pokhara noon. late august.... rainy season..
second largest city of nepal.. pokhara is built on a lake.. nice spot.. clean water.. there are himalaya behind the clouds they tell me.. .. but what i like about it here is the air.. so good.. theres a great german bakery as well.. mmm.. otherwise its a bit of a tourist trap... good to rest for a few days.. its a holiday resort.. probably was very nice 30 odd years ago.. the nepalese component is just a faded memory now.. the odd shadow.. some aging tibetan refugees.. carrying a great weight.. rather beyond poignant.. people who waited all their lives to go back to home.. but knew somewhere that it wasnt going to be.. paying for the mistakes of their ancestors.. but blessed by the same ancestors with a great wealth nevertheless..
but to go back a little way.. travelling through bihar and uttar pradesh a few weeks ago, i saw more fertile green land than i ever imagined existed.. rice paddies on and on.. and on.. ..
what is on my mind is that even if half of what the experts say is true, there will be precious little water to water them in a few years.. and so no rice.. even as a result of a slight climate change .. there is also nothing i saw that indicates that there is mobilization of the population in light of this.. and a massive mobilization will be needed in india.. if a billion odd souls are to have any chance of survival....(which it seems that they will be denied...) so .. water is not so much the problem.. but mentality.. corrupt old india's days are numbered.
nepal on the other hand seems to have abundant water for the time being at least.( and a fraction of the population) it is close by.. .. it is also pretty well a total shambles.. if there is a government it is probably off somewhere helping some relative fix up his hostel.. the place is so disorganized.... the social system has fostered a status quo where talent cannot rise to the top.. so it either leaves the country or withers... and what you get is a corrupt and talentless governement and society.. a rigid, stagnant society... but i feel its days are numbered...
a lot of nepalese are very fine.. people.. and nepal has many friends..(i count myself as one...) which will be all that will win this place through if there are serious problems.. and it looks to me like serious problems are just around the corner. (its started already with the end of the monarchy 2008). .. not just from water problems.(india). the place is hidebound. ... beautiful country.. lovely people... but change is so needed and so happening.... a total shakeup.. hence the maoists.. mmm. time for the power elites that have kept the country in stasis for hundreds of years to be totally cleaned out i'd say..
great tourist destination.. mountains like no other.. its got many blessings...
a quiet word to all the good nepalese in the diaspora .. i reckon it maybe time to start thinking about what you can do for nepal... in light of the changes that are about to take place.. its you who are needed now.. here.. in nepal.. thats my opinion anyway..
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
sonauli
i was e-talking to a friend in kathmandu who says the trip from varanasi to his place takes 3 days.. . yesterday i went to the bus stop at 7 am.. in varanasi.. and caught the one going to gorakhpur.. the bus actually wouldnt start. flat battery.. i was astonished to see an unassuming bystander take position in front of the full sized bus.. and gave it a shove. he was actually a very strong man.. well. the driver slipped the clutch in reverse and we were on the way..
its a very noisy run to gorakhpur. 6 hours.. the road isnt so bad.. just crowded and fairly dangerous.. and noisy.. i was thankful for my bright orange earplugs.. something like the shade popular among shiva devotees in the city i was leaving..
a quick rickshaw ride to a different bustop in gorakhpur and then another bus for the 3 hour ride to the border town.. sonauli..
one last predatory rickshaw wallah who told me to pay him an inflated price for a distance he lied about.. to the border from the bus stop there..(you can read about predatory rickshaw wallahs in the guide book.. they do not exaggerate . oh mind you dont miss indian immigration on the right.. very fine gentlemen who efficiently do the stamping...
the 10 hours on the road were exhausting.. once over the border in nepal i found the first inexpensive hostel i came across and slept..
i was eaten by mosquitos..
i walked the 5 kilometers with day pack and backpack on the trolly to the bustop to lumbini. (oh..i dont carry the backpack.. i strap it to a small folding trolly and drag it.. i'm just too old for that xxxx.
lumbini is where the buddha was reportedly born..
as soon as he could, he bolted. he probably tried to buy some bread.. there is none in the kiosks. chappati and nan are unavailable in the village.. one can go to a restaurant and order white rice and dhal.. a more unfriendly place would refuse to sell water. they do sell water.. the reticulated water not fit for washing the face.
but there is a peaceful reverential atmostphere. today i plan to visit the maya devi temple.. the spot where siddhartha is said to have suffered his last rebirth..
later) it would be wrong to write about the birthplace of siddhartha.. it is at the mayadevi temple. by the temple is a pool where mother and child are said to have bathed.
there is a stern old monk who keeps an eye on the place, seated under a tree. seems that he acquires merit in this world.
none of my friends would be disappointed by undertaking the journey to the mayadevi temple .... i certainly wasnt. the place is honoured by its custodians. from the countries where the buddha is esteemed.
its a very noisy run to gorakhpur. 6 hours.. the road isnt so bad.. just crowded and fairly dangerous.. and noisy.. i was thankful for my bright orange earplugs.. something like the shade popular among shiva devotees in the city i was leaving..
