The streets of Kathmandu ... (Part 6)

I woke up to the morning sun's wake to get a feel of the valley and the city. The day begins early with the streets getting busy with the locals of Kathmandu. The street hawkers, small tea shops with smiling old women, workers carrying heavy loads on their heads taking life forward, fresh fruits and vegetables, special concoctions of grass and herbs for the health conscious and the morning walkers, the dog walkers with their petted canines, the street dogs mostly the Lhasa-apso kind, the tourists who rush to be at their destinations, the dust and smoke of the vehicles on the road, all give the city its morning charm.

A walk down the street gave me a glimpse of the difference in the attitude and thoughts of the people. I went to a local tea shop just near my hotel and ordered tea. An old smiling lady who was serving tea confirmed that I wanted tea and she started making it. The freshness in the air and the locals who were having their morning chit chat showed me the closeness of people who lived there. The sweet gossips or daily life's mundane topics would have been the matter of discussion.

A dog lover's pet who took interest in me jumped all over me with excitement, probably learning from its master to be friendly with all around. We had a sweet time playing with each other when the grandma came with tea. A sip of the tea gave me all the vigour to venture more to the nearby streets of Pingalasthan.

The street welcomed me with a sight rarely seen. I saw a strange and small window open below a building and could see vegetable baskets peeking out from within. The space which would have been otherwise wasted in other parts of the world was well utilised. I had not seen such a sight ever before elsewhere. The small boxed shop had a man inside it and had an array of fresh vegetables and people walking on the streets stopped and got their morning vegetable purchase for the day. I asked the Dhaka (Nepali) capped man whether I could click a picture and his smile said it all. He adjusted his cap sitting inside the boxed shop and posed for a picture with his million dollar smile.

I found school children walking in uniform on a Sunday. I casually enquired and came to know that the country had half working days on a Friday and a holiday on a Saturday unlike the practises in other places except the Middle east, where the holiday was on a Friday.

I could see cheerful faces and restaurants getting ready with breakfast. I saw the grocery shops had no restrictions selling liquor, though I could not see drunk way-siders anywhere. I feel that restrictions would induce more people to getting drunk and when it is freely available as in Kathmandu, no one wants it. I saw bottles covered in dust in display.

In one of the books I read during my younger days I remember the author S. K. Pottekad talk about the difficulties of people who lived in the mountainous lands. But the faces of the people I saw, never showed a dull moment. Everyone seemed to be cheerful and welcoming.

To set the mood for the morning, I quickly finished the walk and got back to my room. I could see more vegetable vendors and street hawkers as I walked back. The sweet shops had making sweets for the day. The temple goers already started moving towards the temple and even under a bridge I found temples where people were bowing down in faith.

The sights around the temple in the morning was different. The shops were as usual selling the "full prasad" of exotic kind. Rudrakshas, statues of Pasupathinath and Buddha were from the same rack, the feng shui dolls, prayer wheels, caps and artifacts, old coins were all on display. It is a tourist's paradise be it on the faith side or otherwise. My next visit after the temple would be to the busy streets of Thamel and Patan Durbar Square.

I saw more unusual sights near the temple. Along with tourists and devotees I saw monks and "Shiva" waiting to bless the people who thronged the area. In between I saw "Shiva" busily counting the notes that he had got for the blessings shared. I could see people taking selfies with the hermits as well as the busy "Shiva". I too clicked a few pictures of the busy Lord and walked my way through the busy street where I saw the masked dancer walking from shop to shop dancing to the tune of the drums taking money. Probably that would be a kind of faith where the evil eyes are warded off by the dancing masked man. I have seen similar practises in Karnataka where the man would beat himself with a whip to ward of diseases and the one with a bull or a small hand drum taking the role of a soothsayer.

Key chains, lockets and trinkets in plenty. Shops were decked with cheap to costly merchandise. Conches and Saligrama, spatika to corals, products seems to have no end in the range. The busy streets of Thamel also gave me a tough time to choose what to shop, though it was a window shopping venture. Tibetan artifacts, Budhdhist memorabilia, books, Pashmina shawls to T shirts, diamonds to rudrakshas, caps to kukhrees, Special Thangka paintings to beautiful carvings. The shops would keep you busy for hours for sure.

From the ancient to the modern, the valley has a flavor of all. Be sure to set apart some time to spend at Thamel to get some T shirts, Khukri or Thangka paintings. I still bear those images of the ancient world in Pingalasthan and the busy traffic near the Palace museum and the Parliament house on my way to Thamel. I have more to tell you about the beauty and specialities of the Patan Darbar Square and the recipe of Thukpa before I conclude the memorable journey to the mountain land of Kathmandu...