Samples from The Book
The Bridge Between Human Spirits
by Khakendra Pun
Eagles in the Sky
Far away, up above a village's mountain those free eagles kept roaming quietly in their safest motion. A little village boy in old blue shorts and a cotton shirt with a few holes kept diving down the hill towards the bottom of his parents' cornfield. By then all the corn plants had already grown up to this little village boy's chin. Standing in the village of Ulleri, if you looked around you would see nothing but peaceful tall, green corn plants everywhere on the mountains' terraced fields. If ever a God were to offer this shoeless village boy the most precious thing it would certainly be his two beautiful little feet. That boy was me running down the hill in that village. I had nothing to worry about in life. With my bare feet I stood by the stone road, then I began to watch those eagles floating up in the sky. The eagles' widespread wings began to comfort my soul. While I kept watching them fly far up above me, I let my own spirit gain all the strength that I needed to fly like them. I raised both of my hands up above my shoulders. I looked around carefully and then began to fly down towards the hill myself. I might have dived down that hill thirty miles an hour if not more. That's when I found myself flying up and down in the mountains of our village. I was very happy that those eagles had their wings. That way they could fly anywhere they wanted to. The eagles that flew up above me had no boundaries in their lives. And I had no boundaries in life either.
Sunimaya Git
From time to time, our village elders got together at someone's house and sang a song called sunimaya. The words sunimaya, mean the love of hearing and listening to one another. This was an old song that had been passed on to our village elders by our Pun ancestors. The song had a unique format in singing. It had its own rhyme and rhythm but nothing like any other song you would hear in Nepal. The words in the song were spontaneously created, through which, the sincerity of the elders' lives were revealed from their heart and souls. A man in the group always led the song using the words sunimaya, which he stretched, lifting the melodies up and down, improvising other words with it. Soon after, the women followed him and the remaining men would harmonize with everyone. As they sang, we were all able to hear the voices of our ancestors who left that song behind them for us to carry for the future. The song always brought the elders closer to life. It helped them to connect with their past. While I was still young, I often I sat beside my mother and listened to her sing this song with her friends. Even though the words used in the song were not very clear to me, I was still able to understand the inner meaning of their singing spirits. Throughout the night, while the melodies went up and down, the echo brought the peace all around us and always soothed my mind. After listening to them sing for many years, I was able to understand the deeper meaning of their singing. As they sang, the past, the present, and the future were all revealed in one moment. The song was like a never-ending chant in a temple, which comforted our spirits in our village.
In the Midst of Heaven - Fall 1980
During my winter break from school when the days were sunny, I went to the forest to get firewood. Often, I would meet with my friends on the main road carrying doko, baskets made from the local bamboo. Slowly we would walk further up away from our village. As soon as we got to the forest we used to scatter to look for wood. While cutting the pieces of dry wood we sang our village songs to the sound of the spring water. The birds also sang around us. Singing was a part our lives. We sang wherever we went. The days when I went to cut firewood with my sisters and their friends I would hear them sing with their hearts and souls open as the forest remained in perfect silence. The melodies of their songs used to echo throughout the forest. They were the songs of our lives and the songs of the Angels. Standing nearby I used to find myself in heaven in those moments. Soon all the little creatures would begin to sing their songs in the forest, knowing it was safe to be near us; the Angels were back down on earth. The Angels would sing with my sisters and their friends continuously. Slowly the flowers shined under the bright sunlight in the forest. The birds danced around while flying from one branch to the other in the trees. Then we knew the Angels had come to our village to see our happy lives. After filling our baskets with pieces of wood we would find a sunny spot and sing and laugh while resting for a while. Then we would walk back down to our village.
Waiting Crows - Spring 1982
I grew up listening to the crows sing in our village. Over the years I had learned to understand the meaning of their sounds. We believed that the crows brought us messages. We were familiar with two of their sounds. Whenever crows made this sound, "kaa kaa kaa" speaking very fast and loud flying over our heads it meant, "Someone was coming home from far way." And if they made this sound, "Kaa, kaa, kaa, kul-dung. Kaa kaa kaa kuldung," in a very soft voice we knew they meant, "Someone was sick and was going to die in our village." These were the two messages crows gave us. We never disregarded the meaning of their songs. It was very important for us to listen to what they were saying. I used to love standing by the pauyu tree, and listen to the crows sing. Throughout the winter, the crows played around our goth, a buffalo shelter in Nepane, a field towards the bottom of our village. They knew we kept food in our goat. Whenever we weren't around, they flew inside of our goth and ate everything. The crows were very smart. Often they sat on the backs of our buffaloes and took a ride around our field.
