Same Eyes different glasses

By Suveksha Panta

As a person who was born in Nepal, but grew up in Australia, I believe I have had the experience of indulging in both cultures. Although I have been spending half my life in both countries, it was this time I realized the full value of my birthplace. When the plane glided over the mountain ranges as I entered Kathmandu a certain long hidden feeling swept over me. It was as if the lost key to the door of my heart opened and suddenly all the forgotten things were there to see. The white peaked mountains were silently calling my name, welcoming me to a place I had left behind. I felt such peace as I looked at those mountains and for a moment I was lost in a world I had never been before.

I stepped down from the plane at Tribhuvan International Airport and, as I looked around, I felt shocked. I stood there for a moment wondering if I was in the right place and then I looked back at the plane with a question on my face. I could not believe this was the place that had haunted my dreams for the past several years and I wanted to go back never to return. As my eyes adjusted to the sudden change, I then started to the valley and the mountains that surrounded it. Through the concrete jungle of houses, I could just see those bare peaks moaning out to me and begging me to come. I looked at them and silently told them I was back and started walking towards the airport. Although I have travelled from Australia to Nepal many times, the feelings I had that day had never happened. This time round I was much more mature and could understand the feelings of being back to the place where I call home, my birthplace.

When I was heading to my house, I looked towards the face of my parents and wondered if they had just shared the same experience. My thoughts which had been filled with stuff normal teenagers have had suddenly filled with many questions. The people standing besides the streets passed by and I tried to reach for some answers in their faces but all I could see was how occupied they were with their daily lives. I looked at the dull matchbox concrete high rise buildings and they just stared back at me with a forbidding look. I felt I did not belong to this place yet deep down in my heart the troubled soul had just settled.

The first few days I spent observing my own world. I started finding answers to my questions and soon I began to realize the value of my country to me. I think it was in these first few days when I came to Nepal that I left my childhood and entered into another phase of my life. Soon the streets and places became familiar and the strange city that was my own, turned to be mine.

The trips thought the Durbar Square in Kathmandu had an unusual effect on me. The first time I went down there, I studied each iatrical detail and realized how lucky I was. The infrastructure of the buildings down there and the culture, which soaked the place, touched the core of my heart. Just roaming through Kathmandu, seeing the temples and houses, which have withstood so many generations made me feel as though there was more to where I lived than just concrete structures. The carved wooden structures, which were made so passionately with the hands of Nepalese people so many years ago, seemed to be there for me to see. The fact that Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur had hypnotized me this time also came as a surprise for before I was never attached so much. I felt like I wanted to know every detail and personally look into each nook and cranny so that I could store it in the book of my heart.

It was these places and many more that simply took away my thoughts and each day seemed to be a new discovery to me. I could and still can take ages of my time going through all these ancient places so as to be a part of them and share if only for a moment their glory. The trip out of Kathmandu valley was the one that just simply took away the whole of my heart. Places that had never entered my dreams filled my eyes and for a moment, I felt I had accidentally stepped into heaven.

As I travelled through many parts of Nepal, I felt like a foreigner, visiting yet this was all mine. That single thought filled me with such pride that for moments I could hardly utter a word. The people around me seemed to all fade away as I indulged in the beauty of the country I had discovered. Each part of my journey brought me closer to my country and a long lost friend came back. From the place where Lord Buddha was born to the peaks of the Himalayas, Nepal is splashed with so much splendour and culture. The lifestyles of the people vary from one end to another and while travelling in the same country it feels like you have toured the world. The peaks of the Himalayas are in contrast to the flat grounds of the terai and yet they blend in so smoothly together and paint a perfect picture. I do not think any artist will be able to describe Nepal and I feel as if I have just said only a small percentage of the place.

Nepal and Australia are two different countries. I grew up in Australia but because Nepal is the place where I was born it bears a natural feeling for me. I know that I may go anywhere in the world and live there the rest of my life but whenever I come back to Nepal, it will welcome me with open arms as it is my home. I rediscovered myself when I came to Nepal and although people wonder why I came back, I am thankful for I found Nepal and Nepal found me.

Where all wishes are fulfilled: Manakamana

By Razen Manandhar

More than 200 year-old padoga temple of Manakamana Devi, located on the top of the Metre hill in Gorkha district, roughly 75 kms west of Kathmandu, is perhaps the most widely visited Hindu shrine outside the Kathmandu valley. The fresh environment of the green hill adds charm to visiting this holy place which has also cultural and archaeological values.

A two-storey temple is one among a few pagodas outside the capital. It has three doors in one side and latticed windows are in other three sides. There is no internal chamber (garbhagriha) in that temple. There is only one door to enter into this temple as two other doors always remain locked. Two copper roofs supported by newer wooden struts portray various aspects of goddess Manakamana and lifestyles of ordinary people.

The idol has become formless, laid under piles of rice grains, flowers and other offerings. Uniqueness of the idol lies in its positioning. Generally, deity’s idol is positioned on the wall opposite to main entrance. But here, it is placed in the middle facing the right hand side of the temple. A dozen of antiquated arms are stored in one corner of the temple. According to a helper of the temple, they belong to the early Shah kings who often visited the temple to pay homage to goddess Manakamana.

However, the date of Manakamana temple’s origin of can only be found in legends only. According to a popular legend, the wife of the 15th century King Ram Shah was turned out to be a goddess and the temple was built by King Ram Shah himself. Some say the temple became popular due to tantric power of Ram Shah’s priest Lakhan Thapa.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah of Gorkha was a devotee of Manakamana and he offered spacial pooja to the goddess before carrying out attacks on neighbouring states. He had established trusts so that the religious rites in the temple might continue in future. He also offered a big bell to the temple in 1771 (later replaced by priest Kulman Thapa in 1893). The present pagoda has been renovated by numerous devotees. Nobleman Surbir Rana offered golden gates to the temple in 1802 . King Surendra renovated its upper roof in 1867, while the lower roof was restored by King Mahendra in 1967.

According to historians, priests of Manakamana have a sort of affiliation with the priests of Nuwakot Bhairav. They are taught by Bajracharya priests. This shows that goddess Manakamana is "animated" by the enlightened priests of Bajrayan Buddhism.

This is one among a few temples in the whole country where Magars are priests.

Pilgrims offer foodgrains, flowers, fruits and coconuts to the goddes with a strong belief that their wishes are fulfilled. They also release couples of pigeons and sacrifice cocks and he goats.

The shrine of Bakreshwor is another shrine of the hill. The formless stone is prayed as Shiva but people offer animal sacrifices to it in the form of Bhairav. People believe that the idol can cure mentally retarded children and those with curved limbs.

King Prithvi Narayan Shah has not only made trust for the pooja of Bakreshwor but also for priest Lakhan Thapa. People sacrifice animals to the cave where they believed the enlightened priest disappeared.

Newars, motivated by the possibility of business in the periphery of the temple, form a small community, though the hill itself belong to Magar community. Most of them run guest house offering beds, breakfast and dal-bhat. And they also run shops of pooja ingredients. Similarly, the butchers who clean sacrificed chickens and he-goats make a good business in winter.

Until the cable car was operated, pilgrims had to hike for five to eight hours from Anbu Khaireni to this temple, where the locals of the hill had enjoyed selling their bamboo hats, wooden utensils and milk products.

The establishment of Nepal’s first cable car service between Chares and Manankamana has brought a big change in the local economy. Obviously, the number of pilgrims and economic activities rose tremendously. Even for disabled, aged and children, the visit to Manakamana turned into a 30 minutes two way ride by the cable car.

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