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...

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.

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

A new coat and a dance show from Russia

Just a few days ago I bought this new coat. Winter sale has started here and I got it with 50% discount. Though cold season is almost over here in Kathmandu, still I couldn't resist to buy it. And yesterday I got an opportunity to wear it anyway. We were invited to the Russian center of Science and Culture for the Ball Dances Show by a dance group from Karelia. The show was spectacular, I enjoyed it so much. Popular ball dances like rock-and-roll, foxtrot, waltz, rumba, salsa and many others were performed. And I liked the costumes of the dancers, so beautiful.

Costumes and masks of the Cham dancers

These photos I took during New Year's celebrations but New Year was Tibetan and called Losar. They celebrate it in their own way. During this festival the Cham dances are performed. They are meant to be enjoyed as entertainment but they also present religious messages and a bit of Tibetan history as well. These dances are performed by monks dressed in rich costumes of embroidered and appliqued silk brocade. Preparations of the costumes is a difficult tusk that requires a great deal of skill.

Dance costumes of Sri Lanka

Today I want to take you to Sri Lanka again and show you some of its dancing costumes which impressed me no less than the dances themselves. They are striking, colourful, unsual in style, and once seen can't be forgotten.
One of the most impressive from my point of view is so called ves costume, the common dance costume for most of the Kandyan dances. It consists of a large white loincloth, which is wrapped to form a kind of pair of loose trousers. The upper body is bare, except the large breast ornament, a kind of beaded net, constructed of small seashells and silver beads. The arm and shoulder decorations are also made of silver, like the impressive tiara-like headgear with its large ear ornaments. According to studies, it is believed that the outfit was simpler in older times - the tiara was in the form of a naga snake and now it has seven protruding “leaves” or “flames”. It was during the two last centuries that the outfit gradually got its present, spectacular shape.

Brazilian carnival inspired dance costumes

The photos were taken in Belarus during a national festival.