Sauraha is the gateway for Chitwan National Park, a place of global significance. On the other side of the East Rapti River life is much more rudimentary.
Dwellings typically made from thatch and mud brick huddle together in tiny clumps. This quiet little town is village on the fringe of one of the last homes of the Bengal Tiger.
It is also the haven for Samba Deer, One Horned Rhinoceros, crocodiles, leopards, Asian Elephants and a host of reptiles, birds and insects. Life in Sauraha for many is dependent on the East Rapti River. This river provides so much to sustain the community.
A close-knit village existence is all that many of the locals ever know. Some with only the means to make it from one season to the next, the fluctuations of the wider global economy are rarely felt here.
The charm and appeal of a simpler life struck a chord with me. I could see happiness in the faces of the people we meet along our journey here. Life largely consists of mastering the basics here. Children did not play computer games, or on consoles. People did not move through the streets in a distracted haze with headphones firmly affixed.
There was interpersonal engagement of a level that many of us have lost with the proliferation of technology and selfish expectation of convenience.
Time seemed to stand still, or at least move very slowly here. And yet life moved on with a contented spring in its step.
We waded through muddy ground, crops and plantations before finding a track that followed the banks of the river through the National Park.
Eventually the path ended and we found ourselves in a sloppy banana plantation. Time to backtrack to the village.
