Nepal 2017

Thursday23November

Last day of our Nepalese trip! We head to Patan, located in the southern agglomeration of Kathmandu. Patan is also called Lalitpur, the City of Beauty. Quite a program!

For the third time, here we are in a Durbar Square ("palace square" in Nepali). After Kathmandu, Bhaktapur, here is Patan's! It too was inscribed along with the others in 1971 on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

The bell dedicated to the goddess Taleju.

The west wall of the royal palace and its alignment of tunalas supporting the roof.

The inner courtyard Mul Chowk and its small Badya Mandir sanctuary.

Detail of the tunalas. Ultimately, these carved frameworks are the equivalent of stained-glass windows in our Western churches. They surround the entire edifice and depict prominent religious figures, with a small scene at the bottom of the work.  

Representations of the Ganges river on a turtle, and the Jumna river on a makara, a mythological animal between an elephant and a fish...

Between gilding and meticulously carved woodwork, no doubt, we are indeed in a royal palace...

Compare this engraving to a contemporary photo. Practically nothing has changed since the Middle Ages! (photos of photos exhibited at the © Royal Palace)

Behind the palace, the pieces recovered after the last earthquake for upcoming restorations.

A waiting Ganesha in a hidden room?  

In the Sundari Chowk courtyard.

The carved woodwork awaits its return to its original place.

The 17th-century Tusha Iti fountain in the Sundari Chowk courtyard. The king's stone bathtub... So simple...  

Back outside the palace where a column supports the statue of the praying king Yoga Narendra Malla under the cobra's shadow...

To the left, the imposing Chyasim Deval Krishna temple built in 1723.

The entrance to the Patan Museum, guarded by two stone lions.

Perched on the roof, a small monkey proudly raises its weapon. The statue of the monkey-god Hanumān?  

Unconscious mimicry between the guardian above and the one below?  

Welcome to the kingdom of pigeons!

Another column, another statue. Here, Garuda the bird-man, the mount of God Vishnu.

Let's enter the Patan Museum. It is very renowned, and here is a small anthology of what it contains.

Dipankara, the Light-Making Buddha (Nepal, 17th~18th century).

From left to right: Akshobya, the Imperturbable (Nepal, 12th century). Shakyamuni, the Historical Buddha (Nepal, 12th century). Milarepa (Tibet, 14th~15th century). Padmasambhava, the Great Magician-Teacher (Tibet, 17th century).

Bhrikuti, 'The Frowner', goddess of compassion (Nepal, 17th~18th century).

Esoteric Tantric manuscript (Nepal, 16th~19th century).

Indra, varada mudra (9th~10th century).

Metallurgy reference manual for statue making (Nepal, 18th century).

From left to right: the Buddha Shakyamuni (Nepal, 17th~18th century). Vajrapani (Tibet, 15th~16th century). Padmapani Lokeshvara, the Bodhisattva of compassion (Nepal, 16th~17th century). Seven-eyed Tara (Tibet, 17th~18th century).

Narada, the celestial musician (Nepal, 15th~16th century).

To the left, the White Tara with seven eyes (Tibet, 18th~19th century). To the right, Adinatha in meditation (India, 1593).

End of the cultural visit to the museum. As I leave, I take another photo of the mysterious Hanuman who, from behind, looks more like Shiva with his trishula (trident) missing a tooth...  

North of Durbar Square, the Bhimsen temple with its "Pataka" descending from the roof. This ingenious celestial slide allows the Gods to descend to Earth.  

Wandering the streets, be careful not to step on the offerings placed everywhere!  

We leave the Hindu world of Durbar Square to reach the Golden Temple, Hiranya Mahavihar, which is Buddhist.

As its name suggests, the gilding shines everywhere! The temple dates from the 12th century.

Vishnu and his twelve arms. To greet him, let's prefer a much quicker kiss, rather than a handshake...  

Even though it's the Golden Temple, many objects are made of bronze...  

Monkey holding a jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) in its hands.

Luxury prayer wheels...

The Buddha in the center of the temple.

Upstairs is the temple's small monastery.

After this visit of gold and bronze, we walk through the charming streets leading to Kumbheshwar.

