Mt.Everest, Kathmandu et al

Early next morning we were supposed to catch a flight to have a glimpse of Mt. Everest. In Nepal it's called 'Sagarmatha'.As in Sanskrut and how the Himalayas were formed it seemed to be an apt name. When Indian plate moved towards the Chinese plate, the collision that occurred [millions of years ago], resulted in folding of the land that formed Himalayas. And it has already been proved that before the Himalayas were formed, the space was occupied by the sea. So peak arising from the sea, Sagarmatha. But in Nepalese it means 'Head of the Sky' and not at all what we derive !  I feel,  we should respect the Nepali sentiments and start calling it Sagarmatha and not after Mr. Everest, who has got nothing to do with it ! [ Of course the Chinese, as usual have a different say in the matter. But as per the international understanding Sagarmatha still lies within the political borders of Nepal so if it has to be called by any name, then it has to be Sagarmatha ! Another one. During recent earthquake in April 2015, Mt Everest has shifted towards Nepal side by 3 cms, so more so ! ]

The plane was propeller driven, smallish one, hardly having 14 o 16 seats thus everybody had window seat.

The Nepali air hostess was sweet little girl in her early 20s and word petite would have fitted her like glove on the hand.During the entire flight of one to one and half hours she was going to every passenger and explaining the mountain ranges with the peaks, seen from the window.

And the view was really awesome. Every body was allowed to have a peek in the cock pit for a short while. When my turn came I just could not fit in the cabin. If I would crouch there was not enough space, if I would kneel down or sit on my hunches  my head was hitting the ceiling. Not knowing what to do I some how manged to fit in with the help of co-pilot/navigator. He pushed my head down avoiding his gazettes to be damaged ! Both were smiling at my attempts to manage my almost 6 feet torso ! 

And there it was. Sagarmatha [ Mt Everest] just in front of me,in all it's glory.Early morning sun was giving  it yellowish golden glow that was difficult to describe and etch on the mind. But that was the only thing one could do as my video-graphing bombed due to awkward position. Nonetheless it was sight out of this world!

On the way return, we were served champagne on the house and that was feather in the cap !

Though according to expectations the plane did not encircle the peak so it was huge disappointment. But the reason told was equally plausible. The northern side of Mt. Everest is in the territory of China and if plane encircles the peak it would have been the breach of Chinese air space, so..... ! Understood !

The rest of the day was reserved for Kathmandu sight seeing. Misnomer of the first order, there  were no sights worth  my taste, and it turned out to be only temple tour ! Only redeeming feature was Durbar square, situated in old Kathmandu, Bhaktapur. Among-st all the temples surrounding it , it stands out for it's unique European architecture.Tall Romanesque pillars stand at the gate holding the entire structure on its strong edifice.[?].Unfortunately during the earthquake of April 2015, it came down leaving  only the relics of the old past.Even the mightiest are shown the dust by the quirk of fete !

Restoration of 'Gaddi Baithak' [ main palace]  and Hanuman Dhoka [ the old palace behind the main one] is in full swing with the help from abroad, mainly USA and China. Though it was open for visitors there was no point in going in the palace as 90% of the structures are destroyed and what you could see would be relics only !
All the adjoining temples and palaces too, now are in shambles except the palace of 'Kumari' Nepalis' Goddess incarnate!

Young nubile girl before she attains the puberty, is selected as 'Kumari', after rigorous selection process.She has to be from particular caste of Newaris, dominant sect of Nepali society. She is worshiped on all pujas especially , Navratri and Durga puja. As soon as she reaches menarche she ceases to be Kumari as it is believed that, goddess vacates her body then.It's not surprising in Nepal that she is worshiped by both, Hindus and low land Buddhists.But highlander Tibetan Buddhist refrain from doing so ! The exteriors as well as interiors of the palace are decorated with intricately carved out wooden panels. 'Kumari' with her family stays in the palace but appears for 'Darshan' only once in a day.

She sits in one of the ornate windows only for few hours for devotees but no one is allowed to photograph her. The way she dresses herself goes according to the old Nepali traditions, prominent being vermilion applied on her entire forehead in designated manner.  If she deviates from whatever she is marked for, she is removed from the throne, reasoning that her purity is lost !'Kumari' tradition is not restricted to Kathmandu alone but town of Patan too has its own Kumari.

