Browsing articles from "August, 2011"

Teej

Overview of Pashupatinath temple, near Kathman...

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Teej is an annual fasting festival celebrated by women in Nepal. It falls on the month of August or early September. Married women observe the Teej fast to honor Lord Shiva and for long and healthy life of their husband. Unmarried girls also observe fast on this day for a good husband. Teej celebrations lasts for three pious days. Traditional dances and songs form an important feature of Teej celebrations. Red color is considered auspicious for women observing Teej fast and so most of them dress up in red or bridal clothes.

Preparations for the festival begin well in advance. Fabric stores, sarees and suit outlets are stocked with the bridal red color fabric. Teej festival celebrations are carried further with sumptuous feasts and traditional performances. On this day, women dress up beautifully. They clad themselves in red colored apparels, wear glass bangles, heavy ornaments and apply henna. Teej gives women an opportunity to dress like the newly wed. They worship the epitome of divine marriage – Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati, for longevity and prosperity for their husband and family.

Three Days of Teej
Teej is a three-day-long festival in Nepal and each day has its own significance.

Dar Khane Din: the day to make merry
The first day of Teej in Nepal is called the ‘Dar Khane Din’. On this day, the womenfolk dressed in the finest clothed gather at one place and perform traditional dance and sing devotional songs. A special food called ‘dar’ is eaten. Celebrations continue till midnight after which the 24-hour-long fast begins.

Fasting Day
The second or the fasting day of the Teej festival is dedicated to pujas and prayers. The holy Pashupatinath temple is thronged by women in red sarees to offer prayers to Lord Shiva. Women gather in the temple around the beautifully decorated idols of Shiva and Parvati and offer fruits and flowers to seek blessings of the divine spirits. Lighting of an oil lamp is very important part of the puja ceremony. It is said that the oil lamp should be kept lit all night to avoid bad omen.

Rishi Panchami
The third day of the Teej Festival is called Rishi Panchami. On this day, the seven sages of the Hindu pantheon are worshiped by women in a belief that it will cleanse all sins of the previous year. Womenfolk take a holy bath with red mud found on the roots of the sacred Datiwan bush, along with its leaves. After three hours of rigorous cleansing, they come out purified and absolved from all sins. After this they sit in a semicircle while a priest sitting in the middle chants devotional prayers.

तीजको लहर आयो बरी लै (backstreeetboy.wordpress.com)

Kushe Aunsi

Kushe Aunsi or Fathers’ Day falls in the month of Bhadra on a new moon day. Matatirtha Aunsi celebrates mothers while Kushe Aunsi is for fathers. As per Hindu mythology, father should be respected as a God. So on this day people pay respect to their fathers by giving Dhog (bending the forehead on their father’s feet). After Dhog, they offer sweets, fruits and clothes as a sign of respect. Holy scriptures say, “There’s no God above our parent”.

People whose fathers have passed away go to offer Pinda (a round ball of cooked rice) at Gokarna temple in Kathmandu, where Gokarneshwor Mahadev’s temple is located. After the completion of the religious rite there, they donate money and cereals to the Brahmin priests and the poor in the name of their deceased fathers for salvation and virtue. On this day people crop Kush grass, which is believed to be the feature of Lord Vishnu by taking a holy bath early in the morning. The Kush grass is an indispensable item to conduct any kind of Hindu religious rites. This Kush grass can be used throughout the year for any kind of religious rites and if this day has fallen on Monday then this grass can be kept to use until the next twelve years for any kind of religious functions. Some people also make a mat out of this grass and keep it safely to sit on it and use while conducting the sacred religious functions which is called the “Kushashan”. Because of believed as a feature of Lord Vishnu this grass has been respected as a pious item in the Hindu mythology.

Mattya

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Matya (Mata Ya:, Mattya, Deep Yatra, Festival of lights, Candle walk festival) is a typical Buddhist festival of Nepal which in Newari means the festivals of lights. It is however, quite different from Deepawali which we celebrate every year in the month of November. This interesting festival begins early in the morning on the third day of the dark fortnight of Shrawan (August).

