Drudgery

Days filled with bright dreams and
Eyes filled with whims;
Hands tougher, a heart so wise
From the sweat and pain I rise! I rise!

The construction of roads, bridges, buildings and houses –the city as a whole-cannot be imagined without the laborers who work through every season, night and day. Migrant labor comprises a large portion of the Workforce in Nepal, especially in places like Kathmandu.

According to the Engineers Association of Nepal, most laborers to the Capital arrive from the Madhes, the Terai region that is home to a large Dalit community. They are paid minimum wage and placed in different locations as per need, often severing family and community ties. In this series, I look at their lives through the texture of their skin, the lines and the pores, which speak of where they have been, and the work they do.

Working on drudgery came to my mind just a hint after I saw the people from my hometown Birgunj migrate to the capital city Kathmandu for earning as a labor. They Do not get paid satisfactorily in the local area as per their work day and night so therefore for their living and survival of their family they migrate elsewhere.

Not only this is only about a migrant labor, in our country other people of different professions too migrate internally to other places of the country for earning. People in large groups migrate to gulf countries as a labor too for earning which also helps the country for bringing in the remittance. Where, Nepal is also known for surviving on the huge remittance that comes from many countries especially from gulf countries where our Nepali brothers go for earning as a labor.