Lakhan Jaiswal's hot shop is not only cooking jerry-puri now, his daughter Mamta is also cooking after getting 4 GPA in SEE from public school - the dream of 'doctor'.

Every morning with sunrise, a colorful cart appears on the busy road of Pokhara-30 Powerhouse Chowk. Various dishes of chatpaty, panipuri and chaat are made in thela. The smell of coriander, cumin, and chili powder filled in small plastic containers fills the air around . This is- Lakhan Jaiswal's  The spicy shop .

Lakhan's story begins in 056/057, when he first left his native Motihari in Bihar, India and came to the then powerhouse of Lekhnath Municipality. The peaceful atmosphere here attracted him. Some of his relatives had already come and settled in the Powerhouse area . With their help, Lakhan did the work of teaching tuition to local children . He had studied up to SLC in Vihar, so he had some ease in teaching. The sick mother was alone at home. Lakhan's father passed away when he was young. He didn't even remember his father's face properly. So after 6-7 months he came back to Motihari . There he taught tuition in the morning and evening and worked as a market representative in the afternoon. In

064, he took in Dolls as his wife . After his marriage, remembering the lovely climate of Pokhara, he came back to Nepal with his wife and mother. This time his aim was to stay here permanently and earn a living.

The early days were very difficult . The Jaiswal couple went from village to village and did various kinds of business. Sometimes they sell clothes, sometimes they sell vegetables in baskets. Ran a snack shop, sold spices. Since there was no permanent job, he did whatever he could find.

'I have done a lot of struggle,' a deep pain was heard in his voice, 'I made jerry and sold it by going to shops. I worried day and night about how to raise the family. Sometimes it was difficult to even eat. In

065, Lakhan and Gudiyan gave birth to their first child, Mamta. Looking at the smiling face of the little daughter, a ray of new enthusiasm and hope spread in Lakhan's heart. With the arrival of Mamta, his responsibility increased . From 068, he started selling chatpates, panipuri and chaat at Powerhouse Chowk. This decision became an important turning point in his life. _{Mamta Jaiswal who got 4 GPA in SEE from community school . Photos : Deepak Pariyar/Kantipur} 

Every morning at 4 o'clock Lakhan's day started . First prepare the necessary ingredients for the chatpatat at home, then arrange all the items in the basket and reach the Powerhouse Chowk by 7 am and start the business . After working till 8-9 pm and returning home . This routine continued for years .

As time passed, Lakhan's family grew . After Mamta, two more sons and a daughter were born. Now he has four children - two daughters and two sons. As the size of the family increased, the expenses also increased . Food, clothes, education, health - expenditure increased in every sector.

On top of that, Lakhan's mother used to fall sick regularly. He needed money for his treatment. Sometimes we had to go to Motihari from Pokhara. All these things increased Lakhan's financial burden.

'Even his situation was not like before,' he could hear the constraint in his voice, 'the income was small, the family became big . Four children, a sick mother, the responsibility of all was on my shoulders.'

Thela's income from the trade was limited. Business fluctuated according to the season. It was difficult to pack the road during the rains. Business was good during festivals, but on normal days, daily expenses could hardly be met .

Initially, Mamta studied till class 7 in Gurukul Vidyashram, a private school located in Powerhouse area. From a young age, she was sharp and diligent in her studies . But due to the increasing expenses and limited income of the family, Mamta had to change the school .

"The admission fee of one person in the private sector was 6,000," said Lakhan, "In the government, 4 people were enrolled for that amount". As I was unable to teach in the private sector according to my earnings, I enrolled in the government.'

This decision was very painful to write. He wanted his children to get a good education. But the economic situation forced it . He was afraid that what would be the quality of education in government schools!

But when Mamta started studying at Gogan Mavi in ​​Pokhara-32 Gagangounda from class 8, her fears proved unfounded. On the contrary, the government school environment made Mamta more hardworking and goal oriented. Mamata was shocked when she set foot on Gogan Mavi on the first day. New environment, new friends, new teacher . Everything was a challenge for him. "Anyone who goes to a new school is more nervous than the old school they are studying for the first time," she remembered, "How are the teachers there?" And everyone wonders how the learning environment is.'

His talent and hard work soon attracted the attention of the teacher. She was among the top 10 students in class 8. This boosted his confidence and inspired him to work harder. "When I went to grade 9 a year later, I got to know all the teachers," she said, "I got to know the educational experience of all the teachers." I mingled with all the teachers . After that, I paid more attention to my studies from 9th onwards and picked up more.'

He felt that his father was teaching him with a lot of struggle. Seeing the hard work of his father who stood at the stall every day from morning to evening and sold hot drinks, he felt a sense of responsibility in his mind.

While studying in class 9 and 10, Mamta set clear goals for her future . His dream was to get good marks in SEE and study in class 11 and 12 on full scholarship. For this she worked hard day and night . "I also wanted to study with a little more effort after looking at the situation at home and get a GPA of 4 and get a full scholarship in 11th and 12th," she said, "I worked hard like that." Especially she gave more time to mathematics and science. She also paid special attention to Nepali language. "Since I studied here since childhood, I became comfortable in Nepali," she said. Although his mother tongue was Hindi, his proficiency in Nepali language was commendable. Along with

reading, Mamta also emphasized on her mental preparation. She had read a motivational saying somewhere - 'You will win, not immediately but definitely .' That means we can win but not suddenly . This quote kept him motivated to work hard . He knew that even if there is no immediate result, continuous efforts will surely bring success.

'When you work hard, if you have faith in that work, it will be fulfilled anyway,' she says, 'I used to work hard accordingly and I thought that one day my hard work would bring good results.' The exam board was supposed to announce the result at 5 am but it got delayed due to technical issues.

That day the atmosphere at home was very tense. Lakhan could not go to Thela and do business . Her mind was busy with her daughter's exam results. Gudiyan continued to worship at home . Other children were also waiting for their sister's exam results.

At around 9 o'clock in the evening, when the exam results were announced, Mamta's heart was pounding. His hands were shaking. After the exam results were announced, she boldly kept her symbol number. As I was moving forward, my hand was shaking while trying to press the button called 'View Result'. When 'Four GPA' was shown, tears of happiness flowed from Mamta's eyes. "At that time I was very happy that I got the fruits of my hard work," she shared.

After seeing his daughter's exam results, Lakhan, who was standing nearby, sat down on the floor. They couldn't get up at all . That happiness wasn't just about a 4 GPA, it was because of her own daughter's respect for her father's struggles. "I was so happy, even emotional," he said while standing in front of the truck. Because of that happiness, I have forgotten all the old sorrows.'