If someone close to you departs, you will know I the true meaning of life. I never thought about it in my childhood. Although I didn't have great aspirations, I always felt motivated. Maybe because I was bound by societal chains, I failed to measure the intense essence of time.
While inspecting Nepal's map, I can locate my birthplace somewhere in the middle. The Manahari, a traditional Newari community along the Kathmandu-Pokhara highway, was once everything to me. The community was set up before the construction of Prithivi highway and faced numerous challenges.
Four kilometers away from the highway, towards the south, Chhang Hatiya was a bustling bazaar. It was a well-lit trading place. Then, something terrible happened.
In 1964, cholera spread in the area and many died.
It was difficult to give a proper funeral to everyone; so we had to give a group funeral and bury all in one spot. The elderly survivors of the community narrated the stories of their loved ones buried without mourners.
The fear of contracting cholera made us flee our villages. The Chhangeli Newars were spread all over the Myagde valley. At a snail's pace, Chhang Hatiya became deserted. Migrated from Bhaktapur a few centuries ago, the community was reduced to nothing in a month.
The village too has an expiry date. Since the Newars lived in a tight community, they were successful in preserving their heritage and language. The community in Manahari Hatiya and Tharpu bazaar were the living examples. As in the illustrious satellite Newari town Bhaktapur, the houses were built like attached horizontal cards. The Newar community outside the valley participated in numerous festivals and jatras that attracted outsiders. Even tourists came to spend time in our village.
In school days, we followed the tourists in our streets, expecting gifts. Being small, at all times my younger brothers received gifts. It pleased me abundantly. From time to time, the foreign films were shot in our village and every home received gifts -notebooks, pens and food. It made everyone happy. The locals had no idea that Hollywood and Bollywood films were being shot in their humble homes.
It was only around the late 1970s, new highways began functioning and the obliteration of age-old traditions of the villages began.
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