Kathmandu

Burnt hair. The smell takes me back to my school days of misbehaving with bunsen burners in the science lab, in the kind of way that only smells can. The rolling cloud of smoke that engulfs us drifts on revealing the onward road and bringing me back to the present. I walk out onto a bridge and stop to look out over the stifled flow of the Bagmati River during this, the dry season. Plastic bottles and an assortment of other rubbish almost completely cover the exposed mud banks and attempt to strangle what is left of the flow of these apparently sacred waters. The sun is setting beyond several minarets decorated with tridents and snakes to the west of the river and below them the Arya Ghats are continuing their round the clock process of purifying the dead in an endless round of open cremations. This is Pashupatinath in Kathmandu, a temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, and one of the most sacred spots in the entire subcontinent.

Kathmandu Valley is bursting at the seems with incredible Hindu and Buddhist sites, many of which have UNESCO world heritage status. The overwhelming infusion of faith and belief into every fabric of society lends this country one of it’s many captivating appeals. Besides the thought provoking intensity of the cremations however there is also, for the child in me, a great source of amusement to be found at times. The medieval Hindu pornography on the roof struts of the Pashupatinath Temple in Bhaktapur for example is guaranteed to raise a smile.