It is customary to ask, "Where is the mountain house?" when meeting a stranger in the east. However, Tirtha BK and Parmita BK of Dhanpura Toll, Biratnagar-19, are rarely asked this question.

Because anyone who sees them looks like they are natives of Madhesh. Their clothes, language, food, and lifestyle are all Madhesh. Why not? They have been in Madhesh for almost half a century.

However, their real identity is that of Dalits of hill origin. The Bik family has been living in Madhesh for three generations. Tirtha's grandfather came to Madhesh from Dhankuta a long time ago. Tirtha does not know exactly when he came. Tirtha's father was born there, got married there, and the family settled there.

Many Nepalis' stories about the hills and Madhesh are connected to the journey of migration, but for Tirtha, that journey is like a root planted in the heart. He says with a laugh, 'Our hill home is Dhankuta, but I have never been there.' My mountain home is Madhesh.'

Tirtha, who is 58 years old, was born in a village called Bewlesa in the then Jahada VDC of Morang. About 50 years ago, his family migrated from Jahada to Baijnathpur. 'I was 7-8 years old at that time,' Tirtha remembers, 'Grandfather, mother and father all passed away here.'

This family's connection with the mountains was so severe that even relatives and relatives in the mountains are unknown. The Madhesh charm in their speech, the local taste of food and the Madhesh that is scattered in their daily routines, have become their mountain home.

Parmita Bik was born and raised in Babiya village in Morang. A royal village, close to that community. That is why the sweetness of the Rajbanshi language is still fresh in her speech. She can speak Tharu and Rishidev languages ​​with pleasure. But the Rajbanshi language is as familiar to her as the taste of Bhakka. She has now turned a skill she learned in her childhood into a means of livelihood for her family.

On a cold winter morning, in a damp courtyard and with a thick fog, she goes to make Bhakka. Her husband has a small mobile shop and another snack shop nearby. ‘This Bhakka is the only thing that keeps the house going for three to four months in the winter,’ she says. ‘I learned to make Bhakka by looking around when I was little, and now it has become useful.’

Bhakka is the proud snack of the Rajbanshi community. Rice flour is made into small pieces by hand and cooked in steam. The taste is very strong. It satisfies the eater and gives satisfaction to the maker. Nowadays, the taste of bhakka has spread to the markets, squares and streets. ‘It sells for 4, 5 hundred rupees,’ says Parmita, ‘It has covered the household expenses.’

Tirtha has been running a small snack shop and a mobile shop next to Parmita’s bhakka shop. The shop is 31 years old. The dust here, the customers here, the warmth here have become his life. ‘If I had been able to read and write, I would have taken a job,’ Tirtha regrets, ‘but life turned here. Now this shop is my world, this village is my life.’