As I get ready to pack and return home to a city where neighbours don't know each other's names anymore, where the only source of warmth is from the rays of the sun, and where there is nothing to taste but dust in the air, I begin to realise how much I have loved being in Dharan and among its people.
Dharan will be missed, greatly and mainly because of the lovely Dharanes that I met. Extremely friendly, sweet and warm, the people of Dharan have once again instilled the belief in me that all is not wrong in the world today, that kindness and generosity still exist, that there are people who offer their help without asking for anything in return. Where else will you find people you have just met waking before dawn and toiling hard in the scorching heat of Dharan to prepare a barbeque that has to happen at 10 in the morning? All the pain and effort just to throw in a surprise farewell to make you feel special, to let you know you are always welcome back. Not here in Kathmandu, where along with the growing number of concrete structures, people seem to be growing colder too. So thank you so much Dharan for not letting our legendary hospitality die.
