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Gundu is a sprawling agricultural village of some 5000 people, one hours walk from the city of Bhakthapur and only twenty kilometres from the nation’s capital Kathmandu. It is an idyllic scene with neat little fields of golden wheat, corn, cucumbers and tomatoes in orderly rows, and lovely hills in the background. It’s a very clean village compared to the ones we have trekked through in the mountains - mainly because the livestock is kept penned up and not allowed to roam around. There are goats, a few cows, and even some geese.

Every morning the women head out at sunrise to work in the fields. The wheat was ripe, so each day we saw fields of wheat being cut (which is performed with a very dangerous looking scythe) and tied into neat bundles. The women all wear the same thing - a type of jacket, called a chollo, and a long skirt, and a very long strip of cloth wrapped many times around their middle, which apparently acts as a bit of a back brace. They also wrap a large cloth around their heads. The predominant colour is red or various shades of red. They work until sundown - I saw women carrying bundles of wheat and picking their way back across the fields even when it was almost dark.

(The men apparently do “nothing” apart from sit around, chat, and drink tea).

Women carrying wheat in Gundu

At sunset, the distant hills are a dusky lavender colour, and the stars start to come out. The insects start their nightly orchestra, and fireflies dance in the cornfields. It’s quite an amazing sight.