The Living Goddess

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It’s not everyday you meet a living goddess, but I did today. However, we’ll come to that later.

I arrived in Nepal after taking three separate planes from Singapore. I left Kathmandu airport and got off to a bad start by having a furious argument with the taxi driver. The airport cabs take pre-paid “taxi coupons”, and when I bought mine I told them I was staying at Via Via Cafe. They wrote “Thamel” on the coupon, which was the area where my accommodation was located. The taxi driver, however, disagreed. He said Via Via Café was just outside Thamel, in a different district. He was planning to drop me and my rucksack in the middle of Thamel. I was having none of this, and insisted he take me to Via Via Café, which is what I had paid for. He refused and said I had to pay extra. We argued for five minutes before I played my trump card, which was “Look mate, I’m not getting out of this cab, and you’re not getting your taxi coupon until you take me to Via Via Café” He then dropped me right outside without further fuss.

Via Via Café was like the TARDIS from Doctor Who. It was a tiny building, not much larger than a matchbox. Yet it had a vast network of stairs, passageways and rooms inside. It didn’t seem possible that this miniature building could contain a bar, restaurant, lounge, and ten bedrooms. There was obviously some kind of rift in the fabric of space, but I didn’t let that worry me because the rooms were so cheap. I did a Nepalese cooking course here, and learnt to make “Momo”, which are steamed dumpling containing spicy buffalo meat. Buffalo is the main red meat in Nepal because the majority of people are Hindu, and the cow is sacred. If fact, cows wander freely through the backstreets of Kathandu, which is a very strange sight. But the cows are all skinny and half-starved, and eat from rubbish on the streets. To me this seems to be a contradiction. The cow is sacred enough not to be eaten, but not sacred enough to be given a dish of food once in a while? Feed them some buffalo momos, they would love them.

I say that Hinduism is the main religion, but actually Hinduism and Buddhism are both widely followed. It is possible to be part of both religions, and many people worship the Hindu Gods while simultaneously following the teachings of Buddha.

Did you know that Hindus believe that the Earth is supported on the back of four elephants, which in turn stand on the back of a giant turtle which floats through space? (Anyone who has read the “Discworld” series by Terry Pratchett will find this concept familiar) I'm not convinced about this. I have looked at a photo of Earth on the NASA website, and there wasn't an elephant or turtle in sight. In fact, to my knowledge, NASA has yet to discover ANY planets which are supported on the backs of animals. Maybe these elephants are metaphysical or metaphorical, I don't know

Anway, let’s move on to the subject of Hindu Gods. I did a day hike around the rim of the Kathmandu Valley with a guide called Mac. We visited five villages and several temples. I asked Mac about Hindu Gods, and how many there were. He told me there are 330 million. I thought he was just saying a ridiculous figure to illiustrate that there are a huge number, but no, apparently there are 330 million. However it’s a bit more complicated than that. These Gods and Goddeses are all manifestations of a Supreme Cosmic Force known as Brahman, which is eternal, infinite, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent (and lots of other powerful sounding words). But even so, 330 million Gods is a heck of a lot. It seems there is a God of everything. There is a God of Rain, a God of Love, a Goddess of Wealth and a God of Learning. But to reach a figure of 330 million, some of the gods would have to be very specific. A God of Polar Bears? A God of Sausages? (all types except for beef). Possibly there’s a God of Football (who wears a Manchester United shirt). And with technological advances, do new Gods appear? Such as the God of Internet. Maybe you have displeased him when your internet connection drops.

** Disclaimer **
In the text above, in no way do I mean to ridicule or debase the Hindu religion. This is merely a jovial account of a religion which is so far removed from my own that I don’t truly understand it. Any resemblances to Gods living or dead is entirely coincidental. And if there is a God of Blogs, I hope he has a sense of humour

I mentioned earlier that I had met a Living Goddess. She is known as the “Kumari Devi”, she is six years old, and resides in a building near Durbar Square in Kathmandu. The Living Goddess moves through different incarnations, and once the current girl reaches puberty, her reign ends and the search begins for the new Goddess. The requirements for the Living Goddess are very strict. She must come from a particular tribe of gold and silversmiths. She must be between four years old and puberty, and has to meet a list of 32 requirements. They include eye colour, sound of her voice and the shape of her teeth. Potential candidates are gathered and sealed in a darkened room. Terrifying noises are made, and men wearing scary masks leap around the room. In addition, the severed heads of 108 buffalos adorn the walls. The true Goddess will not be scared of anything, and hence the girl who shows no fear is chosen as the next Living Goddess.

A number of years ago, a previous Goddess had caused some controversy when she went to America and appeared on some chat shows. This was frowned upon severely, but who can deny a Goddess, or stop her doing what she wants?

