Sanjip crapping on the floor
Purna Maya using the toilet
BEst friends who hate each other
Children servants
Rohit and bhutanese citizenship
sanjip goes to pokhara
ravi wanting to blow up bhutan
field trip to swim with hostel kids
sangip with acid on his nose
a child getting hit
Nanu stealing the hair pins
Kheireni Intrigue - Aaboo Kheireni, Nepal
When people think of Nepal, the word Shangri-La often comes to mind.
A stunningly beautiful place with happy people living in a bucolic
paradise. But it hasn't taken long to blow away the myth. People are the
same everywhere. I think of the insular lives that many Americans live
and realize, with a start that they are no different than many
elsewhere. Perhaps the reasons are entirely different, the effects of
poverty vs. lack of intellectual curiosity but the end result is the
same. Within such
close-knit community, cracks are bound to surface, intrigue simmering
under the facade of daily life bubbles over to ensnare the innocent
bystander.
The Characters:
I stay with a very low caste family, the B.K.'s which in Nepal is
nearly the bottom. There is Purna Maya, the gregarious aama, her husband
Bushnu and their three children. They were a lovely family and spoke
almost no English. The two oldest, Shova, Class 3 and Sandip, class 2
were in school, but Sanjip, the youngest and apple of his aama's eye was
always around. Almost three and still breast-feeding, he was a handfull,
ever present with a dirty shirt and no bottoms. Directly behind their
small home was the Tamang's, father Budiman, his wife Tara and their two
children Nanu, class 7 and Sonam, class 4. Both families shared a single
water tap and a small garden.
The Setting:
Aaboo Kheireni exists for Gorakhali Tire Factory. The only local
industry, it employed most of the town, and people came from all around
to look for employment. My second week there, I was the guest of honor
at a special factory tour. All of my students were in one way or another
connected to Gorakhali, their parents employed as guards, assembly line
workers, machinists, etc. Both families, the B.K.'s and the Tamangs were
employed there. Budiman, as he proudly told me, was the second best
machinist in Nepal and had a certificate to prove it. I guess they had
the Machinist Games once and he turned a part in the second best time.
Bushnu worked as a maintenance engineer for the generators. Their wives,
walking hand in hand, went to work together for their shifts working on
the assembly line, joined rubber lengths into tubes. Both had settled in
Aaboo Kheireni long ago, seeking a better life for their families. They
had saved money and each had built their home themselves. It seemed
pleasant and both families expressed long friendships and many photos to
prove it.
Keeping Up With The Joneses
So I was a stranger in their midst. The B.K.'s house consisted of two
rooms. They crammed their entire family into one room and gave me the
other, happy for the income from the school. It started almost
immediately. The Tamangs hurried over to introduce themselves and invite
to come to their home to watch TV that evening. The B.K.'s were quick to
insist I have dinner there that very evening. And so it went. Purna Maya
sat down with me,
But there wasn't a bathroom. I was instructed to use the Tamangs
bathroom, built in a small crawl space under their home. Each time I
used it, i had to enter hunched over at the waist, handling my small
flashlight and trying to find the hole in the ground. But it was better
than nothing. It took a few tries before I could remember beforehand to
fill the jug of water to bring into the bathroom. Then one day, to my
shock, I found it locked and no one around.The Tamangs decided to start
locking it because
When I first arrived, I thought they
had four children. There was an older girl, well no older than ten, but
older than the others. She was always around and helping out the family.
But when it came time for school, the other two would put on their
ironed white uniforms and gather their books, while she would pick up
Sangye, the youngest and only two, and with him on her back, set about
cleaning the morning meal dishes. She is the hired help, the indentured
servant. For some miniscule amount and room and board, she stayed with
them and worked, taking care of the kids and cleaning the house. Child
labor is rampant in Nepal and well accepted within the social framework.
Children of poor families are often sent to work in other families, in
local restaurants, on buses and tempos and a variety of other jobs. Life
is hard, and education out of the question.
The B.K.'s were able to afford a servant because of the Gorakhali
Tire Factory. It was the reason for the town's existence, a large
factory churning out bus, truck and automobile tires. My second week
there, I was the special guest of honor on a factory tour. It provides
work for most of the town, and many people come from all around to work
there.
Directly in back of our house, was another, the Tamangs, and both
families shared one water tap and a garden. And also strange bathrooms
privaledges. When I arrived, I was shown my room with the B.K.'s, but
then I was shown a small toilet located under the Tamang.s house for my
use. Imagine my shock when a few days later, at a time of great need, I
found it locked. I called over the Tamang's servant, a pretty child of
eight, and she got the key for me. I got my first inkling of the rivalry
and jealousy between the tow families. Keeping up with the Joneses is a
full time job here. The acrimony was between the two women, supposed
best friends. Purna Maya B.K. and Tara Tamang, women who spent a good
part of the day on either's porch. Together, they were the picture of
neighborly harmony and long time friendship but separate...
|