Post card from Kathmandu ( Nepal) 1981

Temple in Kathmandu
 

 

 

A short flight from Calcutta landed me in the Kingdom of Nepal which is surrounded by the Mighty Everest Mountains. Travelling alone, ( free at last !) , I picked up, at the airport ( should I say he picked me), a wealthy Muslim gentleman to be my guide for the three days of my stay in Kathmandu. Not only did he provide me with a chauffeur driven, (white BMW) everyday for sight seeing trips, he also took me out for meals with his friends to the top world-class restaurants which catered for variety of international cuisines!! Can't be bad for a Western girl looking for some fun with the Eastern boy!

During the sixties, some of the hippie culture from the West found its final resting place all the way in Kathmandu, the spiritual home of two major eastern religions: Hinduism and Buddhism. There was no escaping the small city of Kathmandu, from Hindu temples and Buddha's stupas, they were every where. With the help from my guide, I met the famous living Goddess of Nepal the goddess  'Kumari' who was only available for meeting the true blue vegetarian Hindus. ( I am not).

' Kumari' the living goddess, is a young girl chosen for her fearless quality, the quality which most Hindu devotees consider to be incarnation of Hindu goddess ' Kali' who had power and was fearless. The young goddess lives a very sheltered and privileged life until puberty. After puberty she is considered unclean and she ends up on a scrap heap; unable to find a suitable husband, as most men fear death if they marry the ex-Kumari- goddess!!!

Unfortunately, no life for the ex-goddess called ' Kumari' ? ( Kumari meaning a virgin goddess is a middle name given to most Hindu girls and it so happens that it is also my middle name too).