It had been 3 days after I had returned home from my 10 days stay in Diktel, Khotang. I never imagined that in this age a district just 325 kms away from the Kathmandu; neighboring to some prosperous districts would still be devoid of a concrete road access. In other terms I never thought that I would have to change my bus after crossing the mighty Sunkoshi over a suspension bridge into another vehicle that would then finally take me to my destination. It was completely disappointing. But after the first sip of Tulsi tea I had with the Integrity Idol; Gyanmani Nepal I embraced myself for the positivity that was on its way.
Before joining Integrity Idol team, I only merely knew the words called as ‘accountability’, ‘integrity’ and ‘transparency’. But after completing my fellowship I came to give my own definitions to the teams as pronounced above. Before being a fellow, I have a vague picture of how Gyanmani sir is, a lean man with shallow glasses wearing a hat and climbing hills. But after having a single conversation, I knew that I was in for much more.
Generally, you are only able to cultivate one side or angle of a man’s personality. But a man’s identity is a collage of all those infinite personalities before various characters and situations. I was lucky enough to witness different perceptions of Gyanmani through this fellowship which could not be possible in any other way. Through Integrity Fellowship; for ten days I ate what he ate; I went where we went and I tried to think how he thought. It all made so much sense in the end when to can contemplate the exact situation through two different scopes.
Every night, before going to be we used to share our food for thought; sipping Tulsi tea covered by the epiphany of the night. He would recite Sanskrit stanzas of wisdom and I tried to inhale them. He taught a lot of things that be believed were the key essence of life. He always used to say that a tree yields fruits not to devour itself but for the sake of filling others belly. So, is the purpose of a human’s life for to give something back to the society not only for own self. A man is born with a purpose and the purpose is to serve others.
I was also deeply inspired by his quality of living and consciousness of feeding habit. He has planted a number of cruciferous plants in his kitchen garden and a hedge of Tulsi plants surrounding his residence. He provides complete organic bio-fertilizer prepared by decomposing his own collected urine. Also is very open to more biological and organic measures of dealing with pests and diseases. From his feeding habit; I am also inspired to change my feeding habits into a vegetarian menu form. Avoidance of meat increases stability of mind and reduces abrupt anger and overreaction of tension in a huge margin. He told me that living is quite cheap if you produce what you consume. His monthly expenditure never exceeds 4,000 rupees which gives him no leverage or advantage of additional side income through illegal corruption. I learned that when man himself chooses a simple and sufficing life then the craving for a higher degree of luxury and greed increases abstinence which endures an individual from not indulging in such immoral activities.
His past accomplishments in the field of education development are worth an applaud and also awe-strucking. After being assigned as a Chief Education Officer of Paanchthar he was able to escalate the annual SLC pass rate of community schools from 14% to an astonishing more than 60% in a single year. His adamant behavior has also resulted in resignation of number of teachers who had a record of being drunk during class hours. He showed me is that all it takes it one man to take a mission and not stumble or flicker from the goal. Through his fearless stubbornness and not so amiable relationship with the villains of development he has been able to flourish the children with quality education. Such strong determination and feasible vision are sparks of successful planning. He inspired me to never underestimate myself and always be determined to reach the goal no matter how far or close it all is. He taught me that ‘Somebody maybe cannot do everything but everybody can do something.’ He inspired me to take actions against anything that I know and believe is not right. He taught me perseverance and patience. He taught me that patience is not how long you wait but how you react when the result finally arrives.
Seeing him in the meet at Evoke was a beautiful moment; where I recollected all our past shared experiences how his address to me transitioned from ‘jee’ to ‘babu’. How we watched back to back English movies to improve his English; how he spoke highly of his dream to revolutionize the education system in Nepal and how he was still full of energy to do more. In the middle of a presentation; a familiar sound reached my ear lobes. I found out that the familiar sound was his phone’s ringtone. I was so much accustomed to his ringtone and hearing it after 3 days was like finding my clandestine back.
Integrity Fellowship has indeed been a huge platform where we learn and teach from our Idols. We get a closer look at the everyday life of such amazing humans and how the perceive problems; are opportunities and full of assurance. This fellowship has been a guidebook of how to lead a bureaucratic life and how never let other shadows dim you light.
-Radip Tandukar
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