Jonathan, a young man in his 30s, left Hamburg, Germany, in utter rage and frustration. Jonathan and Jenifer were in a live-in relationship for the last five years. Jenifer was pursuing her MD, and Jonathan was working at a multinational company.

One day, unfortunately, when they were just a few days away from their marriage being solemnised, something very unexpected happened. A small seed of misunderstanding took the shape of a mountain, and finally, Jenifer packed her suitcase and left the apartment. Jonathan tried his best to stop Jenifer, but she was adamant. She was not ready to listen to him at all. All his efforts were in vain. Jenifer banged the door in the face of Jonathan and left.

When Jonathan’s further efforts could not change Jenifer’s mind, he too packed his suitcase and decided to leave not only the city but also the country.

After much contemplation, Jonathan decided to go to Nepal. His immense love for nature and solitude led him to choose Nepal as the only place where he could find mental peace.

Jonathan travelled to parts of Nepal; after that, he settled in Kathmandu. In Kathmandu, Jonathan made a young Nepali boy his friend. He was Hum Bahadur, who was working at a restaurant in Kathmandu. Hum Bahadur was from Jimruk, Lamjung, and he had been living in Kathmandu for the last seven years. When Hum Bahadur learned that Jonathan wanted to spend some time in the countryside, he decided to take him to his village.

The restaurant was closed for reconstruction. Therefore, Hum Bahadur was free for a few days. He called Jonathan and asked if he wanted to visit his village. Jonathan was more than happy to visit Hum Bahadur’s village.

Hum Bahadur and Jonathan took a morning bus from Kathmandu to Damauli, Tanahun. The next day, they took a Mustang jeep from Damauli to Jitakot, Lamjung. From Jitakot, they had to walk for about three hours to reach Jimruk village.

The gravelled road was riddled with potholes, and the road was damaged in several places. The jeep crossed several rivers and steep cliffs. Some rivers had a lot of water, and the Mustang jeep had sunk almost half in those rivers. However, Jonathan was not scared; rather, he enjoyed the ride with much thrill and excitement.

The jeep stopped at several places where local people set up stands to sell produce such as cucumbers, bananas, katus (chestnuts), guava, aiselu (golden Himalayan raspberries), sugarcane sticks, and oranges. But among them, Jonathan found kafal (bayberry) the tastiest.

The jeep dropped them off at Jitakot at 4 o’clock in the evening. They walked together for about three hours to reach Hum Bahadur’s home. Hum Bahadur’s father, Harke, and mother, Sitamaya, received them by putting flower garlands on their necks as a gesture of respect and love.

Jonathan was amazed at seeing such love, respect, and admiration at Hum Bahadur’s home. Sitamaya prepared gundruk soup (fermented mustard greens). She also made a vegetable curry of pidalu (taro) with young pumpkin stems. While Sitamaya was preparing dinner, Harke gathered tomatoes, mint, ginger, garlic leaves, and dulle khursani (fireball cherry pepper), all from his backyard farmland. He ground them well, and finally, timmur (Sichuan pepper) and a bit of salt were added to the mixture, and the pickle was ready.

A brass metal plate was placed before Jonathan, and Sitamaya served hot rice. Gundruk soup and vegetable curry were served in separate bowls. In a corner of the plate, a small quantity of pickle was also served. Maybe for the first time, Jonathan might have had such a wonderful meal in Nepal.

After dinner, the family gathered around the hearth and began talking. Hum Bahadur’s parents asked Jonathan many questions. Hum Bahadur served as a translator between his parents and Jonathan.

The next morning, early, Hum Bahadur took Jonathan to show him his village. He showed his vegetable farms, paddy fields, and mustard fields. He also showed orange, guava, pineapple, and avocado trees. Far away, snow-clad mountains sprawled across the horizon. Altogether, Jimruk village seemed a paradise on earth.

Jonathan was awestruck at seeing the treasure trove of natural beauty. However, he noticed several houses in the village were abandoned, with no one to care for them. Bushes had engulfed many houses, and they have lost their aesthetic appeal. Wooden columns and planks decayed, and termite colonies had spread all over the houses.

