1. (a) How has nepotism been portrayed in the book? Justify your answer with examples.

Nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favoring relatives or
friends, especially by giving them jobs. In the book “All of us in our own lives” nepotism
is been portrayed in a way that can get readers to think about the kind of system we have
in our country. Thulo Ba is the head of CBO’s committee, however he has always been
partial while choosing its members. He designated all his relatives and friends in the
committee. It was desolate to see such favoritism for the community members, as they
knew about the hidden agenda in appointing people familiar to him. CBO’s committee
was founded to benefit the people of the village. The women’s development committee
was struggling to raise funds for financially stabilizing themselves and for the betterment
of the society. However CBO’s committee misused the funds from national and
international NGO’s for them. Therefore nepotism in book has been portrayed in a way to
show us reality of the system in our country.

(b) How has patriarchy been portrayed in the book? Justify your answer with examples.

Patriarchy system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of
the family and descent is reckoned through the male line. In the book patriarchy has been
portrayed in many conducts, for example, after Ba’s death sapna was convinced that
Gyanu Dai is the head of the family and she has to take permission from him for her daily
activities. Indira is an independent woman with a superlative career, however she is
continuously under compression. In the book it is mentioned numerous times how a
Nepalese female must do and not do. Patriarchy in book has been portrayed to enlighten
all of us about the state of women in Nepal; it portrays how even after being so
independent women the society doesn’t allow them to be the man of the house.
2. If you could change any part/situation in the book, what would it be? Write a letter to
the author, expressing your views and clearing stating your alternate storyline.

If I would to change any part in the book I would change the part where Chandra got
convinced to leave Nepal and work as a maid in India. I want to change this part of
the book because there are numerous youth migrating to foreign nations. Huge
number of Nepalese workers goes abroad to work in the absence of fruitful local
employment opportunities.
Migration is nothing new to Nepal, and the total stock of Nepalese nationals working
overseas (excluding about one million in India) in different capacities is estimated to
be about half a million. The reasons behind migration are almost same in Nepal as in
other parts of the world. Poverty, limited employment opportunities, deteriorating
agricultural productivity, and armed conflict are some of the motives behind
international labor migration. There are many villages in Nepal where labor
migration has been established as a culture of a community; that is, going abroad for
work for awhile and returning with some money and the experience of living in a
different geographical location. The influence of friends, relatives and well- wisher
has also played a prominent role in the promotion of international labor migration.
Most of the migrant workers abroad are working in vulnerable situations without
any effective legal protection by the Nepalese government or the receiving
countries’ government. Workplace exploitation by foreign companies is well known
but the Nepalese government has not adopted any specific labor diplomacy policies,
except in some cases. While workers are not allowed to work in each and every
country around the world, there are several serious cases about the pathetic
situation of Nepalese migrants working in unauthorized countries without any legal
or social protection by the host countries. The massacre of 12 Nepalese workers by
an extremist group in Iraq on August 2004 can be taken as a good example of that.
There are many other cases where illegal Nepalese workers are kept in prison for a
long time on both fake and genuine charges. Nevertheless, the Nepalese government
has not adopted proper political diplomacy to rescue them and assure their safe
return to the homeland. Therefore, I would rather encourage the state of sapna
where she is self-motivated and wants to develop her own country by making useful
efforts.

3. Choose any of the main characters and write an essay about their character evolution
throughout the book.

In telling the stories of Ava Berriden, the Canadian lawyer who was adopted from an
orphanage in Nepal and finds herself back in the country she was born in. It's a story of
yearning and restlessness. Ava leaves Ontario, the corporate rut she was in and her
marriage for a new job in the international aid organization, International Development
Assistant Forum (IDAF). "I've finally found a career I can believe in,…” she says as she
heads to Nepal, which "relies heavily on aid". In Kathmandu, she runs into Indira,
looking for a level of comfort at both her job and her home, where she is reduced to the
status of just a daughter-in-law who can't even drink wine with guests. On a quest to get
out of the confines of Kathmandu and out into the "real Nepal", Ava meets the spirited
Sapana, who becomes a focal point for what women's empowerment programs can
actually do and how they help. The characters are easy to connect with. There are also
remarkable cameos that stand out in this narrative of interconnected lives that moves
from Canada to Nepal, from conference venues in Europe to air-conditioned offices in
Kathmandu, from the city to the villages. There's Vishwa Bista, for instance, the smarmy
US educated Nepali programme staffer at international aids organization IDAF, and the
engaging Rama Bhauji, the single mother and member of the village women's committee
uncomfortable with the accounting that comes with the funding. Ava even though was
born in Nepal was unaware of the Nepali culture and the outlook of people on women.
Women are always considered less than men in Nepalese society, however Ava was
bought up in a Canadian family and her perspective on the issue was different. It was
picturesque to see how ava accustomed to the Nepali society. For example: The writer
has mentioned her eating daal bhat time and again which is not the kind of food she is
used to before coming to Nepal.
The IDAF, she says, is "hermetically sealed, as though to keep Nepal out", the staff
neatly divided between the locals and the foreigners. It appears to be a perversely
structured world of "deliverables, quantifiable, measurements and matrixes" and the
IDAF itself is described by Tomas, another expatriate in Nepal, as collusion between
international and national elite". When he tries to persuade Ava to move from Nepal to
Myanmar and she demurs.
Ava’s character was very thought provoking and perplexing at the same time. Her
journey from Canada’s multinational company to butwal’s small little village was
mesmerizing. How she molded herself was incredible. At the end, the writer has
mentioned ava swimming that symbolizes the freedom she felt. Therefore it won’t be
wrong to say that the journey of ava was evolution from a restless and yearning character
to free soul.
4. Create your own vocabulary log. Choose 15-20 words from the entire book. Write the
definitions and from sentences.

1. Accustomed: Adapted to existing conditions

2. Microdermabrasion: A cosmetic treatment in which the face is sprayed with

exfoliates crystals to remove dead epidermal cells.

3. Exuberant: Full of energy, excitement, and cheerfulness.

4. Protrusion: Something that sticks out from a surface.

5. Deceptively: In a way or to an extent that gives a misleading impression

6. Allying: combine or unite a resource or commodity with (another) for mutual

benefit.

7. Extricate: free (someone or something) from a constraint or difficulty.

8. Sanctum: A sacred place, especially a shrine within a temple or church.

9. Regain: obtain possession or use of (something, typically a quality or ability) again

after losing it.

10. Astonishing: Extremely surprising or impressive; amazing.

11. Reluctantly: In an unwilling and hesitant way.

12. Strutting: Walk with a stiff, erect, and apparently arrogant or conceited gait.

13. Crescendo: A gradual increase in loudness in a piece of music.

14. Stiffen: Make or become stiff or rigid.

15. Patronize: Treat with an apparent kindness, which betrays a feeling of superiority.