“I have been living near the Koshi for the last 25 years. My ancestors came from the nearby town of Bhardah. I go to catch fish two times a day. In the morning and in the evening. My father was also a fisherman. Two years ago, at the age of 60, he passed away. All his life he went fishing. It is from him that I learned this trade. I remember those days. I must have been 12 or 13 and I would leave with father before sunrise. Father would command me to accompany him as a helper. The mornings would freeze during winters. To untie the boat, prepare the peddles and push the boat into the water was not an easy task for a thin boy that I was. I remember trying hard to avoid getting in the river but I had no choice. Father’s words were stern and to disobey a sin. Back then we went catching fish in the darkness of the night too. Our eyes stayed alert in whatever light the moon reflected on the river. The only food until the next catch would be beaten rice. Father taught me how to row the boat, how to throw the net among other important things in fishing. Sometimes he taught with love and sometimes with anger. I knew that he was not angry with me, but with his hard life. I would keep quiet and do as he said. But sometimes, I struggled to circle the net over my head and throw it in the water. It would be heavy, almost five kilos. The first time, after throwing the net five times, I managed to catch merely 200 grams of fish. But it was my first catch. Father had smiled at me and I was pleased that he was happy with me.

After my first catch, I went fishing with father every day. And by the time I turned 18, I became skilled and would come home with enough fish to feed my family and to sell. I must have caught a lot of fish in my lifetime. Small ones, big ones, ones with fins and tails and some without. But in recent years, I do not see many of the fish I used to catch in the waters of the Koshi. The different varieties of fishes that I used to sell have left the waters. I don’t see them anymore. In the last 10 years, I think 15 varieties of fishes have disappeared from the Koshi. People who do not share our fishing ancestry have started fishing. They do not care for the river so they poison the banks and the fishes come floating to them. Farmers are using chemical fertilizers for their crops, especially the banana plantation here. These chemicals eventually wash and come to the river and kill the fishes. I remember catching 5 kilos a fish in one row but now I hardly get two. So it is hard to make money out of fishing.

I have two sons and a daughter who all go to school. My wife stays at home and looks after the goats. Sometimes she goes to work on someone else’s fields. My daughter is 14 years old and I am worried about her marriage. I need money for the dowry. It is increasing in our community. Watch, cycle, gold and silver, and cash. During my time, things were not as bad. Time is not making things better for me.”