Neighbours and festivals

Last week I was hobbling on my crutches back to the flat and I saw a small dog running straight towards me dragging a long chain. I got talking to a lady who owned the runaway and she invited me in to her garden for chya  ( nepali sweet, spiced tea) and cell roti ( circular bread made by piping the dough into boiling hot oil).

 She was the wife of a gurkha soldier and we swapped news about our respective families. I had never met her before but this is typical of the hospitality of the nepali people. As I left she even cut a large mewa (papaya) from her tree as a parting gift. Here is a photo of her with her much loved runaway.
This week the traffic between our flat and the office has often been at a standstill. This is because of the big festival of the rato machendranath (red chariot) which is built every year in the Patan area of Kathmandu where we live. This bizarre structure has a wooden frame bound with jungle vines and  houses the golden idol which usually resides in the main temple. During the festival the chariot is pulled through the streets by teams of men. It is so tall that the power lines have to be turned off for the festival and if it topples over dire things are predicted to happen. If it successfully completes its route it is believed that much needed rain will come. In the picture you can see the man dressed in white atop the enormous structure putting the finishing touches to the pennants on the top.

 

Good News!

Today I have several pieces of good news to report. This will help me to forget the enormous black spider which emerged slowly from behind the bathroom cistern to terrify me in the middle of the night. Fortunately Roger rescued me quickly but the humane spider catcher which I had brought from the UK was completely inadequate since this creature was much too large to fit into the suction tube!
So, back to the good news: firstly we now have plenty of water since our landlady arranged for a tanker to deliver some to refill the well which was running dry. Secondly I have now parted company with my plaster cast after five long weeks and it is wonderful to be able to get around with just a trekking pole instead of crutches. I am doing the physiotherapy exercises and improving every day.

Also, the government has distributed free textbooks to hundreds of schools and although there have been some issues with quality, this should have a positive impact on the progress of many very poor students. The government schools are free but the cost of uniforms, textbooks, exercise books, pens and school bags can be prohibitive for these pupils.  Scholarships are available, both from the government and N.G.O's ( non government organisations) but there are never enough to meet all the needs. 
In addition, the post earthquake reconstruction of individual houses has now begun in earnest, our project had already trained workers in earthquake resistant building methods using local materials and now that the government permissions have been granted, work is proceeding quickly.