By Renuka Dhakal

Kathmandu, Apr. 18: Unlike the politicians and others, popular comedian Hari Bansha Acharya has taken the global crisis and the lockdown invited by COVID-19 crisis positively for one reason: it will help promote sustainable development of agriculture in Nepal.
“Although our economic condition and development activities will be pushed back at least by a year due to pandemic, it will provide a good opportunity for us to promote agriculture in Nepal for its sustainable development,” said the comedian.
He further added that it was time to make agriculture-friendly policies to promote agriculture in Nepal.
“Because of the pandemic, the people now have understood the value of our villages and food. Therefore, by attracting people towards the farming, Nepal will make a notable leap in economic growth,” he said.
A writer and an actor, Acharya also urged the government to launch awareness generating programmes and suitable policies to attract youth to agriculture.
“Youth are the jewel of the nation so the government should encourage them to stay in Nepal by creating a favourable environment for them,” he added.
More importantly, he stressed the urgent need for increasing the value of every work.
“We grew up thinking that agriculture is the lowest level of work; only illiterate and unskilled people engage in agriculture. So it’s time to realise the value of the agricultural work. Every job is equally important and every person should be treated equally and respectfully,” said Acharya.
The Nepalis living abroad are now desperately willing to return to Nepal, and in such a situation if the government formulates a policy related to agriculture and deploy the youth in agriculture, then the country can achieve highly commendable economic growth through the development of the agriculture sector, he said.
Talking about his daily life during the nationwide lockdown, Acharya said his daily lifestyle and activities have been slower than ever. “In the past, we always used to be in a hurry, we had limited time, but now we have enough time to kill and I am doing everything slowly these days,” said Acharya.
Acharya said he and other family members regularly watch movies. He has been watching more south- Indian movies than the Nepali, English and Hindi movies. He has also been writing some contents for his next book.
However, he said he gave up his plan of publishing his book soon. “We may cope up with the pandemic, but the people may have no money to spend for books,” he joked.
He also feels that he is not using his utmost creative time in creation because for creation, one should have free mind without any kind of fear and anxiety.
“Even though we have enough time, we are somehow scared of this pandemic. Unless the mind and heart are completely free, it is difficult to concentrate on work,” he said.
Prior to the lockdown, Acharya and Madan Krishna Shrestha were planning to shoot their next film, but they postponed their plan for an indefinite period, thanks to COVID-19 fear.
Acharya and Shrestha, popularly known as MaHa duo, have been working together since 1980s.
When asked what types of movies should one watch during the present crisis time, he suggested avoiding violent and thriller films, because the people have already fed up with bad news.
“If people watch thriller movies, they can have a negative impact on their mind,” he said.
Acharya, who has a number films to his credit, said that if the pandemic got worse, many people would end up in depression and anxiety. To balance the lifestyle, one should spend time doing exercise and practicing yoga and meditation.