By Narayan Prasad Mishra   We all are equal as human beings, but we are different in the talents we possess. Some have better reading, writing, speaking, or working talents than others. This means that people with promising talents are better than others in terms of these qualities. We call someone talented if that person can do something better than most others. So talent is one of the most essential qualities of a person for the country's development. One may have good talent in artistic or athletic abilities, singing, drawing, playing games, problem-solving skills, leadership qualities, etc. But there should be easy access to show your talents and for its growth and development. Besides, there should also be a favorable environment where talents are correctly evaluated, and people get good recognition with impartial judgment. Without them, your talents may fade away just as we cannot grow vegetables, plants, or trees in a land full of stones and rocks. We know that even the most high-quality seeds cannot grow and develop without suitable land, air, sunlight, and water. We, too, have people who have good talents by birth (natural talent) and acquired by hard work. But in most cases, we see their talents cannot grow because of the lack of opportunities that can show them in the absence of a platform and also the lack of correct evaluation for reward and recognition. We also often see that talented people are discouraged when they witness unwanted, untalented people rewarded because of their relation, contact, and connections with influential people. People naturally get frustrated when they see and experience that nepotism and favoritism have a more vital role in the country than talent. We witness it everywhere - government offices, private offices, businesses, factories, industries, schools, colleges, and universities. We even see it in political parties where the close relatives - sons, daughters, and others of top leaders get advantages and opportunities over others who show good activities and performances in the field with their labor and talents. Just recently, we witnessed it in the appointments of our ambassadors to the different countries.  We all know that a large number of our people are in foreign countries doing jobs or business. They are in different works - manual, academic, research, business, industries. Some have good names and fame even in academic and research work in Europe and the USA. Some are millionaires and billionaires with names and fame in business, like Upendra Mahato or Shesh Ghale. They achieved it through their knowledge, talents, and hard labor. I can, without a doubt, say that they would not have been so well known and successful if they were in our country due to our system of nepotism and favoritism due to the system of neglecting talents. In this context, I remember one of my nephews - Shovan P. Mishra, who is intelligent, competent, hard-working, and honest, with high mechanical engineering and management degrees from a foreign country's well-reputed institutions. After returning to the country, he tried his best to get a job in Nepal that was suitable for his degree but failed. At last, he got a teaching job in an engineering college with great difficulty and was not satisfied for various reasons. He left the country for the USA when he got an opportunity and did a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, a subject in which we may not have many with that degree. He is now in the USA, working in a good position and with a good salary. He is still interested and eager to come to Nepal and serve the country if he can get a job in his field with a reasonable salary. But I doubt he would ever get a suitable job as the jobs in his specialized area are very limited due to the country's lack of industries and factories. The other reason is that even if there are some vacancies, he may not get a suitable job without personal contact with some power circle. Similarly, I have a niece, Rupani Mishra, now working in Canada. She possesses a Master’s Degree in management and is intelligent and competent. Despite her continuous efforts and endeavors, she could not get even an ordinary job, applying to several open advertisements. I could not do anything to help her, being a man, a purely professional academician who lost himself a job 14 years before retirement age due to the ugly politics in educational institutions and a man of no contact with highly influential people, especially the present political masters and parties. I was incredibly sorry to see her in such a state when she was in Nepal. In these circumstances, she married a gentleman working in Dubai and left Nepal. As soon as she got there, she quickly got a well-paid job. After some years, they moved to Canada with even better jobs and facilities. They have a happy life there except for missing the country and family in Nepal. In the same context, I also remember my beloved wife, Shanti Mishra, the creator of Tribhuvan University Central Library. She was awarded the International Library Movement Award for her extraordinary contributions to the library world in her country and abroad. She is the one whose name is recorded by the International Organization as number 11 on the timeline of World Women of Library Science with great honor, which anyone can see in a Google search. She not only did not receive any encouragement and awards from her country, but she lost her job nine years before her retirement age due to political conspiracy, as I did. This is the pathetic condition of talent in our country. It truly is sad and pitiful. Talents earn appreciation and admiration in developed countries. But they often earn jealousy and enemies in backward countries. Talents earn recognition and awards in developed countries. But they often earn hatred and punishment in backward countries. Regarding the lack of recognition for talent in our country, there's been a lot of talk lately about Renuka Poudel, the singer who captivated the judges and millions of viewers in the Indian Idol singing competition with her divine melodies and sweet voice. People also mentioned that she wasn't encouraged or appreciated enough on our platform. In the same way, people talk about our Udit Narayan Jha, the playback, well-known, well-reputed singer in Hindi movies who earned a good name and fame in India and abroad through his heartouching melodious, sweet voice and songs. We even see some people trying to alienate him instead of taking pride in his talent and glory, name, and fame as a Nepali. It is also sad that some people try to degrade and dishonor him for singing Hindi songs, as some people see even the dark spot on the moon while appreciating its charming beauty. I think these kinds of condemnable criticism originate from jealousy and will harm talents and prevent them from growing and spreading worldwide. We must be happy and take pride in the talents of our people wherever they live, whether they are in singing or scientific research, teaching in universities, or doing business. We all know that the development and progress of the nation in any field depends on talent. This is the valuable energy necessary to run the nation correctly and effectively. So talent should not be wasted in any way. Our country should not lose talent through the brain drain. Nepotism and favoritism play a significant role in driving talent away, fueling the issue of brain drain. To counter this, we must foster an environment that values merit, offering encouragement, recognition, and ample opportunities for individuals to thrive based on their abilities. Creating such a supportive atmosphere is essential to retaining talent and curbing the brain drain. At the same time, we must also be able to attract our talented people from other countries to return home who could be valuable assets for our development. For it, we must throw out the system of nepotism, favoritism, and dirty politics and replace it with the system of merit. We must create an atmosphere in the country where talents can grow and talented people can live happily by serving the motherland.  narayanshanti70@gmail.com