Chitwan is one of the many places which have been hard to reach the last number of weeks. But daily life has to go on, in one way or another.

Basu, the young man who runs the restaurant, is working from seven in the morning until the last guests have gone late in the evening. Earlier he used to visit his parents at night, who are old and cannot manage themselves anymore. – They don’t have enough rice. I need to help them, the man with the kind eyes says. – It is cold and they are freezing.

Basu used to study trade, but has now been working the last nine years to support the family. – I must prioritize my parents now that they are old. That is what´s most important. I would like to get married, but first I need to save the money necessary. The problem is that the boss is paying too little. 1500 rupees is all I make in one month. I have asked for more, but his only answer is no. “How can I pay more when no tourists are coming”, he says. Now I don’t want to ask him anymore, he only turns mad.

• Yesterday a man was shot right there in the forest, the guide Gopal says and points to the green forest behind us. – It is the first time here in Sauraha. It was a man in the army who was shot when he was walking alone in the evening. Now we don’t like to go out anymore after dark.
• He should have been more careful, one of the official guides says. The one who always wears a green ranger uniform and looks at the birds through the binoculars.
• Why is that?
• A soldier should know better than to walk alone by night, he says.

The guide shakes his head. Basu, the young man running the restaurant, becomes sad.

• Now I don´t dare to go to visit my parents anymore.

Chitwan, January 2005