The allure of our neighbours - Nepal

We landed in Nepal when their squabble with India was at its peak. Land borders closed and protests on both sides with no fuel access. And also the massive earthquake of 2015 was just 5 months old. Not the best time to travel but on the plus side the tourists were scarce. So worked out well.

Places Visited: Kathmandu, Bandipur, Pokhara and Trishuli

Known for Everest and Annapurna, the first glimpse of Nepal is majestic mountains and a quiet town trying to come to terms with the casual havoc nature creates. Quiet and unassuming and went against every assumption I had of that country. The whole party culture needs to be sought and is not easily visible to the eye looking for the mountains.

Pashupatinath, the Durbar & the Ghats

We walked around the massive temple complex which held Shiva and Parvati as the main deities. The main temple was closed because of the earthquake but there is more to feel when you walk inside a temple complex. The areas are large and since they were designated for sociality in those times and also as archives of the times - makes sense to wander and absorb.

Pashupati here is that - the king of the Pashus (animals and us too, I am assuming), so legends are oriented around animals. And only a certain type (with a certain surname) can do puja and they come all the way from Karnataka along with families and settle in Nepal.

The ghats are famous for their function in being a bridge between life and death and therefore are a sight to see.

Eventually a Rama shrine was also built. Intertwined everywhere they are, the Shaivites and the Vaishnavites. One comes and the other is not far, deliberately or otherwise.

Waiting for Annapurna

Weeks before the trip all I could picture was snow capped mountains. Deliberate thinking of mountains started in 2011, when I flew from Kolkata to Paro, the pilot casually tells you to look right to see the Everest and look left to see Kanchenjunga. You have to be really, really, really cynical/jaded/oblivious/emotionally unavailable/etc to not be visibly dumbstruck at the sight. I was crying. I couldn't control it. A colleague who wanted to see the mountains from my side of the plane hastily ran away from my unexpected reaction to the mountains. Poor thing.

Then on it was all about snow capped mountains and wanting to see it from land.

It was October and rains were a part of Nepal's atmosphere, I worriedly looked at the clouds the evening before. We were to head out at 5am, the hotel guy said chances are slim to see Annapurna. I was optimistic, and since I wanted to see it so badly, I am sure the world would conspire. Right? Well. I waited till 8am, no sign. Disappointed was not the word I would use as I somewhere knew that the clouds wouldn't just part. The brain, holding two contradicting in its head, cognitive dissonance - protecting itself from disappointment while giving itself hope. We never let go of our lizard brains.

The morning did end on a happy note. While we were driving down, the driver and my friend, yelled out, 'look, look look, you can see the peak!!'. We did. Was it the Annapoorna, only she knows. I was happy. Pessimism and optimism took turns in winning.

Bandipur

Narrow, winding uphill roads take you to this hidden town, up a hill. It is like so many places in the world stuck in time. The clock stopped in the late 1700's. It was a trading post between Tibet and India. It was chosen as it was malaria free and was quite prominent for a while, even had a library! I am always impressed when libraries are involved. The library still exists. Nope, I didn't see it.

Did walk around checking out the rest of the town and the temples, which were a curious mix of Indian and Tibetan cultures. Quiet and not touristy and all. The place we stayed had the most spectacular view of the valleys.

Local temples brought back memories of Yellamma in Mahabubnagar. The rawness of local temples is hard to forget. The origins of many of them started when we were still hunters and gatherers and if you look closely, it carries the essence of those times. Nature being the God we appeased.

The curves of Trishuli

Not being sexist at all. Rivers are gender free if you haven't been conditioned by centuries of genderizing them. The rivers curve out of need and not to entice. And they look just as spectacular from a plane or from the banks. Many shrines near her banks and she starts in Tibet and eventually joins the Ganga. If only we took to change this well.