Frozen gestures frozen hands

By Suman Subba

From high mountain shots to low valley shots. From rice fields to indigenous architecture. >From remote villages to remote monasteries and portraits of a city in flux. From the familiar to the predictably unexpected. A Shangrila depicted, if you like, from top to bottom currently on display in a joint exhibition under the theme of "In search of Shangrila" by the Nepal Photographic Society (NPS) and the winners and participants of the "Himalaya 2002" photography competition at the Art Council in Baber Mahal.

How many times can this county’s scenery sit and pose for you? Oh how many times can you manufacture that heightened artificiality of colours from slides? The blue is bluer than the normal blue. The green is greener than the green green grass of home. Greener than envy. But what’s there to envy? Himalayan 2002 will certainly become Himalayan 2003 and clones of this year’s photos will most likely appear to horrify the innocent next year.

The blue sky in the photo entitled "Arrival at Trashi Labtsa Pass - Rolwaling Himal", of one winner, Cronelius Krohn, is bluer than the most deeply fantasized blue and the green of Klaus Kohler’s (another winner), "Emerald lake" (between Karo La-Pass and Gyantse) is greener than the eye’s natural green. The shots of buckwheat harvest, bathing a statue in front of a temple, Maha Shivaratri in Pashupatinath, Tibetan woman etc., the geographical terrain of these photos running through Tibet, Ladakh and the higher reaches of Nepal, disturb the mind as commodities. Once a commodity, then the predictable, the tried and trusted fall into place. The obviously layered and chosen images are carefully structured to give the landscape an enthralling and picture postcard feel, and the people a fixed address, colourful in their translated poverty, the underlying subtext in all of these competition photos.

A great number of them suggest an impulse towards onanism. A narcissistic level of pleasure and voyeuristic approach taken, by the photographers, to release a controlled image and a numbed sensation. It is noticeably decadent. And the photos are frail. Frail in their failure to show any irony at all, even a hint, which could have saved them from being the doctored pieces they are. Frozen gestures, frozen hands.

In contrast. Impact of change. Where one exhibition shows a static pastoral set, the other hints at a more furious disjunction. "Thela Tales" by Dinesh Rai (part of the NPS show), narrates the changing clash of a daily moment repeated, people shown in contrast to a sense of inevitable fracture. The photo has the voyeuristic, the narcissistic but as reflective content. The images on the wall (an image within an image) show an urban society's willingness to absorb shots of the subliminally sexual message. It is a random look on society itself, on how it will always remain, perhaps involuntarily, active to the randomness of life and its charged images. Basanta Thapa’s "Breaking a new dawn" has the feel of a Samuel Palmer print. Nick Dawson’s "The look" throws a challenge at the camera and through that, the viewer.

More than just a moment clicked. Form, content, space used to define a moment. More than just capturing the fleeting. It is acknowledging the flow of eternal recurrence. As long as we are here we must recognize the infinite within the finite. We must show our frailties in front of god’s camera.

going local in Sirubari

By Arjun Karki

If we ask the average tourist the purpose of their visit to this land the reply will invariably be trekking, sightseeing, rafting or jungle safari. A few may mention shopping and pilgrimage. But that is not enough to touring in Nepal. If they want to learn a little about the Nepalese tradition and its culture they have to go to the Nepalese villages. There are more than 4000 villages in Nepal, holding 95.80% of the total population. Nepalese culture and traditions are still preserved in the villages. Earlier, it was almost impossible for tourists to know the locals and their traditions.

For a couple of years now, the Nepalese tourism market has a new concept of Community Based Village Tourism (CBVT), which is now an important part of it.

But what does village tourism refer to? Village tourism refers to tourists staying in or near a village, preferably an unspoiled traditional village, to learn about and experience village life. This kind of tourism involves the provision of local style accommodation, locally produced food items on the menu and the organisation of the visitor’s participation in village activities. The villagers provide accommodation in their own homes, operate the tourist facilities and services, and receive direct economic benefit from expenditure.

