“My father never really cared about my education. Mother would make sure I got a pair of uniform for school, which she would pay by selling home-brew. It would really disturb me to see my mother toil away everyday. So in order to pay for my school fees I started to work as a porter carrying oil, rice and other goods from one market to another. Most of the time when I reached school, I’d be covered in dirt and drenched in sweat. So I got bullied a lot. They would call me a “smelly bhotay”. Also, I couldn’t do so well in school because I hardly had enough time to study. I remember one of the teachers would come to class stinking of alcohol. Some friends provoked me that I should confront him, so the hot blood I was, I went to him and said, “How can you tell me I smell? At least I smell of sweat, not alcohol like you.” He then beat me to dust. One of those incidents when I thought school wasn’t for me.” (Som Tamang, Sindhupalchowk. Met him in Thamel)