Category Archives: Nepal

Everything about Nepal

Mystery of the ancient kingdom discovered in Nepal

Posted on September 11, 2013 | 10 comments

Remember a while ago, I talked about Mustang made it to Lonely Planets Best in Travel 2013 List. Today I read this on Mail Online and I have to share this with you all. If you are still questioning, if you have to go to Nepal, here is why I say you must.

Mystery: Thousands of man-made caves 155ft from the ground lie hidden within the Himilayas in a gorge so large it dwarfs the Grand Canyon

Bizarre: With dozens of holes carved into the fragile, sandy-coloured cliff face this unusual ‘neighbourhood in the sky’ looks like a giant sandcastle

Dangerous: Climber Cedar Wright explores the series of caves near the village of Tsele

Mystery of the ancient kingdom discovered in Nepal where thousands of caves are carved 155ft off the ground.  An estimated 10,000 of the caves have been found in the former Kingdom of Mustang in North, Central Nepal. They have either been dug into the cliffside or tunnelled from above.    Caves are thousands of years old but who built them and why remains a mystery.

Hidden within the Himalayas, 155ft from the ground, these man-made caves are one of the World’s greatest archaeological mysteries.Thousands of holes are carved into the fragile, sandy-coloured cliff in a gorge so large it dwarfs the Grand Canyon.

Adventure: Climbers and scientists follow a trail above the Kali Gandaki River

The astonishing number of caves, some dug into the cliffside, others tunnelled from above are thousands of years old but who built them and why remains a mystery.It is also not known how people climbed into the caves which are dug into a cliff 155-foot above the valley floor.

An estimated 10,000 of these mysterious human-built caves have been found in the former Kingdom of Mustang in North, Central Nepal. Those who have seen the mysterious caves say the effect of them on the cliff face makes it look like a giant sandcastle.

Adventure photographer, Cory Richards joined climber Pete Athans, archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer and a team of explorers to unearth the hidden relics of the ancient and remote caves. Mr Richards said: ‘I was in Nepal working in this village called Forte, where Pete [Athans] and I were teaching a group of Sherpas climbing techniques, safe climbing techniques so they could climb Everest. And Pete asked me if I would be interested in this project in Mustang. He started telling me about this place where we were going. The words he was using conjured these images of a place I couldn’t really imagine.

High up: Climber Pete Athans looks inside a cave found near Chuksang. It is not known how people climbed into the caves which are dug into a cliff 155foot above the valley floor

Quite honestly when I got there it was even bigger and more grand than anything I ever could ever have imagined. ‘We’re talking about somewhere that reminds us of the Grand Canyon, the desert south west but then has this incredible history to it. You see these caves carved into the rock and now they’re completely inaccessible.

As we started getting deeper into it, I started to see the magic of what we were approaching, the culture in practice, a 12th century village underneath the caves they used to live in, caves that are now forgotten. We started asking questions about how did people get into them?

Impressive: This image shows eroded murals on the walls of the Ritseling Cave in Upper Mustang. The astonishing number of caves are thousands of years old

I started wondering how do I light up people’s imagination to make them think what it would have looked like thousands of years ago, that was my final challenge, how do I give people that imagination.

One of the ways we did that was lighting up the caves, going them into them a night, spending the night in caves, using lights to light them up and strobes. Trying to give people the feeling this is a very ancient place, this is a place that has so many stories to tell us so much more than we can even really imagine in our lifetime.

Discovery: A scientist enters a maze of rooms in a looted cave near Chuksang, left, while another member of the team hoists himself up at a Mustang cave entrance, right

Climbing into the sky caves was no easy feat, the rock was unstable and posed a real danger to the team of explorers. In fact climbing into the caves was so dangerous, Mr Richards lost his footing, fell and broke his back. On another assignment to Mustang the following year, videographer Lincoln Else was hit by a falling rock, fracturing his skull.

He said: This was real exploration. It’s dangerous it’s loose rock it’s scary. Everything is loose, everything around you feels like it’s crumbling. You feel like when you’re climbing everything is going to collapse.

