In a heartbeat...

Kitti and I in Patan Durbar Square

 One minute all is well, and the next, buildings are no more. Dust and debris and shattered lives are the aftermath of the earthquake which happened in Nepal yesterday. I was heartbroken to hear the news.

This poor tiny country, which struggles to hold its own, is now struck with the largest natural disaster they have had in 80 years. Infrastructure is one of their weak links, and it is now centre stage, with the management post earthquake and ongoing tremors. I was taken back to how I felt prior to visiting Nepal. I had read that they were due for a sizeable earthquake, that the country was situated on tenuous plates that could shift at any time, and therefore decided to register with foreign affairs Canada, should something happen while I was there.

Standing on the upper deck of our hostel, I thought, "how would these buildings survive, if a earthquake hit?" I could see they weren't constructed in the soundest methods, but I dismissed it as I sipped on my massala chai.

View from our rooftop hostel by Kalinki Temple.

The blue building is was our hostel.

Fast forward four years, and that earthquake I pondered actually hit. I thought of all the people that left a huge impression on me. Were they safe? Communication with Nepal was always tricky at best, with their roaming extended blackouts on the power grid.

I can only hope that all my little monks I taught at the Monkey Temple are just as cheeky as ever, and that the guys in the hostel are still making someone smile somewhere and that life in Kathmandu will start to  heal and repair itself, in time.

Namaste...