I had heard a lot about Barpak during my trek to the Tsum Valley, Gorkha last year but unfortunately I could not make it there. I had heard about how beautiful it was and how it boasted a very rich communal culture. Barpak has been in the news for the last nine months, sadly not for good reasons, as it was the epicentre to the recent earthquake. I was in Barpak the last few days where I walked around with my camera and talked to the locals and listened to their personal stories – of hope and hopelessness, loss, sorrow, courage and the earthquake. Some made me cry, some made me laugh and these stories also gave me a broader understanding of how life must move on.