Prelude to Pushkar’s Journey

FROM ISSUE # 170 (February 2010) | IN THIS ISSUE
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On 11 April, 1990 an official ceremony was held in Charikot, Dolakha district to revere the martyr, Pushkar Shah. His family and relatives wept profusely in his memory; garlands were offered and people paid their last respects. The village had come to know of this tragedy via local newspapers, but a few days later, Pushkar appeared at the door of his two-story mud hut, in flesh and blood. His mother and younger brother Kedar, then shed more tears of joy and happiness in their reunion.  

The living Martyr
Still unconscious, bullet ridden Pushkar was taken to Bir Hospital. He had got shot while demonstrating against the Panchayat rule in Durbar Marg on 6 April, immediately after curfew was imposed in the city.

He regained consciousness the next day and the bullet wound was treated. The curfew though hadn't yet been lifted and Pushkar was starving. He had spent the entire day with nothing but water to drink. The hospital didn't provide anything and one wasn't allowed to go out.

When the curfew was finally lifted for an hour on the third day, unable to bear the hunger any longer, Pushkar left the hospital. Seeing his empty bed, the doctors assumed the police had taken him, who would often take away the dead and seriously injured victims from the hospitals. It was then that his name was registered in the list of martyrs and two days later Drishti, a local newspaper, published the list.

Pushkar's Past
Pushkar Shah was born in Makaibari, a village in Dolakha district. His father was in the Indian army and he spent his juvenile years in Assam. In the year 1987, while fighting against Bodos in Assam, his father passed away.

Later when Pushkar came to the Valley for his further studies, he started revolting for the revolution of Nepal. Recalls Pushkar, "I took part in demonstrations, meetings, hunger strikes and all other activities planned by the political parties." They were fighting to overthrow the Panchayat party and restore it with a multiparty democracy.

"I used to be worried sick for him all the time. I now feel that even if he had died fighting, it would have been for a good cause," says his mother Naram Kumari, who at 48, is a warrior's widow and a warrior's mother.

Pushkar's fight
Pushkar was arrested and tortured numerous times by the authorities. They would imprison the demonstrators, but release them soon because of the lack of space. And the very next day, they would be back on the streets.

Then Pushkar got shot in his hand. From whatever support his family could provide, he treated himself. He says, "I haven't received any relief from any sector as a political victim. It could be because I'm an independent person, not a party worker. People under the umbrella of political parties enjoy favouritism here. People have gone to Australia for treatment without even getting a scratch or putting up a fight. Political leaders' children enjoyed the educational quotas meant for the movement victims. I didn't get any relief for the blood I shed."

But Pushkar did enjoy the popularity of being a living martyr for a while. Then gradually pictures began to fade away from the minds of people, things began to settle down and Pushkar hunted for jobs to live hand to mouth.

Around the World
Now he feels incomplete. "I have not done anything for my country, my family, for no one at all. I'm jobless. I'm wasting away," says Pushkar.

The plan is to see the world – 150 countries in 11 years on a bicycle. He wants his country, his village, his mother and himself to be known in the world. "He has a strong will to go, says he wants to see the world. I told him not to leave us behind but he said I shouldn't be discouraging him. So I gave up," says Naram Kumari now prepared for yet another change in her life.

Pushkar knows it takes a lot of fund to travel around the world and he knows he has none. Even if he sells off the family home, land and all the property, it won't suffice for South Asia alone. "I went to the  Visit Nepal '98 office for financial support; I thought they would be interested as I would be representing my country's name worldwide. They said they will give me a flag and a T-shirt," says Pushkar dissapointedly. Nevertheless, he is determined to fulfill his dreams.

The Tourism Ministry has provided him with a request letter. Pushkar will be visiting the world capitals and will  apply for visa for the country he plans to visit next. "I'll go to India first. Then Pakistan, Maldives, Srilanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Thaliland, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and so on," Pushkar plans, "I'll be carrying travel cheques and credit cards."

Actress Sharmila Malla has helped him the most, collecting financial aid from business communities. The first world cyclist from Nepal, Laxman Sapkota has also helped. "He's given me valuable information about the countries he has visited," Pushkar adds. In coordination  with Daman Nath Dhungana, parliamentarian Wanche Sherpa and Bhim Bahadur Tamang, as well as other intellectual figures, Pushkar Shah Rastriya Sahayog Samiti has been formed.

At the moment, Pushkar is in Kathmandu busy with last minute preparations. With hope, anticipation and fear, he will soon be leaving on his bicycle for the world. For the next eleven years, Pushkar will be an ambassador of goodwill and friendship for Nepal.

This article originally appeared in issue # 32, August 1998.