Nepal, July 13 -- Every city has visible geography and an invisible one. While the former is recorded on maps, the latter is voiced by its citizens. For me, the back seat of a motorcycle on Kathmandu's streets is not merely a means of transport but a moving window through which I read Nepal. I often pass through that invisible geography.

The drivers keep changing-sometimes from Dailekh, sometimes from Saptari, sometimes from Doti, sometimes from Khotang. Their age, language and life stories differ, but a shared Nepal often speaks through their sentences. Someone is preparing to go abroad. Someone is appearing for the Lok Sewa Aayog examination. Someone is driving extra hours on a motorcycle to pay university fees. In these small conversa...