We met the 73-year-old lady, Kanchhi Adhikari, by chance when my wife, Radhika, and I were on a leisurely drive to Jhor Mahankal.

My gaze fell upon her as she was brimming over a doko-load (a conical-shaped basket hand-woven with bamboo strips/staves) of grass on her back. She had stopped by the teashop where we were savoring buffalo-milk tea (my favorite).

Jhor, a piddling twenty-minute ride (traffic permitting) from our house where we went to savor its countryside appeal, had become one of our favorite haunts. The village-town seemed to forge ahead with the trappings of rapid urbanization but still held vestiges of rustic settings.

Our usual location was Dobhan Chok, at arm’s length from the main bazaar area; two streams, Boudeswor and Sangla, met there.

The drive led through the ancient Newar town of Tokha (or tu khya in Newari, translating to a sugarcane field which the city once boasted in abundance). History has it, Tokha was once an independent Kingdom called Jaipur (later Laxmipur).

If juju dhau (King of yogurt) brings Bhaktapur to mind, Tokha stands for chaku (molasses) production, a family heritage handed down through generations.

To the northwest of Jhor town, the Boudeswor shrine draws hordes of visitors who pay homage to Lord Shiva enshrined within a cave. The site crawls with weekend holidayers during monsoon months, lured by a massive waterfall that crashes down an enormous boulder. Shivapuri soars up in the northeast.

Jhor holds another charm for us—the leafy vegetables and cauliflower, fresh-picked before our eyes—Radhika loves them. Jhor also fascinates me as it has been a route for my cycling rides for over a decade. 

We were in for a big surprise when the lady sat on the bench across facing us. Although creases and crow’s feet appeared on her face, she looked hands down hale and hearty for her age—graceful, too. The sparkle in her eyes was remarkable. 

That brought to my mind the legendary Nepali marathoner, Baikuntha Manandhar, whom I met 40 years ago. I’d no idea he was Baikuntha, the ace runner.

He looked like a frail guy, almost sickly. But when our eyes locked, the sparkle in his eyes startled me, giving away his fine fettle and vitality.

When Radhika asked Kanchhi Adhikari what the grass load weighed like, she put it to over 30 kilos. No kidding! She did not even exhibit the beginning of a postural stoop associated with aging. 

As our conversation progressed, we learned she lived with her husband, aged 79—fighting fit like herself. Neither needed power glasses. Her next of kin included 18 family members with four great-grandchildren. 

Her daily chores included mopping up the house, cooking, and collecting grass for her cow. She had to heave the grass load almost two kilometers each day—summer or winter.

We asked her what she ate for her meals to keep her in such robust health. “Nothing special, the usual dal-bhat and milk from our cow. I gave up on meat some ten years ago as I lost most of my teeth.”

Then, Radhika and I gawked at her as she fished out a cigarette and lit it. We least expected a healthy elderly to smoke. “How long have you been smoking?” A curious Radhika asked. She said she picked up the habit when she was five.

“It all started when my dad asked me to prepare hookah for him. I’d always take the first few puffs before handing it to him. He explained it brought good fortune if a prepubescent girl did that.” That brought grins to our faces, including the teashop owner, Maiya Maharjan.

“How many cigarettes do you smoke a day?” Radhika asked, sounding disapproving. “A pack [20 sticks] a day for me and another pack for my husband,” she said. We stared at her incredulously.  

When asked if she or her husband had any underlying conditions, she told us she had mild hypertension and was on medication, but her Buda (husband) had none.

By the time we finished our tea, she had dragged on two cigarettes. After a brief chat, the graceful septuagenarian, Kanchhi, lugged the hefty load and bid us goodbye. On the whole, she had made our day—sure thing.

Caveat: Cigarette smoking is still injurious to health