Orientation

I realize that this post may be a little late, but I’m in a better, more knowledgeable position to write about these things now than I was when I first got here. Below is a map of the city of Kathmandu. I’ve placed red numbers on the map that correspond with the places that I talk about the most in my various blog posts to give you all an idea for the lay of the land. The city itself is surprisingly small and compact, although due to traffic its not uncommon to take 45 minute or an hour in a bus or micro getting from one place to another.

Legend

1) Thamel – this is the area where I spend most of my time. Below the word “Thamel” on the map, you’ll also see the word “Chhetrapati”. Chhetrapati is the area where my guest house is located. Despite being a completely different area from Thamel the two are literally steps apart. Thamel is also the touristy, trekker area of Kathmandu. All of the quintessential souvenir shops can be found here along with a nice variety of restaurants that cater to just about any type of food you’re looking for.

2) Swayambhunath – I’ve written about this place several times, and photographed it quite a few as well. The area is a place of pilgrimage for both Buddhists and Hindus and the complex is home to many monasteries and Buddhist schools.

3) Bodhnath – The largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world, the Bodhnath stupa is an important pilgrimage site for Tibetans and Buddhists. This town of Bouddha itself is home to a large community of Tibetans

4) Pashupatinath – I’ve written about and photographed this place several times as well. Pashupatinath is a very important pilgrimage site for Hindus.

5) Patan Durbar Square – Patan, or Lalitpur is one of the three original cities in the Valley (Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur). The town is known for crafts and the durbar square area is home to many temples.

6) Road to Bhaktapur – Unfortunately this map doesn’t include Bhaktapur, but the road, indicated by the number 6 is the road you take to get to Bhaktapur

7) Naya Baneshwor – Naya Baneshwor is where the PSCI conference was held that I participated in

8) Kathmandu Durbar Square – I’ve written about this place several times and photographed it quite a bit. Generally considered the heart of old Kathmandu, this square is another world heritage site (along with Pahupatinath, Bodhnath, Swayambhunath, and Patan Durbar Square). The square has a high concentration of old temples and buildings including Kasthamandap and Hanuman Dhoka. Kasthamandap is the temple that supposedly gave Kathmandu its name; its said that the structure is made of the wood of a single tree. Hanuman Dhoka is the original Royal Palace of Kathmandu.

Serenity amidst the chaos

With the sun shining and the day having just begun I set out this morning to make another visit to the Swayambhunath stupa on the western edge of Kathmandu just inside the ring road. I attended a photo exhibition yesterday put on by a local aspiring photographer that concentrated on the Swayambhunath and Bodhnath stupas. The exhibition on the whole was wonderful and gave me a different view on both locations despite having been to both several times.

When I set out I had it in my mind that I was going to go to different parts of the complex that I had not been in an attempt to see new things and rejuvenate my interest in photographing these amazing temples. Having been here for a little over two months and having taken countless pictures of stupas and temples it was getting to the point where I was missing interesting shots because these amazing places didn’t hold the same excitement as they did during my first visits.

Ultimately I think I succeeded in my goal, walking slow, sitting down every so often just to observe. More importantly however, I only ended up taking 4 photographs over the 2 hours I spent there this morning. Instead I found that more than anything I was simply enjoying taking in the sights at that precise moment as opposed to concentrating on capturing them on film for later. Every now and then its nice to step back and view the world with your eyes as opposed to through the lens of a camera.

The experience transported me back to Dharamsala, to my first encounters with Buddhist temples and the memories of walking Kora rounds with my home stay father in the late afternoons. As with the temple in Dharamsala, Swayambhunath - or at least the Kora loop which surrounds Swayambhunath - is like a small island of serenity in an otherwise chaotic, noisy, congested and polluted ocean that is Kathmandu. Unlike the main stupa that sits perched atop the hill overlooking the valley, the Kora is a walking path that surrounds the entire complex. Sometimes it follows the road, other times it weaves into wooded areas (which themselves are rare in the city), but in general the path is quiet and affords you the unique opportunity to be alone with your thoughts and enjoy your surroundings, which is an opportunity I’m beginning to realize that I have not had enough of. I’m glad I took the chance to have the experience without my camera always at my eye.

