Walking down the streets after the earthquake in the capital feels surreal. It was like the climax scenes unfolding in the movies. In the blink of an eye, our heritage sites, centuries-old temples, palaces and monuments, have been reduced to rubble killing thousands and severely injuring many in the process. After some initial panic, I ventured out around Kathmandu to witness the destruction first hand. I couldn’t believe what I saw. In most places, Kathmandu has been reduced to nothing but timber, bricks and stones, and dust.
While taking photographs, everyone had a story to share. The victims expressed their agony as they were forced to live out in the open with very less food and water supply. “We have nothing left anymore except moral support from one another in the neighborhood. It’s been a huge personal and an equally huge cultural loss for our country,” said a resident of Sitapaila, Kathmandu. Another survivor said,
“I jumped off our rented house with my daughter and my wife narrowly escaped after being trapped in the debris. We are lucky we survived.”
The purpose behind capturing these photos were not only to reflect on the devastating destruction but primarily to appeal to everyone to support one another in rebuilding our lives, homes, and restoring our cultural heritages. My journey is your journey, and it will be a long, tiring journey before we even gain some semblance of normalcy. Despite the odds being stacked against us right now, I’m positive that together we will rise from this and emerge stronger and better than ever before. But for that, each and every one of us has to do our bit.
rajbhandari_shristi@hotmail.com
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