Nomads of Mongolia (Based on a true story)

Nomads of Mongolia (Based on a true story)
Sunil Ghose, 1962 Mechanical Engineering

When I arrived at the city of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia, temperature was (-) 36 degrees Celsius. The air was full of smog which stays close to the ground at low temperatures. It is appropriate to mention here that Ulaanbaatar is the most polluted capital city in the world.

The center of the city is dotted with many skyscrapers which have similarities with Russian architecture. In addition, the city center is decorated with the three times life size statue of legendary Genghis Khan, who at one time, conquered and ruled Mongolia.

While the Ulaanbaatar city center is the epicenter of pomp and grandeur, at the outskirts of the city on a high ground there is a large piece of settlement named Ger District (pronounced as gair) where residents are nomads and very poor. It is very difficult for the unskilled nomads to find jobs except manual labor. They live on hand to mouth primarily by hauling coal from the city to the high grounds of their living places for themselves and for people of advanced ages and superannuated.

The dwelling huts of nomads are also called gers. Each ger is a round tent-like structure made of felt walls and roof with wooden support. Bare ground is their floor. Each ger is typically ten to twelve feet in diameter, seven feet high.

Ger District does not have any water supply or electricity. Residents collect water from tube wells in the city, about half-a-mile away down-hill. At nightfall they burn coal for cooking and room-heating and lighting. Livelihood is primarily by manual labor in the city and hauling coal to the gers.

One day I went to visit a ger whose owner, Bilgun, was known to the driver. I noticed that at the center of the ger was a coal burning stove; on one side there was a bed and on the opposite side a bathroom. A woman was lying on the bed. On seeing me she got up and sat on the bed. Bilgun said, Aanmeg has not been feeling well lately. After a short pause he said with teary eyes, two years ago she gave birth to a still baby. We are very concerned this concerned this time. After some conversation I wished them good luck and left.

As I was leaving, I felt very uneasy thinking about their worried and pale faces.

After two weeks I went to see them again, As I arrived there, I noticed Bilgun returned from the city with a bag of coal and a bucket of water at the end of the day of hard labor. He looked very tired. Aanmeg looked very weak and remained lying on the bed. I thought the time for a baby to arrive is very close. I asked Bilgun about the expected date. “The midwife said the baby will arrive within a week,” said Bilgun.

I did not visit them for a while to let them settle down with their newborn. But I could not contain my curiosity too long. I went to visit them after three weeks. I got concerned as I did not see their ger. I knocked on their next door neighbor. What I learned was as follows:

Aanmeg gave birth to a still baby for the second time. By following their ritual, Bilgun put their dead child’s bare body on a raised platform at a distant place in the hands of nature.

Devastated and broken heart, childless Bilgun and Aanmeg folded their ger and stepped into a world where pathway was broken and destination is a mirage.

N.B: UNESCO has designated the Ger District as a World Heritage Site.