By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS,
Nepalipam (Assam) : It’s all in the family. Three generations of one family, numbering now around 200, live in a village in Assam – populating its two schools and even buying provisions from the cooperative store run also by a relative.
Three generations of the family of the late Borno Bahadur Thapa reside in a cluster of mud-and-thatch huts in Nepalipam village of Sonitpur district, about 220 km north of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.
“In all we have 181 people from the same family now. My father had five wives and we are 12 brothers and nine sisters, and now the family tree has grown very big, but all of us live in the same village,” said 45-year-old Purno Bahadur Thapa, one of the 12 brothers.
There are two schools in the village – a lower primary school and a middle school. Up to 70 children go to the two schools – and both the teachers and students are from the same family.
“Our children go to schools with all the teachers and students from the same family. No outsiders are allowed to study in our schools,” said another of the 12 brothers, adding “We eke out a living through agriculture.”
Another interesting facet of this jumbo family is that they buy their essentials from a government-aided cooperative shop run by one of the 12 brothers.
“Even the daily provisions of the entire village are bought from the shop run by my brother,” said Thapa with a broad smile.
Their father settled in this area some 60 years ago – he was a daily wage earner and later took to farming.
So far none of the family members is into a government job. While a majority of them are engaged in agriculture, cultivating paddy, some of them work as daily wage labourers, and a few do contract works in nearby areas.
“We are happy the way we are. We are a mini community by ourselves and we are proud, because we have family values and unity,” said Hari Thapa, one of the family members.
During festivals and other rituals, the entire family gets together in a common field to celebrate.
“It is true we don’t remember the names of all the family members, but yes we do recognize all of them and feel for each other,” Purno Bahadur Thapa said.
For politicians, the village is an attraction. During every election, candidates try to woo the head of the family, or the influential among the 12 brothers, to get votes.
“We are much sought after during each election with candidates seeking votes. But they always make promises, but have never done anything for us,” said Hari.
(Syed Zarir Hussain can be contacted at [email protected])