These are deep love-filled words that Rabina Khaling, a teenager girl of Solukhumbu district, has written on a bamboo leaf to her beloved boyfriend.
In an age of information and technology, people use mobile, email and Internet to put into words their feelings and send to relatives and friends. But bamboo leafs are still brought into play in rural parts of Solukhumbu to send off message.
Use of bamboo leafs for communication is mainly common in Necha, Tingla, Mukli, Pawai, Waku, Kuku and Deusa, where the woody tropical tree having hollow stems grows in abundance.
Messages written on bamboo leafs with the help of sharp metals last for years, probably this could be one of the reasons to encourage more youth to use this way of sending written message.
The use of bamboo leafs for message purpose, however, is confined to youths. Among them, youths studying from Grade 8 to 11 account for the largest number. They translate the feelings that they could not express into words by writing on bamboo leafs targeting their intended recipients.
Bamboo leafs are also used as a platform for making new friends. Kalpana Nachiring of Sotang has made around 50 pen friends with the help of bamboo leafs. "Two years ago I started writing message on bamboo leafs. Today I thank this tool of communication for enriching me with large number of friends."
Bipana Magar shares similar tale. "Many responses greeted me after I wrote message on bamboo leafs calling on people of my age to be my friends," said the teenager girl.
"I have been receiving a lot of postal letters from boys. However, I haven´t replied to all them. My response depends on the way they (boys) approach me," Bipana said.
Apart from love letters and pen pals, bamboo leafs are also utilized as notice boards to spread social awareness.
Message reading "please do not graze cattle in the community forest, let us promote our culture" can be seen on bamboo leafs in Kuku.
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