Random hits on the keyboard

Yenya Punhi (Indra Jatra) has started, and somehow it now feels like the festival season has arrived. One more festival, among many many.  For me, Yenya Punhi is not just another festival on the calendar. It is one of my favourite times of the year. The stories, rituals and traditions of Yenya are deeply connected to Newar culture, and they have shaped the way Kathmandu celebrates, remembers and tells its own story. What I love most is what happens to the city. People come out. The streets of Kathmandu become lively. There are drums, music, chariots, processions and crowds everywhere. The city suddenly feels alive in a completely different way. And then there are the characters of Yenya—the Living Goddess Kumari, Bhairab, Ganesh and the many traditional processions that carry centuries of stories with them. In the morning, I ran around the city; Swet Bhairav wooden fences are open. The god is open for a week. Yosin has been erected. The festival has begun. The living culture that I...

Hello! I am back to blogging today after a few weeks. The enthusiasm to write a blog brought me infront of my computer several times but I have other 'priorities' (A usual excuses). Finally, I manage time to jot down a few lines about my week - which is well spent. I have a two friends visiting Nepal from aboard. One was my former boss who is non Nepali, who is retired, who is visiting the world and who is going to everest base camp. I show him a little bit of Kathmandu - during Indra Jatra. The city was lively. He and his wife also enjoyed Newari bhoj. He is a very good story teller and here are some of his stories of his travel to the world. https://www.oskarlehnertravel.news/  And I have another friend visiting Nepal who is Nepali born, who now lives aboard - here not exactly a tourist but likes to go around tourist areas. We walked around.. a hill, a tourist site, temples and bars. I know 'bar' is bit unusual. But this was the most important a part of his visit. :) ...