103 & still going strong
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| Pada Bdr. Gurung "Bali bow Baje" |
We often think that
how long we may live because of the lifestyle we are leading? One may get
amazed after hearing that some people have lived for more than 100 years and
are still living. In our quest for people living for more than 100 years, we
came across a man whose age has reached 103 years and still determined to live
for another few more years.
Few kilometers away
from the town of Gangtok in a village called Ranka, and after 15-20 minutes of
walk upwards the road, lives Padam Bahadur Gurung, 103 year old man who is
popularly known as ‘Bali Bow Baje’. On our way to his home we also encountered
a huge snake, straight away heading towards us. Frightened and startled we
finally reached his house. Born and brought up in Ranka, he had a very simple
life like any of ours. He is survived by 2 sons, 1 daughter and 6 grand
childrens. At first we had a difficult time to communicate with him, as his
vision was blurred and his ear was also hard of hearing. We had to talk very
loudly near his ear to converse with him, which was making us feel quite
uncomfortable as not being used to it often. But slowly we were catching the
flow and even he was getting to understand us easily. He started narrating
story of his old bygone days, how the school was established in Ranka, where he
has played eminent role in its establishment. When asked about the recent
earthquake of 18th September as compared to that of “90 saal ko
bhuichalo”, he says the 18/9 Earth Quake was nothing as compared to that of “90
saal ko bhuichalo”.
He recalls that he was very energetic and very
fond of singing in his youth days. ”Whenever there was a marriage or any sort
of function, I was invited to specially entertain the village and guests with
my songs” adds 103 year old Padam smilingly. He even sang a few lines for us
and says now “It’s very hard to remember those songs now. I have forgotten
those songs”.
Even now, he does not
sit idle in his house. When we reached his house he was busy arranging some
stones in his fields. “It has been 6 or 7 months since I haven’t toured village
like I used to do before”, recalls Padam Bahadur. When asked his daughter in
law about his nature, she tells that usually he is calm but when not satisfied,
he still scolds them and grumbles. With only one teeth left with him and few
white hair, still he has a good memory to remember things. We found this by
assuming that he did not forgot to carry his packet of biscuit which we brought
for him as a gift. Saying that now it’s time for him to take a nap, and asks us
to come again and goes inside his room. We managed to take him to his bed and
ask for his blessing and bowed before him. His wrinkled hand touches our head
with a smile on his face.
Well, it was a very
wonderful and a blessed experience having got an opportunity to meet a 103 year
old person. We hope to visit him very soon again. We wish and pray that he may
live for more years and bless us in our next visit.
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