The possibilities of community based village tourism in Nepal is very high. We have more than four thousand villages with different cultures and traditions. The concept of village tourism is sustainable tourism that is directly operated by, and for the benefit, of the local communities. Living close to the family gives the feeling of being a part of a community for the time that visitors are there. The meals are taken with the family and this avoids the need for restaurants to be built especially for the tourists.

Sirubari, Nepal’s first model tourist village designed to experience village life, lies in the western part of Syangja district. Sirubari village is a short drive and walk from Pokhara, the major tourist centre for the Annapurna region. It is reached from the road to Lumbini, the birthplace of the Buddha. Situated at approximately 1700 metres, the landscape of Sirubari is unique as the topography varies from agricultural fields to steep land features.

The village offers a unique experience for foreign visitors in a ‘Home Stay’ which enables them to stay with the family not as a guest, but as a member of the family. Not only that, they become members of that community. The villagers welcome the visitors with flowers and Panche Baza (traditional Nepalese music).

Approximately sixty percent of the households in Sirubari actively participate in accommodating tourists. In addition, the surrounding communities feel the benefits directly both by employment and in supplying the additional food required. These surrounding communities are indirectly gaining benefits from the development of infrastructures such as telephone and electricity.

A nursery, considered as one of the model nurseries in Nepal, is located near the village. It covers 500 hectares of land rich with a wide variety of colourful flora and fauna. It is an ideal place for a picnic, camping and suitable for bird watching and wild life observation. It also has the highest hill in Syangja district. It takes about one and half hours to climb it from the village. Paved stones line the trail. The peak is a natural vantage point for a panoramic view of the western Himalayan peaks. Also, from the top one can clearly view the magnificent scenery of the Anadikhola and Draun Khola’s river basin. Both of these rivers are popular for fishing. Other attractions are a monastery or Gompa located in the core of village, Maidan Kharka, Punchamul school etc.

Colourful festivals are celebrated throughout the year including Dashain, Tihar, Maghe Sakranti, Phagu Purnima, Baishak Purnima, Teej and Losar, the New Year of the Gurung community which is also a great festival.

The family that you belong to offers home cooked food, which is traditional but hygienically prepared and delicious. Visitors can have their meal with the members of the family, as they are a part of them. The village has been awarded the gold medal by the Pacific Asian Travel Agents (PATA), for its cultural heritage. Now, Sirubari is one of the most attractive destinations for both domestic and foreign tourists.

Sirubari is a perfect living example of eco-cultural tourism in Nepal.

And why?

For a start, unlike so many other forms of tourism, it is unique that a large proportion of the income from tourists visiting the village goes directly to the local community. The typical portion retained is as high as 50% of the selling price. Other services, such as transport are also obtained locally resulting in around 70% of the package price staying in the district. Much of the income is used by the locals in improving their environment.

One of the disturbing aspects of Nepalese society is the erosion of cultural traditions, particularly amongst the ethnic communities. The loss of language, religion and culture is a great tragedy for a country such as Nepal with its wide range of ethnic groups with their rich and unique culture.

Visitors are keenly interested in experiencing the traditional life and values of communities that they visit.

Also, as long as the tourists are attracted to Sirubari, the villagers have to develop the various infrastructures within the village to be a tourist village, which may otherwise have not appeared. The most obvious examples are the hygienic bathrooms and toilets that are mandatory for a household to have in order to be included in the roster of homes open to tourists. While facilities are provided for the tourist the villagers themselves also obviously use them on a day to day basis. And there is an additional advantage to the health of the community from the use of these self-developed resources. Other facilities like electricity and telephone are additions that improves the life style of the locals.

In the past, touring in Nepal was meant for either trekking along the trail or staying in specially built hotels. Getting to know the locals and their culture was almost nonexistent. After practising village tourism, it has become easy to explore the village’s traditional culture and at the same time the Nepalese tourism industry has gained a new market.

splash, bar and grill

Spost

Radisson, known for its exuberance and interesting events and festivals, has now, once again, come up with the unexpected — it has added its new outlet — the Splash Bar & Grill on the sixth floor much to the satisfaction of those on the lookout for a new place for a quite drink and meal, with friendly ambience and a welcoming gesture instead of certain overcrowded and loud bars. This is definitely a refreshing change if you’ve been waiting for one.

