Unusual Judgment

Once a poet from Nepal went to a foreign country to take part in a conference of poets. The security guard did not let him in because he thought he was a gatecrasher. Later on at the programme, when it was time to present the felicitation, the poet changed into formal attire and went to the venue. This time the guard let him. The sole reason the poet was not allowed to enter before was because

he was not wearing a suit, tie and shining black shoes like the others. This is not a story about an unknown citizen, but the great poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. I heard this story from our teacher when I was in school.

Just two years ago, we were at a programme which had been organised in one of the famous schools in Lalitpur. The beauty of the programme was that everyone was speaking English and most of them were Nepalis. Overall, we enjoyed the programme. Finally, it was time for high tea. We were at the back planning for our programme when one of the Nepalis came and told us to take high tea in pure Nepali with an American accent as if we did not understand English. We replied in English, and he was having different non-verbal action that we were familiar with spoken English like his. The reason for his Nepali may be we were wearing a simple kurtha which is compulsory during our field work.

A similar thing happened just this week. We were in a café discussing our exams, and the waiter was not giving a single glance at the women who were in a similar condition like ours which I mentioned above. Though the women were calling him again and again, he was busy serving high standard guests.

These stories I mentioned above remind me of a saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I would like to ask those who believe in the price tags of fancy branded clothes and shining shoes. Yes, in some cases, we need to judge people’s personality by their grooming and all; but is it always fair to compare the dress and people?

These things can happen at different shopping centres too. When a customer comes in wearing a different type of attire than that of the people living in the city, the shopkeeper does not treat them properly and hesitates to show the materials asked.

Everyone pays for what they need, so why do shopkeepers behave differently towards those people, why do waiters ignore them and why do intelligent men act differently towards us? Was Devkota a poet only when he wore a suit, tie and shining shoes? Of course not, he was a poet with or without a tie, suit and shoes. Nevertheless, the outer covering is what is valued and respected rather that the person wearing it.