What really happened on Jestha 19, part XVII

This is turning into an anthology more than I thought. The idea is to come up with 20-30 most ridiculous ideas and write mock research essays. They need to be more fleshed out than what I did for the last one, but that's going to come as things evolve. I'm just having fun here, nothing to see. Continued from here.

So where are you from?

Sir I'm from the East if I had to say, from a village in Terathum, but it's been a while since we've been living in Kathmandu, so it would be more accurate to say we're from Kathmandu sir. My children, they haven't even been to the village once, when I tell them lets go they don't even want to think about it, is there internet, is there good mountains to take photos of, is there hiking path, is there good toilet and good street food, they ask, I don't understand any of it sir. In our time, there used to be food to eat, a place to sleep, if you were rich a good place to go to the toilet, otherwise you had to dig a trench, and you were lucky if you had good food to it. Kids these days, want more and more and more, not like they're from there anyway. So I tell them, if anybody asks tell them your father is from Terathum but you are from Kathmandu because you don't understand the pain, you don't understand the mindset of us people, so you cannot claim to be a part of us.

I see, and how often do you go to Terathum? Do you still have family there, or any property, anybody you know, or you go for old time's sake?

NOw, if I really had to say maybe once in a few years, not too many people left there sir anymore. All my cousins either moved to Kathmandu or are abroad. Those who couldn't study well went to Saudi, Arab, Malaysia, those who did well some are in British Army in UK Hong Kong, others have gone to Australia, even America. In the village it's mostly old people, my uncles and their families, the young and the elderly. When I'm there they really appreciate my presence, gift me so many things, even sending gifts when somebody comes from there, now I tell them I will take your gift only if you take my gift during Dashain and give them money. It's hard out there for them sir, it's quite difficult, not much money, the land is not good, it's in a valley so there is not much to see, the soil is sandy and rocky, you have to let your cattle roam free in the forest, and that too the army is becoming strict about those things. Fewer and fewer things to do there, many have taken to doing manual labor work sir, daily wages, because the old way of living is not possible any more. To be fair, even in our day it was not possible, we somehow did it but it was a lot of hard work, we were barely surviving, but now that people have seen a better life is possible, in Kathmandu we have settled down and living comfortably, so now nobody wants to live the hard life anymore. Our land, we still have land there in the slopes, it's all turned to forest, if someone comes up with something to do, we'll lease it for free even but nobody wants it, it's just wasted land, it'll go like that, our children don't even want to look at it. Nobody wants to buy it either, worst land there is, what is one to do of it. It will go back to the government after our generation is dead. Now my aim is just to make sure my children go abroad and settle there well and can take us with them later too, so I won't have to worry about those things anymore.

I see, and what to you do currently? How old are you children, what do they do?

I run a small business, shop, I stay there mostly, my wife helps, kids here and there. They want to go abroad all of them, and I told them we don't have money, you will have to earn your own money and learn, we cannot have. You don't have to send anything to us, the shop is enough for us, but we can only buy you ticket and help you get the loan from the bank, nothing more. Our oldest, he is twenty-three, he's in america, he went for free, he is doing well making a lot of money, sends some of it back too, he says he'll pull his siblings and manage for their education, and I'm happy about that. I tell him, whatever makes you happy, if you don't want to do it, there is no requirement for you to do it, they are adults, they can look after themselves, but he says no they are my brothers and sisters they will be taken care of. My children, they haven't given me any trouble, that's something I'm very thankful of, others, they get troubled here and there for one reason or another, but not mine sir, the gods have been very kind to me on that.