KATHMANDU: Friends, I compiled and added to these questions when I was little. I used to ask my father questions. But he would only say, “Good question,” and never actually give an answer. Later, he told me, “Write down all your questions. One day, I will introduce you to a scientist. You can go there and ask.”

After that, I started writing the questions in a notebook. I have already found answers to some of them. For many others, I will look for the answers myself when I grow up. If we search and read carefully, we do find the answers. On May 3, 2025, I sent an email to a Nepali scientist, Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. He replied, promising to send me the answers. The questions I sent him might be the very same ones that cross your mind and the minds of your younger siblings.

The email I sent him was as follows:

Dear Tirtha Bahadur Grandfather, Namaskar!

I have read the Baal Bigyan Prashnottar (Children’s Science Q&A) written by you many times. I liked it very much. I want to become a scientist. I am sending you some questions that I could not find in your book. Please reply with the answers, okay?

Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha. Photo source: YouTube

Why do men get beards and why don’t women? How are notebooks and paper made? Why is water visible in some bottles and not in others? How does the wind blow? How do people grow big? Do people become small after growing big? How can a small person read a book written for big people?

Should we use an umbrella or a raincoat when it rains? Why doesn’t saliva come out of the nose and mucus out of the mouth? How is mucus formed? Why can we swallow saliva but not mucus?

Why was my name chosen as Sanskrit? Could I not have had some other name? How could a small rabbit defeat a big lion? How does the light turn on when the switch is flipped? How does the internet work? How can something spoken in Dhanusha be heard in Kathmandu?

How is music composed? Children walk on four limbs when they are small, but how do they walk on two legs when they grow big? Why do we see dreams? How do we write on a laptop? How many languages are there in the world? How are languages formed? What is the maximum number of languages a single person can speak? Is there anyone who does not know a single language? Why is it difficult for a Nepali child to speak Chinese and a Chinese child to speak Nepali?

Does the universe have an end? How many galaxies are there in the universe? We have hair on our arms and legs, but why isn’t there any on our palms and soles? Why do the babies of all living beings look cute? But why don’t living beings look cute when they grow big?

How does hair turn black first and then white? Why doesn’t it hurt when cutting hair and nails? Why does even an hour feel like a minute when looking at a mobile phone, but even a minute feels like an hour when working? Why are our hand fingers small on the sides and big in the middle, but our toes go from biggest to smallest?

How is a baby born? Why is a baby born? How is a son or a daughter formed? What does “gay” mean?

Why don’t planets fall down? Do the children whose photos are in books read books themselves or not?

Whose age is the best age? Where does a person go after death? Why do people die?

How do flowers have so many colors? Why is that specific flower always the same color? Why do birds always say the same thing? How do trees breathe? Do trees have children, parents, brothers, and sisters? If they do, how do they recognize them? Do trees talk? Why aren’t trees found in the mountains found elsewhere?

Which tree is always loved by humans? Why do people perform marriage ceremonies for Bar (Banyan) and Pipal trees? Why are the petals of flowers thin? Why do flowers bloom only in their own season?

Does the universe have an end? How many galaxies are there in the universe? We have hair on our arms and legs, but why isn’t there any on our palms and soles? Why do the babies of all living beings look cute? But why don’t living beings look cute when they grow big?

Why did B come after A, could it not have been something else? Why did Kha come after Ka , could it not have been something else? Why didn’t Tuesday come right after Sunday? Is Antarctica a continent or a country?

Why do our eyes close when we sneeze? If the mountains are high up, they must be closer to the sun, so why is it cold in the mountains?

Who has the answers to all the questions?

(Excerpted from Acharya’s book “Sahar Ka Hami Ketaketi” (We Children of the City), which was released on June 30).