The 18-second video posted on Facebook by Lokendra Pun of Rolpa three days ago has now gone viral on social media. By 8:30 PM on Thursday, the video had already been viewed by 26 million people. It has received 848,000 likes, 10,400 comments, and 5,700 shares.

The scene of young girls walking in their own rhythm, draped in different colored plastic sheets, is quite captivating. The video of three girls walking along a hilly path in the rain has drawn a lot of attention. Even when Pun calls out to them, the girls are seen briskly walking on, giving no response and remaining in their own world.

Even as Pun repeatedly calls out, “Hello friends...,” the girls hurry along without saying a word. In the video shot from behind, the girls’ faces are not visible. After many people requested to see the girls’ faces, Pun filmed another video on Thursday morning showing their faces. He tried to stop them on the road and call out, but the girls, without saying anything, quickly went on their way.

When the girls did not speak despite his efforts, Pun became even more curious to find out why. On Thursday afternoon, he went to the girls’ homes in Tolbang, Runtigadhi Rural Municipality–4, Rolpa. Only their mothers were at home. Two of the girls are from one household, and the third is from another. All three girls’ fathers are working abroad. It takes about 45 minutes to walk from home to school.

Because the road is long and the mothers do not accompany them to or from school, the girls travel alone. “Their mothers had taught them not to talk to anyone on the way and not to accept anything from strangers,” Pun said. “They had heard me calling, but since their mothers had told them not to talk to anyone, they just walked on without saying anything.” However, once at home in front of their mothers, the girls spoke openly. Their fathers, from abroad, also thanked Pun for making the video go viral.

Why was the video filmed?

The video was shot in Surpal, Runtigadhi Rural Municipality–4, Rolpa. Pun filmed the video from a roadside shelter. While waiting for a bus to send his sister to Ghorahi, Dang, he captured the video of the children. The girls study in nursery, LKG, and grade one at Advance Child Care Boarding School in Surpal Bazaar.

While waiting for the bus in the shelter, Pun saw the girls walking in the rain, draped in plastic, which reminded him of his own childhood. “We also used to walk up and down hills to school, covered in plastic like that. Seeing them brought back memories of my childhood,” Pun said. “So I filmed the video for fun. The video played a big role in showing the struggles faced in childhood to get an education.”_{Lokendra Pun}

In the evening, while sitting at home, he casually posted the video with the title “Friends going to school in the rain.” After that, the video gradually started to go viral. The likes, comments, and shares on the video began to increase in ways he had never imagined. After that, Pun became overwhelmed trying to keep up with the comments.

His Facebook is not yet monetized. He has 34,000 followers on Facebook, but it is still not monetized, he said. “I used to post my own simple videos on Facebook and TikTok. They never really got many views,” he said. “I thought this was just another ordinary video, but it turned out differently. If it had been monetized, I could have used the earnings to help the girls.”

The video has received various types of comments. “How adorable the children look walking, ah, they look so sweet, walking in a line like ducklings, someone said it reminded them of the movie Milgaya, another said they looked like aliens, friends are viral, friends are in such a hurry, they don’t care about anything, seeing them reminded me of my childhood, from afar the little ones looked like chicks, friends are rushing to school, no time to waste, friends look so lovable, children are always good,” are some of the comments.

After his video went viral, many people have been copying and reposting it. This has made him sad. “People are posting my video without even mentioning my name,” he said. “That’s not right. When I tried to talk to some of them, a few even blocked me.” He said it is wrong to download and repost someone else’s video for cheap popularity.

Who is Pun, the person who filmed the video?

Pun, who filmed the video, is not a professional videographer. He would occasionally post his own videos just for fun. His home is in Surpal Bazaar. The 31-year-old Pun is a businessman. He worked for some time as a construction contractor. After that, he ran a training center for the British Army and Singapore Police in Rambazar, Pokhara.

During the 2022 local elections, he returned to his village. Since his father was a candidate for rural municipality chairperson, he was involved in the election campaign in the village. After that, he no longer wanted to return to Pokhara to do business. He started an agricultural business in the village. He has now obtained permission to operate a coal mine and is preparing for that.