One of the things I think we forget when we’re talking about adventure, science and exploration is it gets dangerous at times one of the reasons it’s so exciting is because there are consequences and big consequences. On my first trip there I was trying to climb in and a foothold broke and I fell about 12-20 feet, I landed on my butt and I broke my back. It was an eye-opener because yes it this was really exciting, really engaging, I want to tell this big story but I just broke my back, maybe this isn’t as important as I thought.

Exploration: Members of the team do a preliminary survey of a cave

The next year we came back to try again. I took this shot and my friend Lincoln Else was filming right next to me. Next thing I heard was Pete’s wife scream, she said “oh my god, oh my god” Lincoln was lying on the ground with blood pouring from his head and convulsing.

A rock had fallen from above, hit him and given him a 21cm skull fracture, it completely depressed his skull. Again it was a point of realisation that yes what you are doing is very important but it’s also very dangerous and when you talk about adventure there are sides to it that are unpleasant.

Lincoln made a full recovery, I thought for certain I think we all thought at the point that Lincoln was going to die. Essentially at the end of the experience, what was illuminated to me the marriage of science and exploration and culture is the ultimate in how we bring the world to everyone.

‘We have to make it exciting, digestible but we also have to give the knowledge of what’s out there to everyone else.

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In love with Prabal Gurung Spring 2014 New York Fashion Show

Posted on September 9, 2013 | 12 comments

My favourite designer Prabal Gurung is out with his Spring 2014 New York Fashion Show collection. I am in love with his collection in pastel colours, abstract florals, sheer mesh panelling and couture flourishes. Staged in an industrial hall in the cavernous space of Moynihan station, the show started with models lining behind the clear curtain giving audience time to look at the amazing collection in detail.

The designer explains the idea behind his Plastic Cage-Like Runway Show. “Basically, it’s celebrating the preservation of an elegant woman, which has become a source of inspiration and intrigue for me for the longest time. The idea of preservation came from couture fabrics—to modernize it, to use plastic, to lacquer it,” Gurung told InStyle.com. “The whole thing started with Bert Stern’s picture of Marilyn Monroe‘s last sitting. She’s the idealized woman. There was something so beautiful and so melancholic about (the picture), and I wanted to create that.” And that he did, bringing femininity into a modern context through the clothes, jewelry and even shoes.

I am loving the shirtdresses, halter blouses, curve-hugging midi-skirts, sweetheart neckline wiggle dresses and tulip jackets.

Here are some of my favorites from the collection.

 I also loved matte shades lips, perfect hair, colorblocked cat-eye sunglasses  but the highlight for me is definitely the amazing collection of pointed-toe slingbacks. I really want them now.

“It was a celebration of women,” he said, backstage after the show. “I was thinking about preserving elegance, but making it modern and right for now – and with the right amount of danger . I wanted to abstract and modernize this idea of an idealized woman, For me, it’s someone who’s colorful, bold, and unafraid of her curves—really being feminine and appreciating that. Sensual, but with a hint of danger”

Here are some reviews for his collection.

Vouge magazine : “ Technically, too, this was Prabal Gurung’s best collection to date.”

British Vouge :”I like the idea of femininity with bite,” he smiled. We do too.”

Women wear daily: “The evening dresses were the real highlight, with Gurung turning down the sporty effects to let the glamour glow. True to his word, he layered harnesses under the dresses and gowns, many done in thick, colourful satin wrapped around the body or corseted and spliced with mesh on tea-length dresses. A black silk duchesse dress, cut off the shoulder and embroidered with big crystal rosettes, was just about perfect.”

fashionista.com : “Prabal Gurung’s spring 2014 show was an experience–one that made use of all of our senses. It was risky collection, unlike anything we’ve seen thus far this week, as Gurung proved yet again why he’s one of New York’s biggest stars.”

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Posted in Fashion, Nepal

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Student from Nepal Named Microsoft Excel 2010 World Champion

Posted on September 5, 2013 | 4 comments

I have another great news to share today.

