THE WHITE MONASTERY (SETO GUMBA)

23^rd June 2013

Although not quite sure of the route to Ramkot, we walked from Swoyambhu at about 11 am towards the White Monastery, also known as Druk Amitabh Mountain. We carried a bottle of water, lunchbox and some fruits. It was a cool day. Asking people ahead of us on the way about the way to Gumba, who seemed to be going to the same destination as ours, we kept following them. After walking for about 10 minutes, we took a shortcut through the steps. We were a bit sad not to find any signposts to make our travel easier. The shortcut was not a proper way. It was rather an open barren field of someone and the way through it was quite narrow. From there, we could see a steep hill ahead of us through which people were moving upwards. Soon we realized that the Seto Gumba experience was going to be adventurous. We reached to the motorway area and continued walking across the road. We could see many people preceding and following us. It seemed like a fair. We wondered what made Seto Gumba so popular and special. It must have been about 45 minutes with our slow gait when we reached the bottom of the steep hill. Scary it looked. We were to choose between scary shortcut and long safe way. We chose the former one. 

The steep hill was without any way. We were to make our own. Taking hold of some grass, we would climb up. The water bottle and lunchbox bag seemed a burden during climbing. We reached a bit up and felt dizzy. However, we did not lose hope and continued upwards clicking ourselves. We again met the motorway in about 15-20 minutes and felt satisfied on our accomplished adventure. By that time, we were soaked in sweat. 

Continuing our walk for about 10-15 minutes, we finally reached the Druk Amitabh Mountain. It looked huge and covered a wide area. There were hundreds of motorbikes but a few number of other vehicles and uncountable number of people.  Family, couple, friends, children, school children were the visitors. After receiving visitor passes, we walked through the area. 

Gardens were in most of the places. There were large Buddhist arts on the walls resembling Thanka paintings. There was a big statue of Buddha on the first part of garden. Steps on both sides of the statue led to the next Buddha statue which was again in between steps. Those steps led to the last statue of Buddha which was the largest and well decorated. This was a huge open area. Everyone seemed excited to click themselves in front of the well maintained, neat and tidy gardens and big statues. 

Most of the places notified “No entry” and they looked very neat and tidy. The entire floor was smoothened with marble and pitch. There was a Cafe Naro reminding me of Cafe Nero of the UK. We could see Buddhist Ani (nun) handling the cafe. There were two places of shelter which was all occupied. By this time, the weather was typical of a June day. People rested and enjoyed a glimpse of green dense forests on the hills. We enjoyed our lunch by the side of shelter. Just close to it was a garden with replica of bridge, river and birds. After taking snaps, we moved down and followed a queue. It was the only permitted area of the Gumba besides the gardens. A temple was situated on the first floor. We took off our shoes in a shoe rack and went to the temple upstairs.

The temple was massively decorated. We could see a huge statue of Buddha facing the door and the walls were all filled with small statues of Buddha. There were hundreds of Buddha statues in those walls, preserved inside the glasses. We saw an individual standing and delivering a speech to about 20-25 audience listening to him. They were in ordinary dress. 4-5 Anis were guarding the room as it was meant to be quiet. We exited the temple. Our barefoot on the cool, smooth marble felt heaven in the midday heat. From the temple, we could see a nice view of Kathmandu along with green dense forests by its side which looked magnificent. The ground floor had a gift shop managed by Anis. This reminded me of the UK gift shop in different travel destinations. 

The crowd seemed to expand more and more. We decided to return. Gave back our visitor passes, bought cold fruit juices and a bottle of water and left the place. Enjoying the drinks, we travelled through the long motorway this time. We saw many people going towards the Monastery on our way back. It was indeed a popular place and worth a day out.

PALETI AND DIPAK KHAREL

1^st June, 2013

On a special occasion (friend’s wedding anniversary on 31^st May), we went to a special place for celebration. The show was to begin at 6 pm in Paleti in Nepalaya hall. Socializing would begin at 5:30 pm. We reached at 5:15 pm. The venue already had about a dozen numbers of guests.  The place was peaceful and well managed and the weather was cool.

