The Himalayas and Some Other Stuff

After an early morning flight for spectacular views of the Himalayas, the rest of the day today pales by comparison.

Actually, that’s not entirely fair. We visited some very interesting, UNESCO-listed sites in the Kathmandu Valley, and we also had the opportunity, which I passed on, to meet a living goddess. But I did meet a former living goddess.

I added a lot of photos to my Nepal album, so feel free to start there if you want.

Himalayas

The day started with a flight from Kathmandu Airport north and then east to view the mountains. In an hour we flew as far east as Mount Everest, and then turned and headed back for a second look. We had perfect weather and great early-morning lighting.

While Everest (up at the top of the page) is the star of the show at 29,031 feet, I thought some of the other mountains were significantly more photogenic.

Living Goddess

If you want to learn about the practice among the Newar people in the Kathmandu Valley of selecting a pre-pubescent girl to serve as a living goddess (called Kumari), here’s a good summary. I would definitely recommend reading this so you can really understand what this tradition is all about. There’s also a good article in Wikipedia.

We went to the temple where the current Kumari of Patan lives and sees visitors. She is eleven years old. She will serve until her first menstruation, when, it is believed, the goddess will leave her body. At that time a new Kumari of Patan will be selected.

I didn’t go it to see her. I am disturbed by this practice. Girls who are selected at the age of 2, 3, or 4 don’t have agency to know what is right or good or appropriate. I did not want to go into a temple to gawk at a little girl who is living such a strange and bizarre and abnormal life.

Ex-Living Goddess

Later in the day we visited the home of the previous Kumari. Unika, now 17, seems to live a very normal life, attending high school and studying the violin. She was incredibly poised and well-spoken. She spoke with us about her experience being selected as Kumari, and she answered a wide range of questions. It was obvious that she has done this many times before and is quite comfortable sharing her story.

I think if I’d had a chance to visit her first, I would not have been so uneasy about the visit to the current Kumari.

Patan

Patan, also known as Lalitpur, is one of three Durbar Squares in the Kathmandu Valley. A Durbar Square is a public plaza located in front of and old royal palace. The other two Dubar Squares are Kathmandu and Bhaktapur. Each of these served as the seat of a separate kingdom of Newari people between the 12th and 18th centuries. In the 1760s, these three kingdoms fell to the Kingdom of Gorkha under Prithvi Narayan Shah. The Gorkha Kingdom became Nepal in the early 20th century. But the three Durbar Squares remain as monuments to the past greatness of the Newar kingdoms.

We visited Patan Durbar Square this afternoon. There was so much to see there! The multi-tiered temples, courtyards, and statuary were all impressive, but the intricate wood carvings really drew my attention. And the former royal palace is now a museum that I wish I’d had more time for. 

Really, the photos tell the story of this fascinating place much better than anything I could write about it. Plus I have to get up at 4:30 tomorrow morning for the next part of our adventure. So if you haven’t already visited my photo album, do it now! 

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Also, this is my last blog post for a few days. For the next three days I won’t be able to do any blogging. I should have some limited internet access, enough to post some photos on Facebook or add them to my album, but no blogging.