KATHMANDU – the PLACE, the PEOPLE & the PRAYERS

The highest selling point of the city is obvious in that it houses 7 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, where visitors often do not get enough of gaping at the architectural excellence of ancient and medieval Nepal on proud display… 

a gentle gaze from giant pairs of ‘wisdom eyes’ in all four cardinal directions on top of a massive Boudhanath Stupa, 

a mystic maze of statues & shrines dotting around a hilltop Swayambhunath Stupa, 

a hallowed haze along the river banks of Bagmati, from which rise the copper-gold ‘pagoda’ roofs of Pashupatinath Temple,and a dizzy daze of earthy-hued sculptures, towers, quadrangles & passageways at Durbar Square reverberating with immortal tales of the past kingdoms which are trapped in the meticulous Newari patterns of its carved & wooded buildings.

And then of course, it comes with a price tag for having been and still continuing to being a haven for backpackers & roisterers. Watering-holes and partying-dens found interspersed way too frequently between dense & overloaded shopping-blocks and resto-cafés, in some of the noted ‘lanes’ or ‘neighborhoods’, speak mellifluously of the cosmopolitan commingling which the city loves catering to, besides tightly clinging on to its historical hereditament.       

But at the very core of everything else lie the true spiritual tones of Kathmandu that undeniably and invariably lord over the hearts and the souls of the people living here, which is what I came looking for… 

By way of illustration, the most beautiful scenes of devotion are witnessed at Boudhanath, where hundreds of people together circumambulate (parikrama) one of the largest stupas in the world, turning small cylindrical prayer-wheels as they go clockwise, or chanting ‘Om Mani Padme Hum’ – a Tibetan mantra. They follow a social decorum as they circle around the ‘mandala’ style {a cosmological design} platforms fanning out from the white semi-circular dome, which is symbolically affirmative of the Buddhist tenets of the ‘path to enlightenment’ and the ‘cycle of life’. 

A thirteen-step pyramid above the cube painted with protective ‘Buddha eyes’ and a nose {for unity}, on top of the stupa,  depicts the different levels to be passed in order to be liberated from the universe, as an ultimate goal of salvation; and a lotus above these steps denotes compassion. 

Moving onto Durbar Square, extraordinarily a ‘Museum of Temples’, is a rich testament to the fact that the Kings who reigned Kathmandu Valley from the earliest of centuries up till the 18^th century, were staunchly devout as seen in the abundance of religious edifices built alongside palatial edifices. Countless numbers of street-smart pigeons flocking all over these constructions add their testimony and vouch for the sacrosanct temperament that ruled the place; as also the dramatic art galleries in the museums that preserve paintings and exhibits which elaborate on fervent scenes of celebrations that invoked the Gods during various royal events held at different parts of the Square.  

What’s exceptional about this ‘cultural site’ is not only that the heritage is cherished to attract visitors but also that many of its traditions are tenaciously kept intact and followed unswervingly to the modern day. 

A case in point, 

Kumari Ghar, a house most aesthetically designed whose craftsmanship surpasses many others for lattice screen panels, detailed engravings on frames, and diminutive sculpt works, done with exceeding amounts of precision, is the solemn dwelling of ‘Kumari’ – a small girl (who has not yet reached menarche) deified as ‘Living Goddess Taleju Bhawani’. Barring special occasions when she comes out in public; she looks confident and mesmerizing when she makes an appearance all of a sudden (twice a day) at her window on the second floor, to grace all those waiting below in her courtyard; dressed in the brightest of silky red with a radiant face accentuated by glowing make-up… but disappears in a few seconds… like a flash of lightning! 

Whilst still reeling from the overwhelming feeling of being subjected to believing that a little lass is actually pre-possessed by a goddess, it is all the more dumbfounding to hear or read about the taxing process of selection she has to undergo to be chosen as the ideal candidate for this role. Forbye fulfilling strict conditions of specific caste requirements, physical characteristics, personality traits and horoscopic placements, the ability to live up to the expectation of an enormous show of courage when she is left alone with a hundred bleeding sacrificed cattle, reiterate what the locals say about her that yes indeed she is ‘sacred’, for its not really a child’s play to sleep among heads of slaughtered animals for a night without feeling petrified – a final passing test, before she experiences rigorous tantric cleansing so that the goddess can enter her ‘purified’ form. 

Therefore, she is not just mesmerizing, she is divine! On another note, 

KaalBhairav, a terrifying and fierce-looking manifestation of Lord Shiva at the Hanuman Dhoka palace premises (12-foot large black statue made from a single stone in the 6^th century), is one who is feared and looked upon for protection and blessings.

Thereupon in the thick of the holiest precincts of the largest and one of the oldest Hindu temple complexes in the world (about 500 small & big shrines in total), Pashupatinath Temple is perpetually the consecrated location of high-octane spiritual activities that transcend into higher realms of otherworldly conscientiousness. 

In the face of multitudinous mythological stories that can be posited on how the Temple came into existence, real world convictions that drive the dateless relevance of this Temple are much more than meets the eye. 

Inside the central patio of the complex, thousands of pious folk patiently take their steps forward, making way around a golden Nandi statue (‘bull’, Lord Shiva’s vehicle), in lengthy queues to arrive at a two-tiered, gilded, pagoda-roofed, chief temple building {which has four silvered entrance doors, ceilings etched with murals & iconography, and ornamental wooden beams fitted with figurines}; 

for their much awaited turn to have darshan of the rare ‘mukha’ linga protected inside the inner sanctum [4-faced idol & an imaginative 5^th face that is supposedly visible only to the most powerful of all seers]. Adhering to austere brahminical protocols of performing pujas, the priests at Pashupatinath have established a superior benchmark for carrying out daily procedures.  

Outside by the river ghats, accessible to anyone be it rich or poor, locals or foreigners, and pedlars or sadhus, an immense restraint and balance of emotions (esp. for first time viewers) is necessary to watch the incessant funeral rites that take place on one bank of the river, clashing with the ceremonial aarti rituals that take place at twilight hours face-to-face on the opposite bank. The juxtaposition of smoke from funeral pyres on one side and those of flickering flames on the other side simultaneously rising up to the sky, attracts tens of thousands or sometimes even lakhs of people to congregate here. 

The significance of the one-of-a-kind proximity to ‘death’ in the sublime sanctuary of the Lord – an occurrence which happens nowhere else on earth, is that people have to concede it as a preordained episode after life and perhaps instill a hope for rebirth or regeneration through focusing on good karma while still living. Pashupatinath Bagmati aarti is an everyday reminder and opportunity for self-introspection and truth in this regard, which in turn has inculcated a steely God-fearing frame of mind among the ‘Shivaholic’ populace.