Panchthar, Aug. 23 -- Villagers would gather at one place carrying hoes, spades, picks and shovels. Whether they had to build a track or a phadke, a makeshift footbridge, village chieftains would send word from house to house. And villagers would turn up for 'harguhar'. There were no mobile phones to call people.

Nearly a century later, the practice remains alive in Panchthar, a hill district of Koshi Province. The world has changed, and so have the tools and equipment, but the tradition of joining hands to rebuild public infrastructure mainly during disasters survives.

Gangaram Bhattarai, aged 96, of Phidim Municipality-1 still remembers those days. The Jimmawals, Tharis and Subbas (the village leaders) would send messengers from house...