The working ironman

He got used to working late early on. Neither illness, earthquakes nor rejections have discouraged him. He sees adversity as necessary speed bumps on the road to a better future. Meet Raj Kumar Thapa, Senior Researcher at Nordland Research Institute .

Nordland Research Institute has an international faculty and is proud of it. The institute benefits from expertise and perspectives from many different parts of the world. Every now and then, life stories emerge that can make staunch northerners open their eyes. Raj Kumar Thapa from Nepal has such a story to tell. 

It's been a good year for Raj. He has both defended his doctoral thesis and turned 50. With a permanent research position and his family on their way to Bodø from Stavanger, life looks bright. But the road here has been long, winding and steep, both up and down. 

The beginning, however, was idyllic. 

“I grew up in the beautiful Kathmandu Valley, where the sun shone all year round and everything was green and lush. We ate all kinds of fruit straight from the trees and drank mountain water from the streams,” says Raj.

Kathmandu Valley. Photo: Kamal Ratna Tuladhar / Wikipedia

– But beauty alone cannot meet all needs.

Work all day long

The father was a veterinarian, the mother worked at home. The family had academic ambitions for their children. But the rural idyll lacked good schooling. 

“When I was nine years old, I moved to the city to go to school,” says Raj. “I lived with my brother, who was six years older than me.” 

Eventually, two personality traits emerged in the young resident: a fierce work ethic and great difficulty saying "no." 

“It’s both a blessing and a curse,” says Raj. “From seventh grade onwards, I worked from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. At 16, I was asked to tutor students my own age, and since I couldn’t say no, the days were long. 

But it also cost money. And money was absolutely necessary to obtain a higher education. 

“Not many people got that opportunity,” says Raj.

A colleague from India suggested moving from Nepal, to escape all the work Raj couldn't refuse. Abroad, Raj could concentrate on his own schooling.

Here Raj is in seventh grade and is 13 years old. Our man is number six from the left in the top row. Photo: Private

After much thought, the urge for adventure won out. At the age of 17, Raj moved to Kerala, in the far south of India, 3,000 kilometers from home. 

The Singing Foreigner

Despite the distance, Raj quickly adapted to his new Indian surroundings. Through his favorite sport, cricket, he made many new friends and the local school hired him as a Hindi and maths teacher. He even taught himself to play the guitar. Nepali songs proved to be popular in South India and Raj became a popular fixture at various local events. 

When a friend tried to get elected to the student union, artist Raj helped him win the election. 

– I sang Hindi songs. Everyone loved the songs and my friend was chosen, he smiles. 

The following year, Raj himself was invited to run for election as the art club's representative in the student union. After an intense election campaign, our man emerged victorious. And student union life in India is so highly regarded that the appointment became a newspaper story. 

– I became a celebrity. The singing foreigner who won the election! says Raj. 

Life smiled. 

And then came the downturn. 

A miracle

Raj got sick. Very sick. He lost the ability to walk and the doctors couldn't understand why. A friend's father, a renowned neurosurgeon, had Raj hospitalized. 

– I was in the hospital for quite a while. Luckily, I got a lot of visitors and lots of gifts from my friends. But even in the neurological department they couldn't figure out what was wrong with me, says Raj. 

– Finally I was discharged, but I could still only walk slowly a few meters. I was not well at all. 

As a student and a member of the student union, Raj had many responsibilities. Hospital stays took time and money. When someone suggested natural medicine, he jumped at the chance.

– Together with a friend from the area, I took the bus out of town to where the herbalist was. He shook his head when he saw all the medications I had taken and prescribed a balm for me to rub all over my body. 

In addition, Raj had to take hot baths and a couple of pills washed down with milk. The side effects could be breathing problems and pain. 

"I woke up at three in the morning and was really struggling to breathe. Everyone else in the house was asleep. I closed my eyes, turned over on my side and eventually fell asleep again," says Raj.

– The birdsong woke me up. I opened my eyes and slowly moved to the edge of the bed. I stood up. I felt like I could move. I jumped around the house. It was a miracle!

To everyone's amazement, Raj was completely cured. He continued to apply the balm on his body for a month and the disease was gone forever. 

Carried through the streets

With his health back, Raj was ready for new challenges. He was asked to run for president of the student union. 

“The editor of the student newspaper ran as a rival candidate. He was a strong competitor. I had to campaign intensely,” Raj recalls. 

– Since there was a strike at the university, we had to go door to door throughout the village to find the students. 

He took out his guitar again and spiced up his election message with Hindi songs. He also did a move that really charmed the people. 

– I learned Malayalam, the local language. The fact that a foreigner could speak Malayalam was very interesting to them. I even learned songs in this language. 

When election day came, it turned out that the editor had also done his job well. At one point he was leading by 120 votes. Raj stood with a garland of flowers around his neck and felt stupid. What was he going to say to the journalist waiting next to him? 

An hour later the situation had turned upside down. 

“I won by 350 votes,” says Raj. “The students took me on their shoulders and carried me through the city. There were flags, colorful shawls and cheers!” 

And it became very easy to talk to the journalist. 

Strong in faith

Everything has its time. After three very eventful years in India, Raj finished his bachelor's degree in chemistry. He said goodbye and returned home to Nepal. 

As many students have experienced, working life is considerably tougher than student life. For Raj, this was undoubtedly true, as he juggled three teaching jobs to support his family. Life in his native country was so demanding that when his sister moved to Norway in search of a better life, Raj followed.

It started very well. He came to Norway in August 2005 and in September he met the woman of his life. The next ten years were not all roses. Studies and temporary jobs kept Raj in Norway, but the permanent job would not bite. In 2013 he moved back to Nepal. In 2015, a massive earthquake left Kathmandu in ruins. Raj sent his wife and their two children to China, where she comes from. He himself returned to Norway and the search for a safe and stable life. Defeat and setbacks never discouraged the down-to-earth Nepalese. He always had the faith that his hard work would yield results. 

From the master's ceremony at BI (left) and the taking over of Nordland Research's traditional doctoral hat. Photo: Private / Thoralf Fagertun

– What happens, happens to create a better future. I'm not particularly stressed. I'm calm. Time will solve the problems. I could be disappointed when I got rejected, but deep down I knew that something even better awaited me further down the line, says Raj. 

In 2016, he was selected from 80 applicants for a research fellowship at the University of Stavanger. The crisis was over. His wife and children moved from China. 

Even before his thesis was finished, Raj was recruited for a project under the auspices of Genøk. And as this project was coming to an end, the Nordland Research Institute at the door. 

The permanent position was up for grabs. 

– Now I'm happy, says Raj. – I even like the climate in Bodø.