"Every once a week, I come down to the Haat bazaar. Here I can meet my old friends, strangers, shop owners and merchants who know me by my name, by my story and by my character. I do not have to...
"A long time ago, maybe a few decades from the present day, mother and father crossed the border and settled in the Terai. They must have had a difficult time sustaining life in Sitamarhi. They talk...
"We were a group. A group of little boys and girls from the same neighbourhood. We did everything together. We would climb trees to steal mangoes while the farmer chased us. We would carelessly jump...
"I do not find joy in farming anymore. Farmers of my generation are either too old or they are dying. And I feel alone and without support. Our sons have moved on to something easier as hard work is...
"The first time I brought money home was when I was 11. I think I must have helped a neighbour carry his goods to the bus station. I do not remember how much he gave me but I remember I had run home...
"I sit in the corner and sell biscuits, recharge cards, hoodies and a few other things to the nuns at the monastery. I have been coming here for over 20 years. But my wife is not pleased. She tells...
"Mother had made up her mind to elope with another man before father returned home. He had been gone for two years in search of work. When she left, she took her youngest son, my brother, who was...
"Just like you, everyone in the village wants to have tea with me. You see, I am the only entertainer in the village. And to be an entertainer in a society like ours is not easy. Here men take pride...
"What dreams do we talk about? I am an old man. And I am also without wealth or inheritance. I know how to write my name with great difficulty. But it is no use when those letters cannot feed me. My...
"When times are difficult and I am lost in my thoughts, he comes to me and starts humming songs that I sing to him when he is upset. In no time we both are singing and laughing together. Sometimes,...
"She is getting better now. When I first started looking after her, she was a bit difficult to handle. She had her own ways and it would take me a while to coax her into doing something. Even though...
"I remember sitting with mother on the front porch. As the sun set behind the paddy field, I could hear mother's worry in her silence, in the words, she did not speak. I asked her if she was feeling...
"He turned out to be better than what my relatives had told me. He never drank and never argued with anyone. If someone came asking for help he would give everything he had. When we married, I was...
"He is a good son." "Because he is a good father."
"Going into the jungle was nothing out of the ordinary for me and my friends. Because we lived in the forests, the presence of animals was an everyday thing. As a kid, I was curious as to why all the...
"For me working with the elephants became the source of my steady income. From the meagre 25 rupees a month working at the farmers shed, my income grew 365 rupees. It was 1988 and that money would...
Receive weekly dispatches from the field—stories of resilience, tradition, and the changing landscape of Nepal delivered quietly to your inbox.