The highlights of The Splash Bar & Grill — a wonderful 180 degree natural view of the surroundings with hills and mountains (Ganesh Himal being one of them) that can be seen on a clear day. The swimming (on the fifth floor) is right below the bar. In the evenings, you can see the lights below spread out like a bright carpet and enjoy the serenity.

Assistant PR Manager, Prerna Rai, says, "The Splash Bar and Grill at the Radisson Hotel is different, it’s like being some place else! Well, firstly it is on the 6th floor and therefore offers a spectacular panoramic view of the hills, mountain range and the city below. The Latino music played here blends well with the ambience and of course, the food is a menu full of delights! It is a perfect place to loosen up, watch the sunset - a retreat in the midst of the city but far from the madding crowd".

Apart from the various drinks like cocktails, wine, beer and other beverages, you can place an order of your choice of light dishes like Chicken fajitas for Rs 375, Thai Chicken salad for Rs 375, Vegetable Teriyaki for Rs 345 with the choice of dips, Sour Cream, Mint Chutney or Ranch.

There is a Splash soup (with mixed meats, vegetables and noodles) Rs 275 for a bowl and Rs 185 for a cup. Also Sandwiches (Ham ‘n’ Cheese with Wine Picked Onions & Olives for Rs 325), Burgers (Fish and mustard lemon for Rs 350), Grilled pork chops, veggies and apple honey foe Rs 475.

Under a blue sky or a dark night sky, it’s easy to feel on top of the world.

mandarin’s august moon

Spost

The August Moon Festival, from Sep 28 to Oct 7, is drawing to an end. If you don’t want to miss your chance, go to the Mandarin this evening, at The Everest Hotel and be a part of the final day celebrations.

According to Chinese legend, Chang O, an inquisitive wife of a Chinese builder, was banished to the moon for asking the wrong question at the wrong time. >From the moon, The Moon Goddess Chang O, shows her kindness to the world, regretting her curiosity. The Chinese have been celebrating this festival for over a thousand years, they eat moon cakes looking at the moon after harvesting. In that space of time a huge number of delicacies have been invented.

The man behind this exquisite cuisine is Chef Xiao Bing from Chengdu (the chef’s home town back in China), from where all the Chinese spices are brought over to Mandarin. The menu, a special one exclusively prepared for the celebration, has interesting creations and that particular taste one might be looking for. For appetizers, you can start with Crisp Prawns with chicken and toast at Rs 650 or Fried fish with scallion sauce for Rs 275.

The setting of the restaurant allows you ample room to take that special trip and you can always wander to the balcony to enjoy the food out in the open, on the top most floor of the hotel, with the city spread out below you, and the festive moon above you.

Soups are an all time favourite particularly while enjoying Chinese food. There is Sea food purple seawood soup for Rs 200 and then you can go onto the main course with Four flavour prawns at Rs 650, Stewed duck with wine sauce at Rs 450. For Vegetarains, or if you want some vegetarian dishes, you can try Fried Green Beans with garlic sauce at Rs 200 or Fried sliced cucumber and black fungus for the same price. There is Braised rice with potato for Rs 175 and Sea food noodles in stock at Rs 200.

new dimensions in tourism

By Damodar Prasad bhatt

Tourism is the largest industry in the world today. It has played a significant role in the economies of several countries in the world. Eco tourism is a new dimension in the tourism arena. Although it is considered to be a new phenomenon, it is not as new as we think. It is as old as the time of Charles Darwin. He used to take regular trips, both to the Pacific islands and the sea shore both to relax and learn about sea creatures. But at that time the name ecotourism was not given to his tours. It was a Mexican conservationist Hector Ceballos Lascurain, who gave birth to this enthusiastic philosophy and gave the name ecotourism in 1988. It is he who brought it into existence. But what is ecotourism?

Lascurian defines ecotourism as "...travelling to relatively undisturbed natural areas with the specific object of studying, admiring and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural aspects found in these areas." But it will be appropriate to put here a couple of definitions to understand what ecotourism is. According to the Ecotourism Society of Queensland "Ecotourism is nature based tourism that involves education and interpretation of natural environment and manages to be ecologically sustainable. Meanwhile the definition put forward by Richardson 1993 defines ecotourism as "ecologically sustainable tourism in natural areas that interprets local environment and culture, furthers the tourists understanding of them, fosters conservation and adds to well being of local community."

