While I was walking in and around Surkhet*, numerous small children would sing:
Amerikaane, biraalo khaane
Jhola bokera hidne, kahaa jaane?
(American, you eat cats
You walk, carrying a bag – where are you going?)**
Of course, my snappy answer (in Nepali) came about 3 minutes after the kids had stopped singing and gone away: “I’m not American, I’m Australian. And in my country we don’t eat cats, we eat … [scary lunge at small child] children!”
*Technically, the town of Birendranagar (named after the late King Birendra who favoured the area for his holidays) but as the capital of the District of Surkhet, most people just call it Surkhet.
** One child also added a final line – paisa dine = give (me) money – which he sang persistently but unsuccessfully. I’m not sure if that’s part of the canonical version of the song or his own addition.
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