Durbar Square, Thamel and New Road

Sitting in the dark (load sharing) after another good day. Started late after a long sleep, went for lunch with a few folks at OR2K and then off browsing through Thamel, New Road and Durbar Square. The place was packed! Saw a lot of cool stuff including the Kumari Nevi's house in Durbar Square. The Kumari Nevi is a living goddess, a young girl(as young as 4) who is chosen from the Newari caste and, until she has her period, is worshiped as a goddess. She's not allowed to touch the ground and only leaves her home 6 times a year (carried on a chariot). After she has her first period, she becomes an ordinary person and joins the real world again. I guess these girls, spoiled and worshiped until puberty, come out really messed up and cannot marry because they carry a curse. Still, their family is well taken care of and she gets a good dowry at retirement.

New Road is an area full of fabric shops, gold bangles, and everything you can imagine from buddha statues to knock off rolex watches. It's an insanely busy spot. Here's some shots of a holy cow, a Sadhu and the Kumari Bahal (her home in the square).








There's a novel written by a Kumari about her life that is probably worth reading: "From Goddess to Mortal" by Rashmilla Shakya. And of course, I've added new videos :-)