Nawaraj Bahrakoti, whose eyelashes have turned white along with his hair, has become the living embodiment of an old Nepali proverb, ”He went to Burma with his deeds, he came to Nepal with his hair.”
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The horn of a city rickshaw sounds early in the morning in the narrow alleys of Janpath Tole. 68-year-old Nawaraj Bahrakoti steps out onto the road, ignoring the faint mist that looms nearby.
Even with a muffler on his head and a thick jacket covering his body, it is difficult to hold the rickshaw handle with his hands trembling with cold. His eyelashes have turned white along with his hair, and he is still turning the wheels of life. Let's say, he himself is the living embodiment of an old Nepali proverb, 'He went to Burma with his deeds, he came to Nepal with his hair.'
Nawaraj has been driving a city rickshaw for the past two years. A job he never imagined. Earlier, he was a bus driver. Life took a new turn after he failed his license. Looking for alternatives, he bought a rickshaw for three lakh rupees. Now he has to pay the rickshaw installments, meet household expenses, and save his little income to meet the family's needs.
He has two sons at home. They live together. One is abroad, the other is here. But, like his father's life, his sons' paths have also turned towards abroad. Even though the generation has changed, their destiny has not changed.
Nawaraj was born in a village called 'Tauji' in Burma. He first visited Nepal in 2034 BS. He stayed there for about a year and returned. However, his heart did not stay in Burma for long. After entering Nepal for the second time, life took a different direction. After his father passed away, he came to Nepal, and within a few years, his mother also passed away. After that, he settled here. He gradually became integrated into the local society. 'My love for Nepal did not make me stay in Burma,' he says.
According to what he heard, his grandfather had reached Burma from Savadin in Taplejung during World War II. Where is Taplejung? Which village is Savadin? He does not know. But with that name, a history, a displacement, and a generation's struggle are associated.
Around 2021/022 BS, a large number of Nepali-speaking people from Burma returned to their ancestral lands. The then King Mahendra himself had called on the expatriate Nepalis to return home. Thousands of families who had left Burma were resettled by giving them land in border areas like Kakadbhitta, Biratnagar, Chitwan, and Butwal. Nawaraj's elder brother also got land in Janpath Tole around 2022 BS. However, Nawaraj came late. He was a 'nomad' who came around 2034 BS, so he did not get land.
His stay in Nepal was not easy. The mountains of challenges kept coming one after another. However, by overcoming those mountains, today he has become a native of Biratnagar. 'I did not have to rely on anyone's crutches. I accumulated wealth with my own strength, built a house with my own sweat,' he says proudly.
He learned to drive in Burma. Because he had a car at home. He dropped out of school at the age of 12 and took the wheel. When he was 18, he came to Nepal. Burma was a farming country, with 50-60 cows and a big cowshed. ‘When I think about it, the dust of the village still flies in my eyes and the smell of the cowshed comes to my eyes,’ he says with emotion.
He initially drove a shared bus in Nepal. After driving for about 10 years, he quit that job. And then he flew to the Gulf. When he reached Saudi Arabia 25 years ago, the crowd of Nepalis there was thin. Nepali workers were not as noisy as they are today. I saved about 250,000 rupees with my hard work for two years. When I returned, I bought land with the same money. I drove a night bus again, and later a school bus. Today, city rickshaws have become my livelihood. ‘But the fun would have been just running,’ he says with a smile. He is 68 years old. But Nawaraj is not tired. When met on the street, he says, ‘I can’t sit idle. As long as the engine of my body is running, I will keep driving.’
Nawaraj’s life is like a city rickshaw moving through the morning mist. The speed may be slow, but it has not stopped. His hair has turned white, but the journey of karma still continues. Indeed, his life and the old Nepali proverb seem to be in harmony, ‘He went to Burma with his karma, he came to Nepal with his hair.’
