Although I was born elsewhere, my karma led me to Bardiya. I was born in Basantapur, Rajdevi Municipality-4, Rautahat. I migrated from there and now live in Gulariya village, Gulariya Municipality-7. I am now 53 years old. It has been 37 years since I came here.

My childhood passed without laughter. Our family was large. We had 6 brothers and two sisters. However, due to poor financial condition, I could not pursue higher education. I studied till grade 10. Since I did not have land, I could not do farming. My father used to do the rations from Jajmani. While we were doing well at home, the flood in Bagmati in 2045 washed away our entire house.

My brother used to work at the Gulariya office of the Electricity Authority. He used to live on rent in Gulariya. I also came here because of my brother's job. I also tried hard to get a job, but it was not possible. After that, I started a shop selling electrical goods in Gulariya Bazaar in 2047 BS. It has been 35 years since I started the shop.

I have a Rupa electrical shop in Gulariya Municipality-6. I have kept all the electrical equipment in the shop. If I get work, I also repair it. Earlier, there were not many shops selling electrical equipment. Even if I had a small shop, I could make a living. Nowadays, it is not like that. There is a lot of competition. I do not have the capital to make the shop bigger by investing more. There are also many people who do electrical work. Due to which I do not earn as much as before. In the summer, I used to get occasional work repairing fans and it was a bit easier. Now winter has started. There is not much work in the shop. Now, all I do is wait for customers all day and return home empty-handed in the evening. I do not even have a meal for two-three days.

Even though I could not study, I had a great desire to educate my child. I worked day and night to fulfill that desire. I taught my eldest daughter to class 12 and my youngest daughter to be a lab technician. Both daughters are married. My son is not going to earn anything. The responsibility of running the household is on my shoulders. I am teaching my son as best I can. Currently, my son is doing a three-year course at Madhuvan Dhodhari Electrical Engineering College. After my son completes his studies, the pressure of expenses will probably decrease.

10 years ago, I fell and broke my leg while going to the market to buy vegetables. At that time, I spent 1.5 lakh rupees on medicine. I was sick for about a month and was bedridden. I keep getting sick from time to time. I am taking medicine for diabetes regularly. I cannot do other work.

I have only 12 houses in the name of property. I barely earn 8/10 thousand rupees a month from the shop. Some months, that doesn't happen either. I have to pay Rs 2,200 a month for the shop's rent and electricity bill. I haven't been able to pay the shop's rent for 8 months without earning any income. Even though I don't earn any income, I have to borrow money to make ends meet.

There are three of us, an old man and my son, at home. We spend eight to ten thousand a month on rice, lentils, salt, oil, vegetables, gas, surf, soap, etc. I haven't been able to pay the one million loan I was supposed to pay for my children's education. I am carrying the burden of debt on my head. I am stressed about how to get rid of that burden. Since I have no way to pay the debt, I have tried to sell the house along with the house. I have been trying to sell the same house for three years but it has not been sold due to disagreements.