I was basking in the warmth of the morning sun, sipping tea, listening to music and enjoying the view from the balcony of my apartment. That apartment, the balcony and that view were all new to me because it had only been a week since I moved there.

I was strolling among the heavy crowd and the hustle and bustle of New Road with some newly-bought Dashain clothes in my backpack and some random thoughts about the festival on my mind.

Going by definition, a Ring Road is a road or series of connected roads encircling a town or a city.

Every semester break, I try and return home to my beloved Jumla. Only that getting to Jumla is no easy feat. One of the most remote and traditionally inaccessible reaches of the country, Jumla, you might say is one of Nepal’s final frontiers.

I was born in the remote, mid-Himalayan district of Jumla. Born at a time when development had just begun to change the lives in my district, I feel lucky that I had the chance to witness the first ray of hope that was going to change Jumla forever.