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Kent’s Sporting Memories Oral History Summary
Interviewee: Pradip Rai
Interviewer: Michael Romyn
Date: 21 September, 2020
Location: Folkestone Sports Centre
0:00 Name, place and date of birth ( Pradip Rai, 20th August 1972, Bhojpur District, Nepal); Pradip describes Bhojpur region, where he was born and raised, including the natural beauty and agriculture abundance of this hill region; the size and geography of the village in which he grew up – ‘amazing paddy terraces and fields, good for farming’- and how farming forms the basis of the villages economy; how outward migration of young people from the village had impacted on the area, how his family worked in farming – and still have a home in the village – although his mother and brothers lived in Kathmandu; Pradip has four siblings – two sisters and two brothers.
6:20 Pradip’s active life growing up in the village, including herding cattle, fishing, and walking a three hour round trip to school; Pradip describes Dandi biyo, the Nepalese national sport (a stick game), which he played alongside volleyball and football, both at school and in the village; Pradip’s favourite lesson at school was English, for which he had a very good teacher – ‘he helped me a lot, he was one of my great inspirations’; Pradip left school at 16 after passing his qualifications, was admitted to a college in a neighbouring district, decided not to go – ‘I was not comfortable’ – and instead travelled to India with his cousin.
14:00 Pradip explains that he started training for the Gurkhas, how it was part of his village’s culture, and how it represented the best opportunity for him; the many competitive and personal steps – including putting on weight - Pradip had to achieve in order to be accepted into the Gurkhas, both at a district and central level: ‘it’s very fierce’; carrying baskets of rocks up and down hills as part of the recruitment process at the central stage; Pradip states that there were 25,000 recruits for just 230 vacancies; the moment Pradip was told he had been accepted, age 21, into the Gurkhas – ‘that was quite a life changing moment…it was the proudest moment’ – and what this meant to both him and his family, especially considering the lack of job opportunities in Nepal.
23:40 Pradip’s back-up plan if he failed to make the Gurkhas; Pradip describes Dharan, the historical city built by the Gurkhas, to which he visited regularly; going from Kathmandu to Hong Kong in February 1994 to begin a period of nine months training – ‘you have to learn many things: English and Gurkha culture, all the fitness and all the requirements of infantry culture. That is a very busy period’; Pradip provides a brief history of the Gurkhas, beginning with the British colonization of India, and including post-war activities.
32:30 How Pradip was posted to Brunei following his training in Hong Kong, where he spent many years; his role in Brunei – jungle training and protecting the Sultan – and leaving Brunei for the last time in 2013.
38:10 Moving to Folkestone, Shorncliffe Barracks, in 2000, and rotating between Brunei and Folkestone until he left the Gurkhas; Pradip lived in Shorncliffe Barracks before he was granted permission to live in married quarters in 2004; life in the barracks, socialising, cooking, playing football and basketball etc.
40:50 How Pradip met his wife, through a friend, in 2000 in Kathmandu, and married her in the same year; he has two children, a son and daughter, born in Brunei and Folkestone respectively; Pradip’s first impressions of Folkestone – ‘it was very windy!’ – and how he likes many aspects of the town: ‘whenever we come here it feels like home’; the large Nepalese community in Folkestone, Dover and Aldershot.
44:00 How Pradip became dehydrated during a training course and developed a blood clot in his groin, on a long-haul flight to Nepal, and the ensuing complications and pain; medically retiring in 2014, and the stent procedure that resulted in a further clot, bleeding in his spinal cord, and eventual paralysis from his chest down – ‘It was hard to accept. I find it very hard initially.’; Pradip’s feelings of anger and desperation following the procedure, the ongoing pain he subsequently experiences, and the life-threatening complications he lives with.
52:45 The medical support and treatment Pradip received following the paralysis at King’s College Hospital in London; spinal rehab at Canterbury Hospital, from where he was transferred to Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury for rehab – a period of seven months; the history and importance of Stoke Mandeville; learning to adapt during the rehab process, and the importance of regular swimming to Pradip and other people with spinal cord injuries.
1:00:00 Moving back to Folkestone, and the difficulty of coping on his own in ‘the new world’ – ‘that is quite daunting’ – and how the facilities outside of a dedicated rehab setting do not match up; Pradip had no physical therapist to assist him, and kept fit via his wheelchair, lifting dumbbells, and attending the ‘very good’ gym facility at Pent Valley, which eventually closed down.
1:02:00 How swimming at Folkestone Sports Centre was very important to Pradip until 2019, when the manual hoist, which enabled him to access the pool broke down – Pradip has been told that the hoist will not be fixed; the lack of fitness and rehabilitation facilities elsewhere in the town and its surrounds; the importance of physical activity as a means of distracting himself from the ‘constant pain’ he lives with; disability provision ‘isn’t one size fits all’, explains Pradip; there is no hydro therapy in the area, other than the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, which he is unable to access.
1:07:50 How swimming helps Pradip stay flexible – a problem posed by being confined to a wheelchair – how it gives him a sense of ‘freedom’, and how it eases his pain; again, the necessity of a hoist or an experienced assistant to get in and out of the pool; Pradip stresses that greater disability sport and rehabilitation – including hydro - provision in Kent would be a huge benefit to the disabled community
1:12:30 The continued lack of physical therapy and support Pradip has received; the impact of coronavirus on Pradip, and the six week rehab he undertook at the Royal Buckinghamshire Hospital, including the use of an exoskeleton suit to assist him in walking – ‘it was very good, any kind of walking is very good…you get to talk to people at a high level…it was very emotional.’
1:16:10 How Pradip views his injury now, and how his positive nature has helped him cope; how photography has engaged Pradip – ‘it makes me very happy’ – and his goal of having a studio.
1:17:40 Training for the virtual London Marathon in Folkestone – ‘it’s a big challenge for me…it’s not about winning, it’s about competing’ – for which he is ‘training every other day’; raising money for BLESMA, the charity for limbless veterans, which has been a huge and unquestioning support to Pradip – ‘they are one of the best charities’; plans for future marathons, including taking part in the London Marathon in London, and campaigning for greater disability support in Folkestone.
1:23:40 Playing wheelchair rugby at Pent Valley, and plans to join the wheelchair basketball – he played at Stoke Mandeville - at Folkestone Sports Centre once he receives his new wheelchair; the activities available at Stoke Mandeville