We can be superheroes

Just for one day
Kathmandu

The Lalit Kala campus reeks of urine.

That's my overwhelming impression of what should be Nepal's equivalent of the "Kids From Fame" high school. Lalit Kala ("Fine Arts") is a secondary school where classical music, singing, and fine (visual) arts are taught. The building is historic; several generations of Nepali royal court musicians used to house and practice there. But it's terribly dilapidated; the semi-modern toilet installed smack in the middle of the ground floor is only the beginning.

According to Raju who graduated from there 15 years before, absolutely not one thing has changed. Looking round the fine arts and sculpting studios was nothing short of depressing. Dimly lit, dusty, musty rooms; even the grimy brown anatomy skeleton was missing parts.

In case you haven't figured this out yet, money is not a problem in Nepal. There is plenty of money. It all goes into deep pockets! I had to wonder how a student could concentrate on anything, let alone fine arts, with such a reek coming into the old classrooms.

Raju and I performed briefly there on 15 May; we opened the end-of-term classical music show with the "Sodasa Lasya" (Sixteen Graces) item.

In order to dance the approximately 6-minute hymn, we still had to garb up in full Tantric dance gear; all this in one of the empty classrooms with no mirror. But I'm not complaining, it was my first Charya performance of any kind. Raju was dressed in the yellow gown of Manjushree; I wore the red attire of Vajrayogini.

I'm accustomed to 3-hour dressing sessions from Bharatanatyam, and Charya is quite a bit simpler in alankaram (decoration), but still involved:


-under trousers, -choli blouse, -full skirt, -mekhala (deccorative belt), -another kind of overskirt waist-piece, -a big full thavani (top part) that made me feel like a Catholic cardinal, -another top piece that fit around the breastbone, -and lots and lots of jewelery, including:

-Several sets of bangles,
-rings,
-heavy silver anklets,
-bells tied round the knees,
-about five different neckpieces including the tayo or oblong traditional Newari women's piece worn by the Kumari, and
-several strands of fake pearls.

Raju drew a "third eye" on my forehead using a black kajal pencil.

My favourite part is the crown, or muthi, also called kiriti. There are several different crowns meant to be worn for various deities; this time I was wearing the skull-garland crown of VajraYogini. The grinning kapilas look to western eyes very Tibetan, but in fact it's the other way round; Tantric Buddhism with its skull imagery came from India via Nepal before reaching Tibet.

Underneath the crown is a 3-tiered topknot hairpiece; an identical wig is worn by the Tibetan monks when they perform certain lama dances depicting the Dakinis. Then the crown is tied on with black threads in three different places.

The crown looked and felt a lot like a helmet. After donning all this magical bling, I felt like a superhero - cape, implement of power, helmet of invincibility, and shields. I have often mused on the similarity between Hindu deities and the Superheroes. Vishnu particularly seems like Superman (he rests in his Fortress of Solitude when not needed; he incarnates whenever a call for help is heard on Earth, has superhuman strength and takes different forms).

After three false starts (the sound guy couldn't cue the CD right), we finally danced. It is rather un-godly to stand on stage waiting for the music to start.

Somehow I think Kathmandu needs all the cutting-through energy of Vajrayogini to eliminate the corruption that allows a noble institution like Lalit Kala to fall into such decay.

Turning over an old leaf

This is so cool
News from the Olds

I love the image of drinking in new knowledge from ancient palm leaf manuscripts. In some areas, palm leaves are still being painstakingly inscribed with sacred information.

Lontar is deeply venerated by Balinese, anyone who wishes to read lontar regularly needs to undergo a consecration ritual (mawinten) which must be performed by a brahman priest. Lontar cannot be sold or thrown away when damaged but it can be burned with proper ceremony and offerings.

A recent archaeological project collected palm-leaf manuscripts in the state of Chhatisgarh (formerly part of Orissa state).

In the first phase of a survey conducted by the National Mission for Manuscripts and assisted by locals, around 2,000 manuscripts have been collected from various archaeological and remote sites in Chhattisgarh...

But, how do the manuscripts contain words in "texts in Sanskrit, Oriya and Devnagiri" - since Devanagiri is a script, not a language? I think they mean that Devanagiri script was used to write the Sanskrit.

The photo at left shows an ancient manuscript in Kerala, in the possession of my friend Murali in Tiruvilwalmala, whose family have been Ayurvedic vaidyas for 17 generations.

I believe the script and language shown is ancient Tamil. (Someone know for sure?)

Originally, the pages would have been strung together with a thread through the central holes.

