Culture and Change

Have you ever seen a short man-like creature, about two feet tall and furry in a big way – either black or white – and mostly active at night? Well, only few have. But ask older people around Kathmandu Valley,…

Once upon a time, some present-day VDCs were kingdoms of their own. In Saathi-ghar in Kavre, a two hour drive outside Kathmandu, the Paharis once ruled. Locals tell how these people of Terai origin had migrated up along the rivers…

We were sitting around the campfire one night in December, ten years ago, just two hours outside Kathmandu. Location: Saathi-ghar. It was a chill evening – there were no clouds – and the sky was glittering with stars. But more…

The prayers at the Chaath festival are full of concentration and spiritual presence. Visit rivers in the Terai in October/November and you might get to feel the ambience.

The brother-sister festival at Tihar is only one of several others. In Maithili communities across the Terai, love between brothers and sisters is also celebrated at Sama Chakeva in commemoration of heroic acts of two mythic sieblings. Sama, a young…

This video is from a remote village East of Janakpur – at night on the last full moon of November – capturing moments of ancient Shaman rituals. Most of them women, the local Shamans are performing rituals celebrating the slaying…

It’s hard to say how it happened and who did it. In a way it’s everybody’s fault and so nobody’s fault in particular. It just turned out that way, didn’t it, as we came to enjoy more and more of…

If warm colours delight the soul, take a ride along Nepal’s local roads. In fact, even better, go for a walk and let it in! The view along many local roads can leave deep impressions, even if you’ve already been…