Nepal – Day 5: Namobuddha & Pashupatinath

Today was a difficult day. I could not sleep because of the traffic outside; cars east of Kathmandu Valley all seem to have horrible sounding horns that they use profusely and indiscriminately. I woke up before five o’clock, and although watching the sun rise over the Himalayas was part of the programme, we saw diddlysquat, as dust and pollution brought the visibility down to laughable levels.

Taking the tour bus, we journeyed to Namobuddha, a monastery that belongs to the Karma Kagyu school of Buddhism. Our tour guide gave us an interesting lesson on the story of the two disputed heads of the sect, both of whom claim to be reincarnates of the lineage. Namobuddha Monastery itself also has an interesting history. It is said that before he reached enlightenment, the Buddha lived through many lives, perfecting himself by practicing good deeds. One of these good deeds took place in the area we visited. While hunting, one of the Buddha’s previous incarnations came across a tigress with starving cubs. Moved to pity, he cut pieces of flesh from his own body and fed it to the animals until he died. Numerous paintings and statues commemorate the remarkable deed to this day.

We descended from the monastery on what was meant to be a pleasant walk through the Nepali countryside. Winding my way through the forest filled with prayer flags, I felt as though I were swimming along multi-coloured kelp in a carnivalesque water-universe. However, upon reaching the main road, we found that it was desolate and dusty, and that the footpath we had intended to take was blocked off by inconsiderate construction work. Changing our plans, we had to walk along the dusty road until the closest town our tour bus could reach. My shoes turned beige in the process, and I shudder at the thought of what colour my lungs have become.

After lunch, we returned to Kathmandu. We only made one stop: the last place on our list that we have not visited was Pashupatinath, one of the holiest Hindu sites. As the Bagmati River flows into the Ganges, it is considered holy, and the temple which is built on it counts as an auspicious place for performing cremations. People from all around Nepal come here to perform the last rites of their loved ones, and some old people even relocate to the temple’s hospice to ensure that they will be cremated on the site.

While wandering through the complex, we were asked to make way for a van that had just arrived at the boundary of the pedestrian area. The writing on the doors revealed it to be an ambulance. However, instead of medics rushing out, a group of men walked around the car to open the back door, revealing a stretcher that they then slowly lifted. The corpse on top was almost entirely wrapped in white cloth; all that remained visible of the man was his face with a neatly combed beard and a placid, restful expression. Preceded by a weeping and evidently drunk or drugged relative supported by two others, the stretchers were brought down to the riverside where the body was – within hours, no doubt – turned into nothing but ash.