A government and military delegate visit every day, are impressed and express their appreciation. And of course there is the media. During the second week we went touring in the area in order to get a first-hand impression of the earthquake. Buildings which have tumbled down in the cities and villages, lean holy cows with long horns roam everywhere without owners, overflowing sewage and thick dust in the streets, bicycles and motorcycles, a continuous stream of people, locations for cremating the bodies and decorated temples. Despite it all, we did not encounter despair.
People smile and carry on with their daily business as if nothing has happened.
In the yards, close to what was once a house, they are building a new life. Preparing dough, baking, sitting or just resting from their daily chores. Next to a ruined building five Indian soldiers are busy digging with picks and hoes, dripping in perspiration and collecting one stone after another from the pile above them. A sad sight. There were diverse sights and diverse feelings.