Aarya Shanjel

Normal Is Not Right

"We pass this road every day. Maybe that is why we have stopped noticing what it is doing to us."

This is Jagati Road, a place I travel almost every day. Vehicles move endlessly, dust fills the air, and the chaos never seems to stop. What worries me most is not the traffic its

Too Young for This

"No child should need a mask and covered ears just to stand beside a road."

While travelling to college, I noticed a school student waiting by the roadside. He was wearing a mask, covering one ear, and holding his phone close to the other because the noise

One Better Choice

"Every electric ride is a small step toward cleaner air."

After getting off the bus at Jagati, I boarded an electric auto on my way to Doleshwor. The ride felt different. There was no thick smoke following the vehicle, and the journey was

Cleaning What We Throw

"He had to step into the polluted river. We have the choice to stop polluting it."

On my way to college, I looked at the Hanumante River and saw a man wearing a mask while collecting garbage from the foul smelling water. I could not stop looking. He did not have

The Cost of a Meal

"A warm meal should never come at the cost of the air we all breathe. Cleaner choices exist. We just have to choose them."

While returning home from college, I noticed a roadside food stall in Jagati. The food smelled inviting, but what caught my attention was the thick smoke rising into the air. It ma

No Choice to Breathe

"On a busy road in Kathmandu, I realized not everyone has the option of wearing a mask."

I took this photo on a busy road in Kathmandu. Vehicles rushed past, carrying dust and exhaust into the air. Amid all that noise, a stray dog lay quietly on the pavement, as if it

A River That Can't Give

"The dog searched for survival in a river that could no longer offer clean water. Pollution steals from every living being."

While returning home from college, I looked towards the Hanumante Khola in Thimi. The smell reached me before the river did. Then I noticed a stray dog walking through the polluted

When Colours Fade

"When smoke fills the sky, nature slowly loses its colours. Pollution doesn't just darken our lungs. It darkens our world."

I took this photo in Bhaktapur near a brick kiln. I later edited it in black and white because that's exactly how it made me feel. We often hear that the lungs of a smoker gra

Lungs - Our Third Bin

"We separate our waste into two bins. But when the air is polluted, our lungs become the third bin."

When I saw these two bins, I smiled because they reminded people to separate biodegradable and recyclable waste. Then another thought came to my mind. We have bins for our garbage

Everyday Dust

"The road to college taught me that sometimes the air hurts before we even realize it."

This road is part of my daily journey to college. At first, I thought the dust was just another part of the commute. But day after day, it began to burn my eyes and irritate my ski

Hidden Below

"We hide our garbage under bridges, but we can never hide the polluted air it creates."

While returning home, I passed under the Balkumari flyover and noticed piles of garbage dumped beneath it. People walked past with masks on, trying to protect themselves from the s

One Click, One Thought

"One accidental photo became a reminder that most dangerous things are often the ones we cannot see."

I was on my way home when I randomly pointed my camera towards the road and clicked this photo. I didn't even check it immediately. Later, when I looked at it, I noticed something

A Breath of Hope

"Sometimes clean air doesn't begin with a campaign. It begins with one person, one plant, and one choice to bring more green into the world."

While returning home from college in Thimi, I noticed a man selling plants by the roadside. People walked past him without much attention, but I couldn't stop thinking about the pu

A Hazy Morning

"What if one day we could no longer see the nature clearly? Clean air protects not only health but also nature's greatest art."

This photo was taken from my window on an ordinary morning in Bhaktapur. At first glance, it looked peaceful, but the haze caught my attention. My first thought was, I wish I could

The Air They Deserve

"What can we actually give the people who build our paths?"

While returning home through Jagati, I watched workers laying down a road that many of us will use every day. Some of them had masks on, doing what little they could to protect the

A Place by the River

"No one's livelihood should cost them their health."

While returning from college in Thimi, I passed a familiar spot beside the Hanumante River. The cobbler who usually sits there wasn't around, but the smell of the polluted river st

“प्रकृतिलाई प्रेम गर.”

"Maybe the most important messages are already on the first page."

Today I was sitting in my legal research class with my clinical copy open and my favourite black ink pen, just trying to go through my work. I wasn't really thinking of anything de

Clean Air not just for humans

"What Does Polluted Grass Taste Like?"

I saw a goat eating grass by the roadside today. And a strange thought crossed my mind. What does that grass taste like? Not the fresh taste of nature, but the taste of dust, smo

When Faith Takes a Step

"The Prayer Rises, But So Does the Smoke..."

Today I saw something meaningful happening at Doleshwor Mahadev Temple. The committee has taken a strong initiative banning incense sticks to reduce air pollution and protect the e

Sometimes Eyes Cannot See

"When My Nose Disagreed With My Eyes"

Sometimes, eyes cannot see. Today, while returning home from college I was on a Banepa Dhukikhel bus heading towards jagati. Anyone who travels on this route regularly knows how

BhaktapurMay 2026

The Invisible Reality

"If air could talk, what would it say? Maybe it's tired of being ignored."

It was 5 PM in Bhaktapur. I was sitting by my window, diary open, my favourite black ink pen in my hand but I was stuck. I wanted to write about my day, pour my thoughts but my cre