Two years ago when I decided to relocate to Mulpani in Kathmandu, this was going to bring a paradigm shift in my life – I am shifting from the glitzy life of Mumbai to a village life about 15 km from the centre of Kathmandu. The idea was to live in a place which is beautiful from all angles. Ample of Himalayan-clean air and water and living with simple were more distinct objectives. It should be a place where the family can have a get-together, take a rest and plan for the future. There should be tranquility and greenery all around.
For many months since February – the month we shifted to this place – our days and nights passed by marvelling at the surroundings, skylines and landscapes. They would change colours and contours so quickly at times that we would be left bewitched and bemused. The sun would be soothing and warm till late afternoon and then the weather would turn windy and rainy. Towards the evening, it is more pleasant. The children loved the place, having lot of fun playing around the village fields with newfound friends.
Mulpani would still be considered a sleepy village with farmlands fast converting into real estate pieces and modern concrete houses dotting the landscape. It is connected with Koteshwar, New Baneswor and Ratna Park by a bus service. Another fleet of very old and rickey vans service the Chabil-Gaushala-Ratna Park route.
A vast stretch of land starting from Sankhu in the north to Bode in the south or beyond is divided by a narrow river called Manohara. Farms on both sides of this river are cultivated and a rich harvest of paddy, wheat, maize, and vegetables is obtained by the villagers engaged in farming. The river if you look from a vantage point like Changunarayan Temple, a significant landmark across the river and technically in Bhaktapur district, is maddening in the way it meanders through the valley – so playfully and casually bending left and right while covering very little distance. You will admit the river is thoughtful and considerate.
Meditating by this river is so easy to become one with the rest. Looking at the lovely green fields all around in varying shades with passing seasons, passing by it, crossing it with bare feet, marveling at quick swells in the monsoon, taking occasional baths in the river with friends and kids from the neighbourhood, time passes by without a notice. People work in the fields when the climate is hospitable and farming is so much fun apart from being a great physical fitness mantra, farming is fashionable. It’s trendy and chic here. Women wearing all make-up and fashionable clothes can be seen spending their weekends at their family fields. Rural women in their attire of striking colours and combinations make the fields look kaleidoscopic.
Living in a village will make you live like a villager – maybe slowly but surely! Fresh milk and vegetables, morning and evening walks, socialising with fellow villagers so naturally become part of daily life that you hardly ever notice when you started doing all this. A quaint month-long religious congregation on the river bank in Sankhu in the cold month of Magh is a distinct experience in sharp contrast to huge turnouts at the Pashupati Temple on different festivals. Quiet and high on religious quotient, the fair attracts devotees from all over the capital and beyond. Trinket shops, odd sadhus, and a host of men and women spend night and day on the bank of the river worshipping and praying the god. The quietitude is soul-stirring. This is a perfect example of what maybe lying in far away Himalayas in terms of culture and tradition.
Visiting Changunarayan Temple as part of daily life is another story tourists would not know. People fond of morning walks take a walk uphill from nearby villages to pay their respects to the deities at this old temple every morning for centuries. Many of the idols, very rich at an artistic level, are so old that some parts of the idols are broken off but they are still being worshipped. One can take short treks from here to Sankhu, Nagarkot, Sundarijal. The walk is physically refreshing and spiritually elevating. A walk around the temple as it opens early in the morning reveals some artisans working on the canvas to create Tankha painting pieces while others create wooden masks of Lord Buddha and Ganesh among others. There is little commerce happening here. Though there are some hotels and restaurants they do not seem to be busy given the prospects of more intense tourism here.
Stopping by an open-air workshop where handmade paper is made out of a Himalayan shrub called Lokta can lead you to entrepreneurship. The business behind the idea has already become big. Lokta paper is one of the most recognizable products from Nepal. The industry is in its infancy and there is the lure. Lokta paper sheets can be bought from here for Rs 5 apiece. A range of stationery products for office use such as envelopes, files, print paper, etc can be made out of them. Lokta paper is highly durable and a purely natural product.
Fresh vegetables are such a necessity but so much neglected at the same time. But not, if you live in Mulpani. Once you start living here, chances are you will begin growing vegetables at least for your own use. Lot of people have started commercial vegetable farming on both sides of the Manohara river, where farmlands are available for a rent of Rs 5000-8000 a ropani. You will never know what eating vegetables is like until you have grown them, said a villager. There is a rich farming tradition, where women are leading from the front for centuries. It is a must for every woman to learn it at a young age while still at her parents’ house. This remains their sole livelihood guarantee in their world deprived of modern means of income. Similarly, small dairy and poultry farms keep the supply of these items in the village overflooded – more incentives to live here.
Festival times are extremely serene. People are light-hearted, families meet, working people head home and take part in rituals. Humility is the essence of the festivity and celebrations. A ping (swing) on Dashain, Deusi on Dipawali, and runaway marriages solemnised in temples with the full sanction of the priest – the Nepali way is so much better expressed in its festivals and cultural traditions. Even if you are not of that type, chances are that you will be spotted with a big tika on your forehead. There are soulful temples all around – some in very rudimentary form while others may be old yet attractive. People go to their nearby temples every morning, and with their entire family on special occasions and big festivals.
Gokarna Forest Resort with its 16-hole golf course is another nearby attraction. A five-star hotel set amid the picturesque Gokarna forest, the hotel boasts modernity with the inherent Nepali advantage of space and tranquility. The golf course is a more happening place where tournaments are held almost every week – some of which are of international standards.
If these are not enough, Mulpani’s true glory reflects in its perfect sunrise and moon-lit nights. The sun rising from behind Changunarayn Temple keeps the horizon crimson as the valley wakes up to a new day. The full moon appears from roughly the same place and keeps the valley illuminated in a mystic spell all through the night as it traverses its course. In different seasons, the sun and the moon keep their majestic spell on the entire landscape, making one wonder if there can be a better place to watch the two cosmic entities.
(Arun Kumar Shrivastav: 2013)