Around the temples, it is not uncommon to meet devotees in conversation with Brahmins. During this "consultation", and for a fee and offerings, the religious leader delivers his advice to the rhythm of religious rituals.

We arrive in Kumbheshwar where there is a temple dedicated to Shiva. But clearly, the day's attention is not directed towards Shiva and his temple. The square is occupied everywhere by small groups surrounding hearths where offerings burn.

We are actually in the middle of a Bel Bibaha (also called ihi) ceremony! This ancient and sacred Newari ritual consists of marrying young girls before puberty to the God Vishnu (hence the choice of location), with the bael fruit (Bengal quince, Aegle marmelos), a symbol of the same God Vishnu, as a witness. The objective of this rite, according to belief, is to give the future wife the best fertility...  

The ritual traditionally takes place over three days. The first day (Dusala Kriya) is dedicated to preparing the young girls, including a purifying bath and rituals with the paternal grandmother. The second day (Kanyadan), the most important, which we are currently witnessing, the children dressed as brides are "offered" to Vishnu by their own fathers.

The traditional attire is fitting for the event, which is a wedding. This "marriage" seems to weigh heavily on the frail shoulders of the young children.

Everything takes place in a rather joyful atmosphere. Evidently, the event is of great importance in the life of the entire family.

Oh, look, there's the Kumbheshwar temple we came to see. We had completely forgotten about it...

"The Newars are the indigenous inhabitants of the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. They speak Newar, also called Nepal Bhasa, a tonal Asian language of the Tibeto-Burman group of the Sino-Tibetan language family. There are approximately 1.2 million Newars. They are predominantly farmers, traders, and artisans; in recent decades, industry has been booming. According to the 2001 census, 84.13% of Newars are Hindu and 15.31% are Buddhist. © Wikipedia

We are practically the only Westerners, but we are completely free to attend the event. This father is even proud to pose in front of my camera with his newly married daughter.

To the right, offerings including the famous "Bael" fruit amidst petals and banknotes.

Let's remember that in Nepal, in the majority of "real" marriages, the choice is not left to the couple. It is still the parents who decide on the union of their children... Let's hope that by the time this young girl comes of age, things will evolve towards a little more freedom...  

And in the midst of this effervescence, the candles burn, imperturbable...  

Lunch break. And our last momos!  

We've made it a habit in every Durbar Square to climb onto the terraces to enjoy a beautiful panorama of the city. So here we are on the Durbar Café's terrace with a chocolate lassi and a coffee...  

Tichhu Galli Street.

In a hidden courtyard, the Temple of 9999 Buddhas appears engulfed in its 9999 scaffolds.... The last earthquake made this immense 'shikhara' architecture, recognizable by its 'sugar loaf' shape, very fragile. The edifice is a smaller replica of the Mahabodhi Temple in India, located next to the tree where Buddha attained Enlightenment.

The interior of the temple.

Here is a tiny sample of the 9999 representations of Buddha present here...

We continue exploring the surroundings and arrive at the Rudravarna Mahavihar Monastery.

Often present at the entrance of temples, a mirror here allows me to give you a little wave!  

Collection of animal statues.

The God Brahma regains his colors on the tunalas.

In the four corners of the courtyard, 4 monkeys present us with various fruits: jackfruits, pumpkin, banana... And all in their simplest form...  

And in the middle, one man, Juddha Shamsher Jang Bahadur Rana, Prime Minister of Nepal from 1932 to 1945, but also father of twenty sons and twenty daughters...  

Our last prayer wheels! Let's enjoy them!

For our last evening before flying back to France, and as we had promised ourselves 8 days earlier, we meet Narayan, our guide during our 15-day trek in the Annapurnas! And what an honor for us, he invites us to his home, so we can meet his wife and young son!

At our meeting point, a brass band awaits us! But Narayan has nothing to do with it, it's just a celebration for a nearby wedding.  

We are received like princes. Narayan prepares his favorite dish (and national dish to boot), Dal bhat! The bottle of wine is even uncorked for the occasion! There could be no better way to end this trip! Thank you for everything Narayan and maybe see you soon to climb new peaks!