Ugra Narayan Mishra Laxmaniya 7, Dhanusa
“I worked for the man looking after his animals for several years. I learnt to milk cows, store milk and stack up containers. I took care of my family with the money I earned. I started farming the little piece of land I had inherited from father. And with the help of my savings and my neighbours, the land became green, the water returned to the well and lunch and dinner was also taken care of. But life was not as easy working as I might make it sound. There was no free will. I was young and I had a whole life ahead of me and one day as I tried to sleep, it occurred to me that if I do not lead an independent life away from my master, I would not be able to give the freedom that my children deserved. So one day I asked the permission of the generous man to leave. He was hesitant at first but eventually, he agreed. You see, with tears in my eyes, I shared with him my dream. With some money I left for another district and bought a pair of cows. I rented a small place and started selling milk. I made sure that the milk was pure. People came to buy milk only from me. When profit was more I added more cows. Then the nearby dairy started ordering regularly from me. And I added some more cows. In no time, I had become a small businessman delivering milk all across the district. I was no more just a milkman. Today, I employ few friends who help me with the work in the shed and they are happy too. And my dream has come true. I feel like I have reclaimed all the cows that mother had to surrender to the landlord, a long time ago. A long time ago when father died.”