Book Launch: The Journey of Light of the Lamp from Lamjung to London

• Namaste and good evening
• About six years after, we are meeting physically.
• It’s great honor and truly blessed to have Tuka madam and family here in Sauraha. I don’t have word to express gratitude and thankfulness to her for her generosity to live myself and the cause I lead.
• Let me share briefly about my motivation of this book writing

The first conversation I made with her around October 2012 when I was in USA

She proposed me to collaborate for birthing center in Jumla.

Yes, but I have conditions, that was my response.

1. 
   
   First condition: the program should be for five years to make our efforts sustained
2. Second condition: should not make any public announcement or media coverage before having results.
3. Guess, what she said on my proposals ?

She said yes, and she shared her experience from Far East nepal without spending a second. This is how I realized that we are on same board though we have so much differences.

Then, we started to share our trips in Nepal and UK. In between we have conversations.

In our informal conversations, I learned historical stories about nursing profession here in Nepal and Nepalese nurses in UK which I didn’t-know in my nursing course in Nepal.

Many of my nursing classmates, seniors and juniors went to UK. They never shared what Tuka had contributed for their nursing career.

I was amazed and meanwhile worried too.

Tuka’s stories, contribution was very very powerful and inspirational now and days to come but no one documenting it.

• 
  
  meanwhile, I learned that the Swiss geologist man named Tony Hegan, who came to Nepal in 1950 and mapped Nepal first time in a history. As a legacy of him, His granddaughter started to work in remote Nepal where her grandfather explained about hardship of life.
• I relate this story with Tuka. If there is something about her life and contribution in English, her grandchildren may inspire from her.
• Later, coincidently, I met grandson of Edmund Hilary who was the first man to scale Mount Everest. I more inspired to write about Tuka again.
• I also read the book about first activist from Nepal named Yogmaya. She died in 1941 and recently many people started to write about her. Her immediate family members have already died, there was no evidences and people were asking grand grand families and neighborhoods and writing. I found many mismatched about her. For instance- few writers claimed that she married twice and other claimed once and others claimed for thrice.
• From this case, I was determined to write about Tuka’s story when she is alive.
• This is how, I started to document her stories whatever I know and whatever she shared without knowing anything.
• I also started to ask cross questions in between. I made a note while she was speaking even over phone.
• Without letting her know about my plan, I also went through her albums, took photos and explored stories
• I had plan to join her trip in Nepal in 2020 and went to Lamjing to get more lively details about her childhood.
• Unfortunately, due to covid, her trip cancelled and also she caught by covid. So I changed my mind and planned to publish whatever I have while she was on a course of recovering from her sickness.
• This is how this book produced though it is not enough as she had.
• Whatever the case, I am happy and proud myself that I can not only document her story but also contributed in Nepalese nursing history in Nepal and UK.
• Thank you so much for accepting my request.
• This book has already available through online and also send to national libraries and nursing schools as a reference and archive.
• Books all about her story, struggles, success
• I wish I could write another piece with her entire story and launch with big program.
• I wish her happy and healthy long life and wish for safe and pleasant stay in Nepal.
• Have a good night.
• Thank you.

Dan (Tuka's Son in Law), Harrison (Tuka's elder Grandson, 13 years), Alexandra (Tuka's Younger Grand Son, 5 years), Coral (Tuka's  grandaughter, 10 years), Usha (Radha's third sister), Thakur (Radha's second brother in law) and Kishor (Tuka's Nephew)