One of the most fascinating features of this festival is a long parade of the enthusiastic shrine-walkers who go round all the Buddhist shrines scattered in and around the city of Patan. It must be remembered here that Patan alone has more than 1300 Buddhist shrines. The number of shrine-walkers who colorfully form this impressive parade is around three to four thousands. Men and women both participate in this festival. They carry variety of interesting gifts to make offerings to Lord Buddha. The offerings of rice, grains, flowers, red Powders, sweets, incense and guru patra (a gift cup for guru) are quite common tin the scene. However the offering of oil or butter lamps to Lord Buddha on this auspicious day is a dominant feature. It is interesting to note that the majority of the shrine-walker are the lamp offers to the shrines. Offering lamps in particular to the Buddha on this day is said to signify great enlightenment obtained by overcoming the Maras (temptations).

There is a very interesting story about the origin of this festival. Once Shakya Muni Gautam was in deep penance to attain Nirvana. The Maras, awfully jealous of his determination came down to detract him. They came disguising themselves in different forms. Some were in the form of fierce-looking demons and some in apsara form (damsels) and so on. They all made every possible attempt to seduce him but all in vain. In a long run Shakya Muni overcame the Maras and became Buddha, the enlightened one. It is said that later on, the Maras came to confess their sin to lord Buddha and worshiped him with great honor. Ever since this festival is believed to have come into existence to mark this great day.

The expression of this fantastic story can be found in this festival. All those devil dancers and the apsara actors and several other funny mask-wearers who are the part and parcel of this festival parade are said to represent the Maras. This parade is always accompanied by several groups of musicians playing various kinds of traditional musical instruments. The route prescribed for this parade to pass through looks quite confusing yet a accepted as most perfect shortcut. This parade is supposed to move on in an unbroken chain. The route map of the entire parade is a leading group of musicians who always go ahead of the parade playing a kind of music. People here are not used to maps. It takes seven to eight hours to complete going round the entire Buddhist shrines.

It is interesting to note that the ten different neighborhoods of Patan have long been devoted to the regular running of this festival parade. The responsibility of organizing this parade goes to each of those neighborhoods once in every ten years. There is very interesting tradition according to which the sponsoring Tole of this parade must train a team of traditional drum-players who are expected to display every best skill they have when they are asked to perform in the public on this day. The name of these drummers team is known as Naubaja Khalah. They perform this show in a very special way only at the member Toles devoted to this Matya festival. It is quite exciting to see the way they go round the town and perform this typical musical show with great enthusiasm. Some of the drums that are used for the occasion are so richly decorated that people sometimes mistake them for temple treasures.

The most enjoyable part of this festival Parade for the children is the devil dancers and funny mask-wearers. Quite a number of them are clad from head to foot all in worn out sacks and rags. Whenever they came across the inquisitive kids they suddenly jump in a dramatic way and try to scare them away. The kids who are too slow to get the fun always stay away from the scene and those who are smart enough to push themselves in the front never wait to tease those devil dancers and enjoy themselves to their heart’s content. Buddhists have a tremendous respect to this festival and so they celebrate it with great feast and fun. They seem to have attached a great deal of significance to this day which as they believe is an unforgettable day as all the Maras surrendered themselves to Lord Buddha and confessed their sins paying tribute to the all-compassionate Lord Buddha.

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Children of God

It appears that this documentary was released in 2009 but the events in the documentary show that it was probably captured much earlier, perhaps in 2003/2004.

A viewer of this documentary has posted in amazon that these kids still live near Bagmati and in the same dire state as earlier.

MLTR to rock Nepal

On a cold winter’s night‚ Kathmandu came alive to the romantic ballads of a world famous Danish band as Michael Learns To Rock with its sould stirring tunes and catchy beats that MLTR has become synonymous for the world over‚ captured the hearts of Nepali music lovers on Saturday evening at Tundikhel in the capital.

