Just the other day, now in the green, I heard about a young woman known as Mira Rai from Bojhpur, a mountain village in the eastern region of Nepal, bedecked in Rhododendron and nudging the Indian 'Tea Garden' state of Sikkim where Kangchenjunga the world's third-highest peak is located straddling the border and in this environment walking or running uphill is all in a day's work.
Since being turfed out of the Maoist Army for being too young, Miss Rai turned to running and has become a distance trail star, appearing on the up-and-down-steep-slopes athletics scene pretty much out of nowhere, pacing balletically out of the morning Himalayan mist with a big smile on her face. And when she runs, she wears a skirt. Her races and stunning victories have led to international events and a new life on the road, and she commented about her travels thus ...
"I’ve visited eight countries, and every one is amazing. Wherever I go it strikes me how busy life is. In Nepal, people are more relaxed, doing nothing but still surviving. I believe God might be behind this. There are many temples looking after Nepal." from an interview by Ishwar Rauniyar.
Since being turfed out of the Maoist Army for being too young, Miss Rai turned to running and has become a distance trail star, appearing on the up-and-down-steep-slopes athletics scene pretty much out of nowhere, pacing balletically out of the morning Himalayan mist with a big smile on her face. And when she runs, she wears a skirt. Her races and stunning victories have led to international events and a new life on the road, and she commented about her travels thus ...
"I’ve visited eight countries, and every one is amazing. Wherever I go it strikes me how busy life is. In Nepal, people are more relaxed, doing nothing but still surviving. I believe God might be behind this. There are many temples looking after Nepal." from an interview by Ishwar Rauniyar.
This film caught my eye, and brought a tear ... hahumm cough cough ... more likely that's just down to the smoke in this room ... not only because I like what she does, but also because during the interview she talks about gathering wood as a young girl and I'd photographed just such young girls back in 2012 doing exactly the same work in Nagarkot village sitting on a 2195 metre high ridge just to the east of Kathmandu.
In all my travels I've never met such positive, resolute and peaceful people as the Nepalese. Every time I've been there it's as if stepping into an alternative universe of optimism allied to an authentic enchantment with life, in a nation of people who continually suffer through any manner of disasters, whether made by nature or by man. This illustration of Mira Rai serves as an inspiration to those girls carrying wood, getting up that hill, keeping life going ... while the men sit around watching them do it.
Film maker Lloyd Belcher has put together a beautiful story of a beautiful people and a beautiful place and a beautiful young woman who is doing such amazing things, giving hope to all.