BARPAK, May 10 -- Barpak, a village situated in the Northern part of Gorkha, was the epicenter of 2015's earthquakes. The 7.8 magnitude earthquake killed and injured many people and left all the families residing in the quaint village homeless. Locals claim that almost 1500 houses were destroyed.

Today, 80% of the reconstruction has been complete. But the government grant alone wasn't enough, say the locals. The additional cost was covered by money sent by their family members working abroad.

Now as stone slab houses have been replaced by earthquake resistant concrete structures with blue tin roofs, life has largely gone back to normal. But locals believe that the essence of the village has been lost. It's no longer as picturesque as it...