Ajay R Tuladhar's Page

Indra Jatra

Born in Kathmandu as a Newar, I clearly have no idea just why it took me 28 years to witness my first Indra Jatra. It was only after seeing my first (last year), I realized how much value our traditions had and how foolish I had been all these years.

Indra Jatra (Kumari Jatra) is one of the greatest festivals celebrated in Kathmandu Valley. The festival is marked to thank Indra (God of…

Knowing your Pashmina and steps to taking care of it

Pashmina, also known as the “Diamond Fiber” and “The soft gold of high Asia” is reportedly the finest, softest and the warmest wool found in nature. It is derived from the under belly of the “Capra Hircus”, the mountain goat or as locally known “Changrya”, found in the remote regions of the Himalayas above 10000 feet from sea level and the Inner Mongolian highlands. The goats are never harmed in the…

Chotu

My brother has a very loud voice, one reason maybe being my grandmother, who had lost her hearing when we were young and hearing aid had not yet been imported. So sometimes my brother sounds furious even if he has not reached that level. One morning my brother has this furious voice. “Chotu, idar ahao (Chotu, Come here)”. Takes him two floors top and points at some spots on the floor “Yeh kisney giraya? (Who spilled that?). My…

Rara Rendezvous

Back home, some people told us it was a day and half trek to the lake. We walked slow and we carried a lot. So we planned to reach the lake in two and half days, spend three nights at the lake and coming back down hill would be an easy two days walk. Don’t start laughing; the fun part for you is yet to come.

It took us around about 15 hours to…