Festivals, rituals, architecture and the people keeping them alive. Nepal's cultural life is not a museum exhibit.
culture
Nepal does not observe a quiet month. From Dashain in October to Bisket Jatra in April, the festival calendar is one of the most loaded in Asia. A month-by-month guide to what is actually happening and where.
culture
Bisket Jatra pulls Bhaktapur apart and puts it back together every Nepali New Year. Two chariots, two teams, a tug of war through the old city streets, and one very specific pole.
Kathmandu
Pashupatinath charges non-Hindus a thousand rupees to stand on one bank and watch the cremations from behind a fence. What happens on the other side of that arrangement is more complicated.
culture
The Maya Devi Temple marks where the Buddha was born. Around it, forty-two monasteries built by nations from Myanmar to Germany. What the pilgrimage economy looks like and what it has built over.
culture
Tihar is not Diwali. The five-day festival runs its own ritual calendar - lamps, animals, Deusi Bhailo, and Bhai Tika - and the shape of it is changing with migration and apartment living.
culture
The Gurung of Lamjung district have been called Gurkhas for so long that the word has buried the culture. What the heritage trails, village elders, and Tamu Dhee ceremonies say about identity now.