About The Culture of Magar

MAGAR (SHORT INTRODUCTION)

https://magarworld.wordpress.com/2014/02/17/about-magar/

 Magar is one of the indigenous ethnic nationalities of Nepal. It is one of the bravest communities with its own ancient rich culture. The regions that the Magar tribe inhabit are the districts of Palpa, Gulmi, Arghakhanchi, Syangja, Baglung, Parbat, Myagdi, Tanahun, Gorkha, Nawalparasi, Rupandehi in the Western region, Rolpa, Rukum, Dolpa, Dailekh, Jajarkot, Pyuthan in the Mid-Western region and Ilam, Taplejung, Dhankuta, Sunsari, Sarlahi, Okhaldhunga in the Eastern region. Besides these areas there are small pockets of Magars spread out in the regions of the hot tarai both east and west, and also in the hills and the areas around the Central region of Nepal. Magars follow Buddhism with priest called Bhusal, the social process of Sanskritization has drawn some southern Magar population to develop a syncretic form of Hinduism that combines animist and Buddhist rituals. Under the main ones beings Ale, Thapa, Pun and Rana.

 There are more than 700 sub THARS (family names) of Magar. According to Nepal’s 2001 census, 1,622,421 people (excluding Magars living abroad) identified themselves as belonging to the Magar ethno-linguistic group, representing 7.4% of Nepal population and making them the largest indigenous ethnic group in the country. It is estimated that there are 5 million Magars around the world today. In the past, Magars had their own small states called Chaubise raja or Bahar Magarant, and Ath Magarant. They also played vital roles in the making of today’s great Nepal. Despite their glorious history and legend, Magars are lagging in the socioeconomic and political strata of Nepal, which is an effect of Sanskritization or “Braman Bad”, with its own script called “AKHA LIPI.”

 Magar language has four dialects which marginally differ in some aspects to each other its because according to the places into which they were drifted apart from other groups and were in isolation for long time during the course of the history. This language is rooted in the Tibeto-Burman family. Medium built, wheatened in complex oval or round face, black hair, razor cut eyes generally describes the physiques of Magars in nature they are cheerful, peace-loving, kind-hearted, gentle, honest, and brave people.

 During their leisure or at the time of festival they like to be involved in merry making by singing and performing their traditional dances like Sorathi, Ghantu, Jhyaure, Dohri, Rodhi, Kaura Chutka. Salaijo and many more.Magars traditionally engage in subsistence, agriculture, pastoralism craftsmanship, hunting and fishing. However these days Magars are also in the field of other professions like medicine, education civil services, laws, journalism, development, aviation and politics.

 The Magars are prominently represented in Nepal’s military as well as in British and Indian Gurkha regiments along with the Gurung, Rai and other martial ethic groups from the hills of Nepal.Magars are spread not only within Nepal but also in other neighboring counties of Nepal like Bhutan, Burma, and Bangladesh and in Deharadun Darjeeling Sikkim, Assam Nagaland and Bhaksu in India. Further away- today Magars are also settled or are they’re for study or other work related purposes in many other countries of the world. Similarly many Magars associations are formed with common goals of bonding themselves well, and keeping coordinal social relation with other communities in order to preserve and promote their culture, tradition and language back alive for the sake of their identity forever.Here is an interesting story described about Magar’s Origins and version of three different language groups are presented in TRIBAL ETHNOGRAPHY OF NEPAL Volume-II, by Dr. Rajesh Gautam and Asoke k. Thapa Magar.

 The origin of the Magar of the Bara Magaranth is that in the land known as Seem there lived a tribe of people. There were two brothers named See Magar and chintoo Magar who began to have differences thus while one stayed back the other headed south and after a series of migrations reached the place called Kangwachen. This is in southern Sikkim and made up of a called on whose northern end lived the Bhotia people while at the bottom or southern end settled these Magar immigrants. As the years passed the Magars became very powerful and made the northern Bhotia their vassals. At this time the Magar king named Sintoo Sati Sheng (shang) ruled in a very despotic manner and the northern bhotia conspired and assassinated him. Later on the queen of this king took revenge and poisoned 1000 Bhotia people at a place called Tong Song Fong meaning where a thousand were murdered. But later son the Bhotia won and so the Magar had to again migrate further south and from there they moved in all directions among which one group migrated to Simraogadh. They are believed to have moved towards the Bara Magarnth area of Palpa, Gulmi, Dhor, Gherung, etc. one group moved towards the Okhaldhunga region and another group seems to have returned to the east. No dates are given.

