I think it wouldn't be suitable to call him a brother;
not just in terms of age, but in comparison to many things, I am a man like his
grandson. But, every time I hear the 'Atmik Yatra' radio program he starts
talking, 'I am your own brother .....' then who can stop me to call him as a
brother, isn't it? I don't know whether the brother does know me or not, but I
know him very little. Of course, being recognized to each other is not a big
deal, but because of the Atmik Yatra' radio program, I felt so close to him.
From the year 2003, I started attending Saturday Church
service regularly. One day in the early days of my Christian life, I got a
magazine called 'Hamro Aashis'. For the first time in the magazine, I saw the
broadcast schedule of the 'Atmik Yatra' radio program.
At that time, radio was mostly heard in the village.
Almost every house had a radio. Watching TV was not practiced yet. Still, I
remember there was only one house belonging to a TV in the village. Two brothers
of that house were employed in the British Gurkha Army. In that house, people
from all over the village used to gather during the season of World Cup football
and I would too.
Nowadays very few people in the village listen to radio, very
few watch TV and many uses Facebook. It is interesting.
After knowing the broadcast schedule of the 'Atmik Yatra'
radio program, I rarely missed listening to the program. Otherwise, every day I
would come to the program, I would carry the radio to listen with my full attention. The
program only lasted for 15 minutes, which is still the case. At the beginning
of the program, 'I am your own brother .....', and also towards the end 'I am
your own brother .....' I was very curious to know, who is this, my own brother?
But even never told his name. Who is this brother, who would speak for fifteen
minutes and forced to think all day long, talking in such a sweet, sweet
voice? I asked and searched for information about the brother to Church leaders,
but from nowhere there was no news about the brother.
Here's how the
brother's name was found:
I'm a guy with a special interest in song and music. As a
believer, I also have a duty to listen to as many faithful hymns as I can.
However, I had limited resources for listening and learning hymns. Often in the
church, hymns composed by local leaders were sung more often. The people who
taught the songs of the Christian psalm book were not good at all. Umo
(grandmother) had brought a cassette player when she returned from Sikkim. I
used to listen to hymns on that cassette player. The cassette player used to have
four batteries at total, at that time the battery was the cost of twenty-five
rupees for a pair. Therefore, there was not enough chance to listen to the songs
as much as I want. And another case was a limited number of cassettes, so
sometimes it felt like listening to the same cassettes repeatedly in a boring
way.
At that time, about 15 minutes of 'Atmik Yatra' program,
the hymn played about 2-3 minutes was like a rare gem for me; like a drop of
honey on the tongue, like a glass of water for a traveler to the desert.
But unfortunately, sometimes due to lack of time; the
brother would finish the program without playing any psalms. The message of the
program would be always been sweet, but I would feel upset on the day when the
program would finish without any song. I used to think, why my brother didn't
play any song today?
The brother never missed saying, "Please write me a
letter ....... I will always wait for your letter" at the end of the
program. So I decided to write a letter to my brother.
I wrote a letter, pasted a post-sticker and posted it in
the post-office. In the letter, I wrote something about myself, some program
compliments and one of the biggest request. The only request was to 'play a
psalm anyway' during the radio program.
About a month later, Brother's reply came home. The letter was written by brother with his own hand. I read the letter, had a lot of fun. The
letter said a special thanks for the correspondent. Brother's letter showed
that my guess was right that the reason behind not playing any song entire the program was due to a lack of time. Nevertheless,
the letter promised that 'we will try to keep a hymn'.
And at the end of the letter, it was written 'sincerely
yours: Narayan Sharma'. I was thrilled. I felt like something big was invented.
Narayan Sharma was that the dear brother who has been hearing from a long time
ago.
Probably the reason I have requested or because others
also requested, since that day there has never been a broadcast of the program
without a small piece of a hymn. I was so grateful to the brother who answered a
quick letter to a boy from a remote village like Unbu VDC in Okhldunga.
Others also listened to the program and praised the
program. But I said to myself, 'What do you know? This guy is Narayan Sharma'.
