Interesting Places in Nepal

2009-11-22T14:35:00.000-08:00

1. Kathmandu: Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city of Nepal. It is an exotic place for culture, festivals, architecture, historical monuments and tradition.
2. Patan: Patan is the oldest city of Kathamndu Valley. This city is popularly known for its intricate arts and architecture. This city has some major temples like Krishna Mandir, Banglamukhi temple and Mahaboudhha temple.
3. Bhaktapur: Bhaktapur lies 14 km east of Kathmandu. This city is also well known for its fine arts, pottery and weaving. Some of the major places in Bhaktapur are Durbar Square, Nyatapole Temple, Palace of 55 windows, Bhairavnath Temple, etc.
4. Nagarkot: Nagarkot lies 36kms east of Kathmandu. This place is popular known for site seeing. Nagarkot is a great place for people who seek great Mountain View and natural beauty in peace, soothing atmosphere and fresh air.
5. Pokhara: Pokhara is famous for its scenic beauty. This is one of the best places for the view of various magnificent Himalayan peaks and calm waters of lakes and rivers.

Kumari-Living Goddess of Nepal

2009-11-20T16:29:00.000-08:00

Nepal is a multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural country. Majority of the people are either Hindu and/or Buddhist. Both the Hindu and Buddhist people have many gods, goddess, deities, incarnations and manifestations- which they worship and revere in the form of statues, images, paintings and symbols- but unique among all of them, Nepal also has a living goddess-Kumari. "Kumari" means pre-pubescent girl regarded as ‘virgin goddess’ and a source of supreme power in both Hindu and Buddhist religion. A girl is selected as a Kumari after she passes certain criteria ritually and lives seven to eight years of her life as a goddess, away from her family in a palace and then after hitting puberty she is propelled back to the normal human life.

The Goddess Kumari is believed to hold the cosmic power to protect and defend all living beings. The custom of worshipping a pre-pubescent girl, who is not a born goddess, as the source of supreme power is an old Hindu-Buddhist tradition that still continues to this day in Nepal. There are several legends behind theh Kumari culture but according the most popular legend says Kumari comes from the story of King Jayaprakash Malla and the red serpent in the sixteenth century. The story tells of the King who played a dice game with the goddess Taleju while a red serpent watched the game played. The goddess and the King played this game every night and the King’s wife got jealous and demanded that he never see the goddess again. The goddess was angered, she told the King that she would be resurrected as a virgin child and he must protect her for all eternity. The King then sent a search out for the little girl in hopes of protecting the goddess’s spirit.

The process of finding a Kumari is complicated. Little girls from a certain caste are being selected. Great demands are made to the girl. To become Kumari, a girl of three or four years of age must meet 32 very strict criteria. Some of the criteria are: she must be a Buddhist from the Newar Shakya caste (to which Buddha belonged), she must be in excellent health, she must have never have shed blood or been afflicted by any disease, she must have not lost any teeth, she must have the neck of a conch shell, she must have the body like a banyan tree, she must have eyelashes like a cow, she must have thighs like a deer, she must have a voice soft and clear as a duck, she must have black hair, she must have black eyes, she must be fearless. The selection process to find the new Kumari is done by 5 senior Buddhist priests and she must past all 32 criteria. Before she's accepted she has to go through some awful situations, to test her nerves and courage. Kumari lives an isolated life in luxury. Her feet must not touch the ground and the four or five times she appears outside her palace she's carried in a covered palanquin. The beautiful "Kumari" girl must always dress in red, wear her hair in a topknot and have a painted third eye. She lives in a house of magnificent intricate carvings where the Living Goddess performs her daily rituals. Kumari’s are selected at a very young age and only when they menstruate is when it is believed that the soul of the goddess leaves the body and goes to the next Kumari. However, if she turns out to be unlucky, even a minor cut or bleeding can render her invalid for worship, and the search for the new goddess has to begin.

Sources Used:
"Kumari - The living Goddess." RAOline. Web. 25 Oct. 2009. .

Cowley, Gina. "The Royal Kumari of Nepal." Bella online. The voice of Women. Web. 28 Oct. 2009.

Pictures of peak of the world-Mt. Everest

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Sources used:
http://www.sandiego.edu/peacestudies/images/ipj/programs/Mount_Everest.jpg
http://www.shajiphilip.com/Incredable_India/Mt%20everest.jpg

Holi festival in Nepal

2009-11-20T14:42:00.000-08:00

The ancient Hindu festival-Holi is celebrated in between February and March.
It is a festival of colors. Holi is usually celebrated for one week. Phagu and Phagu purnima are some other names for this festival. Families and friends gather together and celebrate this festival by throwing colors and water balloons(lolas)on each other. Holi for everyone in Nepal is a time for fun and prank.

OUR NEPAL

2009-11-20T13:43:00.000-08:00