Have you ever listened to the stories about the struggle of your grandmother? Grandparents’ stories can be quite interesting and lesson worthy. Kanchhi, who was born in Bhaktapur and now lives at Jhochhen, Kathmandu, is a great soul.
As I saw her at Bishal Bazar and approached for a brief conversation, she was candid with me. “We could buy a lot of things at 1 rupee. One could buy a house in a city just with 50 thousand rupees,” she remembered, just like other grandparents. She shared about the story behind her name.
According to her, everyone called her Kanchhi as she was the youngest child of her parents. “My sisters, brothers and others called me Kanchhi and over the time I got the same name,” said Kanchhi Shrestha. She got married at the age of 20 and gave birth to child at the age of 21. “I gave birth to twins but one of them died due to premature birth.” She gave birth to 10 babies- eight daughters and two sons. Of them, four daughters and one son survived. They are married now. According to her, her father-in-law sold property and her family got nothing from ancestral property. “Now, we live in a rented room. For longtime, I have been selling items like peanuts and lemons. I prefer working as I feel bored when I stay at home. Working is good. Never get involved in activities like telling lie or stealing,” Kanchi stressed.