Bua
Manamaiju, Kathmandu, Saturday, October 3rd, 2015
The house where I first met the Maharjans was a beautiful three-story home. The front entry, like many in Manamaiju, was two wooden doors set like a cabinet. The doorway itself was small, so I'd learned to duck a bit as I entered. Inside, stairs carved from thick pieces of wood lead to the second floor, and then on to the third.
The family room was on the second floor, and had at least two windows with ornate wooden frames that looked out onto the courtyard below. It was up to these windows I would jokingly call "Oh, fupu!" [Are you there sister-of-father?] when I wanted to see if anyone was home.
I believe* that the building’s walls were brick—a little over a foot thick—with large pieces of bamboo used for the floors; the walls may have been insulated with straw. When you were inside, you felt both warm and in a place of quiet. The exterior walls of the house sealed with layers of clay-mud which sunbaked to a smooth, warm caramel.
This is the house where ama [mother] and bua [father] raised their six beautiful children—four daughters and two sons.
The house was destroyed in the April 25th earthquake, and now the family resides about ten meters away in a new house that is gradually being built from red brick and concrete. Only five months since, I am happy to hear so much laughter and see again their smiling faces. The three grandchildren play with each other, the two elder boys taking care of the youngest, Arpita, who is just three.
The shell of the old house remains, some of the walls still holding fast to contain the mass of rubble inside. [Edit: I looked at the house again today, and I think it is actually a neighboring house. I now think that their old house is totally gone. –Jack, 10.08.2015]
I'm not sure that houses like this will ever be built again here, but in the end it did the best job possible—it kept this wonderful family safe, and I am so grateful it did.
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* the exact structure of the house is a bit of supposition on my part.