Hinduism Today's specialized news service, Hindu Press International, is where I saw this story, and a great source for all kinds of Hindu-related news items.

In the ongoing "pick on the foreigners" thread, Nepal's Pashupatinath temple has added insult to injury by charging perceived "foreigners" (read: people who don't look Nepali...so if you are Assamese Indian, or a Singapore Tamil, you are scot-free) double the previous entry fee - even though "foreigners" are prohibited from entering the actual temple, lest they pollute the hallowed grounds.

It's still okay to through plastic bags of trash into the nearby river and spit on the ground, though. No fines levied for that.

I'm back, sort of

Temple of the Sword-Wielding Goddess
Sankhu, Kathmandu valley

Ack, I am suffering from what has become my annual Monsoon Illness. Somehow, hard as I try, it gets me every July that I stay in Nepal. I have got to get out of here earlier next year.



Here are a few photos from my visit to the atmospheric, remote temple of the KhadgaVajrayogini
at Sankhu village, on the eastern edge of the Kathmandu Valley.



'Sankhu Vajrayogini' is one of the four guardian Vajrayoginis ("Adamantine Goddess") that stand watch over the Valley. The other three sisters are found at Pharping, Guhyeswari (foreigners not admitted), and Swayambhu at Bijeshwori.

I hope to make a complete tour (via bicycle) of all four Yogini temples and post a yatra-logue about the whole thing.

Photos of the murti were not permitted, but I found the people up at Sankhu temple to be welcoming and very, very proud of their goddess. The young girl below (who spoke excellent English) explained to me simply, "She is our Mother."

Art appreciation

As some of you know, I spent about four years travelling around India and Nepal, and about two of those were following HH the Dalai Lama to his many places of teaching and discourse throughout India.

Nowadays, some wags probably consider that stalking. There was a day when it was considered pilgrimage. That's what you do with saints, in the Hindu and Buddhist tradition. Saints don't stay in one place, they keep travelling. You follow them around.

Anyway, some of my favourite moments were in and around the teaching sites, where "Life's Rich Pageant" coalesces.

This photo was taken one morning in 2006 at Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh at the Central Institute of Tibetan Higher Studies, where everyone was queuing for the metal detector to get into teachings.

Last week, I received some Art Appreciation from a Flickr user named East Med Wanderer:

Great shot! All life is there - it has the quality of composition of one of the great master painters. And with a point and shoot - terrific!

Sometimes that's all it takes to make your day, or week. One of the great master painters probably would include the entire face of the purple-wearing woman at left, though - for compositional balance. That way, there would be two women facing each outside corner.

I can no longer post the larger versions of the photos - they kept getting stolen off the blog site. You can view (but not right-click) a larger version here.

Independent, Indigenous, International

In Kathmandu

The Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival opens tomorrow. Here's the website and schedule.

Screenings will be at Bhrikutimandap - the Nepal Tourism Board hall and the City Hall, across the road from one another. (I think it's also called Pradarshini or Exhibition Road.) Films run through Sunday, May 31.

Admission is a refreshing 30NRs (about fifty cents) with a discount for card-carrying students.

I'm looking forward to entries about the Lepcha (the original peoples of Sikkim) and the Saami of "Lapland," said to be the last Caucasian peoples living a tribal lifestyle.

Wonder if I can crash the opening ceremony ("for invited guests only")?

Nepal ra Buddhadharma ko blog chha

Just found a Buddhist blogsite with an incredible sidebar of Buddhist online resources. Yes, they (Enlightenment Ward) do link yours truly, somewhere down on the sidebar.

More relevant and regionally-related blogs - these should give some windows into what daily life "looks like" over here, in the city at least.

Mikel Dunham: I was really pleased to find this site; the author of Buddha's Warriors evidently lives here in the Mandu and is a very active commentator on contemporary Nepal including Nepolitics.

Morten Svenningsen: Tireless documentor of daily life including protests, bandhs, shutdowns and so forth here in Kathmandu.

Roaming Redde: my friend Rene's daily adventures living and teaching English among Tibetan monks here in Boudha.

Snow Lion Foundation: All-Tibet all the time website; news, articles and blog.

You're Welcome!

Born to be mild?

Warning: for music geeks only
In Kathmandu


The latest American Idol asked contestants to sing songs released the year they were born. Adam Lambert sang Tears For Fears' "Mad World" (1980s) and Danny Gokey sang "Kiss From a Rose (maybe 1990). (Don't laugh. These guys were awesome. Really!)

Without revealing the exact year, I couldn't help wondering what I would sing for Simon. What was on the charts when I popped out?

