this afternoon we went to ichangu narayan (one of the 4 narayan thans in kathmandu valley) and then on to chobhar gorge... we meaning baba, muwa, bindadi, cholu, robin and myself.. my memory of ichangu, which i must have visited when i was 3 or so, is that of green forests and fields.. that's it... muwa said she used to climb downhill from dhokatole, cross the clear and shallow waters of the bishnumati river and walk to ichangu... something she probably did 70 years ago!!! it was the first time for most of us anyway...
we went off the ring road at halchowk and the narrow road snaked gradually upwards...
... the crowded view below on the drive up... armed police headquarters at the bottom right... and houses competing to cover all green spaces...
a little bit of the
dhunga adda scene... this is where stone used to be quarried earlier, said robin...
the view from a bit further up... houses laying claim where the rice fields used to be... about to hug the foothills...
then came a dangerously steep and narrow climb and a turn.. where our jeep had to back down to let other traffic through.. hair-raising.... after that it was a lot of greenery... and the newer
dhunga adda... where stone quarrying has now been stopped... below is where farmers have planted flowers.. marigold...
verdant paddy fields.. soothing to the eyes...
.. and verdant hillsides too... right below this hill is where the ichangu narayan temple lies...
... muwa is a bit sceptical at first.. but then is finally convinced to walk to the temple... escorted by cholu and bindadi...
... window gardening in the house in the background...
there were nearly a hundred people in the temple premises, probably having a feast... in very high spirits... kids splashing water on each other like it was holi.. and others in mood for dancing...
idols in permanent worship in front of the temple placed by some devotee years ago...
these plates with inscription talking about
guthi land, the rice from which is to be used to offer
kheer, if i am not mistaken, every month to the deity... etc etc etc...
details of the temple portal...
... and muwa offering her prayers...
... just as the rest of us were also lining up at the temple door, over the nearby loudspeaker came the bollywood number
"munni badnaam huwi" and the dancing began...
...after a
darshan of the narayan, my mood a bit shaken with the incongruity of the lord's serenity and munni's notoriety, i asked the
pujari why the temple authorities didn't come up with a list of "do's and don'ts" for temple visitors... he said afternoons were always like this... then time for a
parikrama of the temple (skirting those playing cards behind the temple)
... the temple bells...
.. and another idol on the side...
as i was leaving the temple.. this is what it looked and sounded like... sad : (
... we then drove back... past these beautiful temples... one of them obviously for lord shiva...
... past this beautiful stone house...
... and back down the hill to the other side.. for a view of part of the kathmandu valley... looking north east...
... and to the east the swayambhunath hillock...
... down to the busy intersection beneath swayambhu...
we went southwards on the ring road past kalanki... in the backdrop shoulder to shoulder housing.. and even further back in the foothills of the mountain.. land cleared for more housing...
we got off to look at the water of the bagmati at chobhar... since we have not had rains in the past 24 hours.. the river was not in spate... looking south... here is the new bridge over bagmati...
... and the gorge to the north... the point where the water from all over the valley drains out...
a closer look at the point where rocks have fallen to make a cascade... imagine a powerful earthquake making more rocks tumble into the river in this manner... creating a dam.... !
... churning some froth in the bagmati rapids...
...the river takes the froth forth ...
the cliffs provide shelter for pigeons...
the newly built steps of the 'manjushree park' leading to the limestone caves...
the river continues to absorb trash.. these on their way down... trash from a nearby eatery...
.. how much of trash the river absorbs is evident in this image... where foam bits lie stranded in the river bank... two lines marking the high water point from last week's heavy rainfall... the polethene trash, which do not float like foam... can be found caught, and camouflaged in bushes...
the river, the trash and the silent witness... jal binayak (chobhar ganesh) temple...
... foam flotsam caught in a mini swirl on the side...
as we headed to climb the hill to drive towards nakkhu, a last glimpse of the river, the abandoned chobhar cement factory.. with hattiban and champadevi in the background...