Around one corner was a table over which a number of books were kept for sale. We glanced through the books and were waiting for the program. The number of guests was increasing. Snacks and drinks were being served. We were relishing and were excited to see the popular figures of the country in the venue. We could see journalists, poets, musicians, politicians all who loved Nepali culture and were eager to listen to Dipak Kharel in front of them. 

At 6 pm, we entered the Paleti hall. We could hear soothing instrumental tune emerging out from the room. The room was cool but cozy, and we could see the legend Dipak Kharel in front of us already well prepared with musicians behind him in a semi-circle. Soon the Paleti room was full. I could see why they had notified me in the email that the ticket had been sold out for this show. The show began. 

It began with a song which sounded like a Bhajan. What followed were his popular songs and the ones which I had never heard before. Some of them were - “Pratikshya gara…”, “Purnima ko raat…”, “Badal banai deu….” He would sing with his eyes closed and through the depth of this heart. The hosting of Aavash was entertaining. He kept asking Dipak Kharel about the making and background of those songs throughout the program. 

Dipak Kharel looked charismatic and handsome. The red-colored top, which he later mentioned he wore upon his father’s request, on the white face looked awesome and the shining steel-rimmed glasses made him a gentleman. His voice was not much different from what it was in his songs 30-35 years back. It was fit for singing. He spoke less but answered all questions tactfully. The audience seemed happy to hear him.

 The show had a break of 15-20 minutes in between. Everyone was outside again chatting about the program and relishing the snacks. We made some friends during the break. All the Paleti audience seemed to admire Deepak Kharel’s voice. The break seemed too long for us. Listeners were back in the hall. The second half of the program started. 

Once he began singing, time ran quickly. We could enjoy songs like “Timro tyo hasilo muhar…”, “Kati anautho chha…”, “Yo karma bhumiko…” this time. The more he sang, the more claps were heard. A few times, they even prolonged. He kept singing his evergreen songs and the listeners were never tired. Upon our request, he re-sang “Pratikshya gara….” As all good things come to an end, the good show ended too.

We are thankful to Paleti for organizing such programs and honoring the legends of the country. We also feel grateful to be a part of it and will always want to be. We hope the Paleti continues.

BEYOND THE VALLEY

6^th April 2013

Starting early on a Sunday morning, I reached Balkhu at 6.15 a.m. After collecting a strip of Avomine, a bottle of water and some wai- wai, I waited for my cousin’s arrival. She arrived soon and we purchased two tickets to Chapur (Chandranigahapur) on the spot (Rs. 600/person), loaded our stuffs above the Sumo Jeep and had a nice cup of tea in the nearby shop.

At around 8 a.m., we became ready for our journey. The jeep carried 10 passengers. Occupying the second row in a sunny morning, we headed towards Chapur. It was my first long journey after returning back from the UK and the first Terai experience ever. I was excited to travel and Dakshinkali looked peaceful. The rounded roads reached Kulekhani after a few hours where we got off for lunch. Enjoying sel tarkari and clicking few pictures, we again readied ourselves for the journey.

It must have been about 11 o’clock. The heat welcomed us in the midday. The curvy roads and terrace farming were over and we knew we were in Hetauda. Through Bara and Makwanpur, we finally reached Rautahat. Chandranigahapur was not far by. We got off and caught a rickshaw to Judibela as walking seemed not possible in the scorching heat. The rickshaw driver charged us Rs. 150 and landed us safely in our destination.

Our visit surprised my cousin’s family. However, we received a warm welcome. They were busy in their farm planting sugarcane. We took rest for a while and had lunch. Grown up in the urban area, I was delighted to eat and drink the homemade products. Milk, yogurt, mohi, banana, rice, lentil, vegetable –all were produced at home. Moreover, I was glad to see three cooking alternatives - electrical heater, gobar gas and traditional wood. Terai looked well facilitated than the capital where fuel shortage has become a part of life. We showered in the tubewell and started preparing for supper. Tired as we were, we slept soon after eating and washing the dishes.  

