During the 1960’s when Mahabir was attending grammar school there was a shift in the Nepali government’s involvement in education. Consider; the first school opened in the 1850s and was only attended by the high-ranking Rana ruling class children. Over the next century as Nepal was moved towards Democracy by the Rana regime, specifically in the 1950s, students from all societal classes began to attend schools in Kathmandu and other cities. However, progress in rural areas was much slower as there was little government support for schools and education in rural Nepal, which represented a significant portion of the population at that time. It wasn’t until the early 1970s that the government started in earnest to provide free education in the form of building more schools, providing teachers and textbooks all over Nepal. This was known as the “New Education Plan”. Students received free services up to the 5^th grade. Students who could afford the nominal fees stayed for 6^th to 8^th grade. School was not mandatory so the poorest of poor often didn’t attend because they needed to work the fields or if they did, it was only to the 5^th grade.

Himanchal Higher Education School students being called to formation exercises before class by the beating of a drum. The exercise prepares students mentally for a day of studies. In the background are classrooms and the science center.

Kisna’s insistence that his son, Mahabir Pun, attend school indicates he had phenomenal foresight and perhaps premonitions of his son’s talents. Mahabir studied in Nangi up to the 7^th grade. He recalls an important event during 7^th grade when a government inspector came to review the school. It was a solemn occasion with much pomp and circumstance. Actually I cannot recall any school event in Nangi that was not accompanied by formality and a sense of grandeur, as is the Nepali way. It makes any occasion quite memorable, building a consciousness of unity and importance to all involved as illustrated by the start of each school day with drumming.

Life is still hard by world standards for students in Nangi as depicted in this photograph of a 12th grade student carrying water back to his one room hut.

Even though his father thought education was important, Mahabir was first a farmer’s son. When Mahabir talked about his early school years in Nangi he said, “mostly we just spend some extra time in the school…mostly we worked in the fields and lived with the cattle and the sheep that we took to the forest for grazing.” “There was no homework because no pencils or paper to work on.”  I found it peculiar that although his father could read and write he did not teach Mahabir himself. Perhaps he did not have the time or feared his intelligent son would soon outstrip his own knowledge.

Mahabir then attended 8^th grade in a near-by village called Mallai but by the late 1960’s he had exhausted all the available education in his small village. His father wanted him to attend what was then known as high school, 9^th and 10^th grade. This would require a major move for the family…not an easy task for a Nepali subsistence farmer. What would you do if you were Kisna? Share your thoughts by clicking on the comment bubble in the upper right hand corner of this blog entry. Join me next week to see how Kisna continued his quest for his son’s education.

You have read about two of the most influential people in Mahabir Pun’s life, his parents Kisna and Purbi. Visualize them always in the background of this young boy’s life as you read more about his early educational years in Nangi.

All that remains of the original one story school is a few stones and a flattened grassy area that cradles the memories and promises of a brighter future. The building was dismantled and the materials used to build the present school before Mahabir returned to Nangi.

Mahabir attended school as a young child, his father insisted on it, but school back in the 1950’s and 1960’s was a loose affair. According to Mahabir most villages did not have schools. You didn’t need a building to have a school; you just needed someone who would volunteer to teach. If no one took the initiative there was no schooling. Nangi and Ramche, the neighboring village, had schools.                                                                                     In Nangi there was a small one story building on the hill just above his home that served as the “school”. There were no formally trained teachers. According to Mahabir, community members who could read, write and speak English volunteered their time to teach in the schools. Village elders, mostly retired Gurkhas, taught the basics of reading, writing, mathematics and science.  This building was used only during the summer. He could walk to the school easily during the summer yet be available for working in the fields when needed. One year they decided to run the school from 6-9 pm at night so during the day the children could work in the fields cultivating and harvesting the main crops of potato, corn, millet and barley along with their parents. During the winter he walked two hours to the Ramche valley and sat on the ground for school because they had no building.

Part of the early Himanchal Higher Education School built from the reclaimed original one room schoolhouse. You are looking at the 5th grade classroom to the left, office and teachers meeting room on the right.

Mahabir told me: “in a sense it was a school but not a real school because there were no books, no textbooks, no pencils or paper…informal we learned.” Using charcoal from the cooking fires he would rub a wooden board with the blackened chunks to create a sort of blackboard. Then with a soft white stone he would write on the board to practice his vocabulary and numbers. Everyday he would need to coat the board with a new layer of charcoal powder. The stone he used to write with was soft and like talc, almost like chalk. He and his classmates would have to walk a half-day to a large rock in the mountains near Basanat Village and harvest chunks of the white rock.                                                                       My research leads me to believe this is a type of mineral called talc which is found in the Himalayas. It is the softest known mineral and we know it as talcum powder but it does have a slightly greasy characteristic which would hold up for writing.

Mahabir learned in the only environment he knew but what would happen to modern day school children if you not only took away their electronic devices but also their paper, crayons, chalk, pencils, pens, textbooks…if all they had to learn was their eyes, ears and minds to listen and think? Share your comments with the rest of your fellow readers by clicking on the speech bubble in the upper right corner of this post. I’m really interested to hear what educators have to say. Come back next week and read about Mahabir Pun’s grammar school days.

Mahabir Pun’s mother, Purbi, gave birth to two more children after returning to Nangi from Malaysia. She continued to live in Nangi with the five younger siblings when Kisna and Mahabir moved to Chitwan in 1968. Two years later she followed with the rest of the children. Purbi had six children total, with Mahabir being the oldest. Her youngest son died in a motorcycle accident several years ago but otherwise all her children are living. She now lives with her daughters spending some time at each home. She is strong and sharp minded according to Mahabir: “She has very strong will to live longer because even after the doctors had quit hope for her, she recovered from her health problem several times and doing good. She needs to go to the hospital frequently, but she is fighting very hard for her life and always recovering.”

Mahabir’s wife and daughter, Ommaya and Jharana, seeing us off on one of many remote trips.

She supported the move to Chitwan despite being separated from her husband because Mahabir was able to attend the 9th and 10th grades. These grades were not available in the Nangi area during the 1960s. She knew there were trained teachers capable of advanced teaching; actual textbooks for the students; and more students to stimulate his mind. The Chitwan area was newly settled due to advances in malaria eradication and it was thought to be a more progressive area. People were moving there in droves for a better life and this included demands for more education for their children. She also knew her husband could farm with his relatives and continue to earn a living.

When I asked Mahabir if he thought that had been a hard time for his mother he simply shrugged his shoulders and said, “Nepali women are used to that”. Perhaps she was used to the separation from his father’s army days or perhaps she accepted it simply as what needed to be done to educate her son and his siblings. Or maybe Mahabir was thinking about his own wife and their long separations due to his work and travels. No matter the reasons, Purbi lives as an example of the tenacity of all Nepali women when faced with tough choices and challenging living conditions.

Have you ever had a tough decision to make that caused a separation of your family unit? Share your story with our readers by clicking on the speech bubble in the upper right hand corner and leaving a comment. Return next week to hear more abour Mahabir Pun’s early school experiences.