Patan | Breath of centuries - Utsav Shakya Patan is easy to love. It’s a city that is full of life, one that breathes culture and art and history. This is its heritage. Its streets bustle with more people and less traffic. The shops are still small where the shop keepers will actually remember what you bought the last time you were there. They will ask after you. Like most great cities, Patan has a good mix of people of all cultures. Also like most great cities, it cannot be compared to others. The city has a charm of its own, an old world quality that has somehow managed to not give in to the seduction of Western lifestyles that the capital’s district of Kathmandu has adopted so easily. The older streets are cobbled, most houses have preserved the wooden tiki jhya- windows with ornate etching and most roads can only accommodate one-way traffic. When one moves deeper into the city, the roads become even narrower as if to discourage the vehicles from trespassing. Patan runs on its old laid back clock too, with men sitting out on their porches all day, smoking hukkas and having countless cups of tea as they discuss politics or chit chat casually. There is absolutely no sense in honking on your car or motorcycle’s horn in Patan, especially in the ever busy Mangal Bazaar. A traditional market place offering everything from the Nepali bhadgaule topi to ayurvedic herbs for every kind of ailment, shoppers seldom budge until they get a good deal and move on.

The Day Women Descend On the Streets - Utsav Shakya The Rato Matsyendranath festival: a celebration that mixes religion, culture and everyday life into a heady concoction might as well be famous for something other than just that - primal screaming sounds from women of all ages as they pull the famous chariot on the ‘yaka bhujya’ day of the festival. For a moment, this scribe was reminded of maternity wards in hospitals! Armies of women of all ages fill the streets. Some in comfortable kurta salwars or jeans and others in bright, red saris tucked tightly into their hips tug at the towering chariot, their sneaker adorned or sometimes bare feet digging into the earth as they heave at the chariot of god, demonstrating a freakish strength. Whoever said women are only emotionally ...

Unfolding the mysteries of Tibet - Ngawang Tenpa Ratutsang Devotees and culture enthusiasts travel from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the Jokhng Temple , Potala the Winter palace, and Norbulingka the summer palace of Tibet. The Rooftop of the World, the true abode of the Dalai Lama, Tibet is famous all over the world as the destination for people in search of spirituality and true peace of mind. Even after Tibet was invaded by China and the Dalai Lama was forced into exile in Dharamsala forcing thousands of Tibetans to flee as refugees to Nepal and other neighboring countries, Tibetans have managed to cling to their rich culture. Nestled in the Himalayas, Tibet has many topographical wonders to boast of. It is composed largely of mountains, southern and northern Tibet plateau lake areas, and eastern Tibet high mountain valley areas. The region boasts of more than 50 peaks each with a height of over 7000 meters and five over 8000 meters. Tibet is also home to three world class nature reserves, namely Qomolangma (Mount Everest), Northern Tibet Changtang and Eastern Tibet Yarlung Zangbo (Tsangpo in Tibetan) Grand Canyon Nature Reserve. Devotees and culture enthusiasts travel from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the Jokhng Temple established in the 7th Century, Potala-the Winter palace, and Norbulingka, the summer palace of Tibet.

The Sherpa People of Illam - Utsav Shakya A sizeable community of Sherpa people lives in Illam, Nepal’s tea district that borders on India. They are fine examples of how a community is defined as much by the conditions they live in as by time-tested traditions. A huge tree, unearthed, lay inclined in the middle of the road, a part of its roots still in the ridge that had followed us on our left. Our vehicle, an old Land Rover, slowed down and then stopped a few feet away from the tree. The tree was too heavy to be lifted and there were not enough people to even try such an option. It was decided that we would walk the rest of the way to Khopi. I had been trekking with a photographer friend on assignment in the scenic, mountain villages of Illam in Eastern Nepal and our travels so far had been problem free. But soon, another, graver problem presented itself. The only space the Land Rover had to make an about turn and head back after leaving us was a little ahead of the fallen tree. On our right, a sheer drop of at least fifty feet into a small rocky river added to the tension. There was no way Raju, our driver, could back the huge four wheel drive to another space about a kilometer behind us. But inch by inch Raju turned the vehicle until it lay sideways; covering almost the entire width of the road and then all turned it all the way around. When we finally got to a misty, cold Khopi later that afternoon, a warm Sherpa family awaited us. We would spend our first night in the hills there. In fact, every day for the seven days that we trekked through the hills of Illam, we took refuge in the homes of local Sherpas. How did so many Sherpas, indigenous to Solukhumbu district end up here? What had brought so many of them here and for what purpose? When had they come here? Although my knowledge about Sherpas was not confined to just their fame as trustworthy porters and guides, rather shamefully, I did not know a lot about them either.

The Philosophical Concept of Mha Puja The omnipotent and omnipresent existential moment of life is embossed upon performing Mha Puja by the Newar community in Nepal. Mha puja is a grand celebration observed every year in recognition of existential moments of life on the first day of Nepal Sambat; the new year’s day of the Newar community. The New Year brings with it the lush and fresh fruiting season, the autumn; when life comes in bloom with the products of mother earth. This is a celebration that recognizes human worth, dignity, and prestige. Mha puja bears a deep sense of blessing the self for right conscience and right performance for all righteousness to disseminate inner light. This Vedic version is the conceptual essence of mha puja. The light of life glows from within us, this warmth entails all along the existential moments. It needs to be energized through continuous effort at all turns of life. The blazing oil fed wick is lighted in manifesting self existence. Mandap The mandap drawn in front of a person during the festival represents the luminous bodies in the universe and our planet earth in particular. All beings inclusive of human beings are the honey of the earth while the earth itself is a hive of all beings. Before the mandap is drawn, a mark is made with water which is then dressed up on top with mustard oil, colorful decoration using vermilion powder being added later on. The tracing of this mandap with water is to purify the ground and oil is used to impress the event for a longer period of time. The illumination that is made over the mandap signifies enlightenment inherent inside each person.