“I do not remember mother. Father raised me and my sisters and my brothers. He was simple of heart. And knew only of farming and the beasts. But he raised us. Fed us, looked after us. It must have been difficult for the poor man, without a wife to look after the little children. I was married at a very young age. I remember the radish cuts were left to dry out, I was playing with my doll and father had went after the animals when my sister who was married to a man from another village came and said, ‘You are coming with me to my village’. So I went along with her. In her village, I learnt I was going to be married to a man who lived nearby. I was young, I did not know what a husband was, nor did I understand what marriage was. But as time passed I figured it out, learnt the ways of the society. I bore many children and today I am a grand mother of a dozen. I am old and I have seen enough, though I remember only little. But that day, those radish cuts laid to dry out, my doll and the house yard still feel like it was from yesterday. But it was more than 50 years ago.” (Bishnu Maya Gurung, Lekhnath 11, Kaski)

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