Maheshwor Shrestha, like several thousand other youngsters like him, came back from the Gulf when prospects there dimmed. He returned to hometown, Gungapur in Kathmandu, Nepal, to pursue his dreams of starting a restaurant. And to marry his childhood sweetheart – a courtship that lasted for 13 years and ‘quite a lot of convincing’ as Maheshwor says. Maheshwor is one of the growing breed of aware youngsters of Nepal – those who believe in their motherland and her capabilities. They take immense pride in their cultural and traditional heritage. Despite
Music has an undeniable role in the life of every Nepali. It throbs in every vein, beats in every heart. Till recent music was confined to soul-less belting out of tried and tested western numbers. And to raunchy renditions from the neighbouring Indian film industry. Not anymore. Here, there is a song for every occasion. Music is associated with all events in life – birth, death, marriage, festivals and feasts. Even office promotions are celebrated by the middleclass with much aplomb. Probably taking cue from this, foreigners in Nepal too
One of the advantages of not being a Nepali is that you can enter the casinos. The laws of the land officially forbid a native from gambling. However, this has not come in the way of the two valleys – Kathmandu and Pokhara – from becoming favoured destinations for the global gambler. There are four casinos housed in four of Kathmandu city’s top hotels and another one in Pokhara situated 200 kilometres to the west of the valley. Most of the casinos offer 24-hours of non-stop poker, blackjack, roulette, flush
The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV. Were there nothing else in Nepal save the Bhaktapur Durbar Square, it would still be aptly worth making a journey half way round the globe to see. E.A. Powell, The Last Home of Mystery, 1929, London Bhaktapur, between the 14th and the 16th centuries, was the capital of Nepal. Though today it has lost the privilege to Kathmandu, it still retains its culture and traditions, some say, even
(The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV.) The ancient city of Patan, known as the city of fine arts, is just 5km southeast from Kathmandu. It is widely believed to have been founded by Emperor Asoka in the third century BC though there are no proofs to support it. The place is also called Lalitpur which means ‘the beautiful city’. The day I came to Patan Square happily coincided with the Krishna Janmashtami celebrations, the
(The following travelogue on Nepal is based on the series ‘See More Nepal’ written and directed by me for Travel Trendz TV.) Here, heritage lives. It is revered and celebrated. It embodies not just the culture and the traditions of the land, but epitomises a way of life. It is a source of pride and forms the crux of many conversations. The grandeur takes you by surprise, the intricacy holds you in awe and the legends leave you spellbound. Welcome to Heritage Country, Nepal. Nepal, with more than 60 linguistic
The tunnel was leaking, then that’s how I think tunnels are supposed to be – with little ducts drilled through to act as pressure valves which in turn filters in the outside weather. They could be also the same ones through which the sun sends in vertical beams during daytime which falls on the tarmac like blinding little spotlights. The Chenani-Nashri tunnel bypasses the snow-bound upper reaches, cutting short the distance between Jammu and Srinagar. But going by what lay in store soon after the tunnel I knew those winding
Discomfort, when it is honestly uncomfortable and makes no nauseous pretensions to the contrary, is a vastly humorous business. (‘Travels with a donkey’ by RL Stevenson) Lighted lanes Lallan* sat maudlin next to me, wracking in sobs that his long, flowing hair bobbed. I put my arms around him, hugging him from the side. Espying the goings on from a distance, my friend thought I had found someone else in her absence and returned to the market to buy more religious trinkets. Under the soft neon lights that beaded the
Some people will tell you that slow is good – and it may be, on some days – but I am here to tell you that fast is better. I have always believed this, in spite of the trouble it has caused me. Being shot out of a cannon will always be better than being squeezed out of a tube. That is why God made fast motorcycles, Bubba… Hunter S Thompson, ‘Song of the sausage creature’ It was in the way he announced it. The Wall Street attitude and related
The lorry juddered to a halt. We were passing through one of those Himalayan hamlets that always looked like they were shut for the night. Like many others along the way this one too had sprung up around a sharp curve on the winding road. Habitation, commerce even, around these bends made sense as vehicles slowed down considerably and those like I was travelling in – 20 feet long and laden to excess capacity – took forever to pass. A lot transpired too by the time the road straightened –
