On the eighteenth of April, 1897, one night after the full moon, the twins are born. They already have names : the oldest will be called Manbir, the youngest Dilu. Bingo, here’s Manbir. A loud cry from mother and child, and he is ready for the world. Dilu makes life more difficult for himself. When Mandir is already peacefully asleep, and resting from his emotions, Dilu is still fighting for a way out. Only at daybreak Dilu emerges, hesitating and distrustful. He would have preferred to stay longer where he was, but he is curious, and looking for his brother. But finally here they are, both, and Laxmi can be satisfied and close her eyes and rest. Kul bahadur squats in front of the house, and looks at the sky. He imagines a peaceful future for his sons : Manbir, the eldest, will be a carpenter, and help his father; Dilu, the youngest, will be a shepherd, and provide wool for Laxmi, the mother. Then, also Kul bahadur can go to bed. * Now they grow up. The mother and the father guide them almost imperceptibly to their future. Kul bahadur takes the oldest on his back with him, to the woods. He introduces him to the trees, and tells him about their qualities and gifts. Or Manbir sleeps at the workplace when his father is busy, and the father gently tells the boy the secrets of his craft, and repeats them, day after day, year after year. Unnoticed and without much effort Manbir becomes the carpenter, from toddler to child. He knows the trees by name, and takes care of the tools of the father, so that they can be useful for generations. The mother keeps Dilu, the youngest, with her, and tells him everything about wool, and about spinning and weaving. He runs with her through the meadows, between sheep and goats, and learns their names, and helps with the milking and shearing. Their lives run in harmony with the seasons and the environment. The yearly feasts, at which neighbors and relatives visit each other after days of traveling, are connected to the seasons. Only during winter do they hardly see anybody, the paths and crossings are sometimes hard to find, and life then mostly is happening indoor. In the course of the years, three more girls are born. During one of the family reunions, the father talks to the smith of the area, and orders the blade for a kukri. He wants the best and most beautiful knife in the area, and will make the handle himself. The kukri is for Manbir. The father does not like the knife, but he knows that his son will be entitled to it, and will claim it. The kukri is the knife of the Gorkha warrior, and wants to see blood. The father had never had any use for his, and is glad for it. But he reads the character of his son, and knows that he will want to assert himself, to the other young men of the hill, and to himself. The mother asks the father to find a bamboo branch, and wants for Dilu a flute, a basuri. This will help him to while away the time when he is with the flock, and it will serve as a peaceful counterweight to Manbir’s weapon. From time to time strange visitors come to the hill, from Pokhara, or Gorkha, some times even from the capital, Kathmandu. These are men trading goods, they sell beautiful things from the town, and want money in return, or even better, woolen clothes and fine furniture, made by Kul bahadur and Laxmi. The men sell those things further on, and the finest of them end up in the houses of the Brits, who have taken the kingdoms of Nepal and Gorkha, and want to bring future and prosperity to them. Brits have never been seen at the hill, but they hear stories about them : they are tall and skinny, with fire arms and great power, and their women are dressed in wide robes and great hats. Once a year, a representative of the British army comes visiting the hill. He is a Nepali, and is called the Galla. The Galla looks up the families with sons of fifteen, sixteen years old, and recruits for the Gorkha army, which now belongs to the British army in Nepal and India. This year, Manbir and Dilu are old enough to be recruited. Manbir wants to show off, and prove his manhood. The father, Kul bahadur, watches and sees how the boy neglects his future as a carpenter, he wants to be a warrior, he hears the heroic stories about the Gorkha regiment at the family reunions, and wants to be recruited as soon as possible. He does not walk from to tree to tree to find the best and finest, but runs all day through the hills, and measures himself against the speed of clouds and animals. His kukri never leaves him, but is still virgin. The kukri has become part of him : he talks with it, as Kul bahadur, his father, talks to the trees. In the summer of 1913 his patience is rewarded : the recruiting officer of the 4th Gorkha Rifles Regiment comes to the hill, and invites a dozen sixteen year olds into the tent. Manbir is one of them. He succeeds brilliantly in the recruiting test, and is invited to military training in Gorakhpur. If he succeeds there he may go to Lahore, and later maybe even to London, to guard the palace of the King. In the evening he returns to the house on the hill. Kul bahadur, the father, and Laxmi, the mother, already are waiting for him. Dilu, the younger brother, and the sisters are outside with the animals. Manbir tells his parents about the decision he made, and they accept it. For him there is no other way : he has outgrown the hill and wants to serve the army and see the world. Then he goes to look for Dilu, and also tells him of his decision. The next morning not only Manbir leaves, armed with the finest kukri on the entire hill. Dilu is with him, but carries no weapon. He is convinced that he can serve the army as well with his basuri as his brother can with the kukri. Together with some other boys from the hill they join the recruiting officer. The same day, they leave for Gorakhpur. All have solemnly declared to the Galla that they are eighteen years old, the Brits want it that way. ....... to be continue