They even knew how to open the lead of our jhek, a bamboo basket, where we kept milk. Sometimes when we came back from the forest bringing ghash, our kure, a pot designed to put milk used to be empty. Other than that they were good crows. Some days while I was running down the hill to our goth, I used to hear the black crows sing me a song. I would stand and listen to them sing. "kau-uwa. kau-uwa. kau-uwa." It was a happy song so I knew my sister's husband was coming back home from India or my relatives were coming to visit us in the village. What that meant was I was going to be able to eat some sweets and get some pocket money. I used to smile and run down the hill looking almost twenty miles further down south to see if our relatives were coming further up towards our village. That same week, when the crows sang to me, our brother-in-law would come home from India. I was so happy that the next day I would take some corn grains for crows and put them beside the road. While the crows ate the corn, I used to dash down the hill singing my own happy songs.
Neuli Chauri - Winter 1984
In perfect silence you stand somewhere in our village road. The cool, fresh air whispers through your ears. The warm bright sun shines in the mountains. In its peaceful slow pace of life you see buffaloes, cows, goats and sheep grazing on the terraces of the mountains. No one is a stranger up here. Someone walks by you saying hello with a smile. You smile and say hello to them. If you keep standing on the road you will hear the stream sing down below the village. While nature shines bright with the sun, the flowers bloom with a thousand colors. In the silence of the peace and romance now you hear the song of the neuli chauri. "neul, neul, neul." You can't see the birds but you hear them sing from miles and miles away. Even though we don't know whether this bird is a male or female we call her neuli chauri, which means female neuli bird. I grew up in the village listening to this bird sing throughout the forest. Hearing these birds sing you start taking a long journey through your heart and soul into your life. Her songs become a symbol of peace and harmony where all creatures live with joy and dignity around her. Once you hear these birds sing you never forget to sing your song in your life. For the rest of your life wherever you take your journey you will hear their song in your ears. The song means love, happiness, sadness and joy in life. It means to live simply with what you are given by your mother and nature, and to understand that in all circumstances you will be healed in time by your own inner force of living. The song of this neuli chauri is like two lovers who distance themselves for many years, and yet the love between them remains pure and indestructible for the rest of their lives. In time these two lovers must unite again. The song means unity for all creatures who were once together, lovers who were yet to be united, lovers who yet had to meet each other, and the lovers who distanced themselves away because of the force of others. The distance between lovers is brought closer with this song. It sings about two lovers being able to feel, see and hear each other through the inner hearts of their souls.
Angel of Little Fish - Winter 1978
One sunny winter afternoon, I gathered up all my fishing tools ran up and down the streambed trying to catch fish. Hours went by. I didn't seem to have any luck for some reason. I kept walking further and further down the stream to see if I would catch any fish. While the birds sang in the bushes I hid behind a rock pointing my fishing pole towards the corner of the stream. Pretty soon the sun was beginning to sink behind the mountain. Still I had no luck. Suddenly, I felt an attack on my fishing pole. Quickly I pulled up the line towards the sky above me. I had caught one of the tiniest fish on earth. Very carefully I unhooked the fish. I realized that the fish I had just caught was not going to fulfill the hunger in my life, not even for the night alone, so I decided to let her go back into the water. For a few seconds I held the fish in my hand. I made a promise not to kill fish anymore unless there was no other way for me to survive. I put my hands into the water and let the fish go back. For a few seconds the little fish didn't move. When she finally realized that she had gotten her life back again she moved her fins back and swam deeper into the water. Soon she disappeared into the bubbly water while I waved goodbye to her. I knew she needed the water to live and I needed the ground. That was the day I realized that my life was no different than the life of that little fish. The only difference was that I was living on the ground and the little fish was living in the water. The water was the only dividing element between the two of us. We both needed water to live. Water was both for humans and for fish. Water knew the truth. But the life we had was the same. We were living and sharing on this same common ground. After I let the fish go back into the water I threw away my fishing pole. I unfolded my shirtsleeves, put on my slippers, and began to run up the hill towards our village. There I was, running with my empty stomach. When I got home it was completely dark. This was the reason why you often saw me sit beside streambeds listening to the song of the stream while my friends spent their time fishing. I was holding my promise not to kill fish. Now that little fish must have grown big and she must have wondered where I might have gone.
