India Bound

This is the 69th episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working and studying abroad.

Mahesh Chowdhury

I am from Kanchanpur, headed to Gujarat where I work as an electrician. I came home for my vacation. 

I earn well there, above INR27,000 a month and my supervisor is entirely reliant on me. My father also worked in India back in the day as a driver. I was 15 when I first went to India 12 years ago, and had to do so given my family’s situation. 

I started at the bottom, but as I learnt work and gained experience, my earnings improved. I do not need to go to any other country like the Gulf or Malaysia. One of my uncles insisted that I go to Malaysia but I said no.

I am doing just fine in India, and I can keep visiting Nepal as I please. I have built a house already with my savings. I do not have any trouble finding work in India as my contractor gets a lot of jobs which he delegates to me. 

I came home for two weeks to see my mother who is sick and to take her to the hospital. 

I don’t like the idea of going to third countries beyond India. When my great aunt died, I came for her last rites but her own son could not come home from Malaysia. 

Hem Raj Panta

I was born in Baitadi, and after completing Grade 10, tried my hand at modern agriculture. But this did not do well because I did not have access to markets, cold storage or roads. 

I moved to India to work in a garment factory. The monthly earning of INR7,000 barely helped cover our household expenses, and we had outstanding loans. So, I decided to go to Dubai, where I worked in garment and delivery for a monthly salary of Rs45,000. 

My brother was already working in Malaysia. In fact, we met in Kathmandu when he was returning from Malaysia and I was headed to Dubai. Later, I also worked in Malaysia at a company that manufactured vacuum parts.

Although the earnings were good, I decided not to renew my contract. My parents were aging, and my son was growing up. I wanted to be around them. 

I attended the same school which my father went to in Baitadi. It was quite a distance from home and the only option was to rent a room near the school. My father was concerned that he could not prioritise his studies, and neither could he do the same for us. 

He did not want the same fate for his grandson, so I decided to break the cycle. I moved my son to Dhangadi where he now has access to better education. I drive a rickshaw that I bought with my Malaysia earnings.

I earn enough in Nepal now to take care of my household expenses and also enjoy the freedom of working on my own terms. Most of all I like eating at home with my family every day, unlike the food we ate in plastic bags when I was overseas.

Ramesh Bhul

I am going to rejoin my job as a household help in Rajasthan. I clean, cook and it has been five years since I worked there.

I came home to Kanchanpur for almost a year to help with farmwork this time. I am going back to Rajasthan with my brother and his entire family who also work in the same house as me. My wife did not accompany me though. 

I first went to India when I was just 12, and am 23 now. My father passed, so household responsibilities fell on my shoulders at a young age. I would have liked to go to countries like Malaysia, Dubai and Qatar, but I cannot afford it. I have had to borrow money just to go to India.

Lalmati Mahara

My husband’s attempt to go overseas did not work out because he failed his pre-departure medical tests. We go back and forth between India and Nepal quite frequently. 

Before the paddy planting season, my husband and I were in Bangalore. I work as a household help and he works at a company. But as Bangalore is too far, we are now going to Delhi. He will work at a cooler company arranged by my brother-in-law and I will again find work as domestic help. 

My in-laws take care of our children, and we earn INR10-15,000 each. We will again come home during the harvest season. That is what life is like, we time our trips around the agriculture seasons. 

We have lived in many places across India. In Nepal, we cannot find work. That’s why we go, we come back, we work in the fields, and go back again. We do it for the kids.

Prem Khadka

I am from Dadeldhura. There were no hospitals or roads in my village then. I studied till Grade 10, and I went to Delhi when I was 18. I worked in a canteen as a tea-boy, and slowly worked my way up. I had neither the skills nor the experience for anything beyond. 

Now I am a cook in Maharashtra, where I earn almost INR30,000 at a five-star hotel. For those with good education and experience, India offers opportunities. Because I had neither, it took a long time to get there. 

The starting phase in India can be very difficult because we have to learn skills and gain experience, but things get better. You also need good references to move ahead. It was the same with me. I have done it all: washed dishes, cut vegetables, worked in the boiling area and so on. 

You watch and learn to advance, you step up whenever there is an opportunity to earn the team’s trust and you gradually work your way up. There is no short cut, especially when you do not have references. Now I am happy with where I am at, and am glad I am a reference for many Nepalis who go there seeking opportunities. 

I come home twice a year and time it around agriculture seasons so I can help at home. I myself have not tried applying to five stars in Gulf countries but I have seen friends who despite having the practical skills got kicked out during interviews or got cheated by fraudulent recruiters.