“My dear friend, without a doubt, your village is a paradise on Earth. However, I have noticed that many houses are deserted and falling apart. Why is it so?” asked Jonathan inquiringly.

“Well, there are many reasons for that, but to summarise in a few words, our village lacks some vital basic needs such as electricity, schools, and a hospital,” said Hum Bahadur with a heavy heart, and he continued.

“For major medical cases, we need to go to Pokhara, and it is over 95 km away from our village. The road’s poor condition and the lack of bridges over many rivers make travel impossible during the rainy season. Education is another big issue in our village. We don’t have a single high school; let’s not talk about a college,” said Hum Bahadur with a serious tone.

“I have understood the root cause of the migration,” said Jonathan and continued. “If some efforts are made to establish a functioning hospital and a high school, I think the immediate migration can be stopped,” opined Jonathan.

“Yes, you are right, but how is this even possible? This is not feasible on an individual level. This is part of the government’s duty, but our government is busy fighting for its own vested interests. There is no one to think of bringing development in the village,” said Hum Bahadur rather agitatedly.

After a moment of silence, Jonathan said, “It is possible. If you stand with me, then we can work together to bring a change,” said Jonathan confidently.

“Of course, I stand with you, but what can we two people do?” asked Hum Bahadur in astonishment.

Jonathan explained his idea to Hum Bahadur. In fact, Jonathan’s idea seemed overambitious, yet it was still achievable. Jonathan and Hum Bahadur shook hands and decided to translate their dream into reality.

In the first phase, they visited the families of 12 houses. Until a few years ago, the village had over 60 houses; now only 12 remain. Jonathan and Hum Bahadur shared their ideas with the village people and asked for their cooperation. The villagers agreed to extend their helping hands to Jonathan and Hum Bahadur.

Jonathan transformed all those 12 houses into homestays. They were asked to grow more and more local items for the visitors. Hum Bahadur advised some young women to develop their traditional songs, dances, and local cuisines. Jonathan asked Hum Bahadur to invite some journalists from Kathmandu and to publish a story about their village. Some Kathmandu-based electronic and print media covered the news extensively.

Greater emphasis was placed on developing cultural shows. Jonathan asked his German friends for help. They helped him in every many they could. Some of them even provided financial help to Jonathan.

Within a few months, many migrant families returned to their village. They, too, showed their solidarity and commitment to the village's development. A Village Development Committee had been formed, and as days passed by, more families returned to their houses. At the committee’s initiative, led by Jonathan and Hum Bahadur, a village primary school was upgraded to a high school.

Gradually, more domestic and a few foreign visitors began coming to Jimruk village, and the village people entertained them with everything local. The only thing that was eating away at the vitals of Jonathan, and it was the absence of a doctor to treat the local patients of Jimruk. A clinic had been built, but there was no doctor.

At a time when Jonathan was ruminating on how to run the local clinic successfully, he received an email. In the email, someone asked Jonathan to take responsibility for the clinic as a practising doctor. In fact, the doctor had not disclosed his identification but said he was very eager to join his team on a voluntary basis.

Jonathan’s happiness knew no bounds. He broke the news about a doctor who was willing to take responsibility for the clinic. The news delighted everyone in the village. Finally, the doctor arrived in Kathmandu. Jonathan sent Hum Bahadur to bring the doctor to the village.

The clinic was decorated with festoons and colourful balloons. Two large copper vessels were put at the main entrance.

Jonathan and all the village people stood at the main entrance, and they were waiting for the doctor. In fact, many village people were quite excited to catch a glimpse of the doctor. In the meantime, Jonathan saw the doctor and Hum Bahadur coming.

He held the flower garland in his hand to welcome the doctor. When the doctor stood in front of Jonathan, his eyes remained open in disbelief. In fact, Jonathan could not believe his eyes at what he was seeing. He felt as if he were having a dream. The doctor who stood in front of him was none other than Jenifer.

Jonathan was completely flabbergasted. He forgot to put the garland on the neck of Jenifer, but tears welled up in his eyes instead. Jenifer hugged Jonathan and said, “I am here with you forever.”