 The Kham Magar further west of the Bara Magaranth Magars has a different origin legend. There were four brothers, so says the legend, and one day they went hunting but got lost. They camped at a place and desributed the chores to do. From there four brothers the carious jats or tribes emanated. The first tribe was the Bahun Magar (the eldest brother’s tribe), then come the Thakuri Magar (the second eldest brother), then the Khas Magar (the third brother) and lastly the Kami Kami Magar (the youngest brother). Thus the Khas Magar became the Kham Magar of today, it is said.The Tarali Magar are said to have originated from the union of a male whose mother had fled the region of Jumla during a war of the Kalyal kings there. It is not known who her spouse was but this said to have arrived at Tarakot in a very pregnant condition and given birth to this boy.

 One day this boy sees a strange phenomenon in the jungle lake where he goes with his cattle. The lake was alleged to be filled with milk and surrounded by a large forest. The boy spotted 7 shining creatures like fairies bathing in the waters of the lake. He was enthralled and come to observe them daily. One day he told his mother about this strange sight and she advised him to touch youngest of these angels so that she would became human and thus he would be able to marry her. This happened and the boy brought the beautiful damsel to his mother, but when they asked her who she was she replied in a tongue, which was incomprehensible for them. The devi was offered some bread and she uttered the words ‘Tai khe nan’ slowlythey began to learn the language of this woman and Kaike was spread among themselves. The language was called Kaike meaning language of the Gods.

 SEPT: It is generally known that in the structure of tribes there are the septs followed by the sub-septs, then the gotra is discerned and so on. Among the Magar people is would be proper to first state that this tribe is not divided into straight clans or septs, but into sub-tribes. This differentiation commences first with the linguistic classification, which means that there are 3 sub-languages among the Magar people. The Bara Magarnth Magar people speak the common Magarkura and those in Dolpo area speak the Kaile. Each language is a distinct one with its own identity, and the Kaile is a language which is spoken nowhere in the world.The Mgara tribe is now divided into basically seven clans or septs: Thapa, Ale, Rana, Budhathoki, Raka, Gharti and Pun but here also some differentiation must be made. While the first three are considered the pure Magar, the latter are assumed to be assimilated elements from the neighboring hill tribes of Bhotia ancestry. Linguistically we can categories these clans as follows:

 Language Septs: Magarkura speakers Ale, Thapa, RanaKhamkura speakers Buda, Gharti, Roka, Pun, JhankriKaile speakers Tarali Magar of Dolpa/ Buda, Gharti, Rokaya, Jhankri.

 LANGUAGE: The language of the Magar people are of four types has already been said. It must be understood that there is the Bara Magarnth are which is where Magaranth is spoken the Rolpa, Rukum and Pyuthan region where khamkura is spoken and the Dolpa region where Kaile is spoken.

 PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS: The Magar range from the ones who have been inhabiting tarai to the high Himalaya areas like Dolpa, thus they do exhibit differences in physiques and features, and however, this can be described generally to encompass the tribe.The physiques of the Magars are thick set and sturdy, though. They are an average height of 5 feet to 5 feet 7 inches, though some of the northern Magar people are very tall. Whitened in complex oval or round face, black hair, razor cut eyes generally describes the physiques of Magars in nature they are cheerful, peace loving kind hearted, gentle honest and brave people.

 FAMILY : The family structure of these people is quite similar to the other tribes scattered throughout the country, however, there are some differences which make them different and a tribe apart. The main family splits into nuclear ones as the children marry, but there are families where the system of staying joint is existent, where they live in the same house and eat at one kitchen.The most distinctive element in the Magar family kinship is the strong connection between a maternal uncle and his nephew. Each has to respect the other equally and the uncle is permitted to call his nephew as jawai meaning son-in-law. The reason for this is that the nephew has the first claim to marry his matrilateral cross cousin.This show that the Magar people or society sanction and prefer tribal endogamy and integration of family, but this practice is gradually vanishing due to the pressure of modern and educated Magar youths.

