A photo exhibition
Unusual facets of usual themes

"Through the pictures we are trying to make people see the unique aspects of familiar things. Most of the photos here tell us about our culture and heritage."

Patan museum. The photographers couldn’t have chosen more appropriate venue for their exhibition. The photos that hung on the walls of the museum were more than mere photographs. The photographers had captured the extraordinary facets of ordinary things. Usually common eyes overlook such things in people, place, statues or any object. Intricate designs in the hand of a statue, close-up photo of Buddha’s feet, the Kumaris of Patan and Bhaktapur bedecked with traditional jewelry and attire. Some pictures like those of the leaping flames, a hand carrying sukunda and traditional Nepali latch were unusually beautiful. The subjects, by themselves were nothing unusual and too
familiar for anyone to see beauty in them. But their photos had the capacity to make one see them through a new perspective.

The photographs in display clearly spoke that they were taken by people who are more than good photographers. And it is true. The people (Amrit Bajracharya, Sabin Raj Baidya, Binod Ratna shakya, Rusam Amatya, Ram Krishna Maharjan and Phalsaman Shakya) who took those shots are sculptures and artists. This is the reason why they have been able to see and shoot those aspects of their subject matters which casual viewers, even good photographers either fail to see or simply neglect. Sabin Raj Baidya, one of the photographers as well as a metal sculpture said, "Through the pictures we are trying to make people see the unique aspects of familiar things. Most of the photos here tell us about our culture and heritage."

The exhibition also had photographs taken by Kenichi Komatsu, a Japanese freelance photo journalist. Komatsu is also a lecturer at Modern Photography Institute, Tokyo. Komatsu and other Nepali photographers have jointly formed a Japan-Nepal Photographic Exchange Society. The society will hold photography competition among Japanese and Nepali students of photography from time to time. The photographic exchange society also has a long term plan of opening a photography institute where people can acquire the skills essential for good photographers.

Amrit Bajracharya, who learnt photography with Komatsu at Modern Photography Institute said "Photographs cannot completely replace text but it can be a valuable tool for those who want to learn and teach. Photographs can illustrate things in a pleasant, vivid and memorable way." According to him, special skills are required to take meaningful photographs "In order to shoot a good picture, it is essential to take training in Photography. One should learn how to edit photos as well," he added.

Nepali photographers and the field of photography in general have a long way to go. Meaningful photographs are a rare sight here both in newspapers and other media. Whatever the photographic scenario here, one feels optimistic about the future of photography in Nepal after one sees the exhibition held by Japan-Nepal Photographic Exchange Society (JNPES).

Cane Craft

What kind of furniture do you prefer for your home? If you like to give your living space a cosy touch you can go for cane furniture. From essential to accessory furniture, you will get a wide selection to choose from. They give a natural and lively touch to your home. You can furnish your bedroom, dining room, living room and even your balcony and lawn with these light yet tough furniture.

In Nepal cane furniture probably came from India during the Rana period. Their popularity hasn’t exactly catapulted since that era but people are slowing giving them space in their homes, offices and outdoor spaces. Today there are numerous cane industries within and outside the Kathmandu valley. "Sundar cane and bamboo industries" at Sorakhutte have provided the kathmanduties with cane goods for over a decade. Dharma Thapa, is the second generation in the Thapa family who has given continuity to this trade.

"We import cane from Silguri, India. What is available locally is not sufficient," says Dharma. "Previously there were more Indian workers working in cane industries than today. Now the local craftsmen have learnt the skills required to make bamboo furniture and they are gradually replacing the Indian workers," he added

There are different qualities of cane and they have different names in Nepali like fayakla, gauri, riding, pani bet etc. The cane is not hollow inside and it gains its strength from the fibers that run lengthwise through it like a multi-strand cable. It has amazing flexibility. It will bend but unlike wood, it will not snap or splinter. Due to these qualities the cane makes an excellent furniture material.

"Canes sticks come with various diameters. Thick canes are usually used to make the load-bearing parts of the furniture. Delicate ones are twisted and turned to decorate furniture with exquisite patterns," said Dharma. "Like iron, after heating, a piece of cane can be bent and twisted into various shapes. This is the reason why we can make heavy furniture like king-sized bed to big cupboards and chest of drawers out of cane," he added.

