Guff & Stuff

Hair is much more than just a protein filament growing from under the skin. It's one of the ways of endorsing yourself as a human being. It's a medium through which you emote your mood and persona.  While hair above the skull and the moustache, as well as the beard for males, are considered normal and acceptable, hair in the rest of the body is still considered to be the unwanted kind of hair. From the glamour world to society, the guys are always bare-chested and or are covered by long clothes if they are hairy.

Likewise, for girls, the standards of beauty force them to have a straight long fair and enforce restrictions, when it comes to their choices, even in terms of hairstyle. And if they don't shave or trim their body hair, they are shamed by people for not being "feminine" enough.  It's not a rule but rather a practice in the society prevalent from time immemorial.

In this episode of Guff & Stuff we talk about the trends of hairstyle, coloring the hair, our experiences with various hair, styles, reality regarding body hair, the hair postivity movement and much more. Stay tuned to our podcast until the very end and then ponder on your perspectives about hair. Who knows the perspective might need some rethinking.

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For years, we have seen our mothers, sisters, and aunts take barta and dance their hearts out during Teej. While in our childhood, we enjoyed seeing and being part of the festival, but the more we learn about the festival, the more it makes us question in its nature and existence since some practices during Teej underlies the notions of patriarchy as well.   

Haritalika Teej known as Teej in abbreviated form is the festival that celebrates women altogether.   

In a society deeply rooted under patriarchal norms and values, Teej is considered by some as a day, where women can express themselves freely. Such expression may be in words, actions, food, and much more.   Teej is synonymous with women for eating good food, going to parent's house, sharing their sorrows, dreams, dissent through singing and dancing, fasting the whole day for husband’s long life, and getting together with siblings and childhood friends.  

 But there are people, who consider the festival regressive since even being a festival dedicated to women, it celebrates men. Women take or are forced to rigorous fast the whole day, either for their husband's life or to get 'good' husband like Shiva promoting the regressive belief that women are incomplete without a man.  

However with years the essence of Teej has changed and it is not limited to a day in terms of songs and music and such songs are more of jolliness and demand of equality, on the other hand, materialism has been another aspect of the present Teej celebrations. But we need to understand why Teej is celebrated since time immemorial. Do we keep on celebrating Teej based on the religious story of its origin or more as a day for women to be vocal about breaking the patriarchal rule?   

In this episode, we also share the diverse memories of Teej in our family and how the present-day women understand and practice Teej. We try our best to analyze the songs and dances prepared especially for Teej and how did it begin in the first place. How can we miss the darr parties and all the possible jewelry and clothes presented individually are they actually good things or signs of the market taking advantage? And about how men can play a part in pre, during and post Teej.   

We attempt our best to talk and dissect them all. The episode is prepared to share stories, experiences and then dissect the intricate details of Teej in a manner which will benefit both the festival and the new generation women and also men to modify themselves gradually so that Teej becomes the platform for the society to celebrate women 365 days of the year and be the catalyst for shattering the patriarchy.   

We would like to express our utmost gratitude to Rabina Luitel, Shikha Neupane, and Menuka Khanal for being part of our podcast by taking the time of their busy schedule especially at this time of the year.

  Intro Music credit: Komal Oli

 Photo credit: Google  

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#teej #teejsongs #poodcast #nepalipodcast #guffandstuff #teej2077 #komaloli #durgeshthapa #jyotimagar

It is safe to say that momo has become one of the most loved and trending food in the past decade. If we overlook its tempting side, it is interesting how momo has become familiar to us, considering the food limitations of the dominant caste group in the past years. In addition to that, momo is unique to other food that we grew up eating. 

Today, we find momo in extravagant restaurants to the street food vendor. In the following years, we have grown our love towards momo.   But how did it all start? Is momo a Nepali dish? Is momo a recent obsession or has been part of historical development? What does momo tell us about our food culture? 

How is food culture developing in the senses of Nepali people? And has momo become part of our identity?  This episode would be helpful next time you try to flex your foreign friend about momo. It is fascinating to know the history behind it and, It would also be tasty starters for conversation. Also, being a Nepali, we feel it is safe to know to speak few sentences about momo, right?  

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Wang Yong Limbu for being part of our podcast as our special guest.  

Wang's Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/foodiefromn... 

Photo Credits: Wang Yong Limbu and the Internet Music credit: CYC (Redroom Dynasty)

History tells Nepotism was started by the then privileged who wanted to keep and exercise their once earned power. Questioning the nature of nepotism is like questioning hardwired human nature, which has been recognized by various philosophers but there has been no remarkable evolution so far. In the present context, we can catch a glimpse of nepotism if we carefully observe our political, social, or commercial sectors. Nepali society, which was once divided into people according to their occupation is still highly influenced by communal values. Some willingly chose to follow their path their parents build while the majority of the current generation chose on the path to individualism and make a career on what they desire.  In this process, it is still not difficult for the privileged to follow their aspiration, the disadvantaged despite sets of skills are working extra mile to reach their ambition. In addition to this, the practice of nepotism alongside corruption is creating gaps in the population every day.  This episode we explore Nepotism, its nature, and if we can minimize this to an extent.

