Nepal

Nepal, a tourist's paradise with everything under its fold. From trekking to mountaineering to adventure trips, Buddhist and Hindu temples, Nepal attracts people of all ages and tastes.  Friendly people and scenic beauty adds to its charm. I last visited Nepal three years back but this time, I got some time to absorb a little of this place.

Mount Everest, UNESCO World Heritage Sites as Lumbini, the birth place of Lord Buddha, Baudhanath (बौद्धनाथ), Pashupatinath (पशुपतिनाथ), Swayambunath (स्वयम्भूनाथ), Patan durbar (पाटन  दरबार), Mahaboudh (महाबौद्ध), Bhaktapur (भक्तपुर), the list is endless.

Initially, I mentally figured that I might write two or three posts on Nepal but, now that I have started writing, it seems that every place I visit needs a separate post, so amazing is it.  The place is full of temples. It is rightly said that there are more temples than people in this country.

Muktinath, located in Muktinath valley is holy to both Hindus and Buddhists. It is famous for Shaligrams, symbol of Vishnu which I have heard are found floating on Gandak river. I hope to visit that place some time in the future.
There is a perfect amalgamation of Hinduism and Buddhism in this country. The pictures below show this very clearly where the yoni is integrated with Lord Buddha's images, blending the two religions. I shall be writing in detail about the temples in my upcoming posts to explain this further.

          Outside Kasthamandap,              Durbar Square                             Bijeshwari temple near                                                                                                                                 Swayambhunath temple             

Shopping: Kathmandu is a shoppers paradise as well. It is impossible to refrain from not stopping to at least admire the artifacts, woollen shawls, gem strings. The gems are mined here, sent to India for cutting and polishing and come back again to be sold.

gem strings

Cashmere and Pashmina shawls

beads, statues, masks

Masks and the famous Nepal Kukhri

traditional paintings called Tankha

Festivals:
Nepal celebrates festivals throughout the year, in the same way as India. I got to see two festivals celebrated in August.
Kushe Aunsi (कुशे औसी ) and Hartalika Teej (हरतालिका तीज ).  Kushe Aunsi is a day for conveying gratitude to fathers.  A similar festival to honor their mothers in celebrated in March-April called Mata Tirtha Aunsi.  Its all about love and respect to the people who made you what you are today.

Buying sweets and gifts for fathers

The deceased fathers are remembered by their children in another way.

Buying Kushi                            performing rituals beside river Bagmati

Kushi is a sacred grass used for ritual ceremonies.

The other festival was Hartalika or Hariyali Teej. Goddess Parvati, consort of Lord Shiva is worshipped on this day by married women for a happy married life and long life of their husbands. Unmarried girls also observe this fast praying for a good life partner. Draped in red color, considered auspicious by married women, and wearing the traditional jewelery, they all looked so pretty.

pretty women

marching towards the temple

Waiting to pay obeisance at Shiv temple

performing prayers

Celebrating Teej at Basantpur

Below is a small video clip of Teej celebrations at Basantpur

Food:
Nepal is a place of multiple cuisines and you get a variety of foods. Fresh produce comes from Bhaktapur and the season lasts only for a few months so the vegetables are dried during the season to be consumed later during the year. With imports of fruits and vegetables increasing, one sees everything in supermarkets these days but you have to pay the price for that.

dried vegetable packets at supermarket

Vegetables as bitter gourd, mushroom, radish greens, meat etc can be seen in markets.

It is a very common sight to see vegetables hanging out to dry.

Juju dhau

I had heard so much about the sweet curd of Nepal called Juju dhau (जूजू धौ). It is a speciality of the Newars of Bhaktapur where the full cream milk is boiled, reduced a little, sweetened and live culture is added to it. This milk is then put in earthern clay pots and left overnight to set. The clay pots absorb some water content from milk  making the set curd thick and creamy. The unique earthy smell from clay pot is transferred to yogurt.
It is very similar to the curd (दही) of India, only that it is sweetened.  Our hotel staff obliged us with a huge bowlful of juju dhau and within minutes it vanished from the bowl :)

Having stayed at hotel for more than two weeks, made us crave for some vegetarian thaali meal. A typical thaali meal will usually have a daal, rice or roti, salad, one greens and one vegetable dish. It is also accompanied by a pickle or chutney.

Two local cheese

Two hard cheeses produced are the yak cheese from yak milk and the other is french himalayan cheese.  I like mellow flavored cheese but for those who love sharp flavors, it is worth a try, espeically the French Himalyan one. It is something like a sharp cheddar,with a tangy taste whereas the yak cheese is not that sharp but the flavor stays in your mouth for a while.

Music:
Everyday in the evening, it was a pleasure listening to Nepali music.  Hear it and I am sure you would love it.

Local game:
Bagh Chal (बाघ चाल ) is the national local game of Nepal. It means "tiger strategy" and is a confrontation between 4 leopards and 20 goats. A tiger can jump over any empty place beside a goat thus eating it.  The objective of the game is to strategically move in such a way that goats encircle the tigers making them immobile, or for the tiger to eat all the goats. Below, near the board you see three goats which have been eaten by tigers. I loved the game so much that I downloaded on my phone and often play it offline.

Fruits and spices:
Some special spices which I noticed were the jimbu (जिम्बू ), (see my post aloo ke gutkey), adhuwa (अधुवा ) which is a variety of ginger. I bought dried adhuwa powder. It is milder than ginger powder.
Besar (बेसार ) is the local turmeric.
Timmur (तिम्मुर ), is the Schezwan pepper and gives a typical flavor especially when added to radish pickle (मुलाको अचार ).
Apart from these, black cardamom, cinnamon are also grown.
Black and brown bhatt is often used in cooking, like lentils. The brown  beans are roasted also and sprinkled with salt to be eaten as a snack.
I remember eating kaafal (bay berry) many years back in my childhood. We missed eating the fresh ones but chanced to eat few preserved ones coated with sugar. Not outstanding I would say but it refreshed my memories.

I, now plan to write about some temples in and around Kathmandu in my next post.
Bhaktapur, Nepal