I think I would have to sing: "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash,
because most everything else is from a Happy Days soundtrack.

At the same time, change was in the air with the release of The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

Just think how early Dylan must have sounded in among all the bubblegum.

It was a Very Good Year for...
Attitudinal Girl group classics:
"My Boyfriend's Back" by the Angels
"Da Doo Ron Ron" by the Crystals
"Be My Baby" by the Ronettes
"Don't Say Nothin Bad About my Baby" by Little Eva
"He's So Fine" by Chiffons
"And then He Kissed Me" by the Crystals
"It's My Party" by Lesley Gore
"Judy's Turn to Cry" by Lesley Gore (reallly obnoxious!)

The Ronettes. I knew my eyeliner and black hair came from *somewhere*

...Crooners:
"Blue Velvet" by Bobby Vinton
"Rhythm of the Rain" by the Cascades
"Up on the Roof" by the Drifters
"Walk Like a Man" by Four Seasons
"In Dreams" by Roy Orbison (lots of David Lynch material here)

...soul and R&B Classics to strut to!:
"Walking the Dog" by Rufus Thomas
"You've Really Got a Hold On me" by the Miracles
"Baby Work Out!" by Jackie Wilson
"Mockingbird" by Inez Foxx ("bird...yeah...yeah...Yayuh")

...tough-guy songs (on Fonzie's turntable):
"(You're just the) Devil in Disguise" by Elvis Presley
"Ruby Baby" by Dion (Elvis wanna be)
"Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen
and that bit of nonsense seemingly recorded by everyone under the sun, "Little Latin Lupe Lu"



and surf music and instrumentals.
"Surfin USA" by Beach Boys
"Wipe Out" by the Surfaris
"Pipeline" by the Chantays
"Little Deuce Coupe" by Beach Boys
and the king of Surf instrumentals,
"Misirlou" by Dick Dale

Contrast these with the Dylan hits released that year:
"Blowin in the Wind"
"Girl from the North Country"
"Hard Rain's Gonna Fall"

...Think I'll stick with "Ring of Fire."

Nesting

No, I haven't written here for nearly a month. I have been (among other things) "shifting" to the long-overdue new flat, and there's no net there yet (it was of course supposed to be there, promised to be there, and now isn't; so what else is new. Installing my own router will cost some 1800NRs per month -plus down payments - another hidden expense).

The new place is very high and dry; 4th floor, lots of windows and sun and air. I call it the Cuckoo's Nest.

The sheer amount of plastic required to set up a household these days is really dismaying. Garbage bins, sponges, scrub brushes, coat hangers and so forth all involve investing in the dread substance. (I tried having a kitchen rubbish bin made of something else...not nice. And metal is about three times the price.)

Then there are the cleaning items. I looked around the other day and realized how many varieties of scrubbing and cleaning devices I had acquired in 3 weeks:
-floor scrubbers;
-sponges with scrubber only on one side (you know, yellow sponge, green scrubber);
-bottle brush for those hard to reach areas;
-floor rags including both "wet rag" and "dry rag" (we don't normally use mops here);
-two different kinds of handmade straw brooms;
-toilet brush;
-squeegee for the bathroom floor,
-and coconut husks (really, they are good for scrubbing). (Those were FREE at the market.)

Okay, so I am a child of Eisenhower-era parenting. Or maybe it's a result of so many years in south Asia, where the dirt demons prowl.

Then there are all manner of other mundane things I haven't had to think of in literal years, such as hammer & nails, bathmats and doormats, bulletin board, fan, and window screens. It's easy to see how people get bogged down in fixing up their homes. Fortunately, I have limited myself to two rooms. Anything larger, and I may start collecting stuff.

I have yet to figure out the garbage schedule here. One morning a week, a truck comes by and they blow a whistle. Then you're supposed to run down and toss in your bags. You can't leave anything out the night before; there are too many stray dogs.

Drinking water has to be brought in from outside, via the neighborhood corner-store run by a very sweet couple who have Muslim names but seem to be a bit closeted otherwise about faith. (This is unusual here, where everyone wears their faith on their sleeve like people in Tennessee advertise their favourite NASCAR drivers.) A big blue tank of the best-quality drinking water is 90 NRs (like $1.40). I had to put a 500NRs refundable deposit on each tank. A kid with a push-bike delivers the water - the bike is specially outfitted with metal ring holders, like saddlebags, one on each side to hold the tanks.

