In Search of Beauty
After the Earthquake
25th April, 2015 was one of the most disturbing days in Nepal's recent memory — a day that caused tremendous damage and immeasurable loss. The 8.1Ms earthquake, which struck at 11:56 AM, killed nearly 9,000 people and injured nearly 22,000. The tremors left marks far beyond the rubble; the affect is still felt by all of us Nepali people.
On that very day, I was covering the Machhindranath Chariot Festival at Sainbu, Lalitpur. Just before noon I had been photographing at Patan Durbar Square. Within the hour, the earth violently trembled beneath our feet, leaving footprints in our hearts and minds. We were never the same again.
"The very places closest to my heart — where I went for evening walks and photowalks — turned into rubble. And yet, we Nepali people still find hope, no matter how difficult the situation."
These photographs were taken in the days following the earthquake across the Kathmandu Valley — in neighbourhoods, heritage squares and alleyways that had defined life here for centuries. Amid the collapse of stone and timber, I kept looking for the human thread: the small gestures, the offerings placed on broken shrines, a child's curiosity, a shared meal among strangers.
These images represent that positivity, beauty, and hope found in a dire period.
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