Wheels On The Bus

After being bullied into making iron wheels for his upper-caste peers, BHYAL (12), a lower caste blacksmith, and his friend LABA (11) are compelled to steal iron from the village to make the wheels. At Bhyal's workshop, the boys work through the night and fall asleep. Laba's father finds his son asleep with Bhyal. Outraged at this sight, he calls the village religious chief to purify his son. With the entire village gathered, the village chief purifies Laba and passes judgment on Bhyal.

Imagine being deemed as untouchable. Imagine not being able to touch others because you are thought of as impure. Imagine having to live your life in fear of displeasing the local traditions that oppress you. This was and is the reality of the Dalit community in my home village of rural Humla, Nepal. Many forms of social injustices have been made illegal, but the residue of these traditions still prevails today. Most countries' national anthems and constitutional by-laws are full of commitments to diversity and equal rights for all. We profess ourselves as “progressive”, we teach our Children the ‘Do’s’ and Don'ts,’ but do we live by these ideals? Are we passing the right values down to our children? ‘Wheels on the Bus’ is my attempt to tell a simple story of injustice through the eyes of a child and to question the ideals and values that we so delusionally believe we uphold.