Visually impaired Seti Chepang (70) sitting with her husband Nara Bahadur Chepang in Syamidanda of Dhading district on Monday‚ December 29‚ 2014.

KESHAV ADHIKARI
DHADING: Seti Chepang (70) has been visually impaired for last eleven years. She believes she had been cursed by her deities.
People of Chepang communities in Dhading district are living a difficult life. A notable portion of the difficulty is credited to superstitions they hold.
When asked why she did not visit a doctor when she had problem in her eyes, Seti says, “I was cursed. Even shamans couldn’t deal with it.”
Further, the woman finds it hard to live as she is helpless in the old age. “Our son and daughter-in-law are on their own. I have been looking after her since the incident,” Nara Bahadur Chepang, her husband, said.
Chepang community still believes in shamans and witch doctors than modern medical treatments, says Govinda Bhandari, a local teacher.
At least 120 Chepang families are residing at Syamidanda in Pida-5 of the district. Most of them are deprived of proper food through the year.
Beside Seti, Harimaya Chepang (82) from Syamidanda, has the same story to share.
She had been visually impaired for seven years.
“Shamans said that I have been cursed by deities,” She said. “Me and my husband perfomed different pujas, but we couldn’t win over the God’s wish.”
Pausing a while, she concludes her remark over her life, “God closed my eyes.”