| Balankha, Bhojpur (बालंखा, भोजपुर) | |
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| — Village Development Committee — | |
| Balankha Bazar | |
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Balankha, Bhojpur (बालंखा, भोजपुर)
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Nepal |
| Zone | Kosi Zone |
| District | Bhojpur District |
| Population (1991) | |
| • Total | 1,867 |
| Time zone | Nepal Time (UTC+5:45) |
Balankha बालंखा (sometimes misspelled as "Walangkha") is a village development committee (VDC) in Bhojpur District in the Kosi Zone of eastern Nepal. At the time of the 1991 Nepal census it had a population of 1,867 persons living in 367 individual households.[1]
It is one of the growing towns in southwestern part of the district, and it is one of the most remote VDCs in the Bhojpur district. It is about 16 miles southwest of the district headquarters, Bhojpur Bazaar, which takes about a day and half of hiking to get to from Balankha bazaar. Due to its remoteness people from northern belt e.g. Dingla bazar, don't know very much about Balankha. The area of Balankha is approximately 12.65 square kilometers.
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It borders Bopung (बोपुङ) Village of Khotang District. Its neighboring VDCs are Pancha (पाङ्चा), Dewantar(देवन्टार), Thidinkha (थिदिङ्खा), Yoo (यू), Dummana (दुम्माना), Pawala (पावला) and Wasing Tharpu(वाशिङ थर्पु). There are 9 small villages better known as Wards. They are Sipak (सिपाक), Balankha (बालङ्खा), Chhongkha (छोङ्खा), Khakanla (खकन्ला), Phuintang (फुइन्ताङ), Karkigaun (कार्कीगाउ), Ragatung (रागातुङ), and Mayung (मैयुङ). The population of Balankha is about 2,000. The climate is semi tropical. The higher area of the hill is "Lek" – and low lands usually areas along the riverbeds are "besi". Lek is colder and Besi is warmer. Usually Besi is more fertile. Rice, corn (maize) and all tropical vegetables and fruits are grown in Besi. In Lek, soil is less fertile so people usually grow potatoes, corn, and millet.
There is an interesting story behind the origin of the name Balankha. A long time ago, A Kirat Rai brother was traveling through this area with his pig. He spent a night here with his pig tied to little pole near by him. In the morning when he woke up he did not see his pig. He began to look for his pig saying "Baak Laamkhaa" (बाक लाम्खा ) meaning The pig got lost. He could not find his pig. He probably came back repeatedly to find his lost pig and asked help from locals too. In Rai Bantawa language "Baak" means a Pig and "Laamkhaa" means to get lost. So later on people began to call this place as Baak laamkha (place where the pig was lost). Over the course of time people started to pronounce as Balankha (बालंखा)
There was a Kirati Chamling King known as Shimbha Mala (शिम्भा माला) in Chamlung (चामलुंग) village near Bopung. He was very powerful and very protective of this area. When King Prithbi Narayan Shah’s forces were advancing towards eastern Nepal, he did not want to give up his territory easily. Back in those days, Chandi Danda (चण्डी डांडा) was the main gateway to this area and it was covered with thick jungle. Shimbha Mala and his few warriors armed with bows and arrows fought against Prithvi Narayan’s soldiers and tried to stop them here. He and his warriors used to hide in the trees and attack their enemies with their arrows. They had little success in the beginning, but later, Prithbi Narayan’s forces overpowered and killed him. They buried him along with his horse at the Chandi Danda. The grave still remains in the area but not many people know about it.
The local Kirat Rais believe that the ghost of Shimbha Mala still roams in the area especially in the nights on nights with a full moon, a new moon and during kirat festivals. It is also believed that anyone who digs up the grave will die. A long time ago, the ghost phenomena used to occur every night. People could hear the horse steps and the sound of bells while the ghost was on the ride from Purne Dada (पुर्णे डांडा) to Raake Dada (राँके डांडा). People were scared to take a walk along the Mulbato (मूलबाटो) at late night for fear of seeing the ghost. A local Chhetri man named Kaale Bista (काले बिष्ट) who lived near the main trail Mulbato was tired of the ghost phenomena every night. One night he was determined to face the ghost directly. He took a big sword KaTTi (कट्टी) in his hand and waited for the ghost. When the ghost arrived on the horse they faced each other. There was no words for few seconds, and all of the sudden, Kale Bista raised his weapon to attack the ghost, and thusly, the ghost became nervous and started to run away. Kale Bista chased the ghost few hundred yards away. Since then the Ghost has never appeared again in his area of Balankha. The great grandson of Kale Bista, Gadul Bista (गडुल बिष्ट ) who died in 2065 B.S. used to tell this story to the locals.
A long time ago, during Panchayat system, Chandi Bazar village was the official name for this area, to include Thindingkha village. Later on, local administrations were redesigned to be a better system. After the restructuring of administrations, Chandi Bazar was partitioned into Thidingkha Village Panchayat and Balankha Village Panchayat. However, some older people still call it Amchok Balankha too because Aamchok is the Rana era or early Panchayat era administrative name.
Balankha is blend of various castes and ethnic groups. The majority are Kirat Rais but there are Kshetri, Bahun, Kami, Damai, Tamang, Sarki, etc. who have been living in harmony for ages. Within Kirat Rais there are many different groups like Bantawa, Chamling, etc.