I do not know what's the attitude but we Indians and Nepalese are mostly similar in our outlook towards our heritage. Entire square speaks volumes about the glory of bygone days, [forget about earth quake as such also], we do not respect what we had. Rather than isolating the entire area from daily mundane hubbub it swarms with people, vehicles, even four wheelers along with petty sellers on those dingy roads.

A simple walk was so tedious as road surface was uneven, covered with dust and at places where waste water flowed freely ,with sticky mud !

The next halt was at another Buddhist temple. It welcomed us with aroma  of sweetmeats in the making,pervading entire area.It augured my hunger so much that I went in search for the source. It turned out that the smell was emanating from the lamps offered to the deity by devotees. They had used pure ghee,[clarified butter] rather than normal wax or ordinary oil, so THE aroma ! 

If you go by the name, 'Swayambhunath', it appears to be a Hindu shrine devoted to Lord Shiva. At the same time again,as name suggests it implies that the deity is 'Self Sprung'. But though it's not a Hindu temple and is a Buddhist Stupa, it's revered by both the communities equally.And the Buddhist too accept the concept of 'Self Sprung' which is very common among-st the Hindus.

After climbing rather a steep hillock what comes to your eyes is astounding! The main stupa stands elegantly at the center of the complex with it's head having compassionate eyes of Buddha, peacefully looking over the valley of Kathmandu to offer solace to the troubled minds.Between the two eyes filled with wisdom and compassion is drawn number one in Devanagari script signifying the unity of entire universe



.As usual, the White skinned, do not know how to respect the sentiments of eastern mind, so call it 'Monkey Temple' as monkeys abound in the area! It's surrounded by many other temples, some Hindus' too !

'Boudhanath' again a Buddhist stupa is situated at the heart of Kathmandu's busy market area[ now] and you'll definitely miss it if not looked for keenly.It's one of the largest stupas in the world. The head of the stupa was damaged in the earthquake of 2015 but was renovated with the world help and now stands majestically on the Kathmandu skyline.Though larger than the Swayambhunath it too has the compassionate eyes of Lord Buddha depicted on the central tower.The perimeter is one of the longest in the world and is lined by shops, restaurants and few temples. It has highest number of Buddhist visitors in Kathmandu !

Last but not the least was temple of 'Pashupatinath' a Shiva shrine revered by the Hindus, from all over the world ! Considered to be one of the 12 auspicious Shiva shrines [Jyotirlinga] it's thronged by the Hindu devotees all year around.But when we went it being Diwali, the crowds were large, though not mammoth ! The shrine was specially decorated with ghee lamps in hundreds, signifying festival of lights ! The importance of Pashupatinath temple lies in the fact that it has Shivalinga which faces in four directions with zenith as the fifth, signifying 5 prime elements of the Hindu mythology..Unlike other Shiva shrines, the idol in Pashupatinath is always dressed in golden cloth. The temple stands on the banks of Bagmati river , locally revered as incarnation of Holy Ganges, and is built in pagoda fashion.As the photography is not allowed in the temple complex I had to do with the photograph of entrance only.

We were in the temple at around 6 to 7 PM and it was 'Aarati' time. Though born Hindu I am not devout Hindu by rituals so wanted to bypass the scene. But the sentry did not allow me, and pushed me in the melee. Short of suffocation by the strong crowds I dreaded Lower Parel stampede like situation and hurried through the devotees as fast as I could. No it was not to be so. The priest on the other side wanted me to pay my respect by banging my head, well almost, on the threshold. I politely refused and escaped the situation ! Though I offered my respect, gratitude, submission, whatever from afar !

At around the same time 'Bagmati' is worshiped as Holy Ganges on its banks.It's known as 'Ganga Aarati'.

It was sight worth a watch. 3 priests with different lamps,with multiple flames, offered their gratitude to the revered river from the ghats specially built for the same. The religious chants were soothing to the ears as they were low key and were sung in melodious tunes. There were many devotees dancing to the tune as if in trance. But that was normal sight in Nepal as Dancing and Merry making, are the hallmarks of Diwali celebrations in Nepal ! 

I don't really understand, though being born Hindu, how Hindu mind works. In such a pristine ambiance to watch few a corpse being cremeted, only few meters away was rather saddening !. But on the contrary it's considered to be extremely auspicious if your last rites are performed on the banks of 'Bagmati' with 'Pashupatinath' himself by your side when you climb the steps heavenwards ! Amen !