Sex, drugs, and rock and roll In the magic bus, they troll Searching for love, bliss, and spirituality In the land full of deities  High all day on hashish and weed They plow tourism's seed Bewildering older golden times When Garden of Eden used to shine  From the '60s to early '70s, the land of deities, Kathmandu had opened its arms for the Hippies. 

The flower children, who were taken as a nuisance in the West, traveled thousands of miles, to reach an unknown land, with the hope that they would find answers to life, in the bewildering and mystical landscape.  Cashing on their influx, a man from Baitadi, Devi Dutta Sharma built a whole empire of ganja and hashish in just six years, earning the name of 'Ganja Raja'. While, it's debatable, but what Sharma did back then, was risky and innovative, making him one of the earliest Nepali tourism entrepreneurs.  

In this episode, we talk about how Sharma, a man with no connections, built an empire, attracting thousands of hippies through his shop, 'Eden Hashish Center', and hotel, 'Hotel Eden', his innovative advertising and business skills, what was Kathmandu during the '60s and the early '70s, and how consumption and sales of weed got criminalized in Nepal.  

We hope that you will enjoy our effort :)  Cheers and don't forget the hit the like button and subscribe to our channel. 

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#weed #ganja #nepaliweed #marijuana #cannabis

Advertisement is defined as a marketing approach for the promotion of a product, cause, or service. Today, most of us resent watching advertisements and find it difficult to wait for a few seconds so that we can skip to the main content. Having said that, looking back to our pleasant childhood memories where television graphed society, advertisements were the preview of our society consumerism status, trend, and advancement. Thus, advertisements are based on the psychology of society. 

Looking back to our simpler time, we listed out six noticeable advertisements that impacted our childhood.  

Thank you so much for showing your love and support. We are back with the Second season of Guff &  Stuff. We promise that we will try our best to deliver more fun and entertaining contents than before :)   

#nepaliads #oldads #condom #waiwai #nepalipodcast

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For the first episode of Guff & Stuff, we talk about something that affects each and every human being: love.  Like, share and subscribe to our channel to listen to such amazing podcasts :)

Since our childhood, we have followed Bollywood crazily. From getting wooed by Shah Rukh Khan to always aspiring to be like Kareena Kapoor, there's no hiding fact that these stars have influenced us. However, growing up, even though it's painful to admit but most of the stars we looked up to were not master of their craft.  

For this week's episode, we relived our memories of watching movies that had some impeccable performances by the actors, who haven't received enough due for their talent.   From the supremely talented Kay Kay Menon, who can act better than all of the Khans, to Konkona Sen Sharma, a director/ writer and an actor who has been entertaining audiences with different roles in each movie for two decades, we talk about the underrated actors in Bollywood,  how their contribution is underappreciated by the masses and how these unconventional actors successfully depict the 'Navarasa', the nine rasas (elements) on the celluloid, which is considered to be the principles that determine the success of any performing arts.  

Likewise, we also discuss how lines between actors and stars are getting blurred in Bollywood, due to the booming of streaming networking shows as well as the change in the dynamics of story-telling, with masses going out to watch unconventional stories on the celluloid.  

 We would also like to say that we couldn't discuss every underrated actor. However, we have curated the list, based on how they are still neglected by both filmmakers and masses, even if they are capable of doing lead roles.  Hope you will you enjoy our take on this issue :)

Amid the coronavirus pandemic, in the last few days, we witnessed two gruesome crimes, that has raised a question on our social fabric. The killings of Dalit youth in Rukum reminded us that honour killing and caste-based discrimination still plague our society. Likewise, the murder of George Floyd, due to the police brutality, showed as even the country which depicts it as the champion of human rights falls shorts in the safety of its minorities.  

Since we haven't faced caste or race-based discrimination, we thought that we wouldn't be the correct people to make sure our voices were heard now on this issue. Rather we thought of talking about the privileges we owe, acknowledging the benefits we get from it,  and how we can use it to speak against the systematic injustices of our society that provides unfair privileges to a certain group of people. 

 This week, we talk about privilege and we want our listeners to also have a conversation on this issue. Because the more you talk, the more it will make you aware of your advantages and how you can use it for those who are underprivileged.

Can you think of the times we have ended up talking about ghosts during the sleepover? Why do we like to believe in impossible? Why does the ghost story excite us?   We, humans, are curious and tend to reason anything mysterious with our own accustomed biases. Unpredicted events such as death, cheating, misfortune, or natural disaster are often rationalized within our selves, as our brain likes anticipating the meaning in chaos. 

This process somewhat establishes our faith in something supernatural, because believing that the universe is predictable is less fearful. As a distinguished fiction writer, Philips says “the oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.  

 Ghost stories are usually everyday life stories with their unique twist that often intensifies human emotions of fear and lets the masses explore their deepest nightmares and anxieties. For that reason, this week we decided to explore our fears and talk about ghost stories. We would be talking about our personal and local ghost stories, theories on the supernatural. We also question why some of us can’t shake off old superstitions and folk-lore? Association of death and spirit and of course our favorite, analyzing the portrayal of the female ghosts from a feminist perspective.