There are many such definitions but if we extract the essence, what comes out is that ecotourism is that form of tourism which involves travel and learning about natural areas and an in depth study of nature.

But one thing here is very clear, ecotourism is distinctly a new form of tourism. It is quite different from mass tourism, closer to nature tourism. Ecotourism possesses certain distinguishing features which makes it different from other forms of tourism. Particularly its features like conservation of nature, involvement of local communities, sustainable use of natural resources and preservation of local culture.

Its focus on nature conservation and positive contribution to the construction of natural areas, involving the local community in conservation, assisting them to earn their living and boost the local economy, its sensitivity to local culture and respect for the social and cultural values, the sustainable use of natural resources, all make it different from mass tourism or mainstream tourism.

Ecotourism is considered to have many benefits. The most significant is that it teaches us to conserve nature and educates local people to make sustainable use of environment resources. Meanwhile it is the source of foreign exchange for the national economy and an additional source of earning to local people. It provides employment opportunities to local people.

Besides these, ecotourism has other benefits too. It helps to increase cultural awareness, because ecotourism guidelines insist ecotourists not to do anything to hurt the local traditions, beliefs, values, ethics and religious feelings of indigenous people.

Ecotourism today has became a worldwide phenomenon. It has been equally popular from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Ecotourism has been given due importance in the countries of central and north America and Brazil as well as in many South American countries. Similarly significant work has been done in Australia and Japan. But the most significant and pioneering work in the field of ecotourism has been done in the countries of central America, Mexico, the Caribbean and Brazil. These countries have gained substantial earnings from ecotourism and nature conservation, not the least in foreign exchange.

Nepal, too, has immense potential in ecotourism particularly in the field of conservation. Since conservation is the focus of ecotourism, we can do a lot in this field. But little has been done so far in this area. Nepal is rich in biodiversity with its 118 biodiversity zones, most of which are mountain biodiversity zones. We have forest areas, conservation zones, National parks, a significant number of wetlands and pristine snow peaks. However a lot still needs to be done in the field of ecotourism.

There are a few projects running, but results are yet to come. Despite the work of ACAP, ally of KMTNC (King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation) in the Annapurna area, the Manaslu Area Conservation Project (MCAP) in Gorkha district, the SPCC (Sagarmatha Pollution Control Committee) in the Sagarmatha area, ecotourism in Nepal is in its very infant stage and has yet to gain mass popularity.

shova and the saint

By Vidya Prasad Upadhyay Gautam

She had been married for three years. She was now seventeen. Her husband was a normal man, as she had hoped. Like any other husband, he should be normal, she had always thought. Her home, in a village in the lower Himalayan slope, was nice and like everybody else's.

Her husband gave her love whenever he had time. He too had his own obsessions. He had his own friends to attend to.

Shova, her name meant the beauty of the home. When she was married, it was a joint family, and there were members in the home. She was only like one of the sheep in the flock. Obviously she had her field work to attend to, and also domestic work, a routine from day-break till evening and there was not much left for her that was personal. It was team work and a team life. Her husband and she did not even have a separate room to sleep in. Meeting him was a top secret thing done occasionally amid the night’s darkness, somewhere, maybe, outside.

Shova, all of a sudden, came to realise that she was pregnant. Pregnant at the age of seventeen was a normal thing in the community, but she felt a bit shy. Shyly, she told her husband, and then everybody in the home and community came to know.

Shova did not know much about her husband, Bharat’s, reaction to it. They did not have much time to be together alone. Whenever they had, he did not speak much.

Bharat was 21 at the time, a mature man for her, she thought.

Shova did not think it at all that her pregnancy could be much of a problem for the family. Other women in the home like her had been pregnant, and given birth. Shova had heard that it could be painful sometimes for women, but this she decided to ignore, as she did not have much time to think. By the evening she was tired and in a hurry to go to sleep.

But what happened next was quite unexpected. Bharat suddenly disappeared, when she was six months pregnant. Where he disappeared to became a matter of gossip in the village.

