(Part 1/4) “I still remember the day when I left home for the first time in search of work. I was 18 then. I was disheartened because I had to leave school. I could have appeared for SLC if my father had managed to send me to school for one more year. But he could not. And I was not sure about pursuing my ancestral occupation of making clay potteries. I thought if I could somehow find work and start making money, I could start living a life of my choosing. Something that was far away from home, something that was new and different from what I had seen in the village. I aspired for change, I aspired for a new dream that I wanted to come true. And I aspired for prosperity. 

The day I left was no different than any other day except for mother’s look on her face. She was sad that her son was leaving. Rich, poor, big or small, a mother’s love is the same. I remember telling her not to worry. I remember telling her to bless me so that when and if I return home, I return, successful. I big farewell and left. I went from Govindanagar to Krishnanagar and then to Barni, Gonda and finally Mathura. 

I will never forget that trip. Most of the time I had to travel by train which was crowded well beyond their capacity. There was no space to place your foot. There were no stops to get off, rest, eat and wash up. From one train to another, from one crowd to another and from one sky to another everyone on the train had their own journey to make. And I was just one among millions of these people. Some would win and some would lose, it occurred to me. “Should I return home? Should I abandon my dream? Are they too romantic?” But I thought I have left and I should not return whatever my destiny. At one point I remember breaking down. But I moved on the train, swaying in fatigue and nausea. 

Finally, I had arrived in Gujarat. That was where I was to arrive. That was where my friend would meet me and take me to the place where I would start working. He came to pick me up. He saw my condition and showed pity. He said, “Well done, you have here now and now you do not have to worry. I will buy you some food and water and for 2 nights you will have to share my room. You can get all your rest and then I will take you to the factory. But you only have 2 nights”. Those 2 nights as I lay on my back and dreamed of new dreams, felt like the best 2 days of my life.”

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Stories of Nepal x ICCO Cooperation South Asia x European Union in Nepal