dada is 82

today is kushey aunsi, babu ko mookh herney din (father's day) and coincidentally dada's 82nd birthday too.. so we headed for patan in the morning with goodies. deviji was very alert and in high spirits today. pictures also include dada's visit to bagh bazar in the evening to do darshan and take aashirbaad from muwa.

dada wearing the garland sent by muwa...

baba and dipudaju with sandaji's delhi college day friend 'purdy' behind a table laden with ever increasing goodies...

... deviji a bit bewildered initially...

... and then bursting into laughter...

... hemudaju joins the group...

...didi bhai...

...dada holds a captive audience that include hinudidi and rumudidi...

... the audience increases...

... the view from from above...

phupu bhadaa

...two phupus and bhadaa...

...three phupus...

...didi bahini...

nanu, rumu didi and hinudidi with the three aunts...

daji's blackberry picture of me taking a picture of the cousins...

... before i also joined the group...

...nanu's present for her mama...

...the hep octagenarian...

... in the evening dada came to bagh bazar when muwa greeted him with tika...

... and then mami came up with her present for dada...

before settling down for some guff...

... and more guff....

... happy bud-day , dada!!!

an eyeful of green and blue and aru thok...

the blue sky in the morning tempted us to go to kot.. after a long break, ever since the rains damaged parts of the bridge over godavari khola as well as some newly excavated tracks on the hillside. a very short trip, but invigorating for the heart and soul!! we did the usual plane-watching, observing nature.. and just watching the play of light and shadow in the kathmandu valley... no himals.. they were covered by clouds...


from bande gaun.. the clouds almost seem to be pretending to be himals!! the bright green paddy fields, the blue skies that only rains brings these days, and the white clouds.. perfect combination...

... heading towards bisankhu.. strips of paddy field bewteen uttis groves.. and in the foreground.. 'plotted' land with no cultivation

when we reached kot, we saw the thai 777 approaching the airport... swayambhu (don't call it monkey temple please!) way in the background...

... and touch down... in the backdrop you can see pashupati temple and even make out the smoke from a cremation pyre...

greenery to the south west

...and the jade valley...

a quick tour of the bari... flowers and insects...

spiders' webs all around.. strands of this one reflecting the sunlight...

.. the lone katus in the bush...

and amba that will probably end up in the village kids' bellies before it ripens!!

soon clouds start gathering in the south...

we decide to wait for the thai aircraft to take off... here she is leaving other aircraft behind and on the threshhold of being airborne...

such a gracefull plane!

the changing kathmandu skyline... tall buildings sprouting everywhere...

the rain seemed to be fast heading north... so we decided to head down...

the green paddy carpet in bistachhaap is so very soothing to the eye... godavari marble quarry in the backdrop...

... and up close...

crossing the godavari khola just before our jeep climbs up to bande gaon...

looking back at kot danda... madrassa, nestled at the bottom of the hill...

... and the chilli strings in bande gaun.. as we head further down...

krishnasthami with a difference

today, was a krishnasthami with a difference. aside from a spectacular sunset, and the evening puja, it was a big day for mami, as it was the initiation of her 6-year-old dream of establishing a 'samabeshi' (inclusive)gurukul for girls. today the gargi kanya gurukul was officially launched, with its first nine students from various parts of nepal. the students and the teachers and mentors had come to mami for blessings.

mami welcomes the girls individually with tika and sagun.

the nine girls were from eight different districts,from sindhuli to salyan.. their ethnic diversity apparent from their faces...

the gurus, advisors and well-wishers...

the nine shishyas eating dahi kera peda...

mami greeting kamalaji, the driving force behind the setting up of the gurukul...

.. and the other half of the twin, nirmalaji...

and the gurkul in charge, bijayaji...

mami in turn gets her tika from the youngest shishya of the gurukul...

...then it is time for the matriarch of the gurukul for a bit of marga darshan to the girls...

a snippet of mami's address to the girls...


a group shot before parting...

ghantaghar, and our trees, including the rudrakshya, silhouetted against a gorgeous sunset...

after sunset our puja started, this time just prava and me doing puja, as jyoti is away in the usa, revelling with her graddaughter and others...

rajan distributes prasad after the puja to mami, muwa, bindadidi and renudijju amongst others...

just then we get a call from jyoti... we take turns to talk to her and wish her happy birthday in advance.. her birthday is the day after krishnasthami...

... muwa wishing and giving her blessings to her granddaughter jyoti across the saat samundra... as the other two grandchildren listen on...

... iti...