Babu Tamang and his companion Shyam show how love, loyalty, and resilience thrive in Nepal’s bustling capital
New Delhi, July 31, 2025
In the bustling streets of Thamel, Kathmandu’s tourist center, a poor rickshaw driver and his canine companion are quietly growing to be the city’s most adorable pair. Babu Tamang, 57, pedals his rickshaw through the capital’s crowded lanes always accompanied by Shyam, his faithful eight-year-old dog who follows him tirelessly or perches beside him on quieter rides.
Their unlikely friendship began two years ago after Tamang, still mourning the loss of a former pet to a leopard attack in his home village, found a scruffy stray near the garage where he parks his rickshaw. He named him Shyam, after the Hindu god Krishna, and the bond was instant. Since then, the two have been inseparable.
During the day, Shyam can be found faithfully following Tamang’s rickshaw or standing below it during breaks. Riders smile upon seeing the two of them and many pay generous tips not only for the ride but for the tale they tell. At the end of the day, they both go back to a simple shared room, where Shyam lies next to Tamang and his other rickshaw-driving roommates.
Photographs taken by AP photojournalist Niranjan Shrestha offer moving glimpses of their existence from meals eaten together to silent moments of repose. Tamang affectionately bathes Shyam to keep the chain oil off his fur and ensures he is fed before himself.
The only time they’re apart is when Tamang visits his family in his rural village, where dogs aren’t allowed on public buses. “He’s not just a dog, he’s my family,” Tamang says, steering his rickshaw under Kathmandu’s glowing streetlights.
Their friendship is more than a heartwarming tale it illustrates the tenacity of working-class existence in a transforming city, and the strong emotional connections that flourish in unlikely places.
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