Cane can pick different colours easily. For those who prefer other colours instead of cane’s natural colour, they have a choice. They can paint their furniture with the colour they like by themselves or order the manufacturers to do that for them.

Maintenance of cane furniture is easy. Fire and water are two of its worst enemies so do not let your furniture come into their contact. Cane has natural resistance to vermin and a coat of varnish keeps them at bay. If furniture is lacquered once a year, it will look good for the whole year round. If your piece of furniture needs mending, you can take them to a cane workshop. Most of the workshops provide repairing facilities.

Price of cane goods depends upon the quality of cane and design of the furniture. Custom designed furniture naturally cost more than the mass-produced ones. You can order for specially designed furniture to fit in your living space or buy pieces you fancy. If you are thinking of dumping your bulky furniture and go for something sturdy, mobile and beautiful, you can pick cane furniture.

Night sky in December

DR DEEPAK RAJ PANT

The sky-map shows the sky as seen from Kathmandu at 11:00 PM tonight. Put the map over your head facing downwards so that the directions north, south, east and west are correctly orientated. The zenith is the point in the sky directly over your head and indicated by a cross in the centre of the map. The horizon is the great circle where the sky meets the ground. Correlate the sky-map with the heavenly objects you spot in the sky. Planets, stars and constellations can be easily recognised by their brighter stars. Larger dots show brighter stars and small dots show fainter stars. The lines reveal the constellations and the name situates the planet. The table gives the brighter celestial objects name, position and constellation.

Stars and planets travel westward during the night. Most celestial objects rise and set. Star Vega has zero magnitude (Mg). Comparing with the star Vega, stars having 2 Mg and 1 Mg are 6.3 and 2.5 times dimmer; and stars having -2 Mg and -1 Mg are 6.3, and 2.5 times brighter respectively. Azimuth (Az) is the angular distance measured from north towards eastward around the horizon. Altitude (Alt) is the angular distance of a star above the horizon. Stars are classified as: supergiants, giants and main sequence; and are in comparison to the sun about 5000 times, 200 times and 10 times more luminous.

The spot on the northern horizon sky is the familiar Big Dipper (Constellation: Ursa Minor) which has two lowest pointer stars that points in the direction of the Pole star (Az: 358 degree, Alt: 28 degrees), marked by a cross in the map giving you the North direction. On the central-northeastern sky lies the giant star Capella. Do not miss to watch for the brightest celestial object in the sky, the marvelous planet Jupiter, which will dominate the eastern horizon sky and nearby is the bright giant star Aldebaran. Jupiter is the largest and most massive planet (11.2 times bigger and 318 times massive then the earth) that makes up 70 percent of all the planetary matter in the solar system. The colorful (ranging from reddish-pink to blue-gray), complex, intriguing and fuzzy details of Jupiter is not bright enough to be seen by the unaided eye. You will need a powerful binocular or good telescope. Numerous bright and dark spots are visible, the largest and most famous of these is the Great Red Spot (a large circulating atmospheric disturbance). A unique appearance and a special beauty planet Saturn, which is the second largest planet (9.5 times bigger and 95 times massive then the earth) of our solar system, is unmistakabely observable on the central-eastern sky. With improved telescopes, the sight of Saturn’s rings are spell binding and the onlooker is rendered speechless in wonder and inquires "Where do the rings comes from?" Even veteran astronomers are still looking for the answer because there are many features of the rings that are not yet well understood although the Voyager 2 image has shown that the rings compose of many individual ringlets. Viewers can easily locate in the southeastern sky: the brightest star Sirius, which is a main sequence star; and the very faraway supergaint star Betelgeuse. Glimpse the rising and setting spectacular event of giant stars in the southeastern sky, the star Achernar is emerging while the star Canopus is disappearing below the horizon. The southern sky display dazzling, furthest of all stars at a distance 815 light years, the supergaint star Rigel.

The sun appears to move among the stars following an ecliptic path and it’s position shown in the sky-map by SS (summer solstice) marks the beginning of summer (June 21) and on March 21 moves to VE (vernal equinox). During the month of December, the sun passes from Scorpius to Sagittarius. Today the moon (Rises: 2:46am, Sets: 2:43pm, Illumination: 9.3 percentage) is 26.62 days old and has the phase Waning Crescent. Tomorrow the sun rises: 6:22am, sets: 4:53pm and the astronomical twilight time begins: 4:57am, ends: 6:18pm.

