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[Reportage] ‘May You Live in Heaven’: Grief Spreads Across Nepal as Flood Death Toll Rises

From Hankyoreh · () Korean

Translated from Korean and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Ongoing story
  • Nepal entered the seventh day after massive floods and mudslides, with the reported death toll rising from about 100 on the disaster’s first day to nearly 1,000 by Monday.
  • Families continued searching for missing relatives as bodies were recovered and identified across the disaster zone.
  • At Kathmandu’s Pashupatinath Temple, mourners cremated victims including customs official Nawakul Sharma, while survivors described guilt and profound loss.

The spirits of those who drowned in Nepal’s floods seemed to rise toward the sky in a thick, acrid cloud of smoke. At Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu, a woman with a red-painted face stroked the face of her late husband, Nawakul Sharma, and whispered three times, “May you live in heaven.”

Sharma, 33, lay covered in flowers as the sound of a shankha, a traditional Nepali wind instrument, filled the cremation grounds. His funeral pyre was set alight, sending smoke and white ash into the air. Ashes that did not rise were washed into the Bagmati River beside the crematorium.

May you live in heaven.

— Unidentified mournerA woman whispered the words three times to her late husband during his cremation at Pashupatinath Temple.

Nepal had entered the seventh day since massive floods and mudslides tore through the country. Grief deepened as the number of dead climbed with the recovery and identification of bodies. About 100 deaths had been reported on the day of the disaster. By Monday, the figure had risen to nearly 1,000. At Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu, walls were covered with posters seeking information about missing relatives.

The number of bodies of flood victims is increasing by the day.

— Pashupatinath Temple employeeThe employee described the continuing arrival of flood victims at Kathmandu’s crematorium.

“The number of bodies of flood victims is increasing by the day,” an employee at Pashupatinath, Nepal’s largest Hindu pilgrimage site and crematorium, said. Sharma’s body was found in the Gorkha region, nearly 100 kilometers from Timare, a border town near Tibet, China, where he had been inspecting cargo as a customs official when the flood struck.

His relative Kadili Diwak, 42, said, “We didn’t find his body until yesterday at Tribhuvan University Hospital.” Diwak had stayed near the hospital, hoping against hope, before learning what had happened and bursting into tears.

We didn’t find his body until yesterday at Tribhuvan University Hospital.

— Kadili DiwakSharma’s relative described when the family finally located his body.

Survivors also carried more than relief. Subhash Kolderga, 33, was rescued below Timare and received treatment in hospital. “Of all my friends who were there, just two of us survived, myself included,” he said. A cargo truck driver traveling between Tibet and Kathmandu, Kolderga recalled hearing what sounded like an earthquake. “Less than five seconds after hearing the sound of an earthquake, my truck started shaking violently and crashing into things all around,” he said. “When I came to, my truck was bobbing on water.”

Of all my friends who were there, just two of us survived, myself included.

— Subhash KoldergaThe flood survivor described the loss of his friends near Timare.
About this summary

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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