These girls were heading to their home for the Dashain vacation. They had reserved the bus because no vehicles were plying on the 9th day of Dashain.

20 October (Timbu): We started walking on the unpaved road from Kunta Beshi in the morning: the target was Melamchi Bazaar where the administrative site offices of the super-talked about drinking water project in Nepal are located. Just as we started the walking we saw some kids playing ping. We wanted to play and take photographs. That was the first time I had played ping after almost a decade. It was like riding a bicycle after a long interval. I started having difficulties in walking. Continue reading →

Her name is Tenzen Angmu Lama, 6. She studies at grade 1 in a local school (Kakani Primary Schoo). When we reached her home in search of food on the second day of the trip, she was playing with herself. Her mother kindly agreed to boil potatoes for us after we requested and told her that we were really hungry and needed to eat anything that was possible to make at that point in time. A hotel nearby was closed and we were very hungry. No other homes were nearby, only a dense jungle was ahead of us. Continue reading →

An example of religious harmony in Nepal. [But some people want to differ. That is why this post has an update below on 28 October.]

This Padmasambhava idol of lord Buddha is taken out of the Tarke Gyang monastery only once in a year, on the day of Dashami (10th and most important day of Dashain festival), according to the head monk (lama). [Related article in Nepali: पदयात्राका पात्रहरू Below is the video of the ceremony.]

Oct 21 [Tarke Gyang]: They say traveling is learning. I feel that’s right. You learn about so many things while traveling new places. About cultures and people. When we reached Tarke Gyang, village in Helambu region, we saw a ceremony in the Monastery there. What’s that about? We wanted to know. “It’s our Dashain,” said the main monk (Lama) who was performing the ceremony. “You guys celebrate Dashain in your own ways and we celebrate it in our own way.” He was taking us as Hindu. Dashain is the biggest festival of Hindus and is considered national festival in Nepal though many would like to counter this “consideration”. I had always known that Hindu and Buddhist religions are so interrelated in Nepali society that their followers live in harmony. Buddha was born in Nepal and Hindu religion considers him an incarnation of lord Vishnu. Hindus celebrate Buddha Purnima (full moon day, the day Buddha was born and got enlightenment) and Buddhists also celebrate many Hindu traditions. I used to think not until long ago that there was actually no difference in these two religions because of the way followers of these two religions enjoy such a nice relationship. As I have mentioned in my Interests page, I am religiously secular person and I respect all religions equally. So the Dashain celebration in the Tarke Gyang monastery was an example of religious harmony for me. “Hindus sacrifice many animals during the two days of Maha Astami and Maha Nawami (eighth and ninth day of 15-day long Dashain),” said Kanchha Lama, the head monk of the monastery. “And we fast on those two days and prey for the soul of those animals killed in those two days.” And a young man added: “Hindus put tika from their seniors. We receive tika in the evening from head Lama.” Continue reading →

Because it was Dashain time we played ping in at three places in this journey: Kunta Beshi, Keyul and Golfu Bhyanjyang. When I played after almost a decade, it was quite an exhilarating experience. But after playing, I felt difficult in walking properly. Something similar happens when you ride bicycle in a long time.

Yea, that’s Wagle, playing Ping for the first time in almost a decade! Kunta Beshi Continue reading →