By Bibek Kapali

Gunsa village is itself a beauty, a reminder of a beautiful lifestyle and an unquestionable friendship, union and full of sentiments.

A few kilometers away from district headquarter Melamchi, Gunsa, a small village in Sindhupalchowk, is a living memory where children rules.

Children here roam the village–rolling hoops, playing with hand-made toy cars and chungis made from grass. They toss and turn collecting mud, turn any round object they find in their path into made-do football and run kicking it around. What a fun! What a friendship! What a childhood!

Indeed, the village makes me think of the beauty underlying in the little and simpler things of life, particularly these children.

Most of the youth have already left the village seeking jobs either in the capital or for foreign employment. And the rest know how to manage a little time for fun out of their hectic schedule be it sports or a drinking sport.

Local booze is a part of their life here. I remember feeling offended when I was offered a drink that I even questioned their morality. But when I reflect upon their daily lifestyle, having a little relaxing time with local ale on their side is worth given the efforts they have to make on regular basis just to manage a little food on the table. You should visit Gunsa during the summer season.

The village is indeed an abandoned beauty. The kids carrying ‘dokos’ (bamboo baskets) on their back loaded with firewood or fodder will follow you everywhere if you ever reach there.

It is both sorry and beautiful. The children of this age are compelled to carry the burden of households. If you see them, you can’t help think about the children in the urban areas where children are pampered and put in the bed of roses everywhere. Amazingly, these children are the champion in keeping themselves happy in the middle of hardships.

I can say, these kids will someday grow up to be contented and hardworking humans ready to cope with every challenge that comes their way. By the time they’re in their twenties, they will have already known enough of what one should know about life. The fight in them is admirable.

One of my students, now in ninth standard, shared his story of how he and a few of his friends fled to the capital while they were in fourth grade.

Asked the reason, he replied: “Nothing will happen in life if we stay here forever.”

Fortunately, they were led back to the village by one of the dwellers temporarily living in Jorpati. The kid seems to have regretted the decision they took in spontaneity. Still, it must have taken them a lot of guts to step onto that bus like that under no guardianship.

Gunsa reminds me of friendship. The words ‘Samdi’ and ‘Mitini’ are quite normal. These samdis and mitinis love and admire each other. Their bond is indestructible and they constantly seem to be reaching for each other–whether it is a few women knitting together or two kids with their doko laden backs. The connection is real.

After years of experience of fixing doors, locks and many other things on their own, building their own abodes and growing food to feed their stomach, these people are the original survivors.

These are people who turned the wild into livable and lovable and whose spirit is unbreakable. Gunsa is a delicious concoction of the green, the strength, the love and the perseverance.

(Written by Bibek Kapali, Photos by Prashneel Nepal)

PRASHNEEL NEPAL

I could wish for nothing more if only I could travel. I have developed special interest in meeting different people dwelling in various parts of the world. I love to hear their stories. Travelling creates occasions to see new places, experience noble environment and meet new people.

I always look forward to travelling opportunities. Ironically, I do not normally pre-plan a trip as, in my case, planning in advance mostly fails- so to say. If I had planned, perhaps I would never have visited Sisneri.

It was a sudden and unexpected plan. Every members of Baje mini-militia gang, set out for Sisneri trip, decided to gather at Maitaghar at 2 pm on Friday. Upendra always steps forward to host the group- whether it be waiting for friends at Maitighar or having lunch at Pharping he should always host.

Road to Sinseri is not bad for travelling during the monsoon. We reached Sisneri at around 5 pm in the afternoon. After booking a hotel, we went to observe the site. While others were talking about how to swim, I was busy thinking about making a video footage. We came back to hotel at 7 pm. After having dinner, most of our time was spent playing mini-militia and making jokes. Lot of fun indeed!

Next day, we went for a swim. While I was filming a green colored hut near the road, my brother called me. An old man was crossing the river. I hurried to take a photo of that old man crossing. I took some quick photographs but none could satisfy my thirst for extraordinary pictures. I asked the old man where he was heading. The old man replied that he was heading to the VDC to visit his ailing neighbor. It was obvious that it would take him nearly an hour to reach his destination because he, himself looked ill and could hardly walk. What could have inspired him to travel such distance to visit his sick relative!

We were happy to see the water clean. We were worried that the river could be overflowed and muddy because it had rained last night. None of us were great swimmers to dare jump anywhere in the river we liked. A fisher boy suggested us to walk some distance further up the river if we were looking for a shallow pond.

We swam to the fullest. And, I was never too late to capture the moments in my DSLR. It was already 3 pm when we were prepared to journey back home. We decided visit Kulekhali on our way back home to Kathmandu. The Army didn’t allow us to take photograph inside the camp area. I could feel a freezing wave running through my blood while looking at the wide calm lake of the Kulekhani dam.

The road was not black-topped. We arrived Kathmandu all covered in dust. We went to ‘Baje ko Pasal’ our favorite hangout hotel- Tea, Talks and Mini-militia of course! We stayed there until late evening enjoying mini-militia, which we never get tired of playing. Say we are kind of addicted to this game; like we are addicted to travelling and capturing the moments to the best. How great would it be if we could spend the entire life following our passion!

Photo Courtesy: Prashneel Nepal