My Himalayan Days...

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…