 BIRTHS: The birth of a child is an occasion of happiness in any community and it is no exception among in Magar people. While birth pollution is observed for 5-6 days within one Magar group it maybe for a period of 11 days in another.Hinduised Magar do this ritual the hinduistic way and thus call in Brahmin priest and other use their own dhami or jhankri to perform the necessary activities like the chhaiti on the sixth day where the belief is that the god of destiny arrives and writes the destiny of the child on its forehead. Thus they maintain a whole nightlong vigil and in the process sing devotional religious songs. The ones who remain till the morning are presented food, alcohol and money, which are laid out on a nanglo meaning-winnowing fan.Next step is the navran, which is when the child receives its name and is, made ritually pure along with its mother and the whole household. On this day the calculations are made using the time of birth, date and such data, and then the zodiac is determined. After this the child’s name is selected and navran is over. It is only after the navran that the child is allowed to wear proper stitched clothes.

 PASNI OR BHAT KHULAI: The initial rice feeding ceremony or pasni involves the child to be bathed in sunpani (water through which gold has been passed) followed by the feeding of the rice, milk, yogurt and meat as well. The child get a new set of clothes and the parents commence this feeding first to be followed by the others who are present. A girl is feed rice when 5 months old and a boy when 6 months.

 CHHAEWAR: This is the ritual hair cutting ceremony or chhaewar and done at the age of 3 though some do it at the age of 5. The years on which this is done must be odd. All maternal kin and cross cousins are invited along with other guests. The maternal uncle or mama must do the cutting of the hair and if he should be absent then a member of the maternal kin group has to perform this function. Only the tuppi or topknot is left on the child’s head.For girls there is no such ceremony but they do receive gunewcholo (pair of new clothes).

 MARRIAGE PRACTICES: Among practically all the Magar people the marriages pattern are basically of the two common kinds – arranged and elopements, though there were cases of forcible or latarnae marriages also.Marriages of arrangements occur when the boy reaches a mature age of 25 and female is also about 20-22. Usually parents looks around for a suitable bride for the son (if only his matrilateral cross cousin is under age or not that suitable to get married) and once the girl is located the relatives of the prospective groom go to the house of the girl’s parents and present them a theki of curds, fruits and alcohol like jaad and raksi and talks take place regarding the agreement of the match. After the girl’s parents agreed called kura chhinne number of janti (friends and relatives) and the musicians, whether pancha baja or naumati baja or athara baja (eighteen musical instruments) go to bride’s house along with grooms to fetch the bride.

 DRESS AND ORNAMENTS: The Magar of the low hills wear the ordinary kachhad or wrap-on-loincloth, a bhoto or a shirt of vest and the usual Nepali topi. The women wear the pariya or sari or lunghi, chaubandhi cholo or a closed blouse and the heavy patuka or waistband and the mujetro or shawl like garment on head. The higher altitude Magars wear an additional boku similar to the Gurung sheepherders and the ones living in Tarakot area even wear the Tibetans chhuba. The ornaments are the mundri on the ears, bulaki on the nose and the phuli on the left nostril, the silver coin necklace and the pote (green beads) with the tilhari gold cyclinder. Magar males do not wear ornaments but some are seen to have earrings or silver and gold hanging from their ears lobes. The magar girls wear the amulet or locket necklace and women of the lower hills and the high altitude ones wear these made of silver with muga stones imbedded in them. The bangles of gold and glass are also worn on their hands along with the sirbandhi and sirphuli on their heads. These are large pieces of gold beaten in elongated and circular shapes.

Nepal Unplugged: Join the Conversations on Nepal’s Development & Wellness

 Nepal Unplugged: Join the Conversations on Nepal’s Development & Wellness

Breaking the Curse of Plenty: From Remittance Economy to Retention Economy [Part 2 – Why the System Must Change]

The Unintended Consequences of a Remittance Economy—and Why Nepal’s Future Hinges on a Retention Economy

Dr. Alok K. Bohara, April 3, 2026

As we strengthen support for our migrant workers and engage our diaspora, we must also build an economy that gives our people a real choice to stay—shifting from a remittance economy to a retention economy. This warrants special attention, given the fast-changing geopolitical landscape around the world, particularly in the Middle East.

