" Here,werealizedour expeditioncould
besomething more.Ourexpeditioncould
becomea toolto exploreand navigatethe
various realities of developing Nepal. "ourselvesnotonlyaskayakersbutalsoasa teamof explorers.Thelogisticsof ourexpedition
wereelaborate.WewouldstartinNepal'scapitalcity,Kathmandu,ontheBagmati,the
holiestandthefilthiestriverin Nepal,andmissionalloverthecountryto thelongest,most
pristine,andtheonlyfree-flowingriverin Nepal- theKarnali.Wewouldtraversethewidthof
Nepalfrequently,exploringsourcesin theHimalayasandconfluencesin thehumidsouth.
Additionally,I wantedtoexploretheculturestheriverssustainedandseewhatremained
oftheNepalfrommychildhood.I washesitantaboutmanythings,butthelongerI waited,
thesmallermychancesofseeingauthenticNepalgot.I wasreadyto chase my dream
despitetheconsequences.I wasreadyforMissionEasttoWest.
WecreptontotheBagmati,paddlingbythebeautifulparksandtemplesthatlinetheriver.
Alongsideourshiny,brightkayaksfloateduntreatedsewage,pollutants,andgarbage,
includingdeadanimals.Thougheveryweeka groupgathersontheriverina fruitless
attempttocleanit,Kathmanduneverstopsemptyingitsfilthintoit.Forthefirsttime,I
kayakedwithouteverwantingto touchtheriver.Thenextday,wecrossed 70 kilometersof
valleysandmountainstoreachthepristinewatersoftheMelamchi.Twentyyearsago,a
prominentpoliticianpromisedto "washthestreetsof KathmanduwithMelamchi’swater.”In
theyearssince,variousgovernmentshaveconspiredto redirecttheriver,tunnelingthrough
mountainstofeedtheresidentsofthegrowingcapital,mostofwhomareunawareofthe
distancetheirwatertravels.Weweredisgustedtoseehowfarthecityreachedto steal
water, to see how little thought or regard went to those living along its banks.
Bagmati,Kathmandu- TheBagmati
couldbea perfectplaygroundfor
thecity,butatthemomentyoucan
smellthepollutionfromhundreds
of meters away. ©Kripa DongolChitwan- 25yearsago,thisviewtakenfromthe
roof of Anup’s grandparent’s was of farmland.Living the simple life and still having a wealth of gear and experiences.