Anandi Lal Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“Many decades ago my wife left me. She must be in the heavens. She has left two daughters who visit …
“The earthquake saved me. It shook me out of the numbness. It helped me make sense of what little life …
“I remember the room where it happened. I remember there was no lock. I remember there was no one except …
“Mother started a little shop on the highway. Snacks, raksi and tea. This was when people started getting abusive on …
“They were happy and were doing well. They had a nice house. And because Mother was bold and not afraid …
“I do not remember my life that much. It was a series of traumatic events. My first memories are of …
Shatrughna Malah Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“My community has been continually fishing since the days of the Gods. But with the emergence of the human rule …
Kalpan Yadav Kesariya, Biratnagar, Morang
“Though many of the women I teach are not with their husbands, they rely on each other. To share there …
Sunil Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“They bring the poison from across the border. They wait in the darkness of the night for it to dissolve …
Ram Jugut Mandal Dhanauji 2, Dhanusa
“I used to sell popsicles. I would carry the ice box in my shoulders and wander from village to village. …
Shankar Mandal Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“We have spent the last 27 years, both in love and in sorrow, together. Our relation is not so weak …
Asha Devi Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“The old stove collapsed so I am making a new one to cook rice for the family. There is no …
Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“When my grandchildren laugh and run amok, I feel there is still good in life. I feel happy. What will …
Babu Lal Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“The water level rises during the months of Shrawan and Bhadra. During that time, I understand my fear. I have …
Asha Devi Mukhiya and her husband Babulal Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“Every time he leaves with his boat, I worry. The water is not a friendly place to be. And there …
Sakila Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“After marriage, I had to stop going to school. My sister-in-law taught me how to sew. It is better than …
Sagam Lal Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“The Koshi took away more than half of father’s land. He started talking less after that. The only thing he …
Koshi Barrage, Saptari
“I grew up fast so that I could help mother.”
Asha Devi Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“Working in the mud is not a problem, this where we came from and this is where we will go.”
Lalita Devi Mukhiya Saptari
“These days I spend my time in the fields cutting grass. I tie the hay, I cook, I wash dishes …
Champa Devi Mukhiya Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“I do not know how to fish. The women here do not go fishing. It is what men do. But …
Rajendra Malah Hanumnagar, Kankalni NP 1, Saptari
“I have been living near the Koshi for the last 25 years. My ancestors came from the nearby town of …
Puja Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“Everyday, there is drinking and yelling here. Most of the time, I try to find a corner and study. I …
Parmila Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“I had two friends who sat in the front bench in the classroom and I went to sit with them. …
Harina Badi with her daughters Parmila Badi and Khusi Badi Bajhang
“But I have two daughters to look after. I try to be strong. The suffering of the past continues to …
Harina Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“My first birth was a son. My husband was very happy. A son meant we would get salvation after death. …
Harina Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“I met him at the Sildevi Mela at Devisthan. He looked healthy and I was attracted towards him. We had …
Radha Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“I do not know how to tell you if my husband is at home or he is away. If I …
Radha Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Chainpur, Bajhang
“I think I was 8 years old when I started asking questions about my ‘Badi’ caste. Why do people talk …
Bamma Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Bajhang
“She must have met him at the bus park. Or in a hotel. I cannot talk about what I do …
Rekha Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Bajhang
“Mother lost her mind when I was little. She would wander around whispering. I never could understand what she said. …
Amar Badi and Rekha Badi Badi Tole, Jau Prithvi NP 10, Bajhang
“Mother became lonely after fathers death. So she eloped. I was 11 years old. My eldest sister took care of …
Deepak Badi Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP 10, Bajhang
“I am the son of Rangay Badi. My name is Deepak Badi. I have had a little to drink this …
Mira Gandharbha Chainpur, Bajhang
“In the old days, men in this community were busy collecting wives. My father married my mother because his first …
Dharma Badi & Laxmi Badi with their children Badi Tole, Jay Prithvi NP, Bajhang
“Maybe the old times were better. At least, every occasion, every festival and every celebration we were invited to entertain …
Laxmi Badi Badi Tole, Bajhang
“Father and mother had 7 children. A boy after 6 girls. For survival, they left home at dawn and wandered …
Barun, Sankhuwasabha
“I can carry a 100-kilo stone. And you ask about the baby.”
Kamala Shrestha & Laxmi Rai Diktel Rupako Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“We are like sisters. We are friends too. More friends than sisters but like sisters also. But definitely friends. And …
Kaushila Damai, Sarada Damai & Juna Nepali Chainpur, Bajhang
“We keep no secrets with each other. If we did, how would we survive our difficult lives.”
Sangita Magar Kathmandu
“I cannot remember where I threw my jacket. I remember my body heating and I remember screaming for my mother. …
Chainpur, Bajhang
“I do not have time to sit and idle about the meaning of life. Do I look like someone who …
Kamala Shrestha Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi 12, Khotang
“Today, I am a teacher at the community school in my village. I teach Social Studies to the 7th grade …
Kamala Shrestha Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadhi 12, Khotang
“Right from the moment I started saving, I knew what I would use the money for. I had hidden my …
Laxmi Rai Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“Fathers wives had passed away. And his daughters from them had married and left. There were no women to look …
Kamal Bahadur Mahara Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“I brought back a bitter memory from Malaysia. I was working in one of the machines in the factory. That …
Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“I have been waiting for my wife to come back home.”
Karuna Gauchan Kathmandu
“I met an old man in Langtang. The earthquake had taken his house. He had no family, no money and …
Dawa Yangzom Sherpa Rolwaling, Dolakha
“When I was around 10, mother passed away. Of what I recall, she was very dependent on my father – …
Hiralal Rai Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“I have always loved singing and dancing. Growing up, my love for it has been met with a lot of …
Gyanu Rai Sapteswori 8, Chiurikha, Khotang
“I see life as a story. My mother’s story was a tragic one. They say she committed suicide. I am …
Varsha Thapa Kathmandu
“When I was 8, my father passed away. Mother wanted me to become independent as being a single mother was …
Nara Bahadur Biswokarma with his family Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“Father built this house decades ago. He must have understood the unpredictability of rain, air, earth, and water. He must …
Maniram Yadav Diktel, Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“I have spent 20 years as a science teacher in government and community schools. Many of the postings have been …
Dipkala Tamang Diktel Rupakot Majhuwagadi 12, Khotang
“I wanted to be a nurse growing up. However, I never could gather the courage to express my wish to …
Sambhu Thulung Rai Aiselukharka GP 5, Khotang
“I must have been 20 then. I had returned home to find that in rage, father had beaten up a …
Sambhu Thulung Rai Aiselukharkha GP 5, Khotang
“Mother had lost a daughter and a son. Her daughter lived for a few years while her son for a …
Chhering Sherpa Kimathanka, Sankhuwasabha
“I have forgotten my stories. You will too when you live beyond your age. I am not sure what you …
Baupani, Mugu
“We have been walking these jungles since we were boys. We have become old. We are men like dried up …
Taksindu, Solukhumbu
“I make ghee and I sell ghee. People from all over the district come to me for the ghee. Now, …
Salleri, Solukhumbu
“I like maths. How you can plus numbers and then minus them again. Sometimes you also get a zero. You …