The newly opened parliamentary session offered a revealing snapshot of Nepal’s current moment. There were gestures of significance—the elevation of a non-Khas-Arya Nepali to a position of power through popular choice, and a formal acknowledgment of historical injustice toward Dalit communities. These are important signals. They speak to a deepening of inclusion and a willingness to confront the past.

Much of the discussion that followed turned to plans and policies—how to ease the lives of migrant workers, how to mobilize diaspora investment, how to curb corruption, and how to respond to emerging global uncertainties. These are necessary conversations.

Yet something important was missing.

While we continue to improve the systems that support outward migration and external inflows, there has been far less attention to a more fundamental question: how do we build an economy that can retain its people? We cannot keep sending our human capital to build other nations while expecting a vibrant and resilient economy at home. In fact, this is likely to breed perverse incentives, as some research has indicated—what I refer to as its unintended consequences.

In any case, this essay builds on an earlier note on Nepal’s Fourth Century, which outlined the “what, how, and where.” It turns to a related question—one that may deserve greater attention in the days ahead: why the system must change, and why the shift from a remittance economy to a retention economy is central to that transition.

There is, of course, a degree of caution as well. The pace of recent actions has been swift, and moments of rapid change often benefit from continued reflection and communication. As decisions move forward, it may be equally important to ensure that the public understands the thinking behind them—so that clarity comes from leadership rather than from competing narratives. In that spirit, a brief weekly address from the Prime Minister directly to citizens could be beneficial.

Still, there is a sense that something new is in the air. The early signals from Nepal’s new government—from its 100-point reform agenda to a series of swift administrative moves—reflect energy, urgency, and a willingness to act. Long-stalled issues are being revisited, processes are being streamlined, and the system appears to be moving with a speed not seen in some time.

Moments like this—of hope and caution, of excitement and trepidation—are filling the air. It brings to mind a song by Bob Dylan.

“Blowin’ in the Wind” became an anthem of the 1960s civil rights movement. It did not introduce new ideas. It gave voice to what people were already sensing—signals that were present, circulating, and waiting to be acknowledged.

Change, when it comes, often feels sudden. Nervousness is natural, but hope and expectations also linger for some time—often referred to as the honeymoon period for a new government.

Nepal today carries such a moment.

For decades, the “signals” have been in the air. Seven constitutions in seven decades. Governments rising and falling in rapid succession. Nearly 30 prime ministers in as many years—often in a revolving-door, musical-chair fashion. At the same time, families making plans around migration, villages slowly emptying, and young people preparing to leave rather than to build. These are not separate events. They are connected expressions of a system that has struggled to hold together.

That system is often described as a remittance economy.

But this is more than a label. It is a structure—with unintended consequences.

A System Built on Outflow

Over time, Nepal has built an economy that is very effective at sending people out and bringing money back. Much less attention has gone into building an economy that can absorb those same people at home. One of the country’s most valuable resources—its human capital—has increasingly been directed outward.

This has had consequences.

The Unintended Consequences

As labor and talent move abroad, domestic sectors are left thinner. Agriculture struggles to modernize. Industry remains shallow. Local enterprise finds it harder to grow. In economic terms, this has some resemblance to what economists call Dutch Disease, where one dominant inflow weakens other sectors.

But the deeper issue goes beyond sectoral imbalance.

It is closer to what has been described in political economy as the “resource curse” or the “paradox of plenty” (Terry Lynn Karl; Michael Ross). When economies depend heavily on a single external source of income, they often diversify less, institutions weaken, and systems begin to organize around control and distribution rather than production. A perverse incentive begins to emerge, where elites start competing for access to these remittance deposits.

Granted, Nepal is not an oil economy. But remittance, as a dominant external inflow, creates similar pressures.

When a large share of national income comes from outside, the internal system begins to reorganize itself—not around production, but around managing and accessing those inflows. Over time, this is reinforced by a political economy that has, often unintentionally, facilitated the large-scale exodus of able-bodied manpower. What begins as a coping strategy gradually creates perverse incentives at home: it becomes easier to sustain consumption through external earnings than to build productive capacity domestically. It also becomes easier to issue policy and programmatic prescriptions for quick results than to do the hard work of building an industrial base.

