The Mayadevi Temple was slightly misty in the morning mist. 50-year-old Suryamati Kohar was sitting quietly in front of senior ophthalmologist Sanduk Ruit. As the sunlight reached Suryamati's head, Ruit said, "Now open your eyes slowly, will you?" What Suryamati saw next made her face glow with joy. She hugged Dr. Ruit. Ruit smiled too.

Suryamati, who had been blinded by cataracts for five years, had traveled 13 kilometers by auto-rickshaw from Sandahawa village to the Mayadevi temple complex in Lumbini after hearing about an eye camp. In 20 minutes, Dr. Sanduk and his team performed Suryamati's eye surgery. When she slowly opened her eyes, there was an atmosphere of joy. 

Suryamati's daughter Sasikala and niece Indu, who were watching all this, had tears in their eyes. There was an unusual silence. But everyone's faces were filled with an unusual joy. Suryamati, her face lighting up in a happy voice, said, 'The last time I saw you, you were so small. How big you have become.' As Suryamati was saying this, her daughter Indu and niece Sasikala could not hold back their tears of joy. The fog-shrouded Mayadevi temple witnessed this emotional moment.

Suryamati spent the last five years in complete darkness. The pain of having to walk around with a limp, having to seek help from others when going out of the house, and living without feeling even after knowing all the news of light and happiness were unforgettable for her. But after that morning, it seemed as if all the happiness returned to her life. She recounted the joy of her son's marriage, the joy of having grandchildren, and the sadness of not being able to see every moment of her daughter and nephews and nieces growing up.

Suryamati's eyes had gradually become blurry five years ago. But she kept waiting for it to get better. Her husband Raksharam had not gone to hospitals in Butwal and Bhairahawa with Suryamati, who was battling diabetes. But since she was diabetic, immediate surgery was not possible.

He said, 'Everyone asks why I didn't treat my wife's eyes for all these years. But I did everything I could. It cost 20/25 thousand, but it was not possible.'

Raksharam, who is struggling with poverty, is running a bicycle repair shop. He has been supporting himself with this income to raise his two daughters and two sons. Even though his two sons have gone abroad to earn money, they have not earned enough to bring Raksharam out of his misery.

After Suryamati regained her eyesight, we reached her house with her. When we reached the house, which was covered with a thatched roof and tati, the electricity authority employees were returning after cutting the electricity line for non-payment of electricity bills. What a coincidence, the electricity in her house went out on the same day that Suryamati regained her eyesight. After not paying the electricity bill for a year, it had become 14 thousand including the fine. And the authority employees had cut the line.

Raksharam was also thrilled with the news that his wife could see. He looked very happy that his wife, who used to walk holding on to the wall and with the support of others, could now walk on her own. He expressed his happiness and thanked everyone, including the medical team. 

Her daughter Sasikala and niece Indu had to leave school to take care of Suryamati. Suryamati said emotionally, ‘It was because of me that my daughters had to leave school. Now I am fine. I will send my daughters back to school.’