“Come here and have a look at Mount Everest?”, the flight captain’s remark had gotten me off my seat. I worked my way to the other side of the aircraft and found an empty seat close to where he was standing. As I slowly lowered my body down onto the seat, my eyes tried to focus at the direction of his finger which was pointing towards the range of mountains far away in the horizon. My eyes wandered from one snow covered peak to another, bedazzled by the white beauties protruded from the cotton-like clouds. He added that in Sanskrit, the Himalayan meant ‘Abode of Snows’ and was the prime attraction for visitors to Nepal.
Nepal has existed as a kingdom centered in the Kathmandu Valley for more than 1,500 years. The country is known for its majestic Himalayas and has nine of the fourteen peaks in the world over 8,000 meters, including Mount Everest and Annapurna I. Eventhough the exact origin of the name of the country is uncertain, but the citizens of Nepal believe that it is derived from Ne (holy) and Pal (cave). Nepal, settling between China on the north and India on the east, south and west (between the latitudes 26 ° 22′ and 30 ° 27′ N and longitudes 80 ° 40′ and 88 ° 12′ E), is commonly divided into three physiographic regions — the Hill, Mountain and Terai Regions, bisected by Nepal’s major river systems. The Kathmandu Valley, located in the Hilly Region, is the only fertile and urbanised area in this country. Contiguous to the Hilly Region, The Mountain Region contains the highest mountain in the world - Mount Everest (pronounced as Sagarmatha in Nepali).
In the coldness of December 2006, I set my feet on the land of Nepal for the very first time. The land that I had always dreamed of exploring. Nepal ’s weather is generally pleasant and fresh especially during winter. There are four climatic seasons: Spring from March till May, summer from June till August, autumn from September till November and winter from December till February. Pulling out a thick knitted sweater from the suitcase, I wrapped it around myself and waited for the travel agent to show up. My friends who came along started complaining how damning cold it was. In the waiting crowd, I saw a handsome Nepali man waving a banner bearing my friend’s name. Assuming he could be the travel agent, we went directly to him, introduced ourselves and we got acquainted in no time. A warm and flowery welcome somehow alleviated the bitter coldness of the air.
Nepal’s indigenous population consists of two major groups:
· The Indo-Nepalese - whose ancestors migrated into the country from the south. They speak Sanskrit-derived languages and are strict adherents to Hinduism. Nepali, the official language, is derived from Sanskrit. Differences within the Indo-Nepalese group are marked more by caste (a system of social hierarchy) than by ethnicity.
· The Tibeto-Nepalese - whose ancestors entered Nepal from the north. Although most of the Tibeto-Nepalese speak Nepali, each ethnic group also has its own language. While the majority of Nepali people practice Hinduism, the official religion, a strong shamanist element remains in the religious practices of many Tibeto-Nepalese ethnic groups. The Tibeto-Nepalese group comprises several different ethnic groups including Thakali, Newar, Bhutia, Sherpa, Gurung, Magar, Tamang, Rai, and Limbu people.
Although centuries’ long intermingling between the two groups has occurred, cultural, linguistic, and religious differences still exist both between and within the two groups. Hinduism and Buddhism constitute two major religions of Nepal sharing between them some 86.5 and 7.8 percent of the total population respectively. Both these co-religionists are blended together by a sense of fellow-feeling and bonhomie. It is particularly displayed in their worship of common deities and joint celebration of many festivals belonging to either religion or culture. There is also a small Muslim population mainly located in the Tarai.
Well, well, well… Indo-Nepalese, Tibeto-Nepalese. Hmmm… that explains why I saw fine complexion and mixtures of skin colours. Some were as fair as the Chinese and some could be described as true Indians. Most of the women are undeniably pretty, demure and exotic. Va va voom! I suppose I need not have to elaborate as the photo of the Nepali girls above clarifies all.
Five days in Nepal was a blessed exploration. What added flavour to our visit was the fine art of hospitality of the Nepalese, such as their form of greeting. The ‘Namaste’ greeting is performed by joining the palms together. We were very grateful to be driven around by perhaps the most diligent tourist driver on earth. I only knew him as Bir.
We were taken to the peak of Elephant Mountain (Haatiban Resort) where the intoxicating beauties of the Himalayan came into full view. Served with the addictive Massala tea, I surrendered myself to the freshness of Nepal air and enjoyed the moment of tranquility. Another highland we were taken to was Nagarkot that overlooked the Kathmandu Valley. Nestling 2,099meters above sea level, it commands a magnificent view of Manaslu, Ganesh Himal, Langtang, Gauri Shankar and Everest. Just about any place in Nepal can inspire artistic expression if your interest is photography, painting or drawing. Mountainscapes are, of course, popular and no wonder Nepal is known as ‘The Trekkers’ Paradise’.
Bir took us to Bhaktapur the next day. This ‘Home of the Past Kings’, founded by King Ananda Deva in 889 AD is one of three cities in Kathmandu Valley. The city is an inhabited museum of medieval charm as it preserves past glories and structures of the Malla rulers. The center area and main attraction in Bhaktapur is the Bhaktapur Durbar Square featuring the Lion Gate guarded by two enormous stone lions. Dominating the Square was the five-storied pagoda Nyatapola Temple built in 1702.Before the sun went down, we managed to explore the eventful Patan Durbar Square in Patan town and bought some pashminas (shawls). Some beautifully and richly crafted monuments were seen to decorate the Square.
Dinner was heaven. It was a magical experience of delicious traditional cuisine set in the charming ancient atmosphere of temple architecture. The restaurant was especially designed with varieties of wonderful dance programs. Grand dining with fine entertainment, what a great combination. We were somewhat amused with their many kinds of traditional dances. They were the Prayer Dance, Lakhe Dance, Peacock Dance, Elephant Dance and some others that required tongue twisting pronunciations. There are several regional variations in Nepali food, but one dish more than any other had come to characterize the country’s cuisine; dal-bhat-takari. Dal is lentil sauce eaten with the bhat (rice). Takari is a generic name for curry vegetable. It is often served with pickles called achar. But among all dishes, I tremendously enjoyed the Tibetan stuffed dumpling called ‘momo’. Simply delicious! Tantalizing! But I just couldn’t accept the awful sweet taste of paan, a typical South Asian mixture of chopped betel nuts and sweet masalas wrapped in betel leaf, served after meal.
Mind you, people here use only their right hands for eating, handling and passing foods or drinks. The customs of Nepal are very complex matter of superstitious, traditions and beliefs, closely intertwined with religions and races. It was reflected during our visit to our travel agent’s office. We were told to remove our shoes before entering. Bir said “If you are invited into a home or office, be sure to remove your shoes. It is also believed a bad sign if sole of the shoe faces upwards”. I looked back at the shoe rack, hoping I had not left my shoes upside down. Bir added, “Never touch anything with your feet. It is considered an offence among Nepalese”. It is even quite difficult to capture the direct gaze of Nepali women as they are taught from childhood not to be forward or assertive. A married woman may be recognized by a redline of vermillion powder which runs along the part of the hair.
We ‘celebrated’ our last day in Nepal at the street of Kathmandu, taking pictures with the people, watching the youngsters play cricket and bought few more souvenirs to bring home. We were later sent to the airport and Bir was rewarded with a fat tip. When it was time to go, before entering the departure hall, I slowly turned around to look at Bir who was standing outside waving at us goodbye. I saw Bir’s lips quiver a very slow ‘Namaste’, his palms were joined together. And I replied the same way.
‘Namaste’