From Production to Flow Management

In effect, value is generated outside, while the system inside organizes itself around its distribution, circulation, and control. In a quiet way, this begins to resemble a wealth-pump economy—where effort and capabilities are exported from the country, and the imported “income” circulates upward through consumption, real estate, and elite lifestyles rather than broad-based production.

This is where an extraction–control nexus takes shape. Value is created outside. Control (of institution and polity) is exercised inside to capture the imported income.

Banks orient toward remittance flows and consumption. Training centers for language and overseas skills expand across cities and towns. Service industries grow around preparing people to leave. Political actors extend their reach outward—organizing diaspora networks, building party presence abroad, and maintaining ties that connect to these external flows.

None of this is necessarily by design.

But these are the unintended consequences of the system we have built.

Over time, this changes incentives.

It becomes easier to compete for access than to create value domestically. Networks begin to matter more than productivity. Gradually, the system fills up with actors whose role is to manage, distribute, and control flows rather than to produce. The culture of bichaulia and commission-based networks expands throughout the system, with the polity political actors often taking the lead.

When Elites Multiply and Production Shrinks

This is where we begin to see elite overproduction—a concept where the number of aspirants to elite positions grows faster than the number of productive opportunities available.

Today, Nepal has roughly 36,000 political office holders, while the base of entrepreneurs and productive enterprises remains relatively thin. The imbalance is not just numerical—it reflects how opportunity is structured.

Implications for Democracy and Development

The implications go beyond economics.

In systems where income depends less on domestic production and more on external inflows, the link between citizens, work, and governance weakens. Accountability softens. Patronage strengthens. The system leans toward distribution over performance.

Over time, this makes it harder for a healthy, participatory democracy to deepen and sustain itself.

Many of these effects have been in the air for years.

What we are seeing today—the political churn, the public frustration, the search for new leadership—can be understood as the result of these accumulated pressures finally surfacing.

That is why this moment matters —hope and energy.

The Shift: From Remittance to Retention

The question is not whether remittance is good or bad. The question is whether it should remain at the center of Nepal’s economic model. What is needed now is a shift: From a remittance economy to a retention economy.

A retention economy asks a simpler question:

How do we create enough opportunity at home so that people have a real choice to stay?

This means building domestic absorption capacity—an economy that can productively use its own people, skills, and resources.

In practical terms, this requires reconnecting what Nepal already has. Agriculture, culture and tourism, and energy need to work together, not separately. The Higher Education sector needs to link with local opportunity, so that skills match real economic activity. And policies need to support those who want to build, produce, and invest within the country.

None of these ideas are new. What has been missing is alignment and follow-through—or a Fourth Century vision.

The new leadership now has a narrow but important window. The task is not just to move faster, but to move differently—to shift the system away from extraction and toward production.

Toward an economy that does not mainly send its people out, but one that gives them a reason to stay—and build.

In a quiet way, the system we have built on exporting manpower has become a victim of its own success. That success comes with a risk.

That is, this dependence creates an additional layer of vulnerability. When a large share of national income is tied to external labor markets, shocks beyond Nepal’s control—geopolitical tensions, economic slowdowns in host countries, or sudden policy shifts—can quickly ripple back home. The recent uncertainties in the Middle East are a reminder of how exposed such a system can be. What appears as a steady inflow can, in moments of disruption, reveal itself as a fragile lifeline.

The bottom line is that we cannot build a strong and resilient economy by exporting our people. At some point, we have to start keeping them—and building here.

Dr. Alok K. Bohara, Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of New Mexico, writes as an independent observer of Nepal’s democratic evolution through the lens of complexity and emergence science. His systems-policy essays on Nepal’s socio-economic and political landscape appear on Nepal Unplugged.

मुक्त कमैयाको बदलिएको जीवन : बगरमा पसिना, राजमार्गमा व्यापार

 

मुक्त कमैयाको बदलिएको जीवन : बगरमा पसिना, राजमार्गमा व्यापार

रासस, २०८३ वैशाख २७ गते ६:२२

२७ वैशाख, कञ्चनपुर । पूर्वपश्चिम महेन्द्र राजमार्ग भएर गुड्ने सवारीसाधन केही बेरका लागि कृष्णपुर नगरपालिकाको वनहरा क्षेत्रमा रोकिन्छन् । सडकछेउमा खरले छाएर बनाएका साना टहरा छन् । ती टहराभित्र हरिया काँक्रा, तरबुजा, खरबुजा र लौका सजाइएका छन् । चर्को गर्मीमा शीतलता खोजिरहेका यात्री त्यहीँ रोकिन्छन्, फलफूल किन्छन् र फेरि यात्रामा अघि बढ्छन् ।

