For the last three weeks I have been traveling around central Nepal collecting information for the book. My travels have taken me from hectic Kathmandu to peaceful Pokhara to welcoming Nangi to the cold isolated mountainous Annapurna region called Mohare Danda, elevation 10,827 feet, to the flat southern region called the terai. On this journey I have interviewed people as varied as Ommaya, Mahabir’s wife who was born in a neighboring village; Saroj, an old Kathmandu high school friend; and Francis from California who only met Mahabir a few months ago.

How to negotiate a washed out road…balance your backpack, stare straight ahead and pray the local bridge engineer had lots of experience.

Visiting Nangi, Mahabir’s birthplace and site of his first social endeavors, has given me insights into his past. I was able to photograph the location of his birth and early years, the site of his former school and even the worn stone steps he walked daily to that small school taught by informally educated village elders. I interviewed teachers who worked with him for years and newer teachers just starting their careers. I would sit on a small hill just above the school and contemplate the changes that have occurred over the years in Nangi. Mentally I compared Nangi to other villages I walked through or visited. These villages are affected by the encroaching roads and modernization but not to the extent of Nangi. The pace of life in those villages isn’t driven by a man who sees only the future…it is driven by the need to survive. Although changes have occurred, such as seeing people with cell phones, for the most part, the people who live in those villages live as their ancestors did a century ago.

But in Nangi the changes are palpable, even over the short 10 years since I have been coming. Spearheaded by one man’s dream but carried forward by so many others the question I ask myself is this: Is this one man’s dream or a compilation of many individual dreams shouldered by one man? Leadership demands creative humility but also an egotistical self-confidence…I have been searching for answers as to how this man balances the two. What I have uncovered is both a simple unidirectional man determined at all costs to move forward in a linear fashion with his dream and a complex man who moves in so many directions it is impossible to track.

To understand my passion for the book is to understand my passion for Nepal. It is both exhilarating and depressing, energizing and exhausting, satisfying and frustrating. Adjectives I can easily apply to Mahabir. Over the next few weeks I plan to tell the story of my visit in more detail and in pictures. So stop back and see the scope of my work and travels…I promise to tweak your interest, vibrate your heartstrings and incite your sense of humor.

Remember I said Mahabir gave his blessing to write the book. What I didn’t include was the next few lines of that email, which read: “However, I don’t like to be called a wireless man or wireless prophet because this is not my actual field of interest. I have much bigger goals and I don’t want to limit myself in wireless field. It is just a tool and I worked on it at a time when there was no communication means.” 

The title I chose, “Wireless Prophet”, was the first one that came to mind when I started to give serious thought to the book. Yes, here I go with the cart before the horse, but having a name gave the book believability in my mind…never mind that 300 blank pages trailed after the title. I wrote about this in the first blog entry, that the wireless does not define him…it is his means to an end. But if he doesn’t like the name of the book, that leaves me with an ethical dilemma…honor his request because he is, after all, the subject or exercise a writer’s creative prerogative.

So what else to call the book? “The Village in the Clouds”…but Nangi is only part of the story. “The Man Who Echoed Across Mountains”…sounds more like a retitled version of the Sound of Music. “Himanchal Education Foundation-the Story”…just too prosaic. “Dancing with Wi-Fi”…hey, it worked for Kevin Costner.                                                         I’d like to hear from my readers…you are out there, aren’t you? What do you think about the title? What would you name the book?

Traveling to Nepal to gather data for the book is an adventure…one that demands a sense of humor, patience and the ability to flop across the International Date Line without losing your mind. You would think careful planning means booking flights, coordinating transfers, getting up-to-date vaccines but it is the small things that make and break a trip. The flights are long, so carefully calculating where you sit on the plane is essential as packing toilet paper.                                                                                                                                    So which are you, an aisle or window dweller? On most flights I opt for the aisle seat…I prefer the freedom of getting up regularly to stretch or to let the window tenant out of the row. Never a middle seat…caught between the idiosyncrasies of strangers there is nothing redeeming about sitting between people in a row designed to accommodate nothing bigger than a toddler.

