February 19, 2004
Mahashivaratri has come and gone. Bonfires lit up the night sky, and a party like atmosphere emanated throughout Kathmandu. It was a rangi-changi (colorful—my new Nepali word for the day) day to wander around the back alleys and come across groups of children with ropes strung across in hopes of earning a few rupees before letting pedestrians, cyclists or even automobiles pass—a kind of Nepali trick or treat for the kids. This activity was lamented in one of the major English dailies as a loss of values among the nation’s youth, but the majority of Kathmanduites took this in stride as they do most other things, and on this auspicious day of Shiva’s birth, I don’t think many would take a chance on angering the gods… In reality, the children were so cute and playful that it was hard to resist passing out a few coins…and it made for good Nepali practice.
On the day before Mahashivaratri, I cycled out to Pashupatinath temple to take in some of the sights and sounds. Already the queue to get into the temple—Hindus only—was at least a couple of hours wait, and sadhus from all over had staked their claim on the hillside overlooking the Bagmati river and the cremation ghats. Cremations take place here 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, and it is an interesting if somber ceremony to observe. Like Benares in India, many devout Nepali hindus come here to die. The King himself is said to make the trip to Pashupatinath before embarking on any journey.
The days are beginning to get a bit warmer, but the evenings are still quite cool especially considering that there is very little—if any—indoor heating. Hot water is still quite uncommon out in the villages, but I have been pleased to see many solar panels dotting the roofs around town. This is both sensible and ecological considering how sunny it is here during the winter. Indeed, our own guesthouse uses solar to heat the water although the heating is direct and the solar panels do not store the energy. This makes the late afternoon and optimal time for bathing, and on some mornings we are lucky enough to have some warm water but we rarely chance.
Our days are pretty much filled with language lessons and practice for the moment with the late afternoons open for exploring Kathmandu, a bit of study and other business. Outside of some touristy areas, shops close quite early, and it is not a place for a lot of late night entertainment. People also get up very early here—especially the dogs—but surprisingly, a lot of people don’t begin work until about 10 am. Mornings are generally reserved for doing a lot of chores around the house and taking care of other business. Migyoung and I have adjusted our schedules accordingly and are rarely up past 10:30 and up again very early in the morning. Once we move south, we may find ourselves going to bed even earlier, since there are curfews in place in many areas…