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Nepal Gyanendra

Gyanendra Pradhan (Gyaney)

Intro: Gyaney Pradhan is a Nepalese immigrant, now living in Christchurch. Gyaney tells of how he came to live in New Zealand and the difficulties he experienced, before developing a “sense of belonging” in his new home.

In Kathmandu I was always surrounded by lots of people, including my friends and family.
Nepal has a population of thirty million, so you just see people everywhere. Many festivals take place in Kathmandu; I remember so much colour and a mood of festivity.

People in Nepal live for the food. It is a symbol of prosperity to be fat, and so people often greet each other: “How are you? Oh you are so fat!” – meaning “you are looking well and healthy”. I still laugh.
Growing up in a middle class family moulded me to work hard. We did not have much. Some furniture was made from wooden boxes, such as tables or beds.

I worked assembling TVs and then had my own TV repair shop. A friend of mine had a tourist shop and that’s where I met my Kiwi wife. The first part of our romance was in sign language.

Arriving in New Zealand was a shock. The space, the peace and so much green, I couldn’t believe it. We lived in Kaikoura and the isolation there made me learn English.

Loneliness feels like you are shutting down in your own self. It’s the lack of having your own people to talk with in your own language, and eat your own sort of food.

We were missing Nepal, and so went back, but it wasn’t as we had expected. When you have lived away it’s hard to go back and accept all those customs. You are not the same person anymore. We started to feel like strangers there. In addition to this, the violence made it an unsafe place to be, with guns pointing at you, and up to 200 people killed a day. We planned to spend a year or more there, we last only 6 weeks.

Starting again in New Zealand was better. I cut my umbilical cord with Nepal then I felt a sense of belonging here. We came to live in Christchurch and I found more Nepalese people. A community was formed. Finally I could have a little bit of both worlds.

With three friends we decided to form a football team. In the same year the Office of Ethnic Affairs and the Christchurch City Council announced the first Ethnic Soccer Tournament. I was able to fulfil my dream to play football, and we have participated ever since. After playing soccer together our community started to get really close.

The future is outstanding. I am currently training for the NZ Police. It would be nice to give something back to this country that has given me so much, being available to help people and communities.
Since training for the Police Force I have been so healthy. I used to be ill all the time. I never ran in my life, but now it is a pleasure to enjoy the beach and run along feeling fit and healthy.

I admire the NZ Police for their respect for human beings. I think that says a lot about this country. I feel honoured to be part of them.

Story contributed by Gyanendra Pradhan (Gyaney)
Interviewed and transcribed by Cecilia Guridi, Ethnic Advisor, Christchurch
Photography by Cecilia Guridi, Ethnic Advisor, Christchurch