Monthly Archives: July 2015

म्याङ्गो रोमान्स

After a year I understand the mango romance of Giranchaur and its people.

बिहान स्कुल पुग्दा बच्चाहरु दाँतले हरियो काँचो आँप तास्दै गरेका हुन्छन्, सम्झिँदा नि मुख रसाँउछ।  हरेकको हातमा साना-साना हिस्सी परेका रमाईला आँपहरु हुन्छन् भने हात खाली भएकाहरु चाँहि आफ्नो पालो कुर्दै साथीलाई टोलाँउदै हेर्छन्।

बच्चाहरु मात्र होइन ,केटीहरु मात्र पनि होइन; केटाहरु पनि उति नै लोभिन्छन् काँचो आँपमा। हाम्रा सर पनि “दालमा दुइ तीन वटा काँचो आँप मिसाउन पाए त कति मिठो हुन्थ्यो।” भन्नु हुन्छ।

हामी बस्ने घरकि आमा दिनहुँ आँपको अचार बनाउनु हुन्छ। पहिलो पल्ट खाना खाँदा, थालमा भएको अचारले मेरो जिब्रो मख्ख परेको थियो, खाना थपौँ भन्दा लाजै नमानि मैले “अचार चाँहि बरु थपिदिनु न, के को हो यो?” भनि सोधेँ। “आँप कोरेर बनाको हो” उहाँले भन्नु भयो। त्यसको लगत्तै दिनहुँ जसो नै खान पाइयो काँचो आँपको अचार। बाहिर शित्तलमा बसि कहिले काँहि आमालाइ आँप तासिदिन्थ्यौँ, भरे अचार खान पाइने लोभमा। काँचो आँप, नुन, खुर्सानी, तील। that’s all it takes.

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“दिन को चार-पाँच वटा काँचो आँप ता चाहिन्छ नै मलाई” रमाले भनिन। I was like “Seriously, man?” It’s not even ripe. It tastes all bitter”. अनि एक दिन हामी रमाइलो हावा खाँदै आँप ताँस्यौ, दिपाले नुन खुर्सानी ल्याई, अनि स्याउ काटे झै पीस-पीस काटि नुनमा चोप्दै खायौँ। Man, it was so good. I didn’t know it would taste that good. काठमाण्डौको भ्यागुताले काँचो आँप खाएको यो पहिलो पल्ट थियो, अनि त्यो भ्यागुतोलाई स्वाद औधी मन पर्यो क्यार, त्यसपछि त पल्कि हाल्यो।

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अर्को सर भन्नु हुन्थ्यो “मिस, अहिलेको आँप खानु हुन्न। पानी परेको छैन। अब पानी परेपछि मात्र खानु हुन्छ।” I memorized यो tips पनि। आमा जहिले नि आँपको अचार यसरी बनाउनु पर्छ भन्दै सुनाउनु हुन्थ्यो हामीलाई। आज पानी पर्न लागेकोले पधेँरोमा छाता बोकि पानी लिन गयौँ। पानी लिइ फर्किदै गर्दा, एक जना दिदीले बोलाउनु भयो अनि “मिस, आँप खानुहुन्छ?” भन्नुभयो। “हुन्छ” भन्यौ। अनि नविनले बोटमा आँप टिप्न हिँड्यो। “दुइट मिसलाई १-१ वटा भए पुग्छ होला।”  He brought बदेमानका आँपहरु अनि दिदीले एक मुठ्ठी बोडी तरकारी ल्याउनु भयो। झोला थिएन, रुमालमा राख्न लागेको नविनले आँपको चोपले दाग बस्छ भन्यो। So, I opened up the umbrella, तीन वटा आँप अनि एक मुठ्ठी बोडी बास्केट रुपि उल्टो छातामा राखि गाग्रो बोकी घर फर्क्यौ। दिदी पर सम्म पुग्ने बित्तिकै we said, “Let’s make आँपको अचार आज।” घर पुगेर आमालाई आँप देखायौँ अनि अचार बनाउने भन्यौँ।

फटाफट आँप टाँसी, टुक्रा टु्क्रा बनायौँ, कराई ततायौँ, मज्जाले तेल तताइ मेथी पड्कायौ, खुर्सानीको धुलो र बेसार नि राख्यौ, सुकेको खुर्सानी को अभावमा ठुलो खुर्सानी राख्यौँ, आँप खसायौँ अनि मज्जाले पकायौँ अनि नुन। अचार चलाउँदा चलाउँदै मीठो बाँस आउन थाल्यो अनि त तातो नै दाढु बाट अलिकता अचार चाख्यौँ। We were so मख्ख, भोलि स्कुलमा खाना खाँदा रमाइलो हुने भयो, सबको लागि लगिदिनु पर्छ। We are so flaunting the आँपको अचार।

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कराईको अचार चिसो पनि हुन पाएको छैन, मलाई सबैलाई सुनाउन हतार भइहाल्यो र लेख्न बसिहाल्यो। अचार चिसिदैँ छ, सिसि पनि थिक्क पारिसक्यौँ।

motivators.

I kept on saying “I wasted one year of my fellowship doing nothing. I simply did nothing.”

But my first SLC batch proved me wrong. They doubted me, scared me, worried me, loved me but more – they made me.
I still remember my nervous classes in Grade ten where all those twenty faces would look at me with their pretty eyes but with pinch of doubt hidden on the corner. My tongue struggled with “biyutkramanupatik (inversely propotional)” “urdhopatan (upthrust)”, my mind got nervous with cell division, circulation, taxism and tropism, electricity, finding groups and periods and “baraf ko kati bhag pani bhitra huncha?” numeric and so much more. I was their new bigyaan miss; note nalekhaune, kantha parna lagayera nasodhney, gaali nagarney, nepali ramrari bolna naune, harek hapta jasto ktm janey miss. Few of the boys would just complain me right on my face, I had horrible dreams intimidated by those complains.

I am grateful to the girls in grade ten who looked upto me during classes with so much trust and belief (I am not saying the boys were unsupportive, they just had few doubts). Somehow village girls are pictured to be more fragile but these girls were nothing like that. They were ambitious, they were proud to be a lady even though they sometimes said “only if I were a boy I would be able to do so much with my life.” The fire in them always made me alive.

Those bunch of girls were my first friend in the new village. My leisure periods and lunch breaks would be so lonely, I would sit on the pile of blocks at the front of the office or make myself busy with a book in my hand. They would come up to me, sit by my side for a while and make small talks. At the beginning they used to complain on how I had to go KTM so often but one day she came to me and said “Miss, tuition class ko fee linu na, ma class ko haru lai ni bhanchu. Tapai kati Kathmandu janu parcha, kati kharcha huncha hola, fee linu hai.” I felt so much love when she spoke those words.

I could not be any proud today of my students. They have the courage and belief in themselves to get out of their comfort zone to pick out their own colours for the grand canvas. I asked them “K padhney SLC pachi?” they would be “khoi tha chaina.” Today, I met her. She wanted me to go to her new college to help her change faculty. She had chosen to study science but every one discouraged her to. She shifted to management. I am not disappointed that she didn’t study science but I am so proud that she even for once believed that she could.

Today, more than half of the students left village for the cities but not in search of job. They stepped into cities to study more,in search of a better future. Finally, they spread their wings. Now, it’s their time to learn how to fly and soar high in the sky.