On the Way to Pokhara....

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Bandipur, Nepal



28^th March 2015



"A good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving"

Lao Tzu



I chanced upon an Italian traveler in a small darba in Kathmandu whilst having a paratha and channa for lunch. In chatting about my intention to leave Kathmandu soon and ride to Pokhara, she mentioned a village called Bandipur that is on the way and suggested that I go there. She said that while it was touristic, it was very peaceful with an enchanting old Newari main bazaar. And so it was in my mind as I rode to Pokhara... perhaps I might check it out, walk around for a hour or so.... take a break on my journey.

.The village is off the main road, just after Dumre, which joins Kathmandu with Pokhara. I rode up the 8 km narrow winding road not really knowing what to expect. It is a hilltop settlement (1,030 metres above sea level) and has a well preserved, old time cultural atmosphere. Quite cleverly the municipality has recently not allowed any vehicular traffic into the main bazaar at all, and this has only added to the appeal for tourists and to the general peacefulness of the place. The village itself has probably about 5,000 people but serves a wider district.

I decided that I would stay the night.... I was in no hurry to get to Pokhara and certainly I immediately felt a tranquility in the place. Wandering into the main bazaar I realised from the look of things that guest houses were a bit above my usual standard and price. Then I saw a smaller modest sign half way along the street: 'Namaste Guest House' with a very non-pretentious alley way leading in to the back of a shopfront. Sendera was in the shop and I asked if she had a single room. She led me up three flights of stairs at the back of the property and showed me a very cute little room with windows on two sides, attached bathroom (with solar hot water when the sun shone), and to my surprise she said there was good wi-fi. The bed was very comfortable and I figured I could make enough space (just) for yoga on the floor. The room rate was very cheap and the outlook (if the clouds cleared) was going to be spectacular.

On a clear day, looking north which was my aspect from my room) from the mountain saddle on which the main street sits, there is a magnificent vista of the Annapurnas. I was lucky enough to get the full view just momentarily on my last morning before the valley cloud rose and covered the majesty of it all.

The Newars are the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas. They have lived in Nepal since prehistoric times and their rule ended with the conquest by the Gorka Kingdon in 1768. They are a linguistically and culturally Indo-Aryan and Tibeto-Burman and follow Hindu and Buddhist religions and developed a unique division of labour and a sophisticated urban civilization. From the mid 16^th century, Bandipur was a Newar trade centre along the India-Tibet route. Its main street buildings have neoclassical façades and shuttered windows. The streets are paved with slabs of silverish slate. A distinctive aspect of Bandipur’s main street are covered verandas extending along almost the entire length on the northern side.

After the Kathmandu – Pokhara highway was completed (bypassing Bandipur) in the 1970s, the village slid into a forgotten slumber. But not without a fight: coinciding with the first testing of democracy in Nepal, the people of Bandipur stormed the little garrison to demand the road go through it. Several people were killed and the soldiers fled. Again, when the district headquarters were to be moved from Bandipur, the people demonstrated and occupied the administration. The king was flown in by helicopter to calm the situation. However, the decline of the little town could not be reversed.

I was hankering for a guitar and I do seem to be lucky when this happens: sitting having lunch in a small family one-table dabar on my second day, Richard (the resident Darjeeling born local priest for the Catholic school just across the lane) walks in. Normally he cooks for himself but was feeling lazy this day. After chatting over our dhal bhat, he invited me back to the presbytery for a coffee. When leaving I just thought to ask.. “do you happen to play guitar?”. Yes but no.. he showed me that he had several but did not play much at all.... one turned out to be a very good quality folk guitar and almost before I asked Richard offered it to me to take and use while in Bandipur.

Enter eccentric Nic (a UK man aged 77 and trying to live the rest of his days in Bandipur), who spies me crossing the market back to my room with Richard's guitar and later approaches (or is it accosts) me. There is to be a cultural event in the square next day at 2 pm – he has been asked to play his tenor recorder but he does not fancy playing alone... would l like to accompany him? Well why not? We agree to meet at 10 am next morning to see if it can work. We do and it does. He is quite a good player. Turns out he used to arrange musical scores for a symphony orchestra and also has played a lot of violin and saxophone in his day.

I baulk when we get to the event as it is obviously a local cultural occasion with items of folk song and dance and bhagans. Not really a good fit for a western guitar and recorder and I could just see that the sound system was going to be crude. But Nic encourages me and I agree to go ahead. We do some blues improvisation followed by Pink Floyd's 'Wish you were here'. We get applause and later several of the western tourists and a few locals express their delight. Polite people.

I had planned to either stay a few hours or just one night in Bandipur. Turned out I stayed 4 nights, did a little bit of walking around, but mainly just did my usual stuff, enjoyed the village ambiance, played guitar, watched some movies on my computer on the couple of wet nights, and 'veged' out (literally as I prepared raw veg salads in my room each night). And after 4 days it felt like a community. It was easy to get to know just about all the travelers staying in the place (few enough to facilitate some sense of familiarity in a very short time) and to just sit around with new acquaintances (travelers and locals) chatting and drinking chai.

As I rode down the hill leaving for Pokhara, I felt refreshed and relaxed and inclined to come again and spend more time in Bandipur.

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Comments

[taracloud]

Sweet serendipity!
What a series of lovely surprises--how wise to stay and make the most of them! Congrats on enjoying your slow travels.

[Teresa]

Your performance with Nic
Where was the sound disappointed would love to have heard you more blog please

[D MJ Binkley]

No fixed plan
What a fabulous story. Always good to listen to suggestions along the road...and you did. Great rewards were yours. Would have loved to hear you play. Sounds like you found a comfortable place and should have stayed a few more days.

[mahadev]

visa
Ah yes but Nepal visa was about to expire and house in Himachal beckoned....there now and its just lovely.