Inadvertant Trekking: Nepalis Living at the Top

Baglung is a hillside town, huddled at the base of the Himalayan foothills. After meeting with Mahesh, the journalist and training him in photography, then having dal bhat with him and Purna, the senior journalist, we began our ascent to the Dalit settlement high in the foothills above the quaint town.

While traveling abroad I didn’t expect to do any recreational trekking, as there’s a documentary to be made, people to help, and more fiscally responsible ways to see Nepal. To my delight, we spent the afternoon climbing up a steep set of stairs, past huts, fountains, and mineral springs, to reach the Dalit settlement at the top. An hour and a half climb from Baglung would be a veritable journey for the elderly Nepalis we met on their way down to town bearing walking sticks and weather lines.

Mounting the top, we all took a rest under a huge Buddha tree and talked with a few female villagers who were gathered around a fountain. From our hilltop vista of the town below, they told us about the legal complications of the drinking water, as well as showing us a temple where Dalit have been restricted from worship. Their story of discrimination was disheartening, but their eyes and spirits seemed strong. Children herded buffalo and old women came out from their home to greet us with their palms pressed together and their heads bowed offering us water and shade. Humbled can’t begin to describe…

Mahesh and Purna came to the settlement to interview a woman for an article who married a man from a higher caste. She was attending university in Baglung when her landlord evicted her for the trespass, and she was forced to move to this remote settlement. Although her story was gathered in Nepali, her body language and inflection crossed all language boundaries, and was powerful to witness and record. Mahesh and Purna took copious notes, asking her to elaborate. Before we left she offered us water, and I pondered her sacrifice to fill our cups.

Traveling back to Pokhara from Baglung my legs shook gently, reminding me of the climb and my heart reminded me of the people who were already home. Traveling is not only imperative for philanthropy and to tell a story, but to craft my own and develop into the self I want to be. Slowly, I think I’m becoming that person. Gradually, I’m home.