The 57-year-old man sat under a shade and smoked a cigarette, resting his load from his back that he carried from the Nele Village to Sotang in Solukhumbu, in northeastern Nepal – a four-day walk. A porter by profession, Jetha – his nickname for being the eldest son in the family – has been doing this since he was nine years old.[break]
“There was lack of food and money in the family,” the native of Sotang lamented and added that growing up in a family of 11 was difficult even though they had their own house and land for tilling.
“But that wasn’t enough,” he said.
Jetha, in an energetic tone – not tired from the day’s walk – talked about his initial days of working as a porter. He recalled walking from Sotang to Namche to sell millet. And the prices, which in today’s market, sounds like a fiction.
“For three mohars (Rs 1.50), we used to get one pathi (3.2 kilograms) of millet,” his face brightened as he talked. “We used to sell that for Rs 3 per pathi in Namche.” As a nine-year-old, Jetha said he carried seven pathis of millet every once in a while to Namche, which was an obligation since he was the eldest child in the family.
As the boy stepped into adulthood, more family burdens and responsibilities mounted. Later, as a married man, Jetha also had to tackle his immediate family’s responsibilities.
He was a father of five sons and three daughters. With no other options, Jetha explored away from Solukhumbu for opportunities. The father of eight started to porter salt from Dharan and Katari further east in 1976, which took him around 15 to 16 days to bring the load to Solukhumbu.
“I wanted to study, but it was difficult, with money being scarce,” Jetha said, expressing his wish to go to school that had opened in the village.
“My mother was sick and father wouldn’t be at home all the time since he was a jhankri (shaman) and would be away in the villages for consultation and treatment. So, as the oldest son, I had to take up our domestic responsibilities.”
Amid family woes, Jetha said he could not even think making a trip to the capital city of Kathmandu to explore any new opportunities.
“All those times, I only thought I could work as a porter,” he said. “I had no skills.”
In Solukhumbu, where roads and transportation are a mere dream, people walk several hours up and down the hills and valleys to reach their destinations. Porters, young and old, are still in demand and are seen back-carrying products from daily essentials to construction materials from one part of the region to others.
The money they earn depends on the load they carry. For every one dharni (2.5 kgs), Jetha said he gets paid approximately Rs 35. The load he was carrying was worth Rs 700.
To help him with his load, Jetha’s nine-year-old son Jhalak also accompanies his father sometimes. Behind his father, with a help of a cane, the boy was struggling to get downhill with a 17 kg weight on his back.
“It’s difficult sometimes to carry the entire load by oneself,” Jetha clarified for bringing his youngest son along. “People ask questions but…”
However, Jetha does not let his children work as porters. He has sent all his children to school so that they have a better future. His eldest son, 27, is working in Birtanagar but Jetha said “he doesn’t help financially.” Of his other adult sons, one is in Malaysia.
Jetha has a loan of Rs 120,000 for sending him for foreign employment. The other son serves in the Armed Police Force.
He then talks about his other family members: His elder daughter was married off at 17. His two younger sons and daughters go to school.
One daughter-in-law joined the Maoists and their People’s Liberation Army (PLA) during the decade-long Maoist-state conflict. He complained about her, mentioning the granddaughter she has left with them, and the rumor that she has remarried.
Jetha paused and then started talking about his family expenses again. His two ropanis of land hardly produced any sizeable quantity of maize and just some vegetables. He disclosed that the expenses for his children’s stationery for school alone came to Rs 190.
But Jetha is firm on sending his children to school. He vows that he will keep working as a porter.
“I’ll stick to it as long as I can,” the energetic man said before taking up his heavy load again for the uphill trek to Namche.
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