Where wishes come true

By a staff reporter

Nepal is known as a nation of mountain and monuments. Most outsiders come to this country to view the magnificent mountains and the ancient monuments. However for the local people, there are different shrines which hold much attraction.

With the passage of time, these holy Hindu sites, have gone on to become favourite haunts for foreigners as well. Here we give details of some famous pilgrimage sites of the nepalese, which hold immense attraction for the tourists as well.

Manakamana Devi:

The famous shrine of Manakamana Devi lies in Gorkha district, about 12 km south of the historic town of Gorkha. The shrine is located on prominent ridge (1,302m) overlooking the river valleys of Trisuli to the south and Marsyangdi to the west. The unique location of the place is dramatized during winter when the ridge appears as an island above the sea of morning mist. The spectacular views from here includes deep valleys, terraced fields and snow range of Manaslu-Himalchuli and Annapurna Himal.

The legend of Manakamana deity goes back to the time of Gorkha King Rama Shah (A.D. 1614-1636). His queen possessed divine power known only to her devotee Lakhan Thapa, a religious preceptor (siddha). On one occasion, the king found the queen as goddess and Lakhan as a lion at Uppalokot in Gorkha. Following the revelation, the king mentioned it to the queen and suddenly died. He was cremated and queen committed sati on has funeral pyre as was the custom then. She, however, consoled her lamenting devotee Lakhan that she would appear sooner near his home. Six months later when a local resident was ploughing his field, he hit a stone and saw blood and milk flow forth. The flow ceased when Lakhan worshipped the stone with his tantrik knowledge. And this site became the foundation of the present shrine. When the ruling king of Gorkha learned of this incident, he donated land to Lakhan to perpetuate the worship of Manakamana deity. This deed was invested with a royal seal (lal mohar). The present Thapa-Magar officiant (pujari) is the 17th generation descendent of Lakhan Thapa.

Another variant of the  legend refers to the discovery of a bleeding stone that declares itself as Manakamana and be pacified by human sacrifice. In order to avoid sacrifice of a real person, the king deputes Gyankar Gubhaju who creates a five year old child through his esoteric spell. Its sacrifice was used to fulfill the wish of the deity. The head of the child was buried near the Bhairav shrine, north of the main temple, and the torso buries in the garden. The latter is wrshipped as Murkutta (Headless Demon) to a boulder near the temple.

The shrine of Manakamana was renovated many times over the centuries. The present temple on a square pedestal has four storeys and two roofs in pagoda styles. It is on the western edge of a large square between saumudra (Barrington acutangula) and chanp (Michelia excelsa) trees. The entrance is from the south-west marked by stone pillars ane sacrificial pillar (maulo). The main sanctum has a rectangular depression with five stones smeared with blood. The two large stones are identified with Manakamana and Bhairav and smaller three are referred as Ganesh, Kumari and Betal.

Manakamana is  a strong symbol of veneration and hope. People believe that Manakamana fulfills their wishes. There is a   strong belief that to get the wish fulfilled one has to visit the temple three times.

HAN President and Secretary leave  for Maldives

By a staff reporter

President of the SAARC Hotel Association, Narendra Bajracharya and  Secretary of the SAARC Hotel Association Madhav Om Shrestha left Kathmandu today for Maldives to attend the official meeting of SAARC Hotel Association coinciding with SAARC Tourism Council meeting to be held in Male on August 6 and 7, 2000, according to the HAN’s press release.

Meeting will review the programme initiated in the year 1999, publication of SAARC Hotel Directory, introduction of Special Privilege Card, Human Resource Development among members of SAARC Hotel Association, Joint initiative for granting Export Status to Hotel Industry in SAARC Region, World plan of SAARC Hotel Association for the year 2000 and to Promote SAARC country as a single destination.

Nepal TTF in Calcutta

By a staff reporter

The 18th TTF 2000 was held concluded at the Netaji Indoor Stadium, Calcutta from August 4-7, 2000. The four day event was inaugurated by West Bengal Tourism Minister Manab Mukherjee,. Nepal was accorded a Partner Country status in advertisements, Exhibition Catalogue, banners and in prominent coverage. Besides India, other international participants included Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Singapore and Dubai.

Occupying a space of 60 meter square, there were nine private sector participants from Nepal led by the Nepal Tourism Board. They were Everest Panorama Resort, Heritage Tours and Travels, Himalayan Height Resort, Natraj Tours and Travels, Nebuti Travels, Necon Air, Nepal Sagarmatha Travels, Hotel Vaishali, the Begnas Lak Resort and Villas.

More than 400 travel agents and tour operators visited the Nepalese stall to collect updated information on Nepal. There were more than 16,000 visitors who visited the Nepalese stall to collect information about weather, accessibility, accommodation and tourist spots. The participants from nepal also made good on-the-spot bookings for the coming pooja holidays. A detailed information kit with CD ROM and Video Documentary was provided to tour operators and the press.

Bimal Kandel, Officer, NTB participated in the press conference interaction session of the inaugural day where there were delegated from Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand besides India. The interaction session mainly centered on the need for regional cooperation among South Asian countries in improving visa  formalities. Kandel also gave interviews on  local television about Nepal.