Traditional wood carving

Wood carving that reflects the traditional architecture, has always been the pride of Nepal for centuries.Wood carving is widespread in temples, monasteries,furnitures,palaces and residential homes as well.This art of wood carving could be seen in intricate patterns of geometrical, god and goddess,floral and animal and many more forms.
Among the woodcarver clans, the Silpakars and Kaisthakar are best known carvers.These day Woodcraft has become one of Nepal's best industries.Here are some pictures taken by my n95 mobile around Basantapur darbar square Kathamdnu and Patan darbar square Lalitpur Nepal.

The skillfully and beautifully carved wooden window( Akhijhyal in nepali)

The Images of gods and goddesses lavishly carved on the wood.

Rani Pokhari - Queen's Pond

Rani Pokhari , also known as Lani Pukhu (meaning -Queen's Pond) , located in Kathmandu is a rectangular pond with the mosque shaped Hindu temple of Lord Shiva in the middle.It was built by King Pratap Malla in memory of his beloved Queen.It is said that The King built this artificial pond to console the Queen after their son died.It is opened to visitors only once a year on the day of Bhaitika ( Brother's day ) during the festival of Tihar( Diwali ). As rani pokhari is a pond of consolation, people who have lost their brothers and sisters visit this temple to pay their tribute to their lost ones and those who have no siblings too visit this temple on this particular day in order to receive blessings from the priest.

This is the entrance to Rani pokhari

The tower behind is the city clock tower known as Ghanta ghar in Nepal .

The side views of and the shadow of the temple in the pond.

The festival of Rato Machhindranath

These are the pictures of the two chariots of "Red Machhindranath" (behind) and his disciple "Meennath" also known as "Gorakhnath" (front).
This longest ceremonial pulling of the huge four wheeled chariots begins in mid-April at Patan, Pulchowk ,Nepal and continues for a month. It is believed that this festival was introduced by King Narendra Deva in the 9th century A.D.This festival symbolizes the annual visit of the Lord on earth and is celebrated for the peace and prosperity of the countrymen.The festival begins with the construction of the chariot in Pulchowk, and ends with the Bhoto Jatra festival (ceremonial display of his jewel studded legendary vest) in Jawalakhel ,Lalitpur.


RATO MACHHINDRANATH:
Rato(red) Machhindranath (also Matsyendranath) is worshipped as the God of rain and harvest, who by legend was brought from Assam, India to Kathmandu valley in Patan ,Lalitpur to prevent a drought .He was guru of Gorakhnath and also the founder of "Hatha yoga"(a branch of Yoga).Machhindranath was born out of fish's womb.
History:
It is said that once Lord Gorakhnath on his visit to Kathmandu valley got annoyed as nobody noticed him while seeking alms and sat in "samadhi" on the serpents (the cause of rain ) which then resulted a serious drought in the valley .The great Tantrik "Acharya Bandhudatta" suggested the then king Narendra Dev to invite the Lord Machhindranath so that Gorakhnath would stand up to greet his "Guru" and the serpents would be freed and then it would rain .So the king brought Lord Machhindranath to the valley from India .Knowing that Lord Machhindranath was in the valley ,Gorakhnath stood up to greet him and thus the serpents were freed and started raining which then took away the drought .Ever since started the festival of pulling the chariot of machhindranath to honour him

This the chariot of the Rato Machhindranath.The chariot stands so tall as if it touches the sky.One has to climb high to view the statue of the Machhindranath kept on the upper part of the chariot .

A closer view of the chariot .

The giant wheels of the chariot . A lot of enery is needed to pull these wheels . A large number of men gather in the festival to pull the chariot . Interesting huh!!

A closer view of the wheel .

MEENNATH (GORAKHNATH):
The Meennath (also called CHAKUWA DYO or Gorakhnath) is the great disciple of Rato Machhindranath and worshiped as a deity of religion.Meennath also has a beautiful chariot which is a little smaller than that of Rato Machhindranath.It is a tradition that the Machhindranath's chariot cannot move until the Meennath's chariot arrives the ceremonail spot .
History:
It is believed that once a queen whose husband had just died suddenly got aroused. Machhindranath felt sorry for her and he with his powers entered the dead body of the king and quenched the queen's desires.During he himself got captivated that he forgot to leave the king' body.Seeing his "Guru" drifting away from his responsibilities , Meennath changed himself into even more beautiful woman than the Queen and walked into the room where his Guru and the queen lived .Skillfully he brought his master out of it and made him aware of his duties .After that Rato Macchindranath always wanted Gorakhnath to accompany him to everywhere.
And ever since it became a tradition that both the chariots are to be pulled together .

