Kayak Session Magazine – December 01, 2019

MISSION

chaos,superstitions,andrumorsafloat-somethingmusthavepulled him towards death,

or,maybehisfallpreventeda worseaccidentonthewater.

Thenextmorning,HariandI returnedviachopperwhileTarjanandRoshanreturnedby

roadwithourkayaks.OncethedoctorsclearedHariofdanger,I couldbreathea sighof

relief,butbackinthemiddleofthedustandchaosofKathmandu,returningtotheTamur

feltimpossible.Weweredisoriented,physically,andmentally. Collectively, we decided to

comebacktotheEastonlywhenHariwasready.

WhileHarirecoveredinKathmandu,thethreeofusheadedtotheTibetborderinsidethe

LangtangNationalParktopaddletheUpperTrishuli.Here,althoughthetwentyupcoming

andongoingdamprojectsinsidetheNationalParkhadgottena pass- "forthedevelop-

mentofNepal,"officialsdeniedustherighttokayak.Ourcountrywaschanginginfront

ofoureyes.HariandRoshan'svillageneartheTrishuli,Tarjan’shomeneartheNarayani

andmygrandparents'housein Chitwan, all once nourished by mighty rivers had become

centersofdevelopment.

In CentralNepal,wherecliffswerebeingbombedto makeroadsandhillsmined,ourjour-

neytookonnewchallenges.Sincethestart,wehadn’tbeenona singleriverthatwasn’t

being“developed.”Disappointedanddevastated,I becamepessimisticaboutthefuture

ofwhitewaterinNepal.Wehavedestroyedouriconicwhitewaterrivers– theBhotekoshi,

Marsyangdi, Madi, the list goes on - yet, we haven’t stopped. I wouldn't be surprised if, in

Trishuli,CentralNepal- Notlong

ago,theTrishuliRiverwasa sky-blue

color,butsincetheextractionofsand

andgravelstarted,it hasbecomean

almost unrecognizable brown.

Sikles village, Central Nepal - Tarjan watches as Gurung of Sikles Hemp Fabric turns plants to string.

FROMEAST

TO WEST