Certiport , a Pearson VUE business, the leading test delivery solution provider for the global workforce and academic markets, announced the 2013 Microsoft Office Specialist World Champions in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint, culminating the most popular technology skills competition on Microsoft Office since its inception in 2002.

The 2013 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship attracted more than 344,000 unique candidates from 90 countries who competed to demonstrate their mastery of Microsoft Office products. 100 student finalists participated in the final round of competition.

And the winner is Himal Shrestha from Nepal won the gold medal.

Top 3 Microsoft Word 2010 finalists

Left to right: Chan Joyce Yee Jing, Himal Shrestha, Nina Joseph

The other top 10 Microsoft Excel 2010 finalists are:

  • Chan Joyce Yee Jing, Hong Kong, silver medal
  • Nina Joseph, USA, bronze medal
  • Samuel Shie Song Fa, Brunei
  • Savanna Robertson, USA
  • Chih-Ting Hsieh, Taiwan
  • Mukrawee Weraphong, Thailand
  • Mahiro Tatsumi, Japan
  • Nan Wu, China
  • Soojong Kang, South Korea

Certiport recognized gold medalist Himal Shrestha at the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship Student Awards Ceremony in Washington, D.C. and presented him with a $5,000 scholarship. Chan Joyce Yee Jing received a 2,500 scholarship and Nina Joseph received a $1,000 scholarship.

“More than 650,000 exams were uploaded as part of this competition, so these student winners are truly the best of the best at effectively using Microsoft Office tools,” said Alison Cunard, general manager for Microsoft Learning Experiences Group. “Students worldwide are realizing the benefits of mastering these key productivity skills as they prepare to enter the workforce. Learning industry-leading Microsoft programs helps them to be more productive on the job from day one and that is what employers are looking for today.”

In the concluding round, competitors participated in unique project-based tests to demonstrate their ability to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations for the information presented in Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

“In its 12th year, the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship continues to grow in popularity as more students around the world realize the value of earning an industry-recognized technology certification,” said Jim Holm, executive vice president, Certiport. “This year we had a 24 percent increase in the number of participants, and more than 4 million individuals have now taken a Microsoft Specialist exam to validate their skills. Holding the World Champion title will stand out on their resumes as they continue their academic and professional careers.”

source: http://www.certiport.com

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You are my Pumpkin Pumpkin Hello Honey Bunny

Posted on August 7, 2013 | 28 comments

Sometimes some random thought comes to your mind and makes you smile. This post  is in that category. The other day one of my colleagues came and asked me if I had listened to a popular Nepali song called “You are my Pumpkin Pumpkin Hello Honey Bunny.” I was surprised because first of all he is not a Nepali and secondly the name of the song sounds so funny. He told me that one of his Nepali friends told him that it is a very popular song and he should listen to it.

Not being in Nepal, I am not very aware of the pop culture there and it is not easy to keep up to date. So I Googled it and found the following song.

I also found a Bollywood song similar tune to this Nepali song.

When I was watching these songs, I couldn’t stop smiling. They are so different and if I am allowed to say it, a bit weird too.

The other day when I was at my brother’s place, I mentioned this song and to my surprise, it is my one year old nephew’s current favorite. He will stop crying if someone plays that song. This makes me conclude that I am getting so old that my one-year-old nephew is beating me in current trends.

PSY’s Gangnam Style is another of my nephew’s favourite songs right now 🙂

Have you listen to this song before? Wahat is your thought on these songs?

M from nepaliaustralia

XOXO

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Posted in Nepal, Social Issue

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Our Story : Kochi ceremony – Part 14

Posted on July 29, 2013 | 19 comments

This is a continuation of my previous post. Please read the previous posts here, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5 , Part 6 , Part 7 ,Part 8 ,Part 9 , Part 10 , Part 11 , Part 12 and Part 13

AS and I were glad once the initial meeting with our parents was over. We had lots of time in our hands as AS decided to stay in Nepal till mid Feb since one of his cousins was getting married while I extended my leave and decided to quit a semester at the university. At that time, I had been teaching at a university and every semester went for 3 months. I decided I would stay in Nepal till the end of March so I would have enough time to spend with AS and my parents. I had never had a long leave in my life and when I talked to my boss, she was alright with that.