This is a very important part of cultural tradition of Kirat Rai people in this region. It is one of the most famous places to celebrate Kirat Rai's Sakela or Sakenwa festival. According to Kirat Rai historians, writers (Bam Bahadur Rai, Shyam Raj Rai and bulletins of Kirat Rai Yayokkhaa) and local people, it is about a 600-year-old tradition. The main ritual place is across the Buwa Khola (बुंवा खोला). It is called Chandi Than (चन्डी थान). In every Ubhauli (उभौली) festival, a designated Kirat Rai priest called Nakchhong (नाकछोङ) performs puja and prays to the Kirat Rai ancestors for rain, good crops, good health of the people and livestock and continuity of this great Creation. There are certain processes to perform the ritual, and all Kirat Rais have to follow it properly. After the ritual is done, they come to Chandi danda or Chandi bazar (चन्डी बजार), an open space near Balankha bazaar. They dance Sakewa dance with Dhol(ढोल) and jhyamta (झ्याम्टा). The dance style is a little different than other Sakewa dances that we see in northern Bhojpur and neighboring Khotang district. Here, the rhythm is very slow, as are the dance movements themselves. Others might find the dance less interesting because it has more singing and less dance steps. But once one learns the melody, lyrics and pace of movement, one will enjoy the dance. It is very deep, meaningful and heartwarming. Most of the Kirat Rais in the southern belt like Hatuwa, Ranibas, Basikhora, Pawala, Khairang, Chhongkha, and so on have similar dance style of Sakenwa.
Beside Kirat Rai, there is a great tradition of Bhote ko Mane (भोटेको माने) from Tamang culture. There are a significant number of Tamang people in Balankha. Mane is a kind of stupa they build in memory of their deceased. There used to be a lot of Mane alongside of the mulbato (main trail to Bhojpur), especially in Tinchule jungle, Pasal Bhanjyang, Raake Bazar. The tradition seems to be disappearing slowly. New Mane (माने) are rarely seen anymore. The old ones were destroyed by treasure hunters almost two decades ago.
Bar Pipal, Chautari, Kuwa are the traditional landmarks in the area. Old Chautaris with beautiful inscriptions etched in stone slates in memory of deceased souls are still found. With old Bar (वर) and Pipal (पिपल) trees side by side and wooden Bench “Falaicha” (फलैंचा), a weary traveler could rest in comfort.
Balankha got a high school in 2039 BS. The late King Birendra granted permission to establish Chandeswor High School during his visit to Ghoretar. Now every year, more than 100 students participate in the SLC exam of this high school. There are other high schools in neighboring VDCs, e.g. Dummana and Wasing Tharpu. Balankha is now the SLC center for those high schools. Currently, The Head Master is Govinda Parajuli. The first Head Master was Suresh Chamling of Jhapa, and after him it was Mahendra Shakya of Taksar Bhojpur.
Recently Chandeswor High School got approved for a +2 higher education system. With its establishment, students from seven other neighboring VDCs will have opportunity to complete their +2 degree in the local level.
The Chairman of new management team is Rabin Rai, who worked very hard to make it happen. He conducted several rounds of meetings with local leaders, teachers, students, and made a common agenda for the school. He took it to the district level officials, in Bhojpur district headquarters, made plea to the district government. He even took the matter to the central level in Kathmandu, gave the agenda to the Nepal government's Higher Education Council. Finally it was approved with permission to run classes immediately. He managed to find teachers and start the first badge of 11 class in Balankha. Balankha is center for 7 other villages which means the Chandeswor Higher Secondary School will be key place for all students of those villages. Currently it is running Education faculty with students of about 200 (both 11th and 12th grades) and four teachers. The principal of the institute is Ram Prasad Kafle.
Chandeswor Uchcha Ma Vi set the record among its peers in Bhojpur district in 11th grade examination of 2067 B.S. Out of 85 examinees 27 students passed the exam. This is merely 33% of the total but it is the highest percentage overall in Bhojpur district. Currently this school is running Education Faculty with 4 teachers. There are plans to add other Faculties like Commerce and Arts but it lacks the fund.
Currently a Sarbadaliya Samiti (a committee representing all Parties) is running the VDC. The old VDC committee was abolished when the new system took place. The major political parties in this VDC are Nepali Congress, NCP-UML, NCP-Maoist.
Before the election of Constituent Assembly, this area was dominated by NCP-UML. But now Maoists appear to be dominating the local politics because majority of local voted for Maoist and helped their candidate win the election. UML and Nepali Congress still have strong presence.
In 2015 BS, Krishna Lal Rai contested in the local election of Bhojpur from the Gorkha Parishad led by Dr. K I Singh. He lost the election with the total vote of 360.
It was Ramu Rai who led Balankha and whole southern belt to the main political arena of Bhojpur. He participated in General Election held in 1999 for the seat of Member of Parliment from Rastriya Prajatantra Party. A medical professional turned politician, Ramu was very popular among the people of Bhojpur, especially southern Bhojpur. Because of him, Balankha region finally got noticed in Bhojpur politics. He raised the local voice, local issues to the district authorities and central leaders. During the Panchayat regime he became synonymous with Balankha. People of far distant villages used to refer Balankha as "Ramu ko gaon" (Ramu's village). However as his popularity was growing, the Panchayat system was coming to an end. After the end of the Panchayat system in 1991, he did not opt to join the other mainstream political parties. He rather chose to stay with his former Pancha's pro king party Rastriya Prajatantra Party. The new political development slowly pushed aside all the pro king parties. It directly affected his political career, where most people were against the king. Many local youths who once were his staunch supporters, started to distance themselves. Later, he left Balankha and moved to Kathmandu.
After a decade long Maoist war and violence, Balankha is slowly emerging as a center for educational and economic activities. Currently Balankha has:
Balankha's +2 School is a big boost to local development. It is becoming a center spot for other 7 neighboring VDCs. There are more shops, more business transactions, more private and public employees and more activities. With easy access to solar power, there are lights, televisions and movies. Road work is being done to connect it to Ghoretar. Once Ghoretar is linked to Legua Ghat, Balankha will automatically be linked to it.
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