"But as it turned out, I was witnessing the beginning of the end of the long conflict - when King Guyenendra seized absolute power in February 2005, he inadvertantly enabled the Maoist insurgents to ally themselves with the disenfranchised democratic forces of the country. The result was the people's uprising in April 2006, where hundreds of thousands took to the streets to oust the Hindu monarchy."

In 2005, I went to Nepal to photograph Nepal's Maoists rebels. Lodged in their mountain safe areas, they had already fought a decade long insurgency against the Kathmandu-based establishment.