Amrit Bhadgaule, Nagarik, 17 August
Every morning Hari Bhujel from Chame, Manang district gets up at 5.30 and makes the long walk downhill to Timang carrying letters. The ninth grader from Lokpriya Higher Secondary School is a mail boy and the proud owner of the keys of Chame. At Timang he picks up a parcel brought to him by another employee. The two relay instructions to each other and head off in their own directions. He leaves the parcel in the post office, goes back to his rented room, eats, and runs off to school.
Although the journey from Timang and back takes three and a half hours, Hari never misses classes. In the evenings, he does homework and revises the day’s lessons. In winter, when it is bitterly cold and snow makes travelling arduous, Hari is up before everyone else. His friends and teachers admire his hard work, good grades, and unfaltering postman’s duty and have nicknamed ‘dack’ boy. But he is also an exceptional student who likes writing essays and is sharp at quiz competitions. His drawing won the second prize at a competition held on Republic Day. With the Rs 2,200 prize, Hari says he bought a school dress
It’s been a year since Hari started distributing mail. His father, who used to be the village post man, passed away last year and his mother got the job as consolation. But Hari’s mother is a labourer and couldn’t find time to carry mail, which is why the job was passed on to Hari. When asked if it is difficult holding a job while being a full-time student, Hari replies: “I’ve gotten used to it now. If I don’t work, we don’t get to eat.”
Hari earns a monthly salary of Rs 4,300 that helps sustain his family of three. The young boy does not have big plans for the future. “I must become a good man,” he says. But his family, who migrated from Pokhara, is poor and principal Krishna Das Koirala is worried that the school’s brightest student will be forced to abandon his education after his SLC exams.