22 July 2009
flight to biratnagar today
started as a slightly gloomy day in kathmandu with the overcast grahan.. the flight to biratnagar on the buddha air beechcraft was really great, despite the scratched surface of the window, which meant i had to put up the camera on the the top of the window to click pictures! green hills, white clouds, blue mountains and the white himal and the the nearly clear skies.. and then as we neared biratnagar.. the sandy expanse of where the kosi flowed through villages last year, was a stark reminder of what can happen again and again....
19 July 2009
clean and green view from kot
monsoon with a smattering of clouds and no rain, just the kind of weather for kot! crystal clear view all around, with all the dust and muck of kathmandu valley air washed down by previous rains... the himals visible in the morning, yet not baring all.. playing hide and seek with strips of clouds... what a view! wah kot!
we went and checked out the newly constructed water tank and taps-- the thuldhara-- a perennial source of water for the people of kot (who have to trek down to it, and for the residents of bistachhap, who tap on the water once it flows down to the valley
really sad to see that the residents of kot danda seem to think that out of sight is out of their lives, when they dump their trash down a steep slope. need to introduce them to the suiro culture
we reached kot saturday mid afternoon. the valley was overcast.. but it was raining kukur biralo in gokarna side
as we walked up the kot hill and looked towards bistachhap valley, dark clouds were inching towards phulchoki
we went and checked out the newly constructed water tank and taps-- the thuldhara-- a perennial source of water for the people of kot (who have to trek down to it, and for the residents of bistachhap, who tap on the water once it flows down to the valley
really sad to see that the residents of kot danda seem to think that out of sight is out of their lives, when they dump their trash down a steep slope. need to introduce them to the suiro culture
as we climbed up the hill we saw bistachhap valley with bright green paddy fields... a luxury compared with many parts in lalitpur, where ropain hasn't happened due to lack of sufficient rainfall .. notice also the scar in the mountain that is the godavari marble quarry...
after having chiya in madan's teashop in the kot ridge, we started our way down to our house. the view to the west was mesmerising... shafts of orange light piercing through the scattered clouds...
sunlight squeezes through the nagdhunga pass to the west of kathmandu.. this is the closeup (from my tiny digital camera)..
.. and this is the long shot
still more of the same scene
the pine forest above godavari (kitini) reflects the evening orange tint
sunakothi area gets a sunaulo glow
more of the same.. i couldn't get enough of it!
sunlight squeezes through the nagdhunga pass to the west of kathmandu.. this is the closeup (from my tiny digital camera)..
.. and this is the long shot
still more of the same scene
the pine forest above godavari (kitini) reflects the evening orange tint
sunakothi area gets a sunaulo glow
more of the same.. i couldn't get enough of it!
rachan explores a tiny 'cave' on the flanks of kot... our wishful thinking for a hidden spring to cure the water woes in kot danda!
evening time and we're in for a feast of golguppa or pani/dahi puri
evening time and we're in for a feast of golguppa or pani/dahi puri
baba makes one more guppa
... and in it goes...
the night time view was equally scintillating.. you just felt like keeping your eyes glued... the distant pilik pilik of the narayanhiti strobe light... the sodium vapour yellow glow of the airport... and more fascinating, watching whole swathes of the valley going dark with loadshedding!
it rained all night.. and the view next morning was breathtaking....the valley was coverd with a very thin layer of wispy clouds.. but the blue hills and the even darker blue silhoutte of the himals beyond... (missed the sunrise due to the rainfall lullaby!)
ganesh himal range with its mantle of clouds
annapurna himal glows in between the badal
the valley with the green fields (yes being encroached by bhu-mafia, but still some breathing space left), clouds and the mountains
the jugal himals
the ganesh himal and kathmandu valley sandwich with the cloud filling
baba enjoying his pride view!
the view
the clouds sneaking up murali mountain
soon the cluds threaten to engulf our house and view too...
but they decide to fizzle out and give us back our view...
ahhh the layers. from lapsi bot to langtang
one more view of ganesh and kantipuri nagari
and another view!
and another view of a cloud-clad himalchuli and kathmandu valley, awash in morning light
does this sky look anything like a monsoony sky? the reason we got such a view! wah kot!
... and in it goes...
the night time view was equally scintillating.. you just felt like keeping your eyes glued... the distant pilik pilik of the narayanhiti strobe light... the sodium vapour yellow glow of the airport... and more fascinating, watching whole swathes of the valley going dark with loadshedding!
it rained all night.. and the view next morning was breathtaking....the valley was coverd with a very thin layer of wispy clouds.. but the blue hills and the even darker blue silhoutte of the himals beyond... (missed the sunrise due to the rainfall lullaby!)
ganesh himal range with its mantle of clouds
annapurna himal glows in between the badal
the valley with the green fields (yes being encroached by bhu-mafia, but still some breathing space left), clouds and the mountains
the jugal himals
the ganesh himal and kathmandu valley sandwich with the cloud filling
baba enjoying his pride view!
the view
the clouds sneaking up murali mountain
soon the cluds threaten to engulf our house and view too...
but they decide to fizzle out and give us back our view...
ahhh the layers. from lapsi bot to langtang
one more view of ganesh and kantipuri nagari
and another view!
and another view of a cloud-clad himalchuli and kathmandu valley, awash in morning light
does this sky look anything like a monsoony sky? the reason we got such a view! wah kot!
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