Step Into My Shoes..

Today is Shrawane Sankranti. Sankranti, as far as I know, is the beginning of a month. So it's the first day of the month of Shrawan. When I was on my way to work this morning, I saw women with green bangles and lots of Mehendi already. So it's the beginning of this wave also. See, my family is as religious as it is ritualistic - which is not very much, on both accounts. My Mom used to observe fastings till she couldn't do it anymore because of Gastritis. And her fastings used to be limited to not eating meat, or practically anything except fruit, and then roti and curd, may be after sunset. This fasting used to be a weekly business - every Tuesday, to be precise (that means Lord Ganesh). And then there was Teej. Like I've said, my family has never really adhered to rituals very much. By rituals, I mean the kind of practices that are all too common among strict Brahmins, or even some Newars. So during Teej, despite of what was common during the festival period,...

If you know me, you'll be surprised by the title of the blog. I hate rain. Period. But you've got to know that there ARE things that I do love about the rain. If I think about it, I don't hate rain, per se. I just don't like to be in it. That brings me to the first reason why I love rain. I love watching the rain drops from inside the window of my house. Office/School/Café etc? Nope. That would mean I had to be out in the rain sooner or later. I love being inside the safety of the house and watching the rain fall, and listening to the pitter patter. I love seeing the world being washed clean. Now here's a thought; does rain wash or makes it more dirty. If you ask an average Nepali, they'd say that rain makes it more dirty…the mud et al. If you ever catch yourself in monsoon in the Kathmandu valley, you'll see what I mean. The roads aren't built properly, so walking in Kathmandu during monsoon is a muddy-mushy business. *One of the reasons I...