a quick rickshaw ride to a different bustop in gorakhpur and then another bus for the 3 hour ride to the border town.. sonauli..
one last predatory rickshaw wallah who told me to pay him an inflated price for a distance he lied about.. to the border from the bus stop there..(you can read about predatory rickshaw wallahs in the guide book.. they do not exaggerate . oh mind you dont miss indian immigration on the right.. very fine gentlemen who efficiently do the stamping...
the 10 hours on the road were exhausting.. once over the border in nepal i found the first inexpensive hostel i came across and slept..
i was eaten by mosquitos..
i walked the 5 kilometers with day pack and backpack on the trolly to the bustop to lumbini. (oh..i dont carry the backpack.. i strap it to a small folding trolly and drag it.. i'm just too old for that xxxx.
lumbini is where the buddha was reportedly born..
as soon as he could, he bolted. he probably tried to buy some bread.. there is none in the kiosks. chappati and nan are unavailable in the village.. one can go to a restaurant and order white rice and dhal.. a more unfriendly place would refuse to sell water. they do sell water.. the reticulated water not fit for washing the face.
but there is a peaceful reverential atmostphere. today i plan to visit the maya devi temple.. the spot where siddhartha is said to have suffered his last rebirth..
later) it would be wrong to write about the birthplace of siddhartha.. it is at the mayadevi temple. by the temple is a pool where mother and child are said to have bathed.
there is a stern old monk who keeps an eye on the place, seated under a tree. seems that he acquires merit in this world.
none of my friends would be disappointed by undertaking the journey to the mayadevi temple .... i certainly wasnt. the place is honoured by its custodians. from the countries where the buddha is esteemed.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
varanasi
to continue from my last post..
the train journey from calcutta to varanasi was uneventful im happy to say. i took a third class berth (its actually called 2nd class not air-conditioned. .. one of 3 benches with vinal padding.. one above the other suspended by chains from the wall or roof.. mine was the top berth.. which wasnt enough space to sit on without bowing the head but it wasnt too uncomfortable to sleep on.. just had to mind out not to get hair caught in the fans on the ceiling..(ouch) it cost about 300 rupees..
the west bengal train passed through bihar on the way.. it is a problem. it struck me as a province that had been under a cloud for a long time.. fallen into the hands of thugs.. which is what i think has happened...about 10000 years ago.. maybe it explains why the buddha spent time around here. trying to straighten it out. at any rate its quite a different vibe from west bengal or uttar pradesh.. which was my stop.. in varanasi
busy place .. the station.. over the grand trunk road made famous in kipling.... noise..
there has been a city here for quite a while.. though nowdays is being replaced with concrete.. something the british introduced.. which they learned from the romans.
probably the less said about varanasi the better.. let it be said that the place is famous as a sacred locus. it has attracted monks and holy people from time immemorial.. though i gotta say its nothing like as old as some places in australia. in terms of human habitation.
my list of things to do in varanasi was fairly long.. it has taken me 3 weeks to do.. finally yesterday it was time to take a bajaj to the bus stop and head to sonauli the border town and entry to nepal..
i would like to put on record that my visit to varanasi was very rewarding. i did what i came to do.. met a number of people that i liked.. and left in peace. its a hard place and i had been warned by a nepalese friend of mine to be careful there.. his advice was good.. i was careful .. had i not been ...... i may not be sitting in lumbini right now..
***
the train journey from calcutta to varanasi was uneventful im happy to say. i took a third class berth (its actually called 2nd class not air-conditioned. .. one of 3 benches with vinal padding.. one above the other suspended by chains from the wall or roof.. mine was the top berth.. which wasnt enough space to sit on without bowing the head but it wasnt too uncomfortable to sleep on.. just had to mind out not to get hair caught in the fans on the ceiling..(ouch) it cost about 300 rupees..
the west bengal train passed through bihar on the way.. it is a problem. it struck me as a province that had been under a cloud for a long time.. fallen into the hands of thugs.. which is what i think has happened...about 10000 years ago.. maybe it explains why the buddha spent time around here. trying to straighten it out. at any rate its quite a different vibe from west bengal or uttar pradesh.. which was my stop.. in varanasi
busy place .. the station.. over the grand trunk road made famous in kipling.... noise..
there has been a city here for quite a while.. though nowdays is being replaced with concrete.. something the british introduced.. which they learned from the romans.
probably the less said about varanasi the better.. let it be said that the place is famous as a sacred locus. it has attracted monks and holy people from time immemorial.. though i gotta say its nothing like as old as some places in australia. in terms of human habitation.
my list of things to do in varanasi was fairly long.. it has taken me 3 weeks to do.. finally yesterday it was time to take a bajaj to the bus stop and head to sonauli the border town and entry to nepal..
i would like to put on record that my visit to varanasi was very rewarding. i did what i came to do.. met a number of people that i liked.. and left in peace. its a hard place and i had been warned by a nepalese friend of mine to be careful there.. his advice was good.. i was careful .. had i not been ...... i may not be sitting in lumbini right now..
***
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