EARNING FOR LIFE
To turn their dreams into reality they worked in five star hotel, factories and the battleground! This is a tale of 15 Nepali youth who left their homes to earn money but only one of them survived.
Thri Lo Chan Giri, 24, a Nepali youth is the lone survivor of one of the group of Nepali porters who worked with the Indian Army during the Kargil War in 1999. Despite passing of six years he still remembers the horrific moments when 14 of his friends died in the war though they were not fighting in it.
Thri, who loves to be called as Nandu worked in a factory in Nepal. However, he was not paid according to his work there. Nandu left the job and came in contact with other youth of his neighborhood. And they decided to visit India to earn some money quickly.
“There was so much demand of Nepali Bahadurs in Punjab so we easily got and job in a five-star hotel there. Apart from our salary we earned handsome money out of the tips,” Nandu said while narrating about the fanfare and parties in the hotel.
Those were the “good days”, but destiny has something else in store for them. Their joy had no limits when they came to know that Army requires porters in Kargil. “We being naive rushed to Drass and were employed on hefty salary. We worked for many months braving the cold and kept sending money to home,” Nandu says.
Suddenly Kargil war broke out and life become difficult for Nandu and his friends. “ It rained bullets and bombs in Drass and bodies were scattered on the ground waiting for burial,” Nandu with pale face said while recounting the moment said.
Tasked to take food and ammunition to the soldiers atop a mountain, Nandu and his friends trekked through the tedious slopes and icy waters. For many weeks they climbed the mountain in the evening and returned in the morning and everything went on smoothly.
“Our aim was simply to earn money and had no knowledge why the war was taking place. We had only heard about its beauty and nothing else,” Nandu said.
On the fateful day, after offering prayers Nandu alongwith his friends as usual climbed the mountain. Little did they know it was the last trip for them. “ We were walking in a line when firing started. Some of my friends were hit straight in their head and they even couldn’t even cry or bid goodbye to me. I survived as I took shelter behind a mountain,” recounts Nandu with tears copulating from his eyes.
After the firing stopped , Nandu wandered here and there to look if any of his friends was alive. “ I shouted at the them but they were dead”.
Nandu said that he and his friends worked in hostile conditions to give their families a better life to live.
“All of us belonged to poor families. While my friend Prakash toiled hard to get his sister married, Doon wanted to make his brother a doctor and I aspired to earn money for going to England or Middle-East in search of a decent job,” a lean but vocal Nandu, said.
But there were more miseries in store for Nandu when he climbed down the mountain. “ I was weeping in our tent when I heard a deafening blast. The kitchen where we used to eat was blown and the chef was lying in a pool of blood with spoon in his hand, Nandu said adding “he left Kargil and rested only when I reached Nepal.”
Nandu again visited Kashmir in 2005 and received another “nightmare”.
“This time it was not the firing or blast. An autorikshaw driver stole my belongings.”
“Money comes and goes but my friends will never return. I’ve leant greed to earn quick money comes at a very high cost,” Nandu said while promising to return Kashmir again.
Thri Lo Chan Giri, 24, a Nepali youth is the lone survivor of one of the group of Nepali porters who worked with the Indian Army during the Kargil War in 1999. Despite passing of six years he still remembers the horrific moments when 14 of his friends died in the war though they were not fighting in it.
Thri, who loves to be called as Nandu worked in a factory in Nepal. However, he was not paid according to his work there. Nandu left the job and came in contact with other youth of his neighborhood. And they decided to visit India to earn some money quickly.
“There was so much demand of Nepali Bahadurs in Punjab so we easily got and job in a five-star hotel there. Apart from our salary we earned handsome money out of the tips,” Nandu said while narrating about the fanfare and parties in the hotel.
Those were the “good days”, but destiny has something else in store for them. Their joy had no limits when they came to know that Army requires porters in Kargil. “We being naive rushed to Drass and were employed on hefty salary. We worked for many months braving the cold and kept sending money to home,” Nandu says.
Suddenly Kargil war broke out and life become difficult for Nandu and his friends. “ It rained bullets and bombs in Drass and bodies were scattered on the ground waiting for burial,” Nandu with pale face said while recounting the moment said.
Tasked to take food and ammunition to the soldiers atop a mountain, Nandu and his friends trekked through the tedious slopes and icy waters. For many weeks they climbed the mountain in the evening and returned in the morning and everything went on smoothly.
“Our aim was simply to earn money and had no knowledge why the war was taking place. We had only heard about its beauty and nothing else,” Nandu said.
On the fateful day, after offering prayers Nandu alongwith his friends as usual climbed the mountain. Little did they know it was the last trip for them. “ We were walking in a line when firing started. Some of my friends were hit straight in their head and they even couldn’t even cry or bid goodbye to me. I survived as I took shelter behind a mountain,” recounts Nandu with tears copulating from his eyes.
After the firing stopped , Nandu wandered here and there to look if any of his friends was alive. “ I shouted at the them but they were dead”.
Nandu said that he and his friends worked in hostile conditions to give their families a better life to live.
“All of us belonged to poor families. While my friend Prakash toiled hard to get his sister married, Doon wanted to make his brother a doctor and I aspired to earn money for going to England or Middle-East in search of a decent job,” a lean but vocal Nandu, said.
But there were more miseries in store for Nandu when he climbed down the mountain. “ I was weeping in our tent when I heard a deafening blast. The kitchen where we used to eat was blown and the chef was lying in a pool of blood with spoon in his hand, Nandu said adding “he left Kargil and rested only when I reached Nepal.”
Nandu again visited Kashmir in 2005 and received another “nightmare”.
“This time it was not the firing or blast. An autorikshaw driver stole my belongings.”
“Money comes and goes but my friends will never return. I’ve leant greed to earn quick money comes at a very high cost,” Nandu said while promising to return Kashmir again.
posted by kashmir the burning paradise at 11:58 PM
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