brata--bhanda

This shin-dig kicked off at 5am.

I guess you have to wake up early if you want to become a man. 

And you have to do other stuff too... like get your head shaved. 

The poor little guy was shivering cold! 

Yesterday my landlord's son had his "Bratabhanda." It is like the Hindu version of a  Bar Mitzvah. This ceremony is only for the Brahmin caste, but Brahmin boys must complete this ritual in order to be "religiously perfect." Also, he has to do this before he can get married. The most notable part of the ceremony is when he gets a sash made of string that he wears for the rest of his life. 

Krishna, my landlord, preparing for the ceremony.

There was a lot going on, and I didn't understand any of it. Occasionally I would ask someone what was happening, but most of the time I still did not understand, even after having it explained. Hinduism is a very complex religion with tons of symbolism. Most people don't actually know the meaning of what they are doing, but they do it because it is part of culture.

So festive! 

Many people brought trays of offerings. Rice, money, flowers, and fruit were covered by little doilies.

It was so crowded when they were giving the offerings. 

 

Finally he got to wear a fancy outfit and we all got to eat yummy Nepali food. 

The end. 

Easter.

Happy Easter

The King lives!

Most of the people I have talked to do not know that today is Easter or what it means.  Oh, how I wish I could speak more Nepali so that I could tell them why I celebrate this holiday. 

 

holi.

Tonight as I was walking down the main road, I passed our 13 year old neighbor, Milan. He is about 10% boy and 90% terrible! On Tuesday, Nepal celebrated Holi, which means that the whole country had a giant water balloon fight/ color war. Milan threw the water balloons so hard that he was making us girls almost cry! It seriously hurt so bad!

So tonight as we were walking opposite directions on the road, I turned around and yelled, "Boy! If I had a water balloon right now..." and threw a make-believe water bomb at him. I was walking, shouting, and throwing simultaneously, as gracefully as a dove. Then, as I wisked myself around to start walking facing forward, I found myself doubled over on top of a motorcycle. Are ya' flippin' kidding me? The pain in my right shin made me acutely aware of the fact that I totally just walked into a parked motorcycle.

Then we all laughed hard.

But not as hard as we laughed on Tuesday.

Here's a glimpse:

 

Four of the five families that share our courtyard came out to play. It was such a good time of bonding... cause throwing hot pink powder at someone has a way of making you feel like family.

I invited Rasmi to come over, so she stopped by to share a few squirts.

We even had an appearance from the Incredible Hulk and Steve Urkle!

Great fun, great fun. Two days later, I still have pink hair... it was so worth it. 

 

shivaratri

Today is a big holiday. There are tons of little holidays in Nepal, but today was a big deal. It is called "Shivaratri," which means "Shiva at night."

Today's celebrations are among the most noticeable of the Hindu holidays. For example, all of the children of Kathmandu spend their Shivaratri holiday outside holding ropes across small side streets. They demand money in exchange for safe passage. At the end of the day, the children divide their spoils and go purchase treats.

The child-pirates that roam the streets are somewhat irrelevant; the main celebration takes place at Pashupatinath, Nepal's most holy temple and cremation site. 

The cremation pyres. 

 This morning, my roommate, Meaghan, and I went to the temple with her language teacher in order to learn, learn, learn. We don't often attend Hindu events, so this was a great chance for us to gain some cultural understanding and also to practice our language.  

The temple at Pashupatinath. 

In order to avoid the million people- literally- they are expecting a million people to worship at Pashupatinath today, we left our house at 7am to go check out the festival. Most of the people worship at night (remember, it is called Shiva at night), so we went early to avoid some of the craziness.

A zoomed out view. 

Even though we expected small crowds, the lines were literally miles long. People were fighting... and running.... just to get a  good spot in line (think black Friday in America). Devotees waited in line for hours just so that they could do a puja  inside the temple. 

Oh how I pray that these people will find the freedom that I have found. 

Holy men selling blessings.

(Don't forget that you can click on the photos to get a better glimpse.)