Inmates of the house in Bhujrungkhola of Sardikhola-1, Kaski, include Ishwar´s elder brother and little sister. Ishwar´s mother Sunkumari and another elder brother Ram reached Kathmandu Sunday morning after being summoned by the British Embassy. At Ishwar´s residence, relatives while away their time gazing at his photograph and a medal.[break]
This is the fifth death in the Gurung household in the past nine years, after the deaths of Ishwar´s father, grandfather, grandmother and uncle.
Ishwar joined the British Gurkha regiment three years ago. He was scheduled to come home in September to receive tika from his mother during Dashain.
The only time he came home after joined the regiment was in August last year. While at home for a month´s vacation, he had asked his family members to purchase a gas stove and build a new kitchen so that his mother would not suffer from health consequences of cooking on firewood. Sunkumari had purchased a gas stove and was building a kitchen when news of his death reached them.
“His wish to eat food cooked by his mother on the gas stove couldn´t materialize,” said his uncle Dev Gurung.
Ishwar´s father Dil Bahadur, a former Indian Army serviceman, passed away six years ago. Ishwar is the third among Dil Bahadur´s three sons. Surya, the eldest, works as a painter in Pokhara, while Ram attends college, also in Pokhara. Ishwar´s sister, 13-year-old Richa, is a fifth grader at Sildudeurali School.
Losing the family´s breadwinner has dealt a big blow to the Gurung family. The family still has Dil Bahadur´s pension to survive on, but the dream of moving to a city has been shattered, according to Surya, to whom Ishwar shared this dream during a phone conversation three months ago.
Ishwar completed SLC from Machchapuchre Secondary School. “He always scored the highest grades in class,” said his teacher Dev Laxmi Gurung.
Officials from the British Camp informed the family about the tragedy Saturday morning. Sunkumari and Ram are preparing to leave for the United Kingdom to bring Ishwar´s body to Nepal.
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