Strolling along the ancient streets

Today is exactly one year since the big earthquake here in Nepal...We still experience aftershocks now and then, there are still not demolished buildings here and there, there are still thousands of people living in tents. The death toll from the quake has reached 9053 and 255 persons are still considered missing, 111 of them foreigners from 25 countries.
On Saturday we decided to visit Bhaktapur, one of the towns of the Kathmandu valley that was damaged the most. This ancient town has always been famous for its unique architecture, temples, stculptures and works of wood carving. It was nice to see that though wounded, the town is still alive and  hasn't lost its charm and beauty.

Court dress in Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka

Throughout history there has always been significant difference between the costume of nobles and that of ordinary people. In many countries there were special laws that dictated what could or could not be worn by who. For those who appeared at court requiries were even more specific and more strict. My today's post is about interesting examples of court dress in the 19th century Burma, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

Fashion photography from Nepal

Can't help but sharing with you these wondeful photographs taken in Nepal by Erik Almas for a Norwegian clothing designer Leila Hafzi (and she is the model on all the photos). These are the most beautiful fashion photographs taken in this country that I have seen so far. Please visit Erik Almas's blog to see more amazing photos as well as Behind the Scenes video.

Jewelry for Hindu deities

Adorned image of Khadga Jogini Goddess of Sankhu, Nepal

In Hinduism images of deities are traditionally decorated with jewelry. According to Hindu belief all precious metals and gem stones are believed to be ritually pure and any pollution or contamination they may catch is removed simply by washing. So such adornments are suitable for deities decoration.
The purpose of adorning the deity image with jewelry is to impress the mind of the viewer to whom such a show of wealth is awe inspiring.

You never know with nature

Just a few days ago I read a scientific article that said that possibility of major earthquake (7 and higher) in Nepal in the coming week was just 0.1%. And today, when I was about to do a new post on my blog, it hit the country again, the major one, 7.3. The odds were so small and still it happened. It is really nerve-racking. People had just started to calm down and now this...
Again there is a chaos in the streets, again all the shops are closed, again everybody is scared, again there is no electricity. At least, internet and phone network still work.
Just yesterday we went to a small town on the outskirts of Kathmandu, to give some relief material to people in need. Every family in our neighbourhood as well as my husband's organisation donated some money and we bought rice, lentils, oil, sugar, salt, mattresses, blankets and zing sheets. This used to be a charming medieval town, I had visited it before one time during a local festival. And this is how it looks now. So heart breaking...

Anarkali maxi dress and post-quake wedding

On Sunday we attended a first post-quake festive event: a wedding at our neighbourhood. The party was cancelled but they decided to go ahead with the ceremony after all. Of course, there was no music and dancing, no fancy food. Everything was organised in a quiet, homely manner. I still had not felt like dressing up but for the ceremony I simply had to. And I am glad I did, it really cheered me up. And though there was still tension on the faces and in the eyes of those who came for the event, it was really nice to get together, to forget for a while about what everybody has been through recently. I think people needed it.

The scariest experience of my life

Hello friends and readers! Hello from devastated Nepal! I believe everybody out there have heard about the dreadful earthquake that hit the country on Saturday. Not that it came as a surprise to anybody living in Nepal. This earthquake had been expected for several years. According to statistics such major earthquakes happen in the region every 70-75 years. The last occurred in Nepal in 1934, 81 years ago. So, actually it was even slightly over due. Interesting, that in spite of this, as I read in a local newspaper a couple of months ago, 80% of the respondents of a sociological survey believed that the Big One would not happen during their life time. Naivety? Sooner, our human nature: we refuse to believe that something like this can really happen to us. Even me...not that I didn't believe in reality of this earthquake but somehow I hoped that I will not be in Nepal when it happens.

Tibetan and Sherpa costumes at Lhosar celebration

Yesterday it was Lhosar - Tibetan and Sherpa New Year. It is one of the most important festivals for Tibetan Buddhists and at this day people try to visit one of the sacred sites. They usually dress up for the occasion and dressing up in this case means wearing traditional costume. Some like classic variant, while others prefer more modern versions. I am not a Tibetan Buddhist but I like to go to the places of celebrations at this day too, just to enjoy the festive atmosphere, to watch people, to admire all those colourful costumes.

Good Morning, Nepal! - IMPREINT's "Portraits" collaboration post

Recently I was invited to join an international photography project "Portraits" started by a London-based artist IMPREINT. The artist collects portraits of different people holding a common item - a balloon. Why a balloon? While painting a project "1000 balloons" a couple of years ago the artist came to the idea that we people are just like those balloons: all different, imperfect yet all beautiful. And he decided to start this new project "Portraits" where the balloon symbolizes the common ground that we all have not depending on age, shape, skin colour, culture background, social status: we all are human beings, we all can love, hate, cry, laugh, feel pain or feel happiness.

Nepali kids in traditional outfits, part two

The post "Nepali kids in traditional outfits" is quite popular in my blog. So, here is part two with new photographs. This little beauty in green sari, as well at the one on the photo below, were spotted during a street festival. They were sitting at the stall collecting donations for a temple. Of course, nobody could just pass by seeing these lovely girls.

