CHENNAI:Racewalker Basanta Bahadur Rana was in Pune attending a training session on April 25 when one of his acquaintances in Kerala ‘WhatsApped’ him about the earthquake that shook Nepal, Basanta’s country.
Basanta took it as a prank and messaged back, asking his friend to watch his back in case the Tsunami waves strike the Kerala coast. Only in the evening when watching the television news that he became aware of the high-magnitude earthquake that left his country in tatters.
The next four days, he frantically tried to contact his family, but to no avail. All modes of communication were disrupted. But the day he left for the Federation Cup in Mangalore in May, he finally managed to get through them. That they were safe relieved him, but the shock lingered on. He lost focus midway through the race and pulled out.
“That was a tough time. From the news, I learned that the country was devastated. Yet, I didn’t know what happened to my family. Fortunately, they were all safe. Except a few cracks here and there in the neighbourhood buildings, nothing serious happened,” recollects the Olympian.
His relatives too were safe and he contributed a month’s salary for relief activities. “But he still had several sleepless nights. “After the main quake, my family stayed outdoors for weeks. Not just mine, every one pitched tents and stayed outside. They were anticipating more tremors,” says Rana, whose family resides in Sunwal municipality of Nawalparasi district in Western Nepal.
The Olympian, who took part in London Olympics and created a national record in 50km walk, says the scars left by the quake has largely remained unhealed. The image of his Gorkha Regiment colleague’s grandmother buried alive inside the rubble still haunts him.
But then he has to move forward, more so because he is a Gorkha, ordained to fight till the last. The strong-willed Gorkha was handpicked to the Indian Army when he was 17.
For Gorkhas, donning military fatigues is the only dream. Those who works in the army are venerated and respectfully addressed as ‘lahurey’ (soldier). It was this tradition that drew Basanta, who until then worked on rice fields, to the army.
His first brush with athletics happened when he was 22, when he saw a synthetic track for the first time. For puritans, he was too old to start the business. But when Gorkhas decide something, no one can deter them.
Though age and form are not on his side, the 30-year-old feels he can still qualify for the Rio Olympics. But can he really pull that off?” Basanta just smiled, a smile that radiated the composure of a true warrior.