But on long haul flights, like the 20+ hour flights to Nepal, I go window. If you angle the seat just right…stuff your jacket in the tampon sized pillow they provide…and tilt like the leaning Tower of Pisa you can actually sleep. I say usually…unless the person next to you spends the entire 7-hour flight playing video games on the touch screen TV with her pen…tap…tap…tap…tap…tap…all night long. But wait, I exaggerate…she paused for an hour to read the Sky Mall magazine, carefully shopping and then reading aloud her choices to her travel companion seated across from her. Think nasal accent, high-pitched voice and the following “I rather fancy this. Listen and tell me what you think; The authentic cashmere quality lining, oh, it’s authentic quality cashmere!” I estimate she outfitted herself for the fall and winter along with upgrading all her electronics and restyled her home in Asian motif by the time we were circling London for the 3^rd time.

View from Mahabir’s home in Pokhara. Mt. Machhapuchhare (6997 meters) means Fishtail in Nepali.

Second question: social or anti-social? If everyone would just wear a label that said “I’m a chatterbox or I just got divorced or I’m an interesting person” it would be so much easier to decide if you want to exchange intimate details of your life with the person crammed against your elbow. I tend to play it safe and just bury my nose in a book or assume the gargoyle posture when my seat companion starts talking. Maybe next flight I’ll just start tap, tap, tap, tap, tap dancing in my seat.

So I promised I would include the table of contents in this post. The one thing I learned from that was to never make promises that you don’t already know are true. Not ready for prime time quite yet…and I’m not making any promises except to say next week the topic is the book’s title.

I have been mulling over the idea of writing a book about Mahabir Pun for two years. I pitched the idea to him last year and his response was lukewarm…bordering on reluctance. He simply said someone else had already asked him. I approached him again a few months ago and after reading the first post he gave his permission in the form of this statement: “Thank you very much for the post. It is good and you are welcomed to write whatever you want. I have no objection on anybody’s writing.”  Whew…that was one worry resolved.

I started by researching about the different types of books and the art of writing. There are two main types, fiction and non-fiction, which are further sub-categorized. For example, types of non-fiction include histories, autobiographies, travelogues, biographies, how to and self-help books. My book is a biography because it describes Mahabir’s life and all the events leading up to the present. But I could argue there will be elements of fiction genre such as romance…when I describe his courting and marriage to Omaya, or a thriller…when I describe the challenges he faced during the Maoist war, or science fiction…because the technical tasks he and his team face daily read like a Jules Verne novel.

I’ve also been researching book design…an orderly manner of putting the book together which takes into account content, style, format and physical design. Putting the cart before the horse I dream of a slick artistic rendition of mountains and Internet wires and eye-catching fonts. As a paper artist…must admit to scrapbooking and card making here…I find this part really fun. Not that the writing isn’t fun…but I am still overcoming the inertia that self-doubt fuels.

I have created the chapter outlines but find myself constantly switching the order or deleting and adding new chapters…and wondering…is this normal and a necessary process or neurotic? The next post will describe the chapters and what you can expect to read once the book is published…how’s that for wishful planning. In the future I’ll create additional pages on this website where excerpts from the book will be posted.

Speaking of the website…its official… the website has its’ own domain and you can read updates by going to: www.wirelessprophet.com Click on the RSS Feed or email option to get automatic notifications when I post. I plan to post only once a week on Mondays…but the next month will be spotty because of travel.

Early morning view of the Nangi volunteer roundhouse and Dhaulagiri mountain.

