Kalinchowk Blues.

                                                                            Dawn.
                                       

A sea of clouds.

Sworga janey bato.

F.R.I.E.N.D.S. (PC : Bhattu)

Misty Mountain

Finding Balance.

Us and Them. #Shadows

Mandatory! ;)

Anybody up for a cold glove wrestling? ;) #Frost

I met her after descending from the Kalinchowk Bhagwati temple. She was having some mango juice when I asked her to tell me her name. Both of us couldn't understand each other's language, but she gave this expression when I asked her to smile showing her teeth. She even offered to share the mango juice with me. Such innocence!

Traveling is always awesome. Be it a trip to ABC or the loo, the excitement that even the thought of traveling brings in us is just so… exciting. Our Kalinchwok trip was no less.

Reached at 10PM.

Jan 8, 12 PM : The bus left from Dhobighat at 12 noon. We knew that we would reach our destination (Kuri Village) after the sun had set, but nobody thought that it would be so late. A plate of mo:mo and packets of WaiWai didn’t help but instead, gastritis pain prevailed. I have no idea how the driver dai managed to drive the bus at night on THAT road, that scary road which had already made me imagine my life after death, so I have no complaints. That intense craving for dalbhat made us eat like hell, like we had not eaten anything since ages, and a simple meal tasted like it was personally prepared by God in his personal kitchen. (Bhatey thoughts. Haha)

Birthday                                                                                      

Jan 9: It was almost 12AM and we hadn’t even settled on out beds. My phone’s battery was already dead so I couldn’t track the time. As soon as Bhattu’s phone rang, she got busy speaking on the phone and I got busy taking out the cupcakes and her birthday gift for giving her a surprise. Her expressions didn’t show it, but my heart tells me that she loved the surprise. (Jabarjasti.  Hahaha)

Sleepless night and maata talks

Somebody in the hotel started chanting weird words after 12. Thought it was a friend trying to act drunk, but instead we got to know that the driver dai’s friend was the one doing all of that because he was possessed by a Goddess. Maata chadheko re! And trust me, it was really creepy, scary and funny at the same time.

The person who was possessed told that there was a girl on her periods among us, and in any case if the girl visited the Kalinchowk Bhagwati Temple that day, the goddess would kill her. Everyone was really scared as two of us were on their periods, but I actually found it funny as I had seen the same person getting drunk and smoking weed some time ago. In my opinion, all of this happened because that person was really drunk and high. (Apologies to those who find my point of view offensive.) I do respect the Nepalese culture, but sometimes it gets too suffocating and illogical. My opinion is that a goddess, who herself is a woman wouldn’t mind another woman worshipping her just because the woman is on her periods. (Rapists go to a temple: it is okay, and a woman going through a biological process goes to a temple: it is offensive?  You must be kidding! )

And this conversation happened:

Me: (To Miss S, who was on her periods) It’s a goddess’s temple and she herself is a woman. I don’t think she’ll mind anyway. This person is just drunk, please ignore him. If an empowered woman like you starts believing in these kinds of superstitions, what can we expect from others? If I would have been in your place, I would have gone inside the temple just to prove them wrong.

Mr. R: Shut up! This is a serious matter. That guy must have been very religious and pure. These things do not happen with normal people like us.

Me: TTalking about pure, that is a non-vegetarian, drunkard guy, high on weed. They were having a conversation about godly power during dinner, and this might be a reason he's acting like this.

Mr. R: Kati bolirako timi? chup laga!
(So much drama for giving your opinion.)

(The hotel owner called the witch doctor and after chanting some mantra and thumping the drums, the goddess who was saying that she would not go away from the body decided to leave. Then, we heard some footsteps and the sound of someone vomiting right in front of our room. No points for guessing that the person who vomited there was the same guy.)

Me: Jau Mr. R, maata ko Prasad khana! (indicating the vomit)
(Good thing that he didn't listern, or he surely would have beaten me up. haha)

The person had vomited from our door to the entrance of the hotel. Dalbhat power all over. Haha
(In the morning, the hotel owner came in with a khukuri in his hand. Pachi ta “kasto manche raicha” bhandai tei khukuri le dry vomit nikalna thalira. Hahahaha)

Because of all the drama, the freezing cold, the sound of people snoring and all, I didn’t get any sleep that night. We got up to see the sunrise at 4. Miss S didn’t get any sleep either as the words of “the goddess” were playing on her mind on repeat. She decided not to go up to the hill as she was really scared. Keti bhayera janminu ni jhur ho jasto lagcha kailekai.   

Glittery way

Jan 9, 4:30 AM : Only 6 of us were brave enough to come out in the freezing cold to see the sunrise. -7⁰C (That’s what the weather app showed)  is not a joke okay? It was totally dark and as the torchlight fell on the frosty way, it would look so glittery, so awesome. Like the stars has decided to shine on the earth.

Chiya pasal to the rescue

It had been more than an hour since we started walking uphill. Since there was no water to drink, a friend who was dehydrated (because she got really drunk the day before) has been saying that she could walk no more. Just then, we saw a light and a small shop. The dehydrated friend bought a bottle of water. Still shivering because of the cold, we took chairs for each one of us and settled down. Then, we realized that the water in the bottle had already turned into a chunk of ice (Yes, it was that cold.) The shopkeeper dai made black tea for all of us and even let us sit around the fire.

Sworga janey bato (Stairway to heaven)

We reached up to the hill, at the temple at around 6am. Shivering, we waited for the sun to rise, but the sun decided to take its time. It was so cold that our hands and feet had already become numb and none of us dared to open our gloves to worship Kalinchowk Bhagwati except Pandey, who even opened his shoes. (Manmanai Pandey lai Fear Factor ko winner declare gardiye. Haha) The morning light began to spread in the sky gradually and around 7AM, the sun began to rise.  Man! The view was jaw-dropping awesome. The thick clouds looked like a carpet made out of cotton and the sun rose above it, with its orange rays making love with the blue sky. “This could be heaven” said my mind. “This might be what sworga janey bato looks like” it added. Hoping that my hands wouldn’t suffer from a frost bite, I managed to take some pictures of the magnificent beauty lying in front of my eyes. Life couldn’t get better.

Ice Ice Baby!

With the frost queen reigning the place, the water facility was no different. It was impossible to have water come out of taps because of the cold, so the hotels had a drums filled with water in the kitchen and the washroom. A huge round of applause to the person who invented the toilet paper. (Bihana uthera toilet ko drum hereko, paani ta purai ice banecha. Lol)

See-ya ! Kalinchowk

After having our breakfast, lunch, and some wandering around, it was time to leave. Aune belama ta rati bhaera kei thaha bhaena, jane belama bato herera ta satto gayo. ओह माई गड! “Who would cry if you die?” asked my mind. Everyone except 5-6 of us decided to walk and avoided the bus ride. After so many “Oh my god! Jhandai mareko” moments, the road got a little better and everyone got in. Thank god we are safe and sound. :P

Kalinchowk Bhagwati ki jai!