Nepal, July 6 -- The door creaked quietly, and time seemed to halt. Ramesh slowly dragged himself inside, closed the door, and sat down with a loud thud. Their house shook with the force of the thunder, and he tried to quiet his desperate sobs so as not to wake his family, who slept in one room they called home. He could see the half-eaten plates of dhido and gundruk lying nearby, tears blurring his vision. He saw the starving, gaunt figures with restless sleeping postures, feeling overwhelmed with guilt and gloom. The thunder roared even louder, but Ramesh couldn't hear it. All he could hear was the trembling figures of his family, lying with their hands clutching their stomachs.

He was the eldest son, expected to work and support his f...