The evergreen trio teased the heart strings of Kathmanduites both old and young with their signature tunes that have firmly entrenched their name in the annals of music history. Among the teeny boppers that have become a mainstay of rock concerts was a generous sprinkling of middle aged wannabes reliving the golden age of their youth humming the irresistible tunes of the curiously named band honouring the never-say-die legend of Michael Jackson‚ even if his music has no direct relation to their unique heart rending melodies.

Read more on http://www.thehimalayantimes.com

It’s been a musical 2011 for Nepal. Check out Kailash Kher’s and Bryan Adams’ performance.

11/16/20: MLTR has arrived in Kathmandu.

UPDATE: Yes the date has finally been announced and it’s November 19th, 2011. MLTR is all set to rock Kathmandu and the venue is Tundikhel grounds. A website has been set up with more information regarding the event and the tickets.

After Bryan Adams, Michael Learns to Rock is set to perform in Nepal. The announcement was posted on MLTR’s official website.

“We are happy to announce that Michael Learns To Rock will do a concert in Nepal in November. Further details on date and ticket information will follow soon.”

MLTR is a Danish pop-soft rock band that performs songs in English. Formed in 1988, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, mainly in Asia, and in addition, another 6 million or more paid downloads for their single “Take Me To Your Heart”, which was awarded “Most downloaded single of the year 2006″. They have produced seven studio albums as well as many live and greatest hits albums, and are currently recording their eighth studio album. MLTR have won many awards and have earned Gold and Platinum status for their records in many countries, as well as the “Gold Preis Award” from RSH, Germany and “The Best Performing Act of the Year” at the SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore. The band has attributed its success in Asia to a clean-living image and singing in English as a second language.

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Sports News

One step closer to 2011 SAFF Championship semi-finals

A dying moment goal from skipper Sagar Thapa steered Nepal to 1-0 win over Bangladesh on Sunday to strengthen Nepal’s hope of making it to the semifinal of the SAFF Championship being held in New Delhi, India.

Defender Thapa made a superb freekick from long range (near from center line) to score his career’s first international goal to stun Bangladesh a few seconds ahead of the final whistle at the JLN Stadium. Nepal was awarded with the freekick after Mamun Miyah fouled defender Rabin Shrestha.
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Nepal qualifies for ICC U19 World Cup 2012

On a day when rains affected all but one game, plenty of action was witnessed as the jostling for the final six spots to qualify for the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup to be held next year in Australia heated up.
With this win, Nepal has qualified for the U-19 Cricket World Cup 2012. Nepal had failed to qualify for the 2010 World Cup after losing to Afghanistan in the semifinals of the ACC Elite Cup 2009.
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Sweet victory for Nepal at ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers

Nepal has taken a sweet revenge against Namibia with 8 runs victory in the ICC U-19 World Cup Qualifiers on Friday. Nepal had lost a practice match against Namibia by 17 runs ahead of the tournament.
In the match played at Drummond Cricket Club, Northern Ireland, Nepal won the toss and scored 217 runs losing all wickets in 49.4 overs. Nepal restricted Namibia in 209 runs for nine wickets in 50 overs. This is the second best score of Nepal in the ongoing tournament. Nepal had earlier scored 250 runs against Vanuatu.
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ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Qualifiers 2011 Standings

As of August 02, 2011:

Check out the teams

Nepal defeat Vanuatu in ICC U19 World Cup Qualifiers

Nepal defeated Vanuatu by 159 runs in the ICC Under 19 World Cup Qualifiers here at YMCA Cricket Club, Dublin today (08/01/2011).

Nepal managed to make a good total of 250 runs loosing all the wickets in the third ball of the last over.

Chasing the target, Vanuatu made a good start. But the wickets couldn’t continue on hold and C Blake went for a duck in his 19th ball in the 8th over. Five batsman went without managing to make even a single.

Man of the match Krishna Karki took 3 wickets with a good figure of 10-1-23-3, while Rahul Vishawakarma took 4 wickets to make his tally reach 10. Bhuwan Karki grabbed 2 wickets while Prithu Baskota managed to take one for Nepal to resist Vanuatu to the lowest total of 91 runs in the 32nd over.