At the village tea-shop, men from the more well-to-do families often gathered for tea, and also for gossip.

"He left, the chicken-hearted man, for fear of assuming responsibility for his pregnant wife," one man said.

"I know he was a spiritual kind of man. He revered saint Gyan Dil Das. I believe he went somewhere only to become a monk," another man put in his opinion.

"He might have gone to India to start a new life, earn money and get a new wife," another added.

Shova, on her part, had known about the gossip, as they were held time and again even at home. She wept all the time, but there was little she could do. Nobody at home suggested that they should search for him. Shova herself could not do such a thing. Her femininity came in the way. She was well aware of the limitations of being a Brahmin woman.

Ultimately the time came when she had labour pains. She gave birth to a child. It was a boy.

Shova, when looking at him, always thought him to be a fatherless child, how his future would be like. She wondered. The family was large, she wondered if they would assume the responsibility of a fatherless child. She knew it well that the ultimate responsibility would be her own and nobody else’s.

On the appointed day, the Brahmin priest came home, and amid the Vedic rhymes, gave him the name Achyut, meaning, ‘the boy who made no mistakes’. Shova felt like laughing, it was true that the boy had made no mistake, other than that he had come into the scene at the wrong time and at the wrong place.

Women who met her told her, "It is true that your problem is large, you should be firm and set all your goals on your child, as you have in him the representative of your husband."

Shova very well knew that her son was the representative of her husband, but she did not know how she had to set herself to cope with the seemingly insurmountable problems ahead. Sometimes she felt like fainting.

One day she took her son to her parental home. Both her parents had died long before, only her brothers and their consorts were there. Shova came to realise that her brothers and their wives looked at her child with indifference. She lost all hope of their being any help for him.

Was her child Achyut an orphan. Yes, and no, she thought both ways at different times. He was an orphan because he was fatherless by birth, and she was helpless and also he was not an orphan, because his mother was alive, and all sensible.

At the age of 19, she was brimming with youthfulness. There were obviously times when some male youths made romantic overtures on her, but she brushed them all aside. Being a Brahmin, she was not supposed to have any relationship with any such man, if she ever did, and if it was ever known, she would definitely be downgraded, she would loss her caste status for ever.

Her son’s future lay with her. She was also aware of the fact that despite all her restraint, she was, in her absence spoken of in a degrading manner. However, she knew that she had no other way than to put up with it all.

She counted the months and years. She knew that one day her son would grow into a young man, and she also knew that as the days approached, her own days would be gone, she would, by then, be faded.

Her son was seven when a monk came to her village. He wore saffron robes and stayed in a temple shade in the village. He said that he was from West Nepal, and that Saint Gyan Dil Dass was his guru. He was drawn to the village with the intention of seeing the village where the saint lived. The monk seemed robust and youthful despite the sermons he gave to the villagers who flocked to the temple to offer prayers.

The little alms that the village women brought for him was enough for his upkeep. He did not go about begging in the village as other monks, known as yogis, did, but he did visit homes of people and gossiped with them about spiritual matters. He came to Shova’s home too, and to see her son he was drawn towards him. He simply told the boy that now he was seven, he should see sense, and that he should, in future, strive towards spiritual attainment, which was the goal of every good Brahmin. The interaction between the yogi and the boy was seen by Shova, the family members, and other villagers also, who had gathered there for some purpose or other.

Strangely, soon enough, words flowed from mouth to mouth that the monk was nobody else but the husband of Shova in disguise. Word reached Shova’s ears too. The villagers knew that the monk had never made any attempt to approach her alone, so they asked her opinion about it.

She kept quiet for a day or two. Then she spoke out. She said that she too thought that he could be her lost husband, but to make sure, she wanted to see the scar mark on his back, which she could recognize unmistakably. If only she could ever get the opportunity of seeing his back.

The villagers made plans to catch hold of the monk, and let Shova see his bare back, The plan, too, reached the ears of every villager, and, with them, the monk came to know of the intrigue.

So, one night, the monk secretly moved away from the village before it was too late, lest the villagers catch hold of him, and bare his back.

Shova with her son, once again, was left to her own devices.

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