Dharan – Shanti Shrestha wakes up before the city does. Long before sunrise, she boards a vehicle from Dharan to Bhawanne in Morang. After buying corn, she returns to Dharan — by then, it’s around 10 or sometimes 11 AM. Then begins her daily ritual of working with fire and smoke. Every day, she roasts and sells around 160 ears of corn. This is not something she has done for a day or two — it has been her routine for over three decades. The 59-year-old Shrestha is a resident of Dharan Sub-Metropolitan City–16.
Though age is advancing, her energy remains the same. Her dream of becoming self-reliant through hard work has only grown stronger with time. “Once you’re mentally prepared to work, age or problems don’t matter. You actually get used to it. That’s why I’ve never considered this work a burden since the beginning,” she says.
According to her, she now leases cornfields from different parts of Morang on contract. Depending on the field, she has to pay anywhere between NPR 60,000 and NPR 150,000. As it’s difficult to do this alone, she works together with two or three others. “It’s a bit cheaper when we take the lease together, but business is not always profitable. Sometimes there are losses, sometimes profits,” she explains.
The corn she brings in is sold at prices ranging from NPR 15 for small ears to NPR 50 for larger ones. From this business, she makes between NPR 70,000 to NPR 80,000 a month. “Here I sit under the open sky on the side of a street in a lane near Lakshmi Chowk, Dharan, selling roasted corn. I don’t have a shop or a roof, but I have the courage to work,” says Shrestha. “If you work, there’s no need to go hungry. Roasting corn is what keeps my household running. It’s my lifeline.”
She is now a single woman, having lost her husband six years ago. While her husband used to help earlier, she has been managing everything alone since his passing. “I can’t do any other kind of work now, and roasting corn isn’t too difficult. It gets hot under the open sun, but you have to endure it. You can’t stop working just because it’s tough — this work has given me everything,” she says, her tired face still glowing with hope.
Shrestha has been roasting corn for nearly 30 years in a small alley near Lakshmi Chowk in Dharan. Since the beginning, she has been serving delicious roasted corn to thousands. Thanks to this work, she’s never had to depend on others for household expenses. That’s why she feels such deep affection for her job. “Most people my age are looking for rest and peace, living on others’ support. But I’ve never expected that. I’ve been earning my living through my own labor. As long as I can, I’ll keep working — when I can’t, whatever happens will happen,” she says.
Her words reflect the confidence built from years of struggle and self-reliance. That confidence gives her not exhaustion, but energy and motivation to do more. “The days I don’t go out to work, I feel restless. It’s my labor that has kept me going. Just because I’m getting older doesn’t mean I should stay home — my hands and feet still work, so I must keep working,” she says with a smile. “Selling corn is not just a source of income for me — it’s a foundation of self-respect. The satisfaction earned through labor is the truest form of wealth.”