Editorial - March 2010

Ponds, People And Places
Maha Shivaratri has come and gone. So has the festival of colors – Holi. These festivals usually usher in warmer days, and we are beginning to experience this. All the more reason for you to take your copies out in the terraces and/or gardens and enjoy the read while relaxing and basking in the sun for we have many interesting stories lined up for you in this issue.

Our cover story captures the ponds of the Kathmandu Valley. Believed to be a huge pond (read lake) long ago, the valley, as legends have it, was created by Manjushree, the Buddhist sage, who drained the water with a clean cut of his sword at Chobhar to the south of Kathmandu. Not all the water, however, left the valley, thus forming numerous smaller ponds. These water bodies have great historical, cultural and religious significance. Many festivals revolve around them. One such upcoming festival is the Gahana Khojne (Search for Ornaments) festival at Gahana Pokhari (Ornament Pond) in Handigaun, Kathmandu. Every year, this unique festival draws thousands of devotees to pay homage and seek the blessings of a deity, which is pulled in a wooden chariot with the help of ropes by scores of young men right into the pond. Read on to find out more about this interesting festival as well as about the various other ponds, some long gone and some still existing, in and around the Kathmandu Valley.

Still dwelling on the subject of ponds, we take you on a tour of Nagdaha (Snake Lake) and its serene environs, away from the bustle and pollution of Kathmandu. The lake, located in the village of Dhapakhel of Lalitpur District, is believed to be the dwelling of a female snake, Basuki Naga. And it is not just the lake but some great Newari gastronomic fare that you can indulge in at the Bishram Batika restaurant that is situated on the other side of the lake.

We also take you to the quaint Newari town of Panauti, some 32 km east-west of Kathmandu, to give you an insight into the Makar Mela, which takes place once every 12 years and is believed to be the same as the Kumbha Mela in India. This time around, the festival was celebrated from January 15 to February 12.

We also introduce you to a couple of great people who have made an indelible mark in their respective fields… Meet Khim Bahadur, a great musician and, perhaps, the last living Gandarbha teacher, who serenades you with his life with the sarangee. Then there is Jay Allison, the radio man, who talks about how he stumbled upon and fell in love with it, and how he brought people great and small to tell their stories through this basic medium of communication in this world of ultra-modern gadgetry. We also present you the Shakya brothers – Dharma Raj and Uttam – and the wonders they can carve out of stone. And, of course, there is Barbara Butterworth, along with her students (now turned friends) Deen Dayalu and Tika, her husband Mike and her other friends “walking, eating and doing good” for the children of Nepal. For 22 years!

Come with us to the tea estates of Ilam in east Nepal to learn about the history and the story behind your cup of Nepali chiya. And those of you who have been to Angkor Wat in Cambodia will definitely agree that it’s a must-visit place.

In ‘Spilled Ink’, the writer has some interesting things to say about reading and writing. They certainly are not dead. It all depends on what’s in your backyard! Enjoy.