तर सडक किनारको यो सानो व्यापार केवल यात्रीको तिर्खा मेटाउने माध्यम मात्रै होइन, मुक्त कमैया परिवारको जीविकासँगै सङ्घर्ष र आत्मनिर्भरतासँग जोडिएको छ ।

कृष्णपुर नगरपालिका–२ का नीरज रानाले विगत चार वर्षदेखि वनहरा नदीको बगरमा फलाएका फलफूल र तरकारी बेचेर परिवारको गुजारा चलाइरहेका छन् । राजमार्ग किनारमै व्यापार गर्दै आएका रानाका अधिकांश ग्राहक सवारीचालक र यात्री हुन् ।

‘बिहानदेखि साँझसम्म सडकछेउमा बसेर तरकारी तथा फलफूल बिक्री गर्दा हुने आम्दानीले परिवारको दैनिक खर्च धानिएको छ,’ उनले भने ।

राना मुक्त कमैया बस्तीमा बस्छन् । सरकारले करिब तीन दशकअघि पुनस्र्थापनाका क्रममा उनलाई पाँच कट्ठा जमिन उपलब्ध गराएको थियो । त्यही जमिनमा कच्ची घर बनाएर उनको परिवार बस्दै आएको छ ।

माघ महिनादेखि उनी वनहरा नदी किनारमा बगर खेती गर्छन् । बगरमा काँक्रा, तरबुजा, खरबुजा, लौका र तितेकरेला उत्पादन हुन्छ भने घरनजिकैको बारीमा मकै लगाउने गरिएको छ । उत्पादन भएका तरकारी र फलफूल राजमार्ग छेउमै बिक्री गरिन्छ ।

‘दैनिक पाँच हजार रुपैयाँजतिको बिक्री हुन्छ,’ रानाले भने, ‘सिजनभरिमा ५० हजारदेखि एक लाख रुपैयाँसम्म आम्दानी हुन्छ । यही आम्दानीले परिवार चलिरहेको छ ।’

वनहरा मुक्त कमैया बस्तीका ८० भन्दा बढी परिवार अहिले बगर खेतीमा संलग्न छन् । नदी किनारको बगरमा उत्पादन गरिएका तरकारी तथा फलफूल बिक्री गर्न थालेको करिब छ वर्ष भएको स्थानीय बताउँछन् । स्थानीय किसान शिवलाल रानाले बगर र अरूको खेत ‘लिज’ (भाडा) मा लिएर खेती गर्दै आएका छन् । यस वर्ष उनले सात कट्ठामा तरबुजा तथा १० कट्ठामा लौका, घिरौँला र करेला लगाएका छन् ।

‘गत वर्ष तरबुजा नबिक्दा घाटा लाग्यो, त्यसैले यस वर्ष कम रोपेको छु, काँक्रा बढी लगाएको छु,’ शिवलालले भने, ‘सिजनमा पाँच लाख रुपैयाँसम्मको बिक्री हुन्छ, जसबाट दुई-तीन लाख रुपैयाँसम्म बचत हुन्छ ।’

उनका अनुसार खेती नै परिवारको मुख्य आयस्रोत हो । ‘अरू गरिखाने आधार छैन,’ उनले थपे, ‘यसैबाट वर्षभरिको खर्च धान्नुपर्छ ।’

सडक किनारमा तरबुजा प्रतिकिलो २५, काँक्रा ४०, घिरौँला ६० र तितेकरेला ५० रुपैयाँ प्रतिकिलोमा बिक्री भइरहेको छ । काँचो मकै भने प्रतिघोगा १५ रुपैयाँमा बिक्री हुने गरेको छ । गर्मी मौसममा ताजा काँक्रा र तरबुजा किन्न धेरै यात्री वनहरा क्षेत्रमा रोकिने गरेका छन् ।

तरकारी खरिद गर्न पुगेका सवारीचालक रमेश बोहराले यहाँ पाइने उत्पादन ताजा र सस्तो हुने भएकाले आफू प्रायः किनमेल गर्ने गरेको बताए ।