So, our days were passed just meeting, going out to different cafes and restaurants and going to explore places like temples and gardens and other tourist sites around Kathmandu. Both families had no objection now with us spending so much time together. AS visited my home more often and vice versa.

However, as always, our fun had to come to end because I got an email for a new job. I had applied for a few jobs before I had left Sydney thinking to change jobs. One of the places emailed asking for suitable time for an interview. Initially, I wrote back that I was in Nepal and I am OK to do phone interview if they were happy with that.

I got a replied that they would like to do that so we arranged a phone interview. So the date and time was set. I was very nervous about this interview as I had never had a phone interview before. When they called, the line was so bad that I thought no matter what I said they won’t understand the answers properly. But fortunately, they liked me during the interview and I was asked for second face to face interview.

I was extremely happy about it all as I really wanted that job but I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the job for sure so before replying, I asked AS and my parents for advice. All of them told me that I should go for the interview and if things didn’t work out, I can always come back to Nepal. I replied to the job that I am available for interview in early February as I knew it would not be possible to hold the interview any later.

When this was going on at my end, both the families were a bit worried about us. Because if I get the job, I may not be back for over a year and once AS leaves, he may not be back for a while as well. So, they decided that we need to make our relationship official so the Kochi ceremony was planned.

Kochi means “to fix” in Newari. It is a ceremony where groom’s family officially asks the bride’s family for the bride’s hand for marriage to their son. So, close relatives of both the family met so his family can ask my hand in marriage from my family.

I have always said this and believe that marriage in Nepal is not only between two people but between two families. And ceremonies like this, makes it really important that both the families are happy about the reunion otherwise imagine the mood during ceremonies like this.

Our relationship went from cruse mode to race mode. Everything seemed to happen in fast forward. It seemed like we both lost control and were just going with the flow.

So the Kochi venue was fixed in one of the cafés nearby. I was super stressed as I had to meet all his relatives. Even though we said it was going to be a small gathering, it ended up with around 20 people.

As usual, I was also stressed about my dress, hair and makeup. Luckily I had bought few Kurtas already so I had a set I could wear during the ceremony. I wasn’t even sure what was expected of me as I had never gone to anyone’s Kochi ceremony. Not living in Nepal for a long time, it was hard for me to remember the traditional ceremonies in depth.

Finally the day for Kochi arrived. From the morning, I was bit tensed but AS was there telling me everything will be all right. So I went to the café with my parents and some uncles while my other uncles were going to meet us there.

When we reached the café, AS’s side of the family was already there. After the initial introduction, we all sat down and we ordered food and drinks.

As you know, Kathmandu is not a big place so it happened that some of my relatives already knew some of his relatives. It made it easier for everyone to break the ice and everyone was talking and enjoying each other’s company. There was a kind of positiveness and happiness in the room and everyone seemed to be enjoying the occasion. Looking around the room, I was satisfied that my fear was not justified and things would be fine.

I was sitting between AS’s mum and his aunt. They of course had many questions form me and I just answered in my best possible manner. I saw AS was sitting will my uncles and he and was enjoying his food and the conversations. After a while, it didn’t feel like there were two different family but they seems to be like friends who knew each other for a while.

During the conversation, from time to time, someone would share a joke or some old incident lifting everyone’s mood up. I was just happy looking around the room and thanking god that things were going better than hoped.

After both families were comfortable with each other the eldest member of AS’s family officially asked my hand in marriage for AS. It felt all so unreal to hear the formal speech and my dad accepting the proposal formally as well.

It was decided that a small engagement ceremony was to follow and was announced to everyone.

Do you have similar culture in your country?

XOXO

M from nepaliaustralian

Go to Part 15

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Posted in Marriage, Nepal, Newari Culture, Our Story, Our Wedding, Relationship

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