“It is very recently that I came to Surkhet from my village. I came here so that my little brother can go to school. I take care of him. I feed him, wash him and to keep him clean. I also take care of my relative’s children. They rely on me. My village uncle came with a proposal. He said, ‘Why don’t you go to Surkhet and take care of my children too? After all, they are also your brothers and sisters. In return, I will help your mother here in the fields.’ So I came here. I am happy that today, mother has help. You see Dai, I do not have a father. He died 8/10 years ago. I have a mother who is growing old and to make things worse her leg is broken. She has stitches in her legs. She somehow grows corn and that is what she eats. She also grows maize. But every year it is a struggle for her to work in the fields. That is why I came here.

From last year, she has started receiving the government allowance. It is 4000 rupees. That is how she manages. She cannot work as the other strong women in the village. That is why I came. 

I do not know how father died. We were very little. 

I also go to a government school here. I study in class 5. I am 13 years old. I am not married. I have all these kids to look after so I have told everyone in the village that I am not going to marry for another 10 years. 

I think the school in my village is better than the school here. The sirs come to class and teach but for me, it is difficult to understand what they teach. Maybe my mind is slow or maybe it is the way they teach. Maybe because I have still to learn the language they speak here. That is why. They speak difficult words. But it is good that my mother does not have to pay fees here. It is only 100 rupees. 

My brother is a ‘Garbhay Mulay’. Father died when he was in mother’s womb. That is what a ‘Garbhay Mulay’ is. It is a bad thing. But maybe not. He was not the reason for father’s death. He says he is happy here. He says that the teaches here do not say such words to him and that they give him tiffin on time. He says that he wishes Father had not died. I love him too. I also help him with his homework when he returns home from school. The ‘Ka Kha’ and ‘ABCD’. But he cries if I talk about our deceased father. He is not used to the environment here. He is still young and he is scared. He asks me to drop him off to school every morning and I do. Sometimes he orders me. He tells me to cook this and that. And sometimes he says that the food I cook at home is not as good as the food he gets to eat in school. He says that they love him in school more. He says that I do not love him as much. I know how much I love him. I do not bother to tell him though.”