Pokhara is home to more than 35 training institutes each comprising 300 students. Candidates train twice a day at least 4 hours followed by english, maths and aptitude classes.
A candidate preparing in rain for his next day trial for british army at Rangsala in Pokhara.
Early morning drill at Rangsala in Pokhara, Nepal.
Gurkhas selection is real hard. At first stage, they have to do 8 chin ups where the chest should touch the bar followed by 12 in stage two. They can't be colour blind and should not have gap between the tooth.
Hemant Gauchan worked under Gurkha rifles in british army for 17 years and then as a private security guard in Brunei. He then worked as a recruiter for british army and now run his own training institute called ‘Pokhara United’
A family visiting a Gurkha museum in Pokhara. It’s a three storey building containing dusty memorabilia, historical facts and details about the Gurkhas, accompanied by audio-visuals with sounds of gunfire and cannons in war. Among the various uniforms on mannequins, photo exhibits and murals relating the tales of Gurkhas in battle.
Candidates at Lahure ambition training institute. Most students here come from nearby village mostly from Gurung and Magar tribes which mainly forms Gurkha soldiers. Each room has 6 students living in bunkbeds. The floor above has a classroom used for aptitude classes.
Surendra Kumar served in the Indian army for 30 years and then worked in the American embassy in Afghanistan for five years. He is now back in Pokhara and lives with his wife and kids in a rice padded land.
He says Americans are able to sleep at night in Afghanistan because of the Gurkhas.
Physical education teacher at Lahure ambition says that being a Gurkha soldier brings name to the family and helps in gaining status. He laughs that finding a suitable girl is easy being a Gurkha.
Gurkhas are the fiercest soldiers hailing from the northern hilly region of Nepal. They derive their name from the Gurkha land - the majorly hit land last year by Nepal earthquake.
Apart from holding honorary positions in the British and Indian army. Gurkhas are now also appointed in Singapore police and peace enforcement forces in UN missions, in Afghanistan under American army, private security guards in Brunei.
Seeing it as a lucrative profession most teenage kids and young men want to be a Gurkha soldier.
