Kathmandu, April 14 -- Sixty years ago, I arrived at Kolmuda of Kailali district as part of a 14-member team to help conduct the sixth decennial national census in far-western Nepal. It was March 1961, and in those days because of the lack of roads, we had to travel across India to get from one part of Nepal to another.

The first part of our journey was on the Tribhuvan Highway from Kathmandu to the Indian border. But the newly-built road was blocked by a landslide, and our bus swapped passengers with another bus going to Kathmandu.

From Dhangadi in the Tarai, we walked up rough trails to Doti, Bajhang, Achham, Bajura and Dadeldhura. Fellow travellers were traders selling ghee and buying salt, spices, and clothes. Far-western Nepal is r...