Cooking gas, and also gas to heat the hot water "geyser," is a bit more pricey. It's 4500Nrs deposit (refundable) on the heavy red-metal cylinders that dispense life-giving fire here. The actual propane contents of the cylinder are 1100 Nrs or so per tank.

Then, I still had to come up with an actual gas stove. This runs anywhere from 2000Nrs to 4000 or so. I can't help wondering how average Nepalis, who make perhaps 2500 Nrs a month, come up with these deposits. That explains the kerosene cook stoves owned by the very poor (much cheaper than propane).

But, Thank Gods (there are lots of them to choose from here) the power is mostly back, and the rains appear to have started. Hope I don't jinx anything by publicly stating this.

Peace sign

I adore this hand-painted billboard, that I snapped near Guntur, Andhra Pradesh three years ago.

It depicts a Jain saint seated peacefully among animals, and (in Telugu script, but Sanskrit language) says "Ahimsa paramo dharma," or, "Nonviolence is the greatest religion."

Heritage, or hate?

Religious or racist?
In Dailekh, Nepal


I'm not saying I have an answer. Just putting it out there.


Brahmin priests in Dailekh have padlocked temples of the district to protest a recent verdict of the district court.

...(a) court verdict three months ago imprisoned a Brahmin priest on the charge of untouchability.

On April 12, the court sentenced Dipak Upadhyay... for refusing to tie Raksha Bandhan (holy thread tied around the wrist on Janaipurnima day) to a dalit local.

...Claiming they have the right to perform religious rituals as per their wish, the Brahmin priests padlocked a dozen temples...

District chairman of Hindu Vedic Sanatan Parishad (HVSP), Tilak Rijal, said the priests did not need to perform religious rituals for all the people.

"Practicing untouchability" - that is, discriminating against those traditionally considered of lower Hindu castes - has been made a crime in India and Nepal, though in remote areas such behaviour largely goes unpunished, and many old ways are still observed.

So, is this religious freedom, or racism? Or, at the very least, illegal discrimination? Should the courts be able to tell houses of worship whom they must accomodate? How would we feel if it were a White Supremacist church (they do exist) refusing admission to someone of another race? Is that even a valid analogy? Many Hindu temples specify "Hindus Only"; however, the Dalits themselves are Hindus. Does this mean they have to admit all Hindus regardless of caste?

And if there is a tradition of excluding certain Hindus, how much does the tradition matter? That is, is it beyond the law ?

Just asking questions.

Witch hunts and scarlet letters

Ring ring, Pot? this is Kettle calling
From Patan to Pakistan

Even a cursory glance at the Indian media and blogosphere shows people getting pretty uppity about the horrific Pakistan flogging case.

Other South Asians don't have room to talk. All this stuff happens regularly in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, and they don't even usuaily do it "in the name of Islam."

Take last week's case of a Nepali girl - not even in a remote region, but here by the urban centre Kathmandu - accused of witchcraft and tortured. Pyuthar village is within Lalitpur District (very near, if not precisely within, the capitol city)

And that, by a primary school headmaster! If this is what the educators are doing, imagine what the "general populace" are up to, or at very least, what an example that sets for them.

I scoured all the reports I saw, and still could not find an account of what exactly the poor girl had actually done, nor of what exactly she'd been accused of doing ("witchcraft" could mean anything at all, from drawing a design on the ground to being seen with the wrong person).

BK was allegedly tortured by villagers in allegation of practicing witchcraft. BK said she was beaten up, abused and even made to eat human excreta by a group of people in the village. nepalnews.com Mar 27 09

I am glad, for lack of a better word, that the flogging case is being spotlighted this way - as it deserves. But such treatment is not so unusual, nor restricted to places like Swat Valley. .

Cycle of life

A bicycle built for me
Kathmandu


I rented a bike. wheee!!

This is nothing new - I have rented push-bikes in Pondicherry, Pune, Tanjavore and BodhGaya, and Honda motor scooters in many places. But this is my first rental in Kathmandu (way, way over 'Du) and this time I rented a heavy "road bike" with wide tires to deal with the crap roads here in the city.

Ramakrishna Cycles is a completly unpretentious cycle shop over on Sorakhutte near, but not in, Thamel. Dhruba, the shy kid from Dhading who helped me, rented me an aluminum-frame seven-speed bike. I took it for a week and he bargained a bit on the price, but I love it so much, I think I may have to buy one.

Dhruba offered tea to me and my friend Amy. We sat on the low Nepali woven-straw round stools (they look very African in design, come to think of it) behind the counter. Dhruba and his bike shoppe-mates appeared, and sounded like (from their soft voices and genuine smiles), a bit of unspoilt Nepal. That is, they didn't seem cynical and greedy from too much contact with corruption or gangster culture.

