“Landslides are a bit part in my life story. I will start from the beginning, if you care to listen. When I had no senses, except for the needs for my mothers milk, father took to the heavens. Mother tells me she cried for days while her children wept in hunger. But she had no time to mourn the death of my father if she were make sure we survived. So she worked. For someone else. She tells us she would leave us under a tree and go to work and come back to feed us every few hours. We must have been quite strong, we all survived. But life would test us some more. The landslides came and took from us everything we had, our house and our land. But mother never gave up. With the help of the villagers, she constructed a small hut and carried on with life. She used every paisa she made on us. I am proud to say that it is because of her I completed my SLC and became a teacher. Eventually, I saved enough to start my own hotel here. I also brought my mother along with me to give her the new comforts of the modern world. My business is demanding of my time and effort, but I am happy. My mother turned 75 recently. And when I told her that I have started proofing our land from the landslide and re-building our father’s house in the village, she had tears in her eyes. I know those were tears of happiness.” (Shree Man Gurung, Bahundanda, Lamjung)