“After school we would come here and spend time with each other. We wanted to get married but her parents were against our relationship because I was from a different caste. We talked about eloping but we had convinced ourselves that one day they will accept it and that a proper marriage was the only way to go. But marriage also meant money. One of my cousin suggested I go to India for work for a few months. We thought after I have enough saved, I could return and go ask her parents for her hand in marriage. Before I left, this is where we said our goodbyes. We both were very happy that we were very close to spending our lives together. Once in India, we would talk over the phone every twice a month. Three months passed and I was happy that I’d be returning home soon but something was worrying me. She had stopped answering my calls. I’d try calling almost everyday but there was no answer. From the next day, the phone was turned off. I sensed something was wrong and I decided to return. I reached home and my friends told me that her father had married her to someone else forcefully. My heart sank. I didn’t know what to do. I went to her house but her parents refused to see me. I didn’t know where she went. Someone told me that she had moved to Kathmandu with her husband. I haven’t see her since. I just hope she has not forgotten me. Or maybe she has.”

– Bhuwan Gajurel, Pipletaar, Nuwakot