I met the Kumari Devi at the Rato Machhendranath temple, some 10km outside of Kathmandu. She was a six-year old girl sitting on a throne, wearing a resplendent robe adorned with gold jewelry and wearing heavy eye makeup. I am not sure whether she was here as part of her religious duties, or was on a school trip. I asked my guide, Mac, whether I would be allowed to take her photo. He had no answer for that. He didn’t know if it would be OK, or whether it would be disrespectful. So to be on the safe side, my camera remained firmly tucked away. The last thing I wanted was the wrath of a Goddess, six years old or otherwise.

Back in Kathmandu, I wandered through the district of Thamel. This area had much in common with any over-touristed asian city. Bars advertising Happy Hour. Shops selling fake DVDs and overpriced carvings. Tricycle drivers pestering you for a fare. Because I was visiting in the “off-season” and there weren’t as many travelers around, the ratio of hassle-to-tourist was fairly high. I almost fell for one tourist trap. I was talking to a local chap as I walked down the street. He was friendly, but obviously wanted something. He carried on with the banter, and was establishing rapport. He was very good. I was waiting for him to make his move, and it soon came. He said “you’re probably wondering what I want. Firstly, a word of warning. Don’t trust anyone. Watch your belongings and if you draw out any money, make sure no-one is watching. If anyone asks for money, don’t give it to them. They’ll only spend it on drugs.” I asked him what he wanted, and he said he helps homeless familes. He wanted me to come to a shop and buy some powdered milk and rusks for their babies. “Then you know where your money is going” he added. This seemed like a good cause, and so I went along with it. We arrived at a supermarket and he ordered two tins of powdered milk and some rusks. The price came to 1,200 Rupees, which is ten pounds! More than it would cost in England! The scam became apparent and I walked out. He was very specific about the shop we used, and once I’d paid up, he would take the goods back later and split the profits with the shopkeeper. Still, it was an original approach. I’ve heard many in my time including “I’ve just got out of prison. Can you spare my bus fare so I can get home to my family?” One time I saw a beggar in Amsterdam. He was holding up a sign which said “need money for alcohol and weed”. I gave him some change for his honesty

Kathmandu has dozens of temples scattered throughout, and I was fairly fed up of temples by the end. But some of them were very interesting, such as the Swayanbhunath buddhist monument, also known as the "Monkey Temple". The whole area was swarming with monkeys. They were running around your feet, climbing over the monument and sitting on all the walls. Hang on to your bananas with care though, because they'll jump at you and steal your fruit! At another temple we saw lots of bearded Sadhus dressed in brightly coloured robes and wearing facepaint. A Sadhu is someone who has given up all material possessions in search of spirituality. They meditate, read sacred texts and go on pilgrimages. Unfortunately some of the Sadhus you see in Kathmandu are fake. They are just normal guys dressed up who want money for photos. Which is a shame, because it's the exact opposite of what a Sadhu represents. Bad Karma for these guys I think.

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Photos

a brightly painted Sadhu
one of the holy men milling around the temples. But beware, some of them are fake

Cafe Via Via
this miniscule building contained ten rooms, a kitchen, bar, restaurant and lounge!

Coloured Powder anyone?
This powder is used in some forms of art, is sprinkled on some temples as offerings, and is also thrown over people at festivals

green, green fields
It's not rice season, so these are some hardy winter crop

cute monkey
sulking after being told off by his Mum

the Rato Machhendranath temple
This is not a spelling mistake, just a very long name! This temple was in the Kathmandu foothills

the vast urban sprawl of Kathmandu
As seen from the "Monkey Temple"

you know when you've been Tango'd
Another Sadhu, showing off his fancy robes

village life
in the hills around Kathmandu.

monkey grooming
Monkeys spend hours picking fleas out of each others fur

Bodhnath Stupa
A buddhist monument, and one of Kathmandu's most famous sights.

Contemplation
A monk thinking things over ("Did I leave the oven on?")

holy cow!
freely roaming the streets

Durban Square
locals selling flower garlands

rooftop storage
If you haven't got spare to store your hay, what do you do? Put it on the roof of course!

Comments

[bob]

i think i met that milk scammer
i think we met that same guy in thamel that wanted milk. he was very good. he told us about the book he was writing and his life story about being sexually abused and all this horrible stuff to get some pity. and yeah, we would have bought him a meal or something, but no, it had to be two large tins of milk at one particular store only. every time after that when he saw us in thamel, he avoided eye contact.

[arjun]

i am socked to hear the news that you people are cheated in thamel.I am a guide and a student who is working as a ambessador of my country.I come to know that this milk scammer cheated not only you but many tourist.I think he should be punished, he is a curse to our county if you have photo of him do put it on the blog so everybody know him as great thief.