I stood on the steps that lead up to Swayambhunath, took one
long breath in and smiled. This was the land of Akkosotto & Unnikuttan.
For all of us Keralites who belong to the generations of 70’s
or 80’s born, the film Yoddha introduced us to the wonderful place called
Nepal. Exotic, beautiful and virgin… that was Nepal in the movie. We saw it
through the eyes of Akkosotto & Unnikuttan, the Rimpoche.
My friend Nishith had warned me not to expect Kathmandu to
be exotic.
I landed and drove straight to the room. Some bit of
completing-pending-work later, I set out to explore the town. My first stop was
a restaurant that served authentic Nepali cuisine. For a vegetarian, the
choices are limited, but the steamed saag and the fried potato made the
dal-rice dinner a memorable one. A word
of caution to the Tam-Brahms, if you are the sorts who cannot tolerate garlic
in your food, Nepali ain’t the right cuisine for your vegetarian meal. And for
the more conservative sorts, do not get scandalized when women sing and dance
as you eat your food.
Thamel, the tourist hub, is not too far from Radisson where
I stayed. I walked around Thamel- my friend Arvind had called it a combo of
Delhi’s famed Paharganj & the Hauz Khas village. The feel was Paharganj and
the food was Hauz Khas, I felt. There are some very nice pubs and restaurants,
shops that sell mementos and ornaments and for a young adult male, there are
possibly more options.
A nice sleep later, I had a workshop to facilitate. With the
grace of God, I think it went off well.
I set out in the evening to explore the city further. If you
are in Nepal, it will be a sin to miss the Chiya (tea). For those who like
their tea without much sugar, be sure to supervise the input of sugar into the
tea at the time of preparation J
Not much is open to public viewing in the night. I set off
again to Thamel- this time another pub- I am told here that this belongs to a
Hippie… aah, now Kathmandu was getting exotic. The exteriors of the pubs on
this street make these joints appear very small- they are very spacious though.
And yes, if you tell them you are a vegetarian and you are a
teetotaler, they give you the WAFL (What a F****** Loser) look. I guess, the
WAFL look when one hears this is universal.
I set out early next morning to visit the Pasupatinath
temple. I was visiting this place as a pilgrim. I was not a tourist here.
Thanks to the day being a Saturday, the queue was really
long. I am told Tuesday and Saturday are special. Today I guess, he had decided
not to allow me a darshan. I prayed at some of the temples in the complex and
came back to explore the rest of the town.
Before one steps into
the temple complex, there is a small temple which has idols of Adi Sankara and
his 4 disciples. I felt at home as I prostrated before the idols.
I drove down to the Hanuman Dhoka, a
square with some old temples and the palace museum. These are extremely
beautiful structures and it is a very peaceful place. I had a superb meal of
buttered bun, dried channa and fried potatoes here. The chiya was getting even
better.
The next stop was Swayambhunath. As I began climbing up the
stairs, I saw the two statues of Buddha…these statues were not new to me. I had
seen them before- in Yoddha. I walked up the steps with great joy and
nostalgia.
One can see the entire town of Kathmandu from up there. I
believe, in the peak winter months, the haze is lesser and the view is
clearer. The rhythmic chants of Om-Mani-Padme-Hum can heard in the complex.
I climbed down via the more exotic routes, lots of trees and
monkeys on them adorned the route.
The next stop was Bhaktapur. Bhaktapur is a heaven for lovers
of temple architecture. One sees temples built in the Pagoda style, the
Shikhara style and the Stupa style here. I hired a guide named Kabeen here.
Kabeen gets his name from an ancient Malla king who wrote
with this pseudonym. Kabeen tells me interesting stories of the three royal
states of Bhaktapur, Kathmandu and Patan. For those of you who love shopping,
this is the place to purchase Thangka paintings (in the painting school) and
Pashmina stuff. One may also visit the potters village for more stuff…
I drive up further to the village of Nagarkot. The sunrise
and sunset here, they say, are mesmerizing. One can see the Everest from here on
a clearer day. The sunset is amazing. With cold winds blowing on to me, and me
dressed in summer casuals, only the masala tea and the chowmein could act as a
saving grace.
As the sun set, I drove further into the village. As with
any mountainous area, it gets dark rather quickly after the sun sets.
The hotel had minimal comforts and it was cold. There was no
electricity. I wrapped around the bed sheet, using it as a shawl walked through the village. A Nepali meal and tea later, I lay down on the terrace
gazing at the stars and sang a few songs… And repeatedly the song, Dil dhoondta hai found its way to my
lips…
The early morning sunrise was a disappointment, thanks to
the haze and the clouds. I drove back to Kathmandu and spent some superb
moments at the BuddhaNilkantha temple and then again in the Pasupatinath temple
complex and also at the Guhyeswari temple. Spending the 3 hours inside the
Pasupatinath temple, the walk to Guhyeswari temple and the breakfast of
Poori-tarkari, malpua and sael would be the highlights of the day.
I flew back to India carrying with me some nice memories of
the place. I hope I will be blessed enough to make more trips to Nepal in the
times ahead…
This entry is dedicated to my friend Nishith and his cousin
Monika and to all those wonderful people with origins in Nepal who make India a
much more beautiful place to live in….
To Sangeeth Sivan who made me fall in love with Nepal 2
decades back…