I leave for Nepal tonight. I’ll be there for three weeks interviewing Mahabir, researching material for the book…and bringing donated supplies for the paper bead project, teaching and working at the Nangi clinic with Lila and Rupa, visiting the new lodges and solar projects, teaching at Kathmandu Model Hospital and the College of Medical Science in Bharatpur. Then I head to England to interview one of the early wireless supporters, Dr. Robin Shields and Deobahadur, Mahabir’s uncle. As you journey with me on this project I just want to say…thank you for all the well wishes…along with a request to post your comments, criticisms and ideas…feedback makes an excellent compass.

That was my question when I first explored volunteering for Himanchal Education Foundation (HEF) in 2001. After reading the BBC articles about Mahabir Pun referenced in last weeks entry, I contacted the organization based in Kearney, Nebraska where Mahabir attended the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK). I spoke to Dr. Leonard Skov, retired Chairman of Education at UNK and HEF president. He is also the professor responsible for bringing Mahabir to the university to study education over 20 years ago. Stay tuned for that story in future posts.                                                                                   Dr. Skov, friends, colleagues and Mahabir started HEF in 1996 to support building a school in Mahabir’s home village, Nangi. After looking at other organizations, emailing former volunteers and Mahabir, and many conversations with Dr. Skov I decided to volunteer with HEF because they were a small non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to education.

Healthcare workers Rupa, Benika, Dr. Debra Stoner and Lila. Nangi Clinic, Nepal Oct. 2007.

Dr. Skov explained HEF’s purpose was to advance education and support the development of cottage industries as a means to improve the standard of living for the 800 inhabitants of Nangi. HEF encourages its volunteers to leave behind a footprint of knowledge and skills useful for the school and villagers instead of just a completed volunteer project. He and I decided on a plan…I would give lectures on emergency and wilderness medicine topics to the local health care workers (HCW) while working alongside them in the clinic. Good plan…except there was no clinic…so two rooms in the old library building became the first make shift clinic.

I made my first trip to Nepal in the spring of 2002. Mahabir and his uncle Deobahadur welcomed me to their home in Pokhara where I met their extended families. Along with medical supplies and training materials I bought two Nepal guidebooks and one phrase book along with a Walkman tape so I could practice the language. Most handy is the phrase “I’m lost, can you help me?”. I recommend learning that right after you learn to say hello and thank you in any language. After ten years I am far from fluent…far from conversational…far from having a clue what anyone around me is saying. Fortunately most everyone I work with in Nepal speaks English or graciously translates.

Mahabir took me on my first trip to Nangi. This involves taking a 3-hour taxi ride from Pokhara to Beni, which you’ll remember, lies along the Kali Gandaki River. A quick breakfast of rice and lentils fuels the climb from Beni to Nangi, a ten mile walk with an elevation gain over 5000 feet. It took all day. Step after step after step…thousands of stone steps built into the hillside climb…and climb…and climb to the village in the clouds.

During that first climb I watched Mahabir tirelessly walk upwards and over the past ten years I have watched him climb relentlessly towards his goal of improving education and living standards for his country. The wireless projects are simply his means to provide sustainable education, marketing avenues, raise money and tell his story to the world.

I first heard of Mahabir Pun in 2001 while researching volunteer organizations in Nepal. I found a BBC article titled “Village in the clouds embraces computers”. Click on the link to read the original article. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1606580.stm  This article sparked world-wide interest resulting in another BBC news article the following day. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1615454.stm

Mr. Mahabir Pun inspecting a wireless relay station.

Mahabir was born in Nangi and his ethnicity is Magar. The village is situated in the central foothills of Nepal. The foothills, slowly rising from the flat southern terai region, terminate at the base of the world’s highest and most formable mountains, the Himalayas which form the northern boundary of Nepal. The area is most famous to international trekkers as home to the Annapurna Circuit trek. Nangi lies west of Poon Hill, a popular stop along the trail. The closest town, Beni, which lies further west along the Kali Gandaki River, is a days walk down a steep trail cut into the hillside and descending 5000 feet over ten miles. This is rugged terrain and I am awed at the ingenuity of the inhabitants. As far as the eye can see there are terraced fields artfully carved into the hillside because the ethnic Magar group inhabiting the region are primarily agriculturists, herdsman and stonemasons.

