ADOPTING NEW RELIGION

Adopting a New Religion

Rohit Bade Shrestha, 41, owns a tailor shop in Banepa, Kavre. His small store has a few sewing machines, and a small variety of shampoos and basic household products on sale. Shrestha says he is a satisfied, happy man but wasn’t always so. He found happiness in adopting a new religion, and like many Nepali Christians, Rohit has his own story of what made him change his religion from Hinduism to Christianity.

After some years of marriage with Manisha, Rohit suffered from a severe illness. The hospitals could not diagnose his illness. His mother feared she might lose her son, and approached to jhyakris (ancient healers)for treatment while his wife started consulting to church for prayers.

In the midst of prayers, doctors and jhakris Rohit was cured. Meanwhile, his large joint family disapproved of his wife’s decision to go to church.

But just as things were beginning to look brighter, their daughter fell severely ill when she was 5 years’ old. She had hair all over her body and her both kidneys were infected. Rohit spent everything he had taking Romanisha to every hospital in the city, but she was still not cured. With no money or support from the family and relatives, Rohit felt helpless and alone. It was the moment he surrendered everything to his newly adopted God. Rohit’s family was blessed with second daughter Rachel on Thursday, Feb. 5, 2009. She has grown up to be a strong girl, without any health problems. Romanisha and Rachel go to school. Manisha helps her husband in the shop. Rohit’s father reads stories from the Bible to his mother at home. On Saturday, they all go to church together.

According to Census 2011, the total population of Christian in Nepal is 1.4 percent. The number is quickly growing among the poorer Nepali population.

Adopting a New Religion is a photo documentary that tries to visually present new life experiences of Rohit’s family after converting to Christianity. It addresses themes such as rights & justice, political turmoil and change, economic & racial justice.

In 2006, researcher Raju Ramtel and I had conducted a survey on adopting a new religion. There has been a common misconception in Nepal that people from mainly poorer and lower castes were converting to other religions for financial reasons. However, in my project I wanted to understand and document the story of a high caste, middle-class, and traditional family changing their religious beliefs. I started the project in 2013 and completed in 2014.