I asked Dhruba the standard opening question about his "native place." Dhading is a town just one hour or so outside Kathmandu, but for all its proximity, its living standards are very remote.

The bike makes locals assume you are filthy rich. If it was just an old made-in-India green push bike, I don't think anyone would notice. A nice multispeed road bike? I was *besieged* by waifs and, at the Kal Bhairav shrine, 'attendans' harassing and insisting that I give money to the god (this, while my hands were folded in prayer).

Anyway, unless you get out very, very early in the morning, the old back streets are useless on the bike - you have to get out and walk anyway. The big, ugly, open modern multi-lane roads are negotiable, but in Asian traffic, no one can hear you scream (or honk or pedal). A bell or horn is a definite must for survival!

Survey says....

And, hooray for our side
News from India

At last! Sex and Power, the book by Rita Banerji (creator of the 50 Million Missing project for Indian women) has been released!

It's now available on Amazon.com and last week, was #1 on the Bestseller list of Crosswords (one of India's largest bookstore chains).

The 50 Million Missing project began as a photo collection and has now become an international campaign to stop "India's silent genocide," the selective elimination of female infants and fetuses.

You can easily help the project by taking their Gender attitudes survey.

It only takes four minutes to complete the 50 Million Missing project's gender survey.

Rita says: 1. They don't give their names (it's anonymous) 2. Don't think too much. Just answer. 3. Takes less than 4 mintues 4. Don't forget to click 'submit' at the end

Here's the link
http://www.my3q.com/home2/252/the50millionmissing/survey.phtml

What's your sign?

I am almost afraid to ask. What is a leprosy BIBING hall?

Could they mean a sort of dining hall, as in, "imbibing"?

Seen near Tapoban, upper Rishikesh, UP.

Vegging out

Where to eat, continued
Kathmandu

Last week was remarkable in that I met two pure vegetarians who were not foreigners. (A foreign Buddhist or yoga person is more likely to be vegetarian than a local Hindu or Buddhist.)

Ravi is a Nepali by way of India (family of Marwari Jains), and Nikesh is an Indian Brahmin who owns a business in Nepal. Naturally, the subject came up: where do you eat?

Most places in town accomodate vegetarians well. But for the purist, there are very few dedicated vegetarian restaurants. In this case, dedicated means not even having meat products on premises. In the strictest sense ("Pure Veg" as they say in south India), it means not even using eggs.

Thamel's Israel-Middle Eastern restaurant, OR2K, is veg but uses lots of egg. Newari and other Nepali restaurants will make a veg set meal, but sometimes cook items in the same pan that's used to cook meat, resulting in ingestion of meat essences and flavours.

With branches in many parts of town (Putalisadak, New Road) and a main hall at Tripureshwor right by Bluebird, Angan is probably the best all-around pure veg restaurant in town. They cover a range of Indian cuisines from North to South to West (Gujarati dhokla!) to East (Bengali sandesh sweets) and have a large, airy, clean dining hall up and downstairs in Tripureshwor. The other locations are more cramped and have more limited selections. Their Rava Dosa Plain is exceptional, the sambar great. They are a branch of (I think) India's Bikanerwala.

Not surprisingly, the pure-veg restaurants in town are all (as far as I know) Indian-owned. My favourite is Trishna Mitai in Lazimpat, before Shangri La. They are Bengali-owned (telltale icon of Dakshineswar over the counter) but do feature good south Indian dishes such as Uttappam and Idly, as well as samosa-chat-chai. I especially like the grandmother who sits in a chair behind the corner and gives me a beautiful smile. She never fails to wear sari and a pure chandan hand-painted tilak.

Two more pure veg Indian shoppes are Dudh Sagar on Kantipath, just opposite Mandala Books (they do have idly, wada, dosa and uttappam!) and Bandar's, a Rajasthani-owned small diner off New Road by Pyukhan Marg. Bandar's may be the only place in town to try Rajasthani Thali.

One Thamel spot that guarantees they use no egg is Shree Lal's House of Vegetarian. Though they seem very sincere, the food I got (dal makhani) was mediocre.

Two more sources of veg food (don't know whether they use egg, though) are the Kopan Monastery canteen way up on Kopan hill, and the Rabsel guesthouse run by Shechen Monastery. In Thamel there's also the old standby Pilgrim's Bookstore Cafe - always shanti, always veg - and the Himalayan Buddhist Meditation Centre cafe which has now moved to Tridevi Marg near Kesar Mahal.