Kathmandu, May 25 -- For the past 12 years, Pitbull Gym, in Chuchepati, has opened at 5:30 in the morning. One of the first to reach the gym is Kishor, the gym's owner/chief instructor. By 10 am, which is when the gym's morning shift ends, an average of 60 gym members will have finished their daily workout. The gym's evening session, from 3 pm to 7 pm, sees around 30 to 40 members.

Located on the third floor of a commercial complex, which houses a restaurant, a beauty parlour, and a bank, the otherwise busy Pitbull Gym has remained shuttered since March 24, the day the government announced nationwide lockdown, and Kishor has been out of work.

Thousands of gyms, from the small ones located in neighbourhood alleys to large commercial comp...