence a mere shadow. He never started a conversation. The

THE AXIOM OF EMPTY SET
Some mornings the pain wakes me up – a dull throb, similar to hunger, centered in the stomach. Actually, it

JAATRA
Saala Arun found a boyfriend and disappeared for weeks. Weeks! Apart from the boyfriend situation, he had also joined an

THE YELLOW MONSTER
The sky’s blue was unusually soft and delicate the morning I decided to write about the yellow monster. There was

While Hanging and Floating
Fall, 2012. Astoria. I’m at the end of my US stint. A dozen years. My entire twenties. All that planning

AT THE CENTER OF THE SKY
Had it not been for his Planet Romeo profile – which popped up again in January after being invisible for

THE ORIGIN OF LOVE : LESS FEAR, MORE COMPASSION
A visitor recently passed through Kathmandu. This Nepali man had emigrated to America a long time ago and was properly

DINNER WITH JHANKAAR
My childhood friend Jhankaar was back in town after a two-year stint in Delhi. One night, we went to a

CLOSET CASE
A failed affair often leaves one cold. No point getting into it too much. But I owe it to the

WAITING – An unexpected dash of romance
WORDS: CHARLIE CHAULAGAIN It was a dull Friday evening at the end of a difficult week. He charged up my street

A WEEKEND
Friday afternoon. Arun and I walk over to Jhamsikhel to have lunch with Isaac. I need to finalize weekend plans

SHIFTS
They say the city of Kathmandu shifted almost two meters on April 25, 2015. High resolution satellite maps demonstrated slight

The Year 1999
A lot happened in 1999. I turned eighteen, finished high school and got accepted by an American college. And the

DELHI AND DESIRES
DOES ROMANTIC DESIRE LEAD TO A HIGHER SELF OR DISTRACT FROM A GREATER POTENTIAL? THINK ABOUT THAT WHILE I RELAY

AN ENCOUNTER IN POKHARA
“Two nights in Kathmandu. That’s it. Two nights while they get over their jet lag and orient themselves,” Arun snarks

Sometimes
Friends and cousins in the United States don’t be- lieve me. They don’t understand how, after living that life for

The Situation and The Story
Words: Charlie Chaulagain He was twenty. We had sex at seven am. Everything fell into place easily that morning. Quick

Durbar Square Date
Words: Charlie Chaulagain I will call him Mr. Francis because that was his Grindr ID. I asked him to meet