Kathmandu

The day started really early…for some reason I awoke at 1.30 am and could not get back to sleep, so I cracked open the iPad and did some business admin.  The time on the iPad read 8.30 am, so I got myself dressed and headed down for breakfast but was surprised to be one of the first n the restaurant….it was actually 6.15 am!    I ate and returned to my room and tried to have a rest but to little hope!   Ce la vi!

The group met this morning and we visited the centre of Kathmandu - Durban Square.  It is a UNESCO World Heritage site that contains some 50 temples as well as the palace and formal buildings.  Most buildings date t the 17th century, however our guide Amit explained that when one temple was damaged in an earthquake a few years back they found evidence dating back to the 4th Century BCE!  

While the temples are still used for worship by people, there is one that is actually inhabited aged- that is the temple that houses Kumari - the living Goddess!  It is her official residence and she is a young girl revered as the living goddess (a manifestation of Durga). Visitors can view the courtyard and she grants an audience. I did not know quite what to expect…and then this little 3 year old girl came to the window and looked down. Not an ounce of expression on her face! She staying looking at us for a few minutes before a minder carried her away - apparently her feet are not to touch the ground! She was selected after a series of trials - one of which apparently is to stay in a dark cave for significant time without crying!!!! She is completely cared for and is not be damaged in anyway - her feet never touch the ground and every need is taken care of UNTIL she reaches puberty then she is just normal again and will return home to her parents. I really don’t know what to think of it all…it seems cruel to me but Amit assured us of the holiness of it all. Photos of her are strictly forbidden and we were ‘barked at by minders’ to remind us before her presence at the middle window of the third floor.

 Everywhere you look there was a picture to be taken.  The original palace architecture  reminded me of the some of the buildings in the Forbidden City in Beijing.  Lots of carved teak, terracotta tiles but the decoration was Hindu god based rather than dragons.  

We then went to Bodhnath Stupa - one of the biggest Buddhist shrines in the world.  It sits in a square like structure surrounded by small shops.  It was quite beautiful watching the prayer flags flutter in the wind and we observed many buddhists and Buddhist monks waking around it clockwise recited prayers and mantras, spinning the prayer wheels at the same time or praying with what looked like rosary beads.  

We lunched on a rooftop terrace and observed the Stupa below while eating Momo and Roti.

Just a little along the square from our restaurant was a small handicraft/art shop.  It is another initiative that is supported by the Intrepid foundation - this one trains women in traditional artworks as it has predominantly been male dominated.  The idea is that women can sell their works to earn an income with some working from home and only coming in to the studio to hand over works.   There were three levels - junior, intermediate and master level works and when explained you could clearly distinguish by the level of detail involved.  I was rather taken with some Mandala works….and will think on them while we are on our trip around Nepal….if I decide to buy them I will collect before leaving for Sri Lanka.  A small 30x30 mandala by a master is valued around USD 300….do not a decision to make lightly :-)

Our last stop of the day was Pashupatinath - the most famous Hindu temple in Nepal.  It is a pilgrimage site for Hindus world wide.  There are buildings but it is also located around the Bagmati River - considered sacred and holy where Hindus can wash away sin.  It is one of the rivers that leads not the Ganges!   There were many people there  - some celebrating in the temple building (we were not allowed but could observe from a platform across the river) but also many mourners as there were at least three bodies arrive while we were there.  The ghat here is also the place to wash and prepare the dead for cremation.  We were encouraged to observe the rituals and ask questions and take photographs from a distance!  The cremation must be complete within 24 hours for death, so it is a quick process performed by families with the assistance of priests.  It takes a few hours for ashes which help finalise that part of the ceremony - the stand is then cleaned, ashes are then taken home for 13 days before returning for scattering in the river.  It was quite a moving ceremony - with heavy involvement for close family members washing and preparing the body and carrying it to its final resting place.  I was unsure beforehand about whether I wanted to observe but it was nothing like I thought.  It was extremely dignified and not at all gruesome.  While we say cremation on the Ganges Ghats - that was from a distance….these ones were much closer and we saw the intimate rituals that surround cremation - a very moving afternoon.