Every other day, Giri and his five other friends – Surya Limbu, Min Bohara, Nira Gurung, Kalpana Tamang, and Min Bahadur Tamang – meet at the Old Bus Park in Kathmandu, and together with Maya Rai, a woman who has dedicated herself to help them in their endeavors, go around Tundikhel, singing the tracks of popular folk and modern Nepali songs.
The first time they came together to create such a street spectacle was around a year ago. They were just acquaintances before that, and almost all of them were suffering from a financial crunch as none of them had jobs. Some sold candles and incense sticks after buying them in wholesale to a limited crowd, while the others were adept at making them. However, they were all struggling to make ends meet.
"I sold incense sticks and candles for some time," says Giri. But it didn't work out for him. "I couldn't sell enough to make a good profit out of it. I was under pressure financially. It was then that Min Bahadur dai suggested singing. He is my brother-in-law and as I couldn't think of anything better, I gave in and told him I was in," he says.
On April 2014, Min Bahadur Tamang assembled this unique cast of singers and started a committee of their own under the name 'Berojgar Drishtibihin Sangharsha Samitee'.
Giri had a passion for singing ever since he was a child and just a few years back he had even taken a singing course from an institute in Kirtipur. So he jumped at the opportunity to showcase his singing talents. The location didn't matter as long as he was singing. He enjoys singing folk songs and songs by Nepali singers. Along with him, three others in the group sing; choosing from the tracks, and taking turns to entertain the crowd.
Usually, they earn around Rs 1,000 to Rs 3,500. On an extremely good day, they earn up to Rs 5,000. "But that is very rare," says Min Bahadur. But that is not a surprise as many curious people come to see what they are doing. When they find out that they are visually impaired, they are eventually mellowed, and take out some money to give them.
Jaya Rai was one of them. She was walking to New Road with her husband and tried to see what was happening as there was a large group of people looking at something. She stayed for a while and asked her husband to give them a few rupees. "I felt sorry for them and wanted to give them money as they were working and doing something to earn their own living despite their limitations," she says.
Many people feel sorry for their condition and give money without even listening to them. Saroj Bista, who was in a hurry, dropped a 20 rupee note and was on his way, but there are still some in the crowd who appreciate the singing. Rudra, a retired service holder, reached the venue when the group was taking a break, and seeing the crowd wait for the group to resume singing, stayed back. When Kalpana started singing, he commented on her beautiful voice.
As they live in different places around the valley, they travel in groups. Kalpana and Min Bahadur are a couple, and as Kalpana can see with one of her eyes, they manage to commute without much hassle. Maya picks up Ramesh and the others from their residence and brings them to Old Bus Park. They reach their spots by seven in the morning and stay there until the weather forces them to leave, and until they are tired. Sometimes, even if it is time for them to leave, the presence of audience encourages them to keep on singing. However, they make sure that they get home before dark.
Of course Ramesh and Kalpana wish that they were singing anywhere else than on the roadside. But they are bound by the situation. There are a lot of problems when you work from the street. "Sometimes, there are drunkards getting in our way. We can't do anything to them and when it becomes too much, we even leave the venue. The metropolitan office has never chased us away. But the weather is a huge rival," says Min Bahadur. They brave the scorching sun, but when it rains, they can't come out and sing.
They feel that they are not being given a chance to fully explore their capabilities, as they think that if the state had given them opportunities rather than disability allowances, they would be much more than just street singers. "If given an opportunity, we can do anything," says Min Bahadur. Before he formed the committee, Min Bahadur had tried registering a company of household essentials that he made himself, but he was unsuccessful at that.
What Ramesh wants to do is continue his singing streak and be recognized in a bigger platform. "I haven't gotten a chance to sing anywhere else besides the streets, even when I went to Pokhara once. If God wants me to do this, then I will have to do it. This is our compulsion," he says. However, he is pretty satisfied with what they are doing at the moment.
That is probably the reason why the number of street singers, who are visually impaired, is growing. Min Bahadur claims that majority of people who have lost their vision turn to singing in the streets because it's a lucrative deal compared to all the other professions.
Bishnu Pariyar and Buddhi Maiya Sirekta are examples of that. The duo slowly finds their way and reaches the streets of New Road around eight in the morning to do their business. Unlike Min Bahadur and Ramesh, they have no one to lead them and are in the mercy of the bus drivers and conductors for their public ride. Bishnu has a 15 month old son to take care of and his wife is also visually impaired. Friends convinced Bishnu to sing on the roadside telling him that it would get him enough money to run the house. "It's difficult at times. We don't earn a lot, but it's enough to survive. I have to take care of my son as well, I don't want him to end up like me, and hopefully, things will be better when he grows up," he says.
What Pariyar and Giri, and all the street singers have in common is how they think their lives could have changed had they had an opportunity to study or get other vocational skills early on. That is exactly what Shristi KC, founder of Blind Rocks, an organization working to train the visually impaired on various fronts, is trying to do.
"We are engaged with kids and youths who are visually impaired to support them in their education and other job opportunities, so that they can live in this world which is dependent on visual impression. It can be pretty difficult for us. No one has to go and live in a way they don't want to," she says. Focusing on empowerment rather than charity, KC wants all visually impaired people to be able to sustain themselves.
Though devoid of such facilities, Min Bahadur and the others seem to be doing pretty good. They think that they could have done better, but are nonetheless satisfied with the way things are going. They don't know how long they will have to continue singing by the roadside, but they are making the best of the situation with whatever little they have at their disposal.
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