Nepal will play against Canada on Wednesday (08/03/2011).

Nepal defeat Kenya in ICC U19 World Cup Qualifiers

Nepal defeated Kenya by six wickets to register their second win in the ICC Under-19 World Cup Qualifiers at the Railway Union Cricket Club grounds in Sandymount, Dublin today.

Man of the match – Karn was thrilled to have played a part in the win: “Unlike in the subcontinent, the pitches here offer some assistance. It swung a bit and seamed off the surface for me. We wanted to get them for as low a target as possible. It was a tricky chase but the captain got us through”.

Nepal will play against Vanuata on Monday, with an eye to make a third win. So far, Nepal has won two games against Afghanistan and Kenya while losing two against Namibia and Scotland.

Rohit Chand – is EPL next for him?

Arsenal and Tottenham have their eyes on the young Nepalese defender Rohit Chand. These Premier League teams sent their scouts to Jordan to watch the defender in action when Nepal faced Jordan in the 2014 World Cup qualifiers.

Listen to Nepalese national team coach Graham Roberts talk about the team and Rohit Chand:

According to Roberts “Rohit is by far the best center-half I have ever coached. He is an extreme talent who will play at the highest level.”

Chand, a former player of Machhindra FC in Nepal, has been winning coach Roberts’ praises since the latter took charge of the Nepali national team. “I have a world class defense line-up with a talent like Rohit Chand,” Roberts often says about the best defender of the Martyrs Memorial League last year.

Chand plays for Indian First Division side Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) SC at present. He is a product of ANFA Academy and has played for Nepal in U-17 and U-19 age group tournaments. Chand has won 12 caps for the national team since his debut on March 23, 2009 against Palestine in the AFC Challenge Cup.

More about Rohit Chand >>

Nepal climbs up in FIFA rankings

Nepal has climbed 12 spots in the latest FIFA rankings released on Wednesday. With the new release, Nepal, ranked 136 in the world, leads the South Asian region followed by Bangladesh at 147. India is now ranked third in South Asia after it slipped six places to 153 in the world rankings. The rankings are released every month by football’s world governing body FIFA.

Nepal and Bangladesh are the only two countries to improve in the FIFA rankings among eight in the South Asian region. All other countries have fallen back except Bhutan, which remains unchanged at the bottom, ranked 201.

Nepal’s new ranking is the second best in its history. The highest ranking Nepal had ever achieved was from December 1993 to February 1994 when the national team was placed at 124. The lowest ranking was in February 2008 when Nepal slumped to 188.

Nepal ranks 20 among the 46-member nations of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). In the last release, Nepal was ranked 28 in Asia. Japan slipped two points to 16 in the world ranking but remains unmoved at the top of the AFC rankings.

Nepal’s new ranking is based on three international matches played recently within a month. Although Nepal lost against Jordan with a huge margin, it was able to defeat East Timor 2-1 and 5-0 in two legs of the first round of 2014 World Cup Asian zone qualifying matches.

Check the rankings >>

Nepal qualifies for the AFC Challenge Cup finals

Nepal held Sri Lanka goal-less to qualify for the 2012 AFC Challenge Cup finals behind DPR Korea on Monday. DPR Korea downed Afghanistan 2-0 to top the group with nine points while Nepal, who had three points going into the final game, finished with four.

Nepal dominated the proceedings but their attacks were thwarted by a spirited Sri Lankan defence. Nepal coach Graham Roberts, however, said that his side didn’t play for a draw. “We didn’t play the match for a draw. We wanted to win the match by a clear margin. We were playing an attacking game and had to change to defensive formation in the last 20 minutes,” he told reporters. “It was a hectic schedule and the boys are tired but I am happy the way my players played in these matches.”

DPR Korea and Nepal joined Palestine, Philippines, India, Turkmenistan, Maldives and Tajikistan in the eight-team finals.