Babas at Pashupatinath Temple in ShivaRatri

My friend was leaving for Australia today from Tribhuvan International Airport and I was struggling to catch him at the airport in the morning. I left home in hurry but all the roads in that area were blocked for facilitating the devotees, who have come to the capital city from all around the country and even from India. I missed my friend but the scene was worth it. One of the busiest, if not the busiest road of Kathmandu was on a halt. There were hardly any vehicle and the street was crowded with people all moving toward the pious place. And there were not just old people who find it an occasion to get out of their houses. There was an equal participation from young people as well.

There are various customs related with MahaShivaRatri. Local kids block roads in their neighborhood with ropes and collect "festival tax" from the people passing by. Many people all around the country consume ganja dhaturo and other natural intoxicating matters to celebrate the birthday of their favorite god. In fact, it is believed that these natural herbs where the favorite diets of the almighty himself that is the reasons why his disciples - the "babas" are seen all around Pashupatinath temple pumping clouds of cannabis. Many foreigners also take good advantage of the liberal occasion. Lots of people, especially women stay awake the whole night, praying and recalling the deeds of Lord Shiva.

Shiva is worshipped as the symbol of power and destruction. Royal Nepalese Army also celebrates ShivaRatri as the "Army Day", with a grand function at Tundikhel.They invite the royalties, high ranked officials and foreign guests for a well prepared parade and other entertaining shows. They also offer a cannon salute in honor of the auspicious day. Almost all corners of the parade ground fence are filled with common spectators.

Home of the Lord Celebrates posted by Pradeep Chand @ 11:25 PM  1 comments

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February 21, 2006- On the way to my workplace, I was amazed by the volume of crowd I encountered near Dashratha Rangashala, the national stadium. These days it is not a new sight as such masses are quite often seen on the streets protesting against the current government. But this time it was different. They were there as spectators of the Martyr's Memorial San Miguel League "A" Division Final match.

At present state, when Nepal has been struck with political and economical turbulences and all the other sectors lying helplessly, Nepalese sports council stands out exemplarily. They have significantly improved the level of professionalism in Soccer and Cricket. The jam packed final stadium, with more than 1 lack 20 thousand spectators was the proved it. Skillful players from African countries are accepting contracts with various clubs like Manang Marshyangdi and Brigade Boys. I was specially impressed by the prizes that were awarded in the tournament. It had never been this huge. Manang Marshyangdi, the victorious team, received NRs. 10,00,000 and the runner ups were given 7 and 5 lacks each. And the highlight of the day was the "best player of the tournament" award. Upendra Man Singh, a brilliant goal-keeper of 3-star club and ex-captain of our national football team, got the big prize- a Toyota Car, worth NRs. lacks and 50 thousand. Other five exclusive players received a Yamaha motorcycle each.

Nepali Cricket Team may not be a formidable opponent in the World cricket arena but when it comes to Under-19 games, we are among the bests. Nepalese U-19 cricket team got victory over the mighty test playing nation New Zealand and won its first World Cup Cricket Plate Championship. Nepal also beat South Africa another nation with test playing status in the semis by 2 runs. Under the training of Coach Roy Dias from Sri Lanka, youngsters have really grown up as mature cricketers and are paving the path for bight future ahead at international level.

The sporting heroes of Nepal have set up an example of the level that can be achieved when we focus on what are doing and what we should do in the best interest of the country.

Sports sector stands out posted by Pradeep Chand @ 11:21 PM  0 comments

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Had heard a lot about voting but never had an experience. Well, this was my chance. A perfect voting day for me... Government holiday, voting spot within a hundred yard distance from my door and a familiar local brother as a candidate. Couple of years back, I hated politics and didn't even want to talk about it. Thus, obviously, did not vote even when no one was against it. You may wander what brought this change. Yeah! me too. May be it is the Citizen Rights movement brought up by the people who are boycotting the election. Nice joke huh!

Okay... now here is what happened during the day. I had just completed my meal and I heard someone calling my name from the road. It was none other than my candidate bro. There were 5-6 other friends around him and they were moving towards the voting camp. It was happening at a school nearby. Maoists were against the local elections and so were the seven-party alliance. And they had a well-built proof with them that the people were with them. They had called "Nepal Banda" for a week.

Ah! Then I went out towards the hotspot with my voting slip and there they were... my local gang. The school gate was crowded with people and the school was very well decorated. It looked as if there was some fete going on. (The decoration was for "Saraswati Puja" few days back). The security was tight. There were Para-military guards all around the place. Even on top of neighboring roofs. As I reached near the gate, one of the guys asked me if I had already voted. As soon as I shook my head, he led me in the school.

When I first saw the ballot paper, I lost my focus among those numerous symbols. Then I called a police standing nearby and asked him where "lattai" (the symbol I had to vote on) was. He assisted me well. I put the "swastika" stamp on the symbol and started to fold the paper. I did not know that I could vote for many people on the same paper. The police guy asked me to stamp on others too. And since I didn't know on which to vote, he suggested me remaining ones.

Then I stood there with guys for some time and it was time for tiffin. We were being treated by our "Man of the day". We were not the only ones. The security guards and election officials were also entertained. Well... overall it was fun. At the end of the day, there were about 600 votes in the ballot box, about 35 % of the total voters. It would have been way less but thanks to the brilliant tricks of few fellows, many of the guys got to vote up to 5 times.

I know that this election is of no significance but I am glad that I made the difference that I could. You may say I'm a cheat but I refuse. We have the right to vote that person who is most beneficial to us. That is the fundamental of all the elections. Thus, I carry the ink mark on my thumbnail.

Ink mark on my thumbnail posted by Pradeep Chand @ 2:02 AM  3 comments

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Nepal... the united orchard built of cultural diversity; the uniformity among multiplicity. There are many factors that bind Nepali people together. May be it's their patriotism or the common King but the key element that has helped various cultures and creed intermingle and accept each other is the Universal language of Music.

Music lies in the vary soul of Nepali culture. It represents the humming of a farmer cultivating his land. It represents the drumming of military soldiers. It embraces the cry of a woman waiting for her husband to return from abroad and the heart-crunching reminiscence of a "Lahure Dai" waiting to return to his home. Music pictures the hope that festivals bring into the heart of a child; burden to his poor father and painful convincing of the mother. Music reflects religion, society, development, situation, people and Nepal.

Along with beautiful assortment in landscape, class, culture, language, economy; Nepal is blessed with hundreds of rainbows in Musical realm. Coquette rhymes of "Dohori and Rodhi ghar"; Painful and sarcastic lamentations of "Gaaine"; Cheerful and enthusiastic chorus of children singing "Bhaili" and "Deusi"; soul-soothing classical "Raagas and Bhajans". These are all the facets of Nepali music.

Everything changes and the change itself. Nepali lifestyle, particularly in urban areas, has a heavy influence of westernization. So it is obvious that western countries and the neighboring countries guide the musical trend in Kathmandu. But still the traditional genres have the lion's share in Nepali music industry.

You can find numerous kind of western music in Kathmandu. There are bands playing Beatles to Slipknot. At bars and restaurants in Thamel we can discover Blues and Jazz. (But hey... have not heard any Nepali Grass Blues band.)

Recently, an extremely talented musician, whom I have known from my college days and who is a good friend of mine, has released his first album named "My addiction". You can download "Socha Na" by Alok Bajracharya and enjoy yourself. Give it a try and if you like the song don't forget to buy the album "My addiction" by Alok Bajracharya.

Nepali Music posted by Pradeep Chand @ 4:55 PM  2 comments

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