Yoga: Science of living

ARJUN JAISAWAL

Yoga is an ancient science developed by the yogis (wise men) in the sylvan surrounding of the Himalayas. The yogis have managed to develop it by observing and learning from their greatest teacher - Nature. Now centuries later, the need for the ancient science of yoga is acute. People are finally coming to realise that they desire more peace in their daily lives. We are emerging into a new way of living, which includes affectionate teamwork rather than competition and relaxation than stress. Yoga, the insurance for longevity and good health, has the answer to the myriad problems besetting man in modern times. The yogis have succeeded in discovering how the body works and how they could consciously direct their energies towards sustaining health, vigour and prolongation of their life span.

The word ‘Yoga’ originates from ‘Yuj Samadhao’ that means ‘Union with the Supreme Being’. Yoga, through its eight simple steps, encourages ceasing the activities of the mind. It is a state of detachment from the material world and getting in touch with material trappings of life. It allows stretching the physical body in a way, which promotes better health and development of the mind and soul. It bestows the fulfilment of self-happiness, general well being and liberation from sufferings that has a massive effect on the body and mind itself. Problems such as stress, tension, tiredness, worries and headaches disappear. Yoga guides human beings on how to liberate from day to day sufferings and pains. The mind is place into complete relaxation to achieve inner joy and happiness in life. However, the ultimate goal of yoga is to attain self-realisation, a total transformation within the individual consciousness involving an entirely different way of experiencing the world and oneself.

The first trace of yoga is in a venerated book called Rigveda. The time of Rigveda is immemorial and the type of yoga that is practiced a combination of Raj yoga and Hatha yoga, which concentrates on controlling the senses through strength and physical purity, before it blossoms into spiritual realm and self-realisation. Origin of the Hatha yoga is believed to be by Adinath (Lord Shiva) who taught Hatha yoga to his wife Parbati. The yoga-Sutras of Patanjali, also known as the Raj Yoga, is about 5000 years old while the Hatha Yoga is 2000 years old. Nath Swami experienced self-realisation through the Hatha yoga.

Yoga Asanas (postures) are performed with a passive stretching action that keeps major joints, related ligaments and muscles flexible. Each Asana is designed to have a specific, beneficial effect upon the functioning of body. The Asana stretch affects the deep tissues, arteries, veins and capillaries. The action develops elasticity and suppleness in the spine region that is essential for a long and healthy life. It also exercises the brain, eyes, face, ears, nose, and every area of the body. In comparison to other physical exercises, yoga exercises are unparalleled for the development of both the mind and body. Latest research has shown that even a simple yoga posture such as the corpse posture can control high blood pressure and is capable of managing stress. Yoga is more beneficial than other physical exercises because of its deep influence within the body and mind structure and has no side effects whatsoever.

Yoga has a unique combination of Asanas and Pranayam, that has the potential to deeply affect the nervous system, including thirty one pairs of the nerve roots in the spinal cord, twelve pairs of nerves in the cranium autonomous nerve system. This combined system improves the high volume energy flow within the spine and up to top of the head (Crown Chakra). Almost all Asanas influences (directly or indirectly) the spinal cord (nervous system) and the abdominal area (digestive system). The nervous system is responsible for a healthy brain and round-the-clock activities of the body; the digestive system is responsible for the proper digestion of food to maintain a healthy body. If both systems are perfectly healthy, it greatly supports and encourages the high performance of remaining bodily systems. The respiratory system gets complete exercise and thus provides proper routes for the gaseous exchange that cures problems such as gastric, ulcer, indigestion, belching and acidity. Breathing exercises can treat asthma, bronchitis, headaches, high blood pressure, low blood pressure and many more.

Yoga is required to change our consciousness. As we know, the human is a multiple being, he has a heart to feel, a physical body to throw out its energies to affect its will, and, above all, a self to act as the true centre of his whole being. Yoga is the master key to unravel the mysteries of the universe. It is so because a yogi can be cultivated through yoga knowledge in arts, science and philosophies. This is not perdition or prophecy but intuitive men and women believe it because a yogi knows the true value of mental and spiritual health of human beings.

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