‘राजमार्गमै ताजा तरकारी र फलफूल पाइन्छ, यहाँका काँक्रा र तरबुजा निकै मीठा हुन्छन्,’ उनले भने, ‘स्थानीय किसानको उत्पादन किन्दा उनीहरूलाई पनि सहयोग पुग्छ ।’

तर सडकछेउमै व्यापार गर्नुपर्ने बाध्यताले दुर्घटनाको जोखिम पनि बढाएको छ । तीव्र गतिमा गुड्ने सवारीसाधनका कारण असुरक्षा रहेको व्यवसायी मुक्त कमैया बताउँछन् ।

तरकारी तथा फलफूल बिक्रीमा संलग्न धीरेन्द्र रानाले सुरक्षित बजार व्यवस्थापनको आवश्यकता औँल्याए । ‘नगरपालिकाले सुरक्षित बिक्री केन्द्र बनाइदिए सहज हुन्थ्यो,’ उनले भने, ‘व्यवस्थित ठाउँ भए दुर्घटनाको जोखिम कम हुन्थ्यो तर अहिलेसम्म कुनै पहल भएको छैन ।’

बगर खेतीबाट राम्रो आम्दानी भए पनि त्यसका लागि ठुलो लगानी र मिहिनेत आवश्यक पर्ने उनीहरूको भनाइ छ । खेती सुरु गर्न मात्रै ३० हजारदेखि एक लाख रुपैयाँसम्म खर्च हुने गरेको छ । मलखाद, बिउबिजन, जोताइ–खोदाइ, सिँचाइ र गोडमेलमै धेरै रकम खर्च हुने किसान अनिता रानाले जानकारी दिइन् ।

‘खेती गर्न सजिलो छैन, दिनरात मिहिनेत गर्नुपर्छ,’ उनले भनिन्, ‘राम्रो स्याहारसुसार गरे मात्रै उत्पादन राम्रो हुन्छ ।’

स्थानीय जुगमानी चौधरीले बगरमा उत्पादन भएका तरकारी बिक्री गरेरै घरका लागि खाद्यान्न जुटाउने गरिएको बताइन् । ‘खेतीबाट आएको पैसाले चामल, नुन र तेल किन्छौँ,’ उनले भनिन्, ‘यसले घरधन्दा धानेको छ ।’

विरा रानाका अनुसार बगर खेतीले मुक्त कमैया परिवारको जीवनमा परिवर्तन ल्याउन थालेको छ । ‘बगरमा बगाएको पसिना खेर जाँदैन,’ उनले भने, ‘परिश्रम गरे उत्पादन राम्रो हुन्छ, आम्दानी पनि हुन्छ । यही खेतीले जीविका चलिरहेको छ ।’

रानाका अनुसार पहिले दैनिक मजदुरीका लागि गाउँगाउँ धाउनुपर्ने अवस्था थियो । अहिले भने आफ्नै उत्पादन बिक्री गरेर परिवार धान्न सकिने अवस्था बनेको छ । वनहराका मुक्त कमैया परिवारका लागि बगर खेती आम्दानीको स्रोत मात्र नभई आत्मनिर्भरताको आधार बन्दै गएको छ ।

तर कृषि अनुदान, सिँचाइ, बिउबिजन तथा बजार व्यवस्थापनका सरकारी कार्यक्रम भने अझै मुक्त कमैया परिवारसम्म पुग्न सकेका छैनन् । अधिकांश आफ्नै लगानी र श्रममा निर्भर छन् ।

‘यदि सरकारले थोरै सहयोग गरिदियो भने उत्पादन अझ बढाउन सकिन्छ,’ लीलावती वडायकले भनिन्, ‘बजार व्यवस्थापन र कृषि सामग्रीमा सहयोग पाए आम्दानी पनि बढ्थ्यो ।’

वनहरा नदी किनारको बगर अहिले मुक्त कमैया परिवारको आशा बनेको छ । बिहानदेखि साँझसम्म पसिना बगाएर उत्पादन गरिएका तरकारी र फलफूलले मुक्त कमैया परिवारको घरखर्च मात्र धानेको छैन, आत्मसम्मानसहित बाँच्ने आधार पनि बनेको छ ।