Passage V

In Katmandu

The narrow cobbled streets and wide paved avenues of Katmandu, Nepal, buzzes with the interplay of old and new ways. In the months I spent in that central Asian capital, I was intrigued by the culture, having allowed local traditions and modern importations to flourish side by side.

The ancient tiered pagodas in the central square draw both worshipers and tourists. Merchants sell not only traditional crafts but also high tech European flashlights from the temple steps. Japanese cars swerve around donkeys, goats, and bicycles. (64)

[1] One afternoon, after the nourishment of some Texas-style barbecued chicken and apple pie, I wandered out into the streets. [2] Garlanded with gold, masked with dramatic makeup, and barred from walking outside, she looked down at her changing city and my from a second-floor window. [3] Suddenly aware of being observed, I looked up into the face of a goddess—the Living Goddess, a child revered as divine. (67)

Finally, I saw an old-fashioned honey-gatherer selling wild honey he had brought down from the mountains. Honey is a treat enjoyed in most parts of the world. From two great pots, which were tied to a pole he carried across his shoulders, the man poured honey into jars. (70) Barefoot, and singing to advertise his honey, he toured the city, filling even foreigners' jars with the golden liquid.

All over the city,I saw old Nepalese ways coexisting with modern Western ones. In a Tibetan neighborhood, Buddhist monks in their yellow robes played soccer with boys from a nearby neighborhood. In the same district in which dentists treat their patients using the latest methods, toothache sufferers may try relieving the pain by driving a nail into a huge hunk of wood hung for that purpose in the public square. On Katmandus busiest commercial avenue, it was under billboard advertisements for toothpaste and movies, and a sidewalk artist chalked heroes from the country's oldest myths. Katmandu has been influenced by change from outside, but its Nepalese culture thrives.