I used to tell many people that the brother who speaks on the program is Mr.
Narayan Sharma.
First time I saw
my brother:
I had appeared for the SLC exam in March of the year 2005. May be at the end of May 2006, a letter from Kathmandu arrived at the
church. Church leaders were invited to attend in a convocation of a Bible
College students. We, along with the leaders, flew to the capital city with a
team of four. It was my first trip to Kathmandu. About half an hour from
Rumjatar airport, we landed at Kathmandu. This is how we arrived at Bethel
Church in Lalitpur.
On the second day of the three-day program, senior singer
Karna Das also arrived. He read a section of the Bible, described a few lines in biblical perspective and sang the song 'Jindagiko Ke Varosa, Yo Ta Sano Khalauna Ho'.
I felt a little uneasy about singing this chorus in the church as a hymn manner. Towards the end, I sang the song of 'Ma Bekar Ma Shunya Manislai...',
which touched my heart. "This song was recently recorded, has not released
out yet," he said.
On the occasion of the same ceremony, a man appeared on
the pulpit during the sermon session; almost wearing red dark and pink spotted
half shorts and white hair. This is what I saw, whether it was a little
farther away or n illusion of my eyes. The noise was too loud, so the speaker's
name could not be heard properly. Only the clapping was played. The speaker
prayed in full English for about two minutes. Only then he did start talking in
Nepali. I shocked listening to the voice. The tone and the style of speaking
sounded like a known sound. I immediately remembered the brother, who speaks on the program. I had been thinking about to ask about my surroundings. But I heard
someone talk on the backside: "This is Narayan Sharma, who speaks on the
'Atmik Yatra' radio program." So I felt relax.
Only the voice of the brother I had heard. How about face,
physical size? Perhaps I had imagined. But, seeing my brother face to face, the
first trip to Kathmandu felt like a realization of success. If I had met the
brother, there would have been talking and conversation, but it would not
happen. So, I think it is more authentic to say that I have seen my brother
than I have met him.
First Meet with
Brother:
From the year 2006, I left the village. Then after I have
been serving as a member of a local congregation in Itahari. The name of the
church is the 'Isai Prabhuko Mandali.'
The Fourth District 'Annual Conference and Spiritual
Awareness Conference' of the Believers Church was held in our church on 29-31
March 2013. In fact, the conference was a special focus for the Believers
Church community only. On the last day, I went too. I met my brother, took some
photographs and heard his sermon at the end of the program. I also heard that
Brother's ministry had moved overseas. After the event, we were all dispersed
from the church to our homes. It was my first meeting with my brother.
Why did I write
this memoir?
There was a the time; I would be waiting eagerly for the
'Atmik Yatra' radio program; pulling the radio antenna and climbing up to the
walls. That was the sweet voice; talking in simple language; from which I learned
about many serious ways of approaching towards God. I tried to learn so many new hymns through the program. I
also had the brother's handwritten letter too.
The 'Atmik Yatra' radio program has added so many values
to the spiritual aspect of my Christian life. Even now, I often hear this
program on the Internet and Whatsapp. Sometimes I go back to the old days while
listening ... That sweet fresh air of the village, ..... radio of Philips company and
antenna............... batteries of Tiger, Lion, Eveready company
............and so on many childhood memories.
Second meet with
brother:
Last year in December of 2018, just after returning from my Thailand trip to hometown Itahari; Father Rajesh Rai (a pastor) took me in a pre-Christmas celebration program at Biratnagar, where the brother was also called to give a sermon about the birth of Jesus Christ. It was our second blissful meeting; we talked about 'Atmik Yatra' radio program and WhatsApp group for program audiences.
Thank you all readers for your patience and time to read
my memoir. May God bless you all.
The first meet with brother memoir is also made for a radio program
by Mr. KD Bhandari Kailo, who currently staying in the US and interested in
literature. You can listen to the radio program here on YouTube:
If you want to join in Atmik Yatra WhatsApp group; please give a
missed call to the number given in below photo:
To listen the Atmik Yatra Radio program on YouTube,
please follow the link:
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