3.5 Rajesh – Harassment by mother
(Rajesh Hamal is slightly different as compared to other street children. Although he had a proper home, he was driven to the streets for various reasons. He has studied up to Class 5 at an English Boarding School and can express himself well. He is of very simple and kind nature. His eyes appear to be watery most of the time. Although he looks like a drug addict, he says smoking is his only addiction. He is good at talking in a very loving and innocent manner.)

My name is Rajesh Hamal. I am 13 years old now. I left my home two years ago. I was 11 years old then. At first, I studied at the AIMS Academy in Lagankhel and later joined the Namuna Machhindra School. I have studied up to Class 5. But I dropped my studies while I was in the fifth grade. Then I left home and started working at a hotel in Thapathali, Kathmandu. My father was a tempo driver, and my mother worked in the fields. My elder brother was very naughty since he was young, and my younger sister was very little. My mother didn’t seem to like me at all. She often beat me up and filled my father’s ears with things that weren’t true about me. Then my father hit me with a belt.

When I was 5, I was hit by a tempo. My mind has been slightly disturbed since that accident. I feel something is wrong. The villagers and my neighbors said that I had lost my mental balance. I did not feel like working. I was often lost in thoughts. My mother told me to get out the house. So I left one day. But now, I miss my family. We are very poor. There are many problems. We can’t earn money.

I worked at the hotel in Thapathali for some months. The hotel owner agreed to pay me Rs 700 per month. I slept at the hotel. The owner paid me during the first few months but later stopped giving me any money. I left the hotel one day but made sure that I got my money back with the help of my elder brother’s friends. By this time, I had lost touch with my studies, and I had left home. But I spent the money I earned at the hotel on my sister’s education.

When I was working at the hotel, the owner gave me a place to sleep. But after I left, I had nowhere to sleep. So I started sleeping on the streets. I still remember my first night on the streets. There were some bed-cots at the Lagankhel bus park. I slept there, along with many other boys. Then I started collecting waste plastic for money. I also started doing drugs in the company of my friends. I still remember the first time I tried dendrite with my friends. One day, I saw my friend consuming a can of dendrite near the street. Quietly, I stole his can and ran away. He saw and chased me for long. Then I went to a corner and poured the dendrite on a milk packet. After tasting the dendrite, I could not feel or remember anything. The intoxication of dendrite was so strong. I was addicted at once. I started having it every day to feel high. Its addiction is so strong that once someone starts consuming dendrite, it’s hard to get over the habit. Dendrite is easily available at shops, so anyone can buy and try it.

I love music. My favorite song is “Euta Manchhe ko Maya le Kati Pharak Pardachha Jindagi ma”[i] by Narayan Gopal. I love it because I feel this song tells a great story of love. I like such songs. I like to sing songs like “Kasle Dela Dag Batti”[ii]. I know the songs by Udit Narayan Jha and Raju Lama. One of my senior brothers at Hamro Sansar, where I am staying now, teaches me to sing. He sings well. Whenever I hear him sing, I also feel like singing. I always wanted to be a singer. But how can people like me ever become singers? I also want to learn to play the guitar.

Before coming to Hamro Sansar, I was into drugs like marijuana and hashish, but I have got over that habit now. However, I can’t do without smoking. I find it very difficult to quit smoking, especially since I developed this habit when I was young. My mother used to smoke, and I was used to inhaling the smoke of a cigarette. Later on, I was tempted to try it – one puff and I was addicted!

I have acted in a Nepali movie named 'Basanta Ritu'[iii]. I knew a film artiste when I was working at the hotel in Thapathali. He came to the hotel frequently. I also got to visit his house several times to deliver services. One day, he asked me whether I would be interested in acting in a movie. He added that I should go with him, if interested. I got excited. I told him I was interested and went with him. Eventually, I played the role of the younger brother of actor Shiva Hari Paudel, who is a garage mechanic in the movie. In the same movie, I played the role of a child who is into dendrite. For this, I had to sit on the footpath, acting like I was consuming dendrite from a milk packet with the help of the outer cover of a ball pen. The camera shot me. But I wasn’t allowed to consume real dendrite – I only had to pretend like I did. It was then that I got to know stars like Rajesh Hamal and Jal Shah. They have probably forgotten me by now. But if I see them again, I shall certainly speak with them.

It has been a year since I came to Hamro Sansar. I don’t feel like going to the streets anymore. While living on the streets, we had to peep through a television shop to watch television. But here in Hamro Sansar, there is a television for us. I watch the television a lot. Every time I see film heroes and heroines dancing on the screen, I want to be like them.

In the past, there were times when I did not take a shower for months. But after coming to Hamro Sansar, I shower every week. They give us bathing and washing soaps. I play carom-board in the afternoon. Sometimes, my friends come home with drugs secretly, and I feel tempted to have them again.

Nowadays I don’t feel like going out too often. I spend my days at Hamro Sansar. Sometimes, if I am able to borrow Bale Dai’s[iv] bicycle, I cycle to Baudhha[v], where my grand uncle lives. He is very old. I feel happy when I meet him. He always asks me about my health whenever we meet. He is also poor. I love him. Sometimes, I also go cycling to Thapathali and Thamel. I enjoy going around the city. It makes me happy to see different kinds of people, big buildings and shops. But I feel sad when I see street children. My heart goes out to them. Life is harsh on the streets. Many people look down on street children. The police also trouble them. Even vehicles seem to be driven in such a way that they might run over these children. When I see such sights in the city, I feel terrible.

When I worked as a conductor, I was able to save Rs 5 a day. During the day, I worked for the tempo, and in the evening, I went to an organization called Ganses Nepal to deposit my daily savings. The ladies working there helped me with the deposit. I had managed to save Rs 1500, but I spent the money on medicine for my father, when he fell ill. He is still ill. He can’t work. My mother sells maize in Mangal Bazaar[vi]. I get worried when it rains. I don’t know why, but I miss my parents when it rains and tend to worry about many things.

Our old house was in a village called Dhunge Kharka in Lalitpur. Nowadays, I often think about the village. The memories of my village make me happy. We stole plums and berries to have fun. Whenever we attended wedding parties, we ate until we were stuffed. Not only that, we hid some food in our pockets and had it for lunch at school the next day. We even stole sweets from the party, when no one was looking.

Life at Hamro Sansar is good. A few days ago, when our Sirs[vii] purchased a computer, my friends and I were very happy and felt proud to see that our organization too had a computer of its own. I like staying here. Everybody loves us. But when we get scolded sometimes, I feel like crying. This doesn’t happen often, though. Everything else is fine. But my heart is not always happy, as you can never tell what will happen when – life is uncertain.

Reference

CWIN (2002), Glue Sniffing: Among Street Children in the Kathmandu Valley, CWIN, Kathmandu

[i] A popular Nepali song, whose literal translation is: a person’s love can make much difference to one’s life
[ii] Literal translation: who will light my funeral pyre
[iii] Spring season
[iv] Dai is the Nepali word for elder brother; Bale is a Hamro Sansaar staff member.
[v] The area in Kathmandu where the Bauddha Nath stupa lies
[vi] Now a touristy area in Lalitpur, where the famous Patan Durbar Square is
[vii] Reference to Hamro Sansar staff