Kathmandu
Our
visit included the
three
cities of India's Golden Triangle Delhi,
Agra,
and Jaipur.
In
Nepal we enjoyed the city of Kathmandu,
the
village of Khokana,
and a flight over Mount
Everest.
and
throughout the trip we
enjoyed seeing the bright colors of saris
the ladies wore.
The pictures on these pages
are the
result of the combined efforts of the
photographers who agreed to share their pictures.
Their
contributions are very much appreciated since we each captured our own
unique view of the trip.
My sincere thanks to Don
Fischer,
Dorota Kotowska, Patricia
McCleaf, and Don Sledz.
We
drove past this small
Buddhist
Stupa.
Because it was a holy
time offerings
were being made.
This one in the form of
a white
powder mixed with water and pored over the dome.
Bodhnath
is much
larger stupa.
The flags and
scarves fluttering in
the breeze offered wishes for health and good luck for members of
families who had brought them.
The elephant sculpture
was covered
with scarves and at it's base was a
fire burning offerings of herbs or incense.
Each
turn of the prayer wheels in the
pictures below is the equivalent of saying "Om
mani pame hum"
This is a Buddhist
mantra which has
different translations but several sources give the meanings in the
following table.
The colors associated
with each can
be seen in their flags and art.
This symbol is the only
part of the
mantra that I can recognize as written, Om.
In fact it is the only word I learned to read in Nepal.
ॐ
Om |
Meditation\Bliss |
White |
Ma |
Patience |
Green |
Ni |
Discipline |
Yellow |
Pa |
Wisdom |
Blue |
Me |
Generosity |
Red |
Hum |
Diligence |
Black |
Other
scenes near the stupa.
Along
the river we saw these
makeshift tents.
In the city any space
that
wasn't built on was put to use growing wheat, mustard or vegetables.
Further out we saw these
terraced
fields.
There were lots of brick
yards.
These
aren't bonfires, they
are
funeral pyres at the temple of Pashupatinath.
Bodies are brought to
these platforms
on the stairs (ghat) along the
Bagmati
river and
burned on piles of wood and
straw.
After three to five
hours what little is left is swept into the river.
There
were a few people in the river trying to find gold from jewelry or
dental work.
There was a cornea
excision center
available for
those who wanted to donate.
It seemed to us that
this
should have been a private time for the families but here this is the
way one moves on to the next life.
We visited an art school
and saw some
of their work.
Everywhere we went in
Nepal we saw
people
playing games.
You probably recognize
backgammon,
parcheesi, and cards.
The girls playing hopscotch, boys are practicing cricket and
badminton.
The blurry picture is of
a soccer
player we saw as we drove past a field.
The board with the black
and white
disks is carrom.
The final picture is of
a game that
seemed to be a cross between tag and hopscotch with added elements I
didn't understand.
Gods of the Hindu faith.
As I understand it those depicted with blue skin are vishnu or one of
his incarnations.
The monkey faced god is Hanuman, one of the most popular of the gods, a
symbol of strength.
The gold figures represent Brahma (Creator), Vishnu (Preserver), Shiva (Destroyer). Three
aspects of the
ultimate reality.
Ganesh has the head of
an elephant
and is the
God of
wisdom and good fortune.
Submaniain is the son of Shiva and usually shown on his vehicle, a
peacock.
The black god is the most fierce form of Shiva, Bhairab.
Three more images of incarnations of Vishnu were near to Bodhnath.
The last
figure represents
Yama who keeps the Great
Book
of Destiny
where ones allotted
time of life on earth is recorded.
If you know these guys better than I do please send e-mail with
corrections.
This is the home/temple
of the Kumari
the living goddess.
She is selected at age 4
or 5 from
among physically perfect candidates.
She serves as the vessel
of the
goddess Durga until she is no longer a child when a new vessel is
chosen.
We weren't surprised
when we didn't
see her since she rarely appears at these windows.
For
more of our
visit to Kathmandu and pictures of markets, sadhus, the monkey temple
(and monkeys), and the people click
here.
Go to
our page about Delhi,
Agra,
Jaipur, Kathmandu,
Khokana,
Mount
Everest,
saris
See
other places we have visited here.
Go
to our Personal
home page
Go to our Community
page
Go
to our Science
Fun page
E-mail Nancy
and
Alan