At the Bakery Cafe in Pulchowk, Ghanashyam Bhatta looks dapper in his uniform—a blue checked shirt, black pants, a black waistcoat and a dhaka topi. It is 12.15, lunch time and customers arrive. Ghanashyam is the first to welcome them and show them to their seats. He smiles, hands over a menu and waits patiently beside them with a tablet. As they select what they want, pointing to the menu, Ghanashyam clicks the corresponding pictures on his tablet. With a smile and a nod, he is off to the kitchen to deliver his order.

No words have been exchanged, just gestures and smiles. This is, after all, The Bakery Cafe and so many of the servers are like Ghanashyam, hearing-impaired. But Ghanashyam is something else.
“There’s something about Ghanashyam that people love,” says Prajol Karanjit, who’s been working at the Bakery Cafe for 23 years. “Maybe it’s his charming nature or his uncanny ability to simply and easily communicate with others.”
Even while waiting patiently, Ghanashyam wears a big, infectious smile, so it’s hard to miss him. Before the customers can even gesture, Ghanashyam rushes over to pour water. He understands their gesture, they want their cheque. He picks up their plates and drops them off for dishwashing before getting the customers their bill.
Ghanashyam does this countless times throughout the day. It is a well-practiced routine for him—he’s been working here for 11 years. He’s the most efficient server at The Bakery Cafe, says Karanjit. Another server and his close friend Nirmal Ale Magar gestures in sign language, Ghanashyam has a big heart.  

***

Everyday, as soon as the clock strikes eight, this little house down a narrow alley in Tahachal bursts into chaos. The kids are frantically getting ready for school while their mother prepares breakfast. Outside, happily dusting off his Hero while saying hello to the neighbours is Ghanashyam Bhatta.
Originally from Dadeldhura, 35-year-old Ghanashyam has been living in Kathmandu for the past 12 years, and in that time, he’s become a fixture in the neighbourhood, known for his social, cherubic nature.
Wherever he goes, there is happiness, says Damodar Bhatta, Ghanashyam’s elder brother who is an inspector with the Metropolitan Traffic Police.
“Ghanashyam is constantly making people laugh. He knows how to make connections and he probably has more PR than I ever will,” says Damodar.
Given his sociable personality, Ghanashyam has never made his hearing loss evident—that has never been a weakness.
Ghanashyam was born with an impairment in his ears. His family took him to Lucknow where a doctor said that he might pick up language if he was spoken to by his parents, but that never happened. He is not completely deaf, but cannot make out words and most sounds. He can only hear shrill sharp noises.
In the eighth grade, he had to change schools from his deaf school to a general one and repeat a grade. He decided to drop out instead, but always wanted to make something of his life. He wanted to set an example, earn a living for himself and start his family. He initially trained to be an electrician, but he was always ripped off due to his good nature, says his brother Damodhar. In 2007, he came to Kathmandu and found a job, along with a wife and family.

Ghanashyam drops off his two children and wife at school and work everyday. Despite being hearing-impaired, Ghanashyam has no problems while on the roads, as he can make out sharp horns. He, like everyone else, complains more about traffic congestion in the Valley.
Parbati, his wife, works in a canteen on the premises of Singha Durbar. With her, Ghanashyam has two children—10-year-old Arunima and seven-year-old Arthabid.
Ghanashyam and Parbati tied the knot when they were in their mid-20s. When Parbati first entered the Bhatta household, like any other newly married woman, she too had her share of problems. She initially found it difficult to communicate with Ghanashyam. He could only understand sign language and Parbati wondered if she would ever be able to communicate easily with her husband.

“When I had just married, even asking my husband what he preferred for food was daunting. I just didn’t know how to communicate,” says Parbati. But with the passing decade and two children to take care of, Parbati has adapted. “He may not be able to speak, but he is a good father, husband and overall, a good human being,” she says.

***
At 11.30 in the morning, Ghanashyam checks-in at The Bakery Cafe and heads straight to the staff room to change into his uniform. He takes a maximum of two minutes, as he doesn’t like to keep guests, if any, waiting.
The Bakery Cafe in Pulchowk, which is located in between UN headquarters and several other government offices, is usually swamped by customers, especially during lunch hours. Ghanashyam might appear serious when no customers are around, but the moment someone walks in through the door, he becomes a different person altogether.
From 12.30 to 3 pm, Ghanashyam works without a break. Around 3:30 pm, he walks to the staff common room, takes out a loaf of bread and pours black tea from a giant thermos into his steel glass. Sitting on a large bench with two of his colleagues, Badri and Rahul, Ghanashyam takes two slices, dips it to the black tea and eats in a rush.

Badri, who is looking at Ghanashyam with fascination, says, “He’s always in a rush. What if customers have come and there is nobody to attend to them? This always worries Ghanashyam.”   
Ghanashyam agrees. He uses his hands to express himself, signing, “If I am not nice and I don’t attend to them with enthusiasm, I may lose a little bit of tip that the customers will offer. And that is a little more for my children’s future.”
As the customer rush dies down, Ghanashyam finally takes time for five of his colleagues who are also hearing-impaired. Among all of them, Ghanashyam is closest to Nirmal, who has also been working at the restaurant chain for over 13 years. Having known each other for more than a decade, Nirmal and Ghanashyam consider each other family.
“We share everything—from happiness to sadness,” signs Nirmal. “We are always there to comfort each other.”
Ghanashyam is a happy man, with a loving family and a job that he adores. His colleagues are like his extended family and in his three and a half decades on earth, there are few things that can bring him down.
Ghanashyam is sharp and a fast learner. He is good at lip reading and this makes life much easier for him and his customers. As a child, all Ghanashyam wanted was a simple life, but his goals have changed. He now wants to go abroad.
“I hear people with disabilities like mine are welcome and offered better jobs abroad,” he signs. “If our government has a scheme on offer and if I do go, I am sure my kids will be proud of me.”

All photos by Sanjog Manandhar