Chaturman Gurung

Chaturman Gurung, a porter from Khewang VDC in the district, has never seen a break from his mundane job. Neither does he hope for such a chance in the future. Gurung, 64, started this profession in 1971 when he went to Ilam with some friends to carry goods of local traders. Since then, he is into this job. “One born into a poor

family has to struggle for survival like me. I do not think that I would get rid of this profession in this life,” he said.

“I would only have a chance to meet my family once a week while working in Ilam. Nowadays, I return home in the evening after work, and I am satisfied with it,” Gurung said.

He said that he used to receive Rs 50 paisa per kg for carrying goods for a day's walking distance when he started the job, but now he gets Rs 20 per kg for the same distance. Gurung remembers how he would carry a load of up to 80 kg when he was young. “But with my growing age, I hardly carry load of 50 kg now,” he said, adding that sometime he carries up to 60 kg of load, which makes him difficult to walk uphill.

Gurung had to go through difficult days in course of his job. “It was 15 years ago when I was seriously injured after falling on the ground while carrying load. Then I was bedridden for 15 days,” he said, adding that he had never confronted such a situation thereafter.

Gurung, the father of four sons and two daughters, earns Rs 1,000 a day on average. He now lives with his youngest son while his two sons are in Malaysia and one has settled down in the village. Gurung said he would continue his job until his strength allows him to do so