There is one photo that I must share from the day though (one of the four). As a disclaimer, all the rights and credit for this photograph belong to Pasang Sherpa who displayed the same photograph at her exhibition that I mentioned earlier. I was so captivated by its simplicity that I couldn’t resist seeking out the spot to recreate the shot. Thank you Pasang.

Gai Jatra – 8.6.09

I’ve been meaning to write this post for quite some time now and for no reason in particular keep putting it off. Gai Jatra is a big festival in Nepal that takes place during the eighth month every year; I went to the town of Bhaktapur, one of the three original main epicenters of Kathmandu to take in the festivities with a friend.

Normally I wouldn’t quote the Lonely Planet guidebook, but I think that it does a better job explaining the significance of Gai Jatra than I can so I’m going to put the little blurb in here just for some background:

“Gai Jatra – this ‘Cow Festival’ takes place immediately after Janai Purnima on the day after the Saaun (eighth Nepali month) full moon, and is dedicated to those who died during the preceding year. Newars believe that after death cows will guide them to Yama, the god of the underworld, and finding your way on this important journey will be much easier if by chance you should be holding onto a cow’s tail at the moment of death. On this day cows are led through the streets of the valley’s towns or, if a cow is not available, small boys dress up as cows. The festival is celebrated with maximum energy on the streets of Bhaktapur.”

The book doesn’t mention this, but Bhaktapur has always been and still remains a predominantly Newar area, the Newars being one of Nepal’s ethnic groups.

It was special to be in Bhaktapur at this time, the streets were packed with people singing, dancing and parading through the streets with towers decorated and adorned with photographs of their loved ones that had passed away during the past year. We arrived around noon and it was obvious that the celebrations had already been going for sometime; we left around 5 and they were still going strong, despite seemingly endless rains.

The pictures below give an idea of the sheer numbers of people that packed the streets during Gai Jatra. Some of the best photos that I took during the festivities are the ones that I’ve edited and placed in the post “faces in the crowd” below.

PSCI Nepal

I spent this past Tuesday and Wednesday covering an event for some friends. The event – “The First Consultation of People With Spinal Cord Injuries – Nepal” – has been in the works for several months and came together quite flawlessly during these two days. About 60 or 70 people were in attendance including 25-30 people that are affected by various types of spinal chord injuries. Overall, I think that the event came together wonderfully, combining speeches from many different people including doctors, patients and government officials. The event was also covered in local newspapers and television, bringing some much-needed attention to the difficulties that these people deal with on a daily basis. I am able to say, quite confidently, that no matter how bad conditions might be for people in wheelchairs in the states, (although it's much better now with wheelchair accessible buildings, transportation etc) words cannot adequately describe how poor conditions are for people in wheelchairs here in Kathmandu, not to even mention the rest of Nepal. Sidewalks are horrendous, elevators are few and far between, roads are riddled with potholes, and public transportation is no way wheelchair friendly. I’ve spent my fair share of time helping people get around, both for this event and at other times as well, and there is definitely no shortage of challenges, whether it's simply safely navigating the streets, or getting into a restaurant. I think that the event this week was a good first step in bringing attention to these issues, and hopefully there will be some headway and improvements made. In terms of my personal experience, it was nice having the freedom to move around and get the shots I wanted. I haven’t covered a lot of formal events up to this point, and it was both new and rewarding. Here are some interesting pictures from the event including a rare shot of me.

Faces in the crowd

I’ve amassed a lot of photographs that, for one reason or another, are not terribly exciting. Some might suffer from poor composition; others might suffer from poor exposure or something completely out of my control like a wayward umbrella that decided to fly into the frame at the last second as I took the shot. Now despite the entire shot being a bit uninteresting, there tend to be portions of these photographs that are worthy of note such one particular person, facial expression, or action. Enter some creative cropping and formatting and I’ve managed to produce what I think are several interesting shots. To that end I’m attempting to put together a series of photographs that draw attention to interesting people and details in the otherwise unrelenting insanity that exists on the streets of Kathmandu. Here are the first few.

People, Motion, Light

I think the post name speaks for itself on this one, enjoy.