The next day we woke up early with cattle. Carried few buckets of water from the tubewell to the kitchen, had cups of tea and milk one after another and started preparing the meal. After eating, we boiled turmeric, chopped it into small pieces, and left it to dry in the hot sun. Since afternoon was very hot and was supposed to be a nap time, we rested for a few hours. I used this time to read two slim books by a Nepali writer Ka.Di. After the lunch, we went to nearby mill carrying sacks of wheat and rice grains to grind. I had a chance to take a glimpse of true Terai there –the Madheshi people, their houses, their way of living and their language. We left our belongings in the mill and returned back. Mosquitoes were plenty in the dark and load shedding schedule was similar to the Kathmandu town.

Tuesday was a religiously fasting day for me and my cousin. We showered early and worshipped the Lord Ganesha. Rest of the day followed routine of previous days. Other days were similar too. We were busy preparing koseli for Kathmandu – potato chips, bhujia laddoo (lai), kurauni and ghee. I visited few people there with my cousin and knew more about Terai. According to them, Terai is not good for people who cannot tolerate mosquitoes, snake and heat. Otherwise, it’s a nice place to live.

On the Friday morning, the jeep picked us up from our place. We loaded our stuffs and thanking my cousin’s family for their hospitality, left the place at 8 a.m.  I had a mixed feeling of longing to be in as well as a desire to escape from Kathmandu. The 5-hour journey was pleasant. The cool environment of the valley seemed welcoming. However, the big housing apartments and crowded residence seen from the jeep view were suffocating to look at. Bearing in mind that we live in the center of Nepal and that we cannot escape from the reality, I was eager to be at home.  

WORLD THEATER DAY AND DEGREE MAILA

28^th March, 2013

After about two years’ gap, I had an opportunity to watch Nepali stage drama again. The day was special, World Theater Day, as it was called and the place was Mandala Theater in Anamnagar. I was quite excited to be in the theater environment after such a long time. The area seemed not that big but was cozy and crowded. I saw in the crowd some well known faces like Sunil Pokharel, Abhi Subedi and Bijaya Bisfot. I felt a bit nervous and was without any company. 

Soon afterwards, I was accompanied by a friend and we went towards the hall. After being seated in the second row, I realized that the program had already begun and we had missed the first part of it. However, I was glad enough to be in the ambience. I could see more familiar and historical faces in the formal program. Nisha Sharma, Sunil Pokharel, Abhi Subedi and Satya Mohan Joshi spoke about the theater day. Then it was time for a cup of tea.

After the tea break, drama ‘Degree Maila’ was to begin. The name itself suggested it was a comical drama, written and directed by young artists Saayad Ashok and Dayahang Rai respectively. Ticket rate was Rs. 100 for students and Rs. 200 for non-students. As the latter, we headed towards the hall and were lucky enough to grab the front row. The hall seemed almost full. The audience was sitting on the stage too. I felt like being in Gurukul theater years ago. 

Soft music in the hall could be heard before the play began. Few guitars, drums and other instruments seemed to warm up the audience for the play. After few notifications for them, lucky ticket withdrawal and some description about the play, the drama began.

The writer introduced each of the characters in a unique way. Their positioning in a big wooden frame (that was moved by the writer once they were introduced) looked artistic, enjoyable and lively. The drama started in a rural setting and revolved around a character named Maila who had obtained a Masters degree. People considered him as an intelligent person and respected his thoughts. He was a hope for their village. However, this character is very frustrated with his life, is a heavy drinker and dies. The villagers’ hope is lost. 

Although the drama ended sadly, it contained many comical parts. But lengthy dialogues between Maila and his students made the audience tired and sleepy. Light effects failed a few times. Playing background music was not well harmonized at times.  However, the professionalism of the characters and the comical presentation of the play need to be appreciated. I was a satisfied audience of this play on such a remarkable day.