Shivaratri revisited: devotion, extortion, hash and homemade fireworks all in one
The world’s sadhus are in town—stoking up their hash pipes and their willy sticks at the ready along with other yogic props that come with being a devotee of Shiva—for the upcoming Shivaratri or night of Shiva. They’re a gnarly bunch with their trisuli (think Poseidon’s pitchfork), alms bucket and matted dreadlocks—sometimes curled on top of their heads in a beehive and sometimes hanging freely down their backs. They’re certainly a happy—ah, meditative that is—lot perched as they are on the side of the hill overlooking the Pashupati temple, pilgrims bathing in the holy river and burning cremation ghats. One would have to be in a pretty mellow state with so much death and celebration and devotion happening simultaneously… Of course, Kathmandu has its decent share of all year fair weather sadhus wandering about town eager to slap a tika on your forehead, and will do so without asking, or to have their picture taken for a price. They’re easy to spot with the freshly laundered saffron robes, but there’s nothing quite like the real show on Shiva’s night.
Last year, Shivaratri occurred just after I had arrived in country and I waded through the temple complex on the actual night. This year I made the trip a few days earlier with friends of mine visiting from out of town to avoid the overwhelming crowds that pack into the area on the night of Shiva. There were sadhus sprawled out pretty much everywhere: some napping under shady trees, some stoking their campfires on the hillside overlooking the cremation ghats and others holding court in front of the hundreds of many shiva temples that dot the top of the ridge. There was even one sadhu suckling a baby monkey—obviously taking Shiva’s incarnation of Pashupati (protector of the beasts) to heart. The monkey would retrieve his alms, give a good once going over and then drop it into a small tin bucket. It’s quite the spectacle for Nepali visitors as much for foreigners although Nepalis are doubly interested to see the sadhus and, as a bonus, how foreigners deal with the sadhus.
Shivaratri is also the one day of the year that children all over Nepal are allowed to extort as much money as possible from passersby on the street. Groups of children string a rope across roads and won’t allow pedestrians, bicycles, motorcycles and in some instances vehicles to pass without extracting some money in return. It’s all quite good-natured in the morning even though groups of ten kids at each blockage can quickly add up after a while… One needs a lot of small coins and bills handy to get anywhere. This year, I bought a small bag of sweets—opting instead to rot children’s teeth some might argue—to pass out in lieu of cash. This went well in the morning, but by afternoon it tends to be the older kids demanding money, and it can take quite a bit of negotiation to pass through. Of course, many Nepali adults are doing the same thing, but it’s a lot more interesting for them to watch me deal with it.
Shivaratri is supposed to be the night of bonfires as well, so there is plenty of smoke wafting through our neighborhood this evening. In some parts of Nepal, people make their own fireworks by lighting stalks of sugarcane, slapping them down hard on the ground and then watching the sparks fly—a kind of organic sparkler.
Happy Shivaratri!