CULTURE OF NEPAL

"Impression received by the eye are on fire!" - Lord Buddha

 

 

NEPAL AS A RELIGIOUS COUNTRY                                Nepal is a very small country ,smaller than one of the states of India .But it has its own individuality and uniqueness in terms of its rich cultural heritage. Nepal is a country of temples. It is the only Hindu kingdom in the world. Religion is woven into each and every aspect of the life of a Nepali. Basically Hinduism .But Buddhism also has a prominent place .I think that Nepal is actually a blend of both Buddhist and Hindu culture. Their chief deity is Lord Shivshankar and Goddess Kali .Lord Buddha is worshipped by both Hindus and Buddhists.

PEOPLE                                                                         People are very informal  and lead a simple lifestyle. Religion is very important for them. Rituals and religious ceremonies are a part of their day. They believe in sacrifices. They have many beliefs which can be considered as blind through our modern outlook! Most of the people's living is through business-selling handicrafts. Tourism in fact plays a very important role in their life! Agriculture also is important form of living.mustard ,cabbage, cauliflower, wheat etc were seen beautifully cultivated among the small areas in the hilly regions. Since most part of the country is hilly terrain, their agriculture style is in a step by step fashion.

EDUCATION                                                                        I think education not as much as developed as in India. Girl child education  is still at its preliminary stage. we had some problem with language coz Hindi was not known to all. But in tourists spots ,the shop keepers knew English  and even tried to speak almost all the Indian languages (even south Indian Tamil and Malayalam ..but yes we  couldn't help but laugh at their accent!) . 

CULTURAL HERITAGE

Nepal has its own unique cultural values. All Nepalese are considered to be the bravest soldiers. Bravery is the main subject in all art forms. The Gorkha soldiers are known for their discipline, obedience, and bravery .They have a vast tradition  in which the Gorkhas defeated even the British  with their kukri knives .Bravery is instilled in young minds through the various martial arts ;like Teik Wando. 

All married women wear a special type of big necklace  ,preferably maroon colored. Their ornaments are usually big and made of metal. For dances and art forms their ornaments are still bigger and dress very colorful. Bright Red, yellow, black orange, green etc are their colors for festivals.  A journey through the interiors will make us understand that the people in villages are more colour loving .Similarly they are fun loving and always contented about their lives unlike India , where the common man is never contented.

Men wear typical kurtha pajama and a coat with the typical Nepali cap on their head. Women wear their typical sari type dress with lots of ornaments. But Katmandu city is very modern and up to date in dressing and other aspects. Here we see lot of young girls and boys in their suits and formal wears.

Another aspect which I noted is that women are also equally doing jobs for their living. in many shops I found young mothers with their child on their laps. 

They have many types of dance and art forms. but all are folk and hilly dances. Yes , they are of the hills! Their dances have a fast beat and the hilly type of music. They do not have a classical form of dance and they were fascinated to witness our classical dance form -Bharathanatyam performed by one of us..

Their food is almost the same as North Indian food. but more simple type .Rice is the most important food. The Nepalese cannot eat without rice .Dal ,chapatti ,potatoes are there in every meal. One special dessert is the Rasagulla and Dahi. The Dahi (curd) is prepared specially in an earthen bowl ,very thick and is served along with the Rasagulla. Another aspect is that the food was very simple and people are very informal during serving and eating.

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