Tattoo Convention: dress and accessories

This weekend the 4th International Tattoo Convention has being held here in Kathmandu. There are over 100 professional tattoo artists from 22 different countries at the event, so anybody who has dreamed about getting a tattoo by an artist from Japan, UK, Italy, France, USA, India can easily do that just by coming at the Convention, they all are there in one place. I have no plans of getting a tattoo yet but I did go to the gathering. Actually, this year it was my second time. The first time I attended the Convention two years ago. I see tattooing as a form of art, I enjoy looking at different designs that people inked on their bodies. I know many are still prejudiced against the tattooed persons, they associate them with criminals and violence. Historically tattooing was indeed done by criminals, sex workers or sailors. But it is not like this any more. Though some guys did look a bit tough there was not the slightest hint of rudeness in their behavior. All were polite, smiley, friendly. Nobody objected to being photographed.
At such event you expect at least some people would be dressed and accessorized a bit differently. Below are a few photographs of interesting outfits and accessories that I caught with my camera. And here what I wore for the Convention: black skinnies, a tiger print t-shirt and a hand-made bracelet-and-ring set.

Cat-woman t-shirt for picnic in the hills

On Monday it was the first day of the new year here and so it was a day off. On this days the Nepalese like to go somewhere up in the hills for a picnic. And so did we. We went to a place called Kakani, it is at a height of 2073 m. The place offers cooler, fresher air and breathtaking views of the Himalayas...when the weather is sunny. Alas, at that day the sky was grey and gloomy and it looked like it was going to rain. So, no breathtaking views of the snowy peaks. Anyway, the place was nice and though the views were not that stunning they were pleasant enough to enjoy them.

Nepalese ethnic jewelry: head ornaments

This is my fourth post dedicated to Nepalese ethnic jewelry. The previous ones were about nose ornaments, earrings and necklaces. And today's article will be focused on head ornaments. Perhaps, the most impressive head jewelry pieces belong to the women of Newar community. On the photo above you can see a girl wearing one of the most beautiful head decorations called lunya swan. This eye-catching piece is made of numerous floral and foliate elements and the whole composition looks much like a bunch of flowers with insects hovering over them. A touch of colour  is added in the form of red or green glass beads. It is worn like a hat on the back of the head and may be as large as 30 cm in diameter but the average size is between 15 and 20 cm.

Dressed to welcome Spring

Spring has officially started in Nepal. Yesterday was the festival here called Basant Panchami which marks the beginning of spring ("basant" literally means "spring") and at the same time, it is a festival dedicated to Saraswati, Goddess of knowledge, wisdom, arts and music. Saraswati is supposed to celebrate her birthday and at the same time she opens the doors of the spring season. People, mostly women and schoolchildren, pay homage to the image of Saraswati and sprinkle the goddess' image with grains, flowers, fruits and sweets. Look at the beauties in traditional attires that I caught with my camera.

Nepalese ethnic jewelry: necklaces

 Newari girl wearing tikma necklace

The most popular necklace in Nepal is pote. It is made of strands of glass beads and generally worn on a regular basis as a symbol of marriage. It fulfills the same function as a ring in the Western world. Sometimes the potes are thicker multi-strand necklaces, and sometimes they are long single strand necklaces. If a gold pendant is added to the pote then the necklace is called tilhari. The pendant consists of seven horizontally arranged gold or silver beads. Brahman or Chetri women wear small tilhari of two to five cm in length. In other areas of Nepal tilhari may be as large as 15 cm.

Nepalese ethnic jewelry: earrings

I've already written about the nose jewelry in Nepal and today I want to tell and show you Nepalese most unique, unusual or popular traditional earrings. It is amazing at how many places Nepalese women chose to pierce their ears: the lobule, concha, helix and even the tragus.

Gay parade in Kathmandu

As I mentioned in my previous post on the day of Gaj Jatra festival one more event takes place in Kathmandu - Gay parade. "Kathmandu Pride is the premier pride parade and festival for LGBT residents in Nepal. It was first launched by the Blue Diamond Society, an LGBT rights organization, in 2001, but most participants wore masks to prevent being identified by suspected homophobic people; in addition, the parade was purposefully scheduled to coincide with the Gai Jatra festival.
It gradually discarded masks over the years, and officially went "international" for participation by tourists and foreign ambassadors in 2010." Wikipedia

Costumes of the Gai Jatra festival

In August every year a big festival is held here in Nepal called "cow festival" or Gai Jatra. If you watch its celebration you would not guess what is its real meaning. The atmosphere is very joyful and carnival-like. Yet during the day the homage is paid to cows and to those who passed away during the year. It is believed that a person who dies of natural death go straight to the court of Yama, the God of Death. He decides at what level the souls shall be reincarnated again on earth. The judgment gates are opened only once each year, at the day of Gai Jatra.

Colours of the engagement party

On Wednesday we were invited again to an engagement party. The time of the event's start was at 4 pm and it confused me what to wear: still hot, still sunny. I didn't want to be over-dressed and at the same time to be under-dressed would mean to show disrespect. Finally I chose a black skirt of Western design to pair with an embroidered Indian blouse choli that is a part of another set. Added metallic sandals and a few pieces of  simple jewelry and that's it. I think the outfit had just the right balance between "too much" and "not enough".

A day in the botanical garden

In this outfit - white pants and stripy top - I imagine myself somewhere far away in the open sea, on the deck  of my personal yacht leaning to the mast. Alas, no sea nearby and no yacht in my possession. So, instead I am wearing it for a walk in the botanical garden and leaning to the exotic Yucca tree.