McDonalds & Me - April 1993
One day I saw an ad; "Now, Hiring at McDonaldâ" on the high school's bulletin board. After school I rode my bicycle to the McDonald's on Los Gatos Boulevard. I met the store manager, Roger. After interviewing he took me downstairs and I began to watch the history of how the McDonald's business started. By the time I watched two videos I almost fell asleep. Roger came back and gave me a McDonald's uniform. I put on a short sleeve red and white stripe shirt, tight dark blue pant, red tie and red hat. That same day, Roger put me on one of the cashiering registers to take orders from the customers. I stood by the cash resister and began to wonder. There were hundred of unfamiliar buttons. I began to learn the functions of each buttons. My trainer was a woman in her mid thirties. She was driving me nuts. I would be trying to take orders from a customer, and she would ask me to put drinks out for the customers. I didn't even know where the cups were and which drinks were which. I would be trying to get a drink for a customer but she would ask me to get fries. I would be trying to put some fries in a bag and then she would ask me to get a chicken salad from the refrigerator. The thing about this was that she didn't just ask me to get things, she would literally pull my hands as if I never knew how to walk or something. This was my part time job. Everyday after school I would go to work at the McDonalds. Soon I got better with the register buttons. Scott was one of my supervisors. I knew his younger brother, Ryan and his sister, Tara, from High School. The days when I worked with him we would have a fun time. Throughout my shift I would stand behind the register and help customers. I would finish helping a customer, but then there would always be another one.
Moments of Solitude - December 1996
One night I was heading towards Millbrae to see my friend Navid. Right after I took the Trousdale Avenue exit I heard a loud siren beep behind me. I pulled over to the side and the bright lights came towards me. A few minutes later, a cop came with his torchlight, "Can I see your driver's license?" he asked. "Here, sir,â" I gave him the license. He went back to his car and began to check the status of my driver's license. I waited in my car. I heard another police officer pull up behind him. Forty minutes later, the same police walked up to me and said, "You need to step outside." I had just come out from my car when he ordered, "Stand behind your car." As I was doing so, "Put your both hands behind," he said, harshly. I didn't know what was happening. All of a sudden, he handcuffed me saying, "You are under arrest for driving under a suspended license." I didn't know I had a suspended license. I stood there with my handcuffs on and they checked inside my car. Two hours later, a tow truck came and towed my car away. "Sir, why is he taking my car? How am I going to get home tonight?" I asked the officer. "Well, you won't be going home tonight for sure." He pushed me inside his car and then drove me to the jail.
The Public Defender - January 1999
"Mr. Pun." Finally the Judge called my name. "Yes your honor," I stood up. The judge looked through my file and began to explain the jurisdiction of the law. I didn't understand something. "Your honor?" I was trying to ask a question. Instead a cop came and told me, "Shut up or we will take your ass right back to the jail," I remained quiet. "Just say, yes. And you'll be fine," the guy who sat beside me whispered towards me. So every time judge asked me something I said, "Yes your honor." "Your court date in South San Francisco will be in January 14 1997," the judge ordered. "Why am I going to the another court, your honor?" I asked. Without a word he closed my case. When the court gave me a piece of yellow paper I looked at it. "Mr. Pun agrees to pay $1,400 fine to the court by August of this year, 1997," it said towards the bottom. After the court hearing they took us back to our cells. For a few hours I spent my time lying on that cold metal bed thinking about home, the stream below our village, our water buffaloes and the birds that used to sing around the bushes. "Mr. Pun. Pack up your stuff," I heard the security guard speak to me from outside. I jumped off of my bed and put everything in a plastic box. When the door clicked I ran outside. A security guard took us to the first floor. At the window they gave my clothes back. I put on my good clothes. As the guard pointed me towards the exit door I flew out the door to the street like a lion.
Streets Of Philadelphia - March 2001
After I got all the paperwork ready for my Green Card application through a lawyer, I took a train to Philadelphia. I spent the night at a nearby hotel so I could get to the immigration office early. I was so worried about my paperwork that I didn't sleep much that night. The next morning, at dawn, I took a taxicab and went to the immigration office. There was already a line outside the door. This was my second time walking into that same immigration office. The first time I went to that office my paperwork was denied because there were errors everywhere on my forms. That was because the stupid immigration lawyer who charged me $600 just to fill out my forms didn't even know how to spell things correctly, so I had to fly all the way back to San Jose, have her retype the forms and fly back to Pennsylvania. This time I was hoping they would accept my paperwork. Three hours later, I went to the window and showed all my paperwork to a woman. She looked through the paperwork and said, "I can't process your paperwork without your birth certificate from your country." "We don't get birth certificates in our village. I never had one," I said and showed her my passport instead. She closed the window and I had to walk out in silence.
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