Nepal, Feb. 11 -- Thousands of traders and ordinary folks flock to Koilabas, a small border town south of Dang Valley in western Nepal. Some of them have travelled from the remote north for many days, with the caravan of bhariyas and khachhars carrying large sacks of Himalayan herbs and hemp. The pungent smells of hing and timmur mingle in the air, mixed with sweat and dust. The big traders from the valley across the north and those from the south seem busy bargaining prices of grains and mustard, while those who have made a long, treacherous journey from the hills heat the ghiu they have carried down to sell in the market. This is a picture of everyday Koilabas in the 1960s.

Located across the dry and sparsely populated Chure range that...