It is believed the Magars are Tibeto-Burmese descendants coming into Nepal around 1100 B.C. They settled the central areas and spread out to the east and west. Reading about ethnic groups is confusing to this non-sociologist. Simplified, each ethnic population in Nepal can be divided into groups based on language, customs and location…think, New York and it’s boroughs. Each Magar group is further classified into clans: Aale, Benglasi, Budhathoki, Dharti, Thapa, Pun, Rana, Gurungachan, and Thumsing. Magars make up about 8% of the population, making it one of the largest ethnic groups in Nepal.

Magars had a reputation as fierce warriors when encountered by the British troops coming up from India in the 1800s. In this modern age they are recruited as Gurkha soldiers by the British and Indian armies. Applicants train for years and go through a rigorous physical exam before being chosen. I was fortunate to be in Nangi in 2003 when two young Gurkha soldiers came home on leave and the whole village celebrated their accomplishments with a feast….lucky for me but not for the ceremoniously sacrificed goats, water buffalo and assorted small game which is part of the Hindu religion. Magars practice a complex array of religious customs which embody Hinduism, Buddhism along with animists and shamanism.

Volunteer roundhouse in Nangi. Dr’s Debra and Gary Stoner at window.

Early houses were made of local stone, egg-shaped or rectangular with thatched roofs and painted white or red from the local clay. I would walk to the oldest area of Nangi to see one of these old homes each visit. I was told it was about 100 years old. Modern Nangi has mostly rectangular wooden and brick homes topped with wooden boards or slate. The first HEF volunteer quarters in Nangi was built traditionally as a thatched roundhouse.

It’s apparent that Mahabir comes from ancestors that were fierce, clever, and industrious. His genes were programed from birth to fight…but for this Magar the fight doesn’t involve swords or guns. His ammunition is knowledge. His aim is for higher education.

Welcome to my website, The Wireless Prophet. The website is my nudge to start a book about one man, Mahabir Pun, and his dream. I plan to chronicle my thoughts and processes as I write the book. Everything from muddling my way through learning to use this website, specifically Word Press, to collecting data, organizing chapters, writing and learning how to get published…someday.

First I want to thank my daughter Rose, an electrical computer engineer, who set up the website, guides me through the process and patiently bears my mood swings from tirades of frustration to dances of ecstasy, the happy type, not the drug induced type, as I weave my way to becoming an author. I am also deeply indebted to Dr. Chris VanTilburg, Editor-in-Chief and Jonna Barry, Managing Editor, of the Wilderness Medicine Magazine published by the WIlderness Medical Society (WMS). Over the past eight years they have guided me as a fledgling writer with pats of encouragement and a huge push towards clean, crisp and engaging writing…the “two pats and a push” method I am so fond of when mentoring.

Next I want to thank Mahabir Pun, the man who has inspired my writing by his herculean efforts to bring his country into the 21st century through wireless Internet connections for the poorest of villages in Nepal. As the story unfolds you will come to understand this is not just a matter of being connected to the Internet. It is a matter of bringing education, health care and life changing choices to an impoverished nation so everyone, not just the privileged upper class, can live a healthy, fruitful and educated life….namaskar Mahabir.

Finally I want to thank the people of Nepal and especially my many friends in Nangi who over the last ten years have sheltered me in their homes, welcomed me into their families and shared their endless professional and cultural knowledge. Their quiet dignity and centuries of cultivating lives rich in diversity makes the statement “developing country” an oxymoron.

There you have it…I have begun and I am challenging myself to post my progress weekly on Mondays. This means I will spend this weekend doing research on the Magar culture which is the ethnic framework of Mahabir’s family and village. Come back next week, learn something new and let me know what you love, abhor and what more you want to know.

Remember this motto, seen by all who enter the lobby of the World Bank; “Working for a world free of poverty”.

Deb