The chariot of Meennath decorated colorfully .This chariot is a little smaller in size than the first one .He always accompanies the Machhindranath .

The long wooden rod carved with the statue of the "Bhairav"(God of protection) in the front. This is attached to the chariot and is built for the pulling of the chariot .

The Bhairav carved on the wooden puller

Again the chariot of Meennath in a full view.

Child labour

"Child labor" means the employment of children under an age determined by the law . Child labor is a major social problem especially in developing countries where the economically handicapped families are forced to send their children to work tediously .
Well a child works in fact in almost every society and is also accepted but the term "child labor" is undesirable and harmful as child labor hinders a child not only from education but also prevents the overall development in him .
Child labour in Nepal prevails mostly in traditional agricultural sectors, service sectors like small hotels, restaurants, transport and tourism, manufacturing sectors such as carpet and garments factories, domestic services, etc. They work long hours at low wages, poor working environment.

Besides poverty and illiteracy , lack of dedication of the concerned authorities of the government is also a cause of child labor . Trying to put end to poverty and giving the equal rights to all regardless of their ethnicity ,religion etc. and improving access to education could surely be a very effective move to reduce child labor to a great extent .

A boy painting the hotel walls in the heat .

A little boy selling fruit

Not yet ends his tedious painting .. He keeps going on tired and hungry . Poor him !!

A boy around 11-13 years old selling maizes on the street.He must be feeling sad to sit all day long under the tiring heat and watching children of his age enjoying life .

The garbage cleaner

This is a picture of a person who comes to our place (in kathmandu) to collect the wastages from our daily life . Every morning around 9 am .. he makes every people living in my community aware of his presence by whistling loud ,louder and the loudest . The keeps waiting till all of us hand over him our daily wastages .
I clicked this picture when he was already done with collecting the garbages and was all set towards his destination which is the "city dumping site" . Tired he was pulling the cart full of stink .At times I just feel really bad seeing him live with such tedious and unhygienic task .But work is work and yeah out of this he is atleast earning his survival .
Kudos to all the "Garbage cleaners" for keeping our town safe from turning into a repository of wastages and garbages .

Strike again strikes the City

STRIKES have mostly been a very powerful negotiating tactic with the government. And Nepal is no exception .Time and again strikes occur here too with various demands .The latest round of strikes started with the Nepalese government announcing a hike in fuel prices and the resultant raise in public transport fares.For several days groups of students affiliated to political parties had attacked government vehicles, burned tyres and threatened drivers in Kathmandu.

Thousands of passengers were stranded across the Ringroad, Balkhu area on Wednesday as the students locked public buses and other vehicles in roads demanding a 43% percent concession in transport fares due to the recent increment in fuel prices.
The students who have been enjoying a 33 percent fare concession in Nepal are also up in arms. They are now demanding a 50 per cent concession. The government’s decision to raise the concession to 43 percent is not enough according to students .


Here I have captured few scenarios of that strike against the increment in fuel prices occurred in Balkhu on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, the students vandalized vehicles and burnt tyres in front of Tribhuwan University and in Balkhu area in the capital.More such spectacles have been expected on coming days.

Students were on strike but other group of people still had the same usual routine so they had to carry on ignoring the blockage .

The students really got down on the streets for a demonstration .

The vehicle drivers still waiting with a hope to pass through the blockage .

The tyres too have burnt down leaving such black and ugly patches on the road .

The vehicles had been jammed and were not allowed to move further almost the entire day .

Nature's beauty ..

On my way to Pokhara from Kathmandu , I stopped for a little while in Benighat near Malekhu for lunch . I was having my lunch and just then the sight of this beautiful village calmly settled on a hill near the Trishuli river isolated from the urban amenities , pollution and the hecticness , lured me to capture it on my n95 .

The Bhimsen tower -- DHARAHARA

The minaret like Bhimsen Tower,(dharahara in nepali) situated in Sundhara is a nine storey (50.2m) tall tower. It was built in 1832 AD by the then Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa. It has a spiral staircase inside of 113 steps with a circular balcony on its 8th floor providing a panoramic view of the whole Kathmandu valley. It has has a 5.2m bronze mast on the roof.

