I met a rather interesting person on the train from
As the journey progressed, the conversation veered from politics to sport, then back to politics and then to the economy, and then back to politics again. (This is inevitable in
The following morning, as we reached our destination, I asked him if I could drop him home since he lived in a town that I would have to cross on my way to the Nepalese border. On the way there, in the course of a rather mundane conversation, he mentioned nonchalantly that he was friends with GP Koirala (
I had already formed a very high opinion of the man and was in awe of him. Little did I know what lay in store for me. The man lived in a town named Farbesganj, which happens to be nondescript, dusty and lifeless. However, his bungalow was like a breath of fresh air. It had large lawns dotted with fruit trees and flowers of every kind. Within five minutes of stepping onto the premises of his bungalow, I had seen as much greenery as I had in the entire town.
We sat down to parathas and a cup of tea in the verandah overlooking the garden. There was a smile on the old man’s face which he could not conceal, try as much as he did. I asked him what the matter was. He then told me that the Congress Party of Nepal was founded in that very verandah that we were sitting in. I almost dropped my teacup. This man just didn’t cease to surprise me. The gist of the very long conversation that we had following his disclosure was that the top leaders of Nepal in the mid 20th century had all met at his home in Farbesganj to decide on the their future plan of action for the country.
I didn’t know what to say or how to react once he had finished telling me all he had to say. The best I could come up with was a request that he write a book on the history of the Nepali Congress. It was beginning to get dark by this time, and I decided to take leave. It seemed like I had leaden feet, for I did not want to leave the place. The sense of history attached to it had an overbearing effect on me.
As I finally settled into the backseat of the car and left his home, the last twenty-odd hours began playing themselves out in my mind. Before long, we were at the
Over the last twenty hours, I had discussed politics. Now I was a victim of it.
10 comments:
Quite likely, Forbesganj being on the Indo-Nepal border. Couldn't find (unsurprising) any evidence online though. The very little that is there says the NC was established somewhere in India in 1947 with Tanka Prasad Acharya as president and BP as acting president as Acharya was in jail at the time.
Well, this was an immensely oberserving piece of travel anecdote but I would certainly wan't to know the person's name, where from his place nepal was vitually dumped into misery through multi party democracy.
What an amazing story. The woman who raised me was from Darjeeling, of Nepali decent, so I grew up with Nepali food and stories and have always wanted to visit.
Yagrokiller: True. There is very little history available on the internet. I like your idea of wanting to work on that.
Birat: Well, the person's name was xxx Gupta. I do not remember it clearly. You must agree that there was much more to remember about this man other than his name. And as for the "dumped into misery through multi-party democracy" bit, I think the remark is off the mark. It is too simplistic an assumption to make. I do now want to delve in to a long explanation on the topic.
Preya: Thanks. It's actually quite a coincidence.I studied in Darjeeling for 12 years myself.
Amazing!
Which border crossing did you cross into Nepal through? I'd love to go to Nepal very soon.
Adri: thanks. I entered Nepal from the Jogbani-Biratnagar border. It lies in the south-east of Nepal (Bihar lies to the south, and West Bengal to the east). I crossed into Nepal from the south. A town on the Indian side that you may know is Katihar, a major railway junction.
And yes, you should visit Nepal soon for 2 reasons: a) you'd love it, and b) we could do with you writing about our country.. :)
pod: you know what, I might just be writing about your country at the end of this year, and you have Anil Gurung to blame for it. :)
very interesting story.. actually not.. but the way you pulled it off was pretty good..
it was actually more like a short story.. but instead of the cliche old man talking wise tales to the young lad..it was politics discussed.. but none the less.. good shit..
Yo! Put up some new stuff. I know you must be swamped with work and sleep. But, havent seen something new here for quite some time now.
hey mate. i got your blog from a friend who knows you. I wanted to aks a few thing about nepal as i am coming there from the friendship hwy from tibet and then going south to india . if possible please add me in face book so thati can talk to you .
facebook :Nav Amole
thanks mate
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