Sunday in Pokhara

Buddha in roof shrine

Living room Buddha with flowers

The work week is Sunday through Friday, but Claire has negotiated with her employer, Kopila Nepal, to work longer hours Monday through Friday. Since today was a holiday, everyone had half the day off anyway. First thing in the morning Claire did puja. Although most Nepalis are Hindu, Sajal’s family are Buddhist Newars from the Kathmandu Valley. There is a little shrine on the roof with a Buddha statue in it, and two other Buddhas in the living room. Claire got some flowers from outside and decorated them with flowers and burned incense in front of them. 

Sweets of molasses and rice or sesame seeds

Lunch was filled with root vegetables for the holiday. We had whole little sweet potatoes, white potatoes cooked with peas, and yams, as well as beaten rice (rice beaten flat). It was excellent.

My suitcase arrived and we made some tea for the man who brought it, and some Turkish apple tea for ourselves.

Beaten rice

Yams

Later in the afternoon Claire and I walked a few blocks to go shopping for a warm kurta for me (long shirt, balloon pants, and scarf). Usually you buy a set with the scarf finished and fabric ready to sew for the rest. So we found what we liked and today we will take it to the tailor. It just takes a few days.

Since my gifts arrived in the suitcase, when we got home we had Christmas, final phase. I had bought a pepper grinder, Turkish tea set, some Turkish delight (sweets—you might remember the diabolical role played by Turkish delight in the Chronicles of Narnia), and some Turkish cheese. And Swopnil sent some scarves she had crocheted in Jeffersonville for Claire and Sworupa.

That night Sajal made pizza. The electricity had been off most of the day, but it came on just in time to turn on the oven. He makes his own sauce and dough, and it was wonderful.

Then Claire and I watched what turned out to be a bootleg copy of the movie The Help, complete with a live laugh track and the shadows of viewers walking in front of the camera. The movie was good but we couldn’t particularly recommend the bootleg adaptation—besides being illegal, its quality is so bad you miss half the dialogue. Still that was quite a bit more than I understood in the Indian soap opera that preceded it.