History
The original Bhimsen Tower was built in 1824 and was 11 storey high, 2 storey taller than Dharahara. Dharahara was actually built for queen Lalit Tripura Sundari, the niece of Bhimsen Thapa.The big earthquake of 1834, caused severe damages to Bhimsen tower. However, 100 years later, in January 15, 1934, the next big earthquake caused Bhimsen's tower to be completely destroyed but the two storeys of the the second tower remained. The then prime minister Juddha Shumsher renovated Dharahara to its current form.

Ancient Kaal Bhairav Statue

This is the ancient statue of Kaal Bhairav known as the care-taker of Nepal. King Pratap Malla in 1775 Nepal Sambat brought it from Raniban and established at his courtyard, Hanuman Dhoka. It is 16-feet stone idol, the only of this type, started breathing life after the famous and powerful tantriks of those days instill life in it. This statue acted, for a long time in history, as a judge also. Those who lied in front of it would die instantly, but afterward people were so frightened that they stopped me awakening through tantrik rituals. They just worshiped it nowadays.

Lord Bhairav is an fierce incarnation of Lord Shiva.The term Bhairava means "Terrific". He is often depicted with frowning, angry eyes and sharp, tiger's teeth and flaming hair, stark naked except for garlands of skulls and a coiled snake about his neck. In his four hands he carries a noose, trident, drum, and skull. He is often shown accompanied by a dog. Lord bhairav's worship is very useful to win over your enemies, success and all materialistic comforts. It is very easy to please lord Bhairav by doing normal worship daily.
Lord Bhairava is also known as Kshetrapalaka, the guardian of the temple. In honor of this, keys to the temple are ceremonially submitted to Lord Bhairava at temple closing time and are received from him at opening time. Lord Bhairava is also the guardian of travelers. The Siddhas advise us that before embarking on a journey, especially one that involves travel during the night, we should make a garland of cashew nuts and decorate Lord Bhairava with it. We should light oil lamp in His honor and request His protection during our travel.

The sacred Bagmati turning into a repository of garbage.

The holiest river Bagmati ,which once was a source of livelihood to people , the flora and fauna ,has now turned into a mere repository of our garbage . This really has created an awful and stinky environment and has vitiated the air all around . The water volume in Bagmati has also reduced . It really has come to its worst .
I really wonder how the people nearby live tolerating such an awful odor.

A couple walking down the wide street of jawalakhel

a carefree walk on the street of Jawalakhel chowk
Romance needs an infusion every now and then. Getting away isn't enough. You've got to go somewhere that instills romance in the blood.

A Rose is a beautiful Rose

Roses in the garden near My German language class.
And the 3 poems related to rose and their beauty.

poem by Patricia Bankhead
A rose is a special flower
That has it’s own unique power
Just one simple rose, not a pile
Can make the saddest person smile
A rose is one of God’s most beautiful creations
That fills the heart with warmth and sensation
When the fragrance of a rose
Reaches the tip of your nose
It fills your heart with delight and cheer
Knowing those you love are near
Today give a rose to the ones you love
The sweet smelling fragrance from heaven above

poem by William Browne
A ROSE, as fair as ever saw the North,
Grew in a little garden all alone;
A sweeter flower did Nature ne'er put forth,
Nor fairer garden yet was never known:
The maidens danced about it morn and noon,
And learned bards of it their ditties made;
The nimble fairies by the pale-faced moon
Water'd the root and kiss'd her pretty shade.
But well-a-day!--the gardener careless grew;
The maids and fairies both were kept away,
And in a drought the caterpillars threw
Themselves upon the bud and every spray.
God shield the stock! If heaven send no supplies,
The fairest blossom of the garden dies.

Poem by Robert Frost
The rose is a rose,
And was always a rose.
But the theory now goes
That the apple's a rose,
And the pear is, and so's
The plum, I suppose.
The dear only know
What will next prove a rose.
You, of course, are a rose--
But were always a rose.

The nepaliness ..

The newar community in patan durabar square ...
Its very typical to see oldies get together enjoying their chitchat in evening in any public places ..

Ancient Elephant Staute

Ancient statue of Elephant with man at patan darbar square .
Date-:April 30th 2008..

Birendra International Convention Center

Nepal First sitting of CA to convene at BICC kathmandu
The first meeting of the constituent assembly is to convene at the Sagarmatha Hall of the Birendra International Convention Centre (BICC)

Lovely Sunset 1

lovely sunset 1 at kathmandu

Basantapur

Basantapur market in Kathmandu
Date-:23rd April 2008
Time-: 5:59 pm

scene taken from my window

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The raining day in KTM

picture was taken from my window on the raining day in kathmandu.