The day that shook us all but taught us to stand strong

These snaps define my past 13 days since the day that shook the Nepalese, not merely shook the ground beneath our feet but shook our minds and hearts to the realization how vulnerable and valuable our lives are. Some of these pictures portray the aftermath of the quake- those heart wrenching sights of various areas from Basantapur to Indrayani to Balaju to Chogaun turned into rubble and many such places where most of us had at least once set a foot upon before this unfortunate hellish disaster. While some photos capture moments of how each of us contributed in our own little ways to pacify our disturbed hearts and minds caused by the Earthquake of “Bahattar Saal Baisakh Mahina Bara gatey around Bara baje making epicenter in Barpak area”! (A day that has been etched in our minds and the day that has indeed taught those who survived it that we lived through it for a reason and we need to justify it!)

As residents (including me) lived out in the air under tents after the series of after-schocks and tremors that followed.

              
                 A mobile toilet constructed. 

One of my friend in the cleaning campaign posing in front of the model mobile-toilet. 

 Girls on the rescue-run. My friends and me in the rescue team!

An unfortunate scene of a house in my neighborhood slanted sidewise due to the quake. 

My brother and me teamed up to distribute the relief items to the quake victims (mostly basic sanitation and food items.) 

          Happy to volunteer- my brother with a box of food ready for distribution to volunteers!

The land of Buddha-Nepal.

The 9 storeyed historical monument Dharahara collapsed

Thapathali turn-about temple collapsed and its valuable remaining excavated. 

 On the truck ride to an affected area with friends to observe and examine the situation

Spending some quality time with family after the unfortunate event and felling blessed to have them by my side.

  






One of my most favorite places- Basantapur Durbar Square turns into rubble...

  





Kudos to the cleaning team! (Note: My brother, taller than me, at my back, just loves to smile wide in all pictures! )

My friends and me packing and arranging clothes to get it ready for distribution. 

HOLI- A festival of colours and a festival of love

~To become a mother is to decide forever to have your heart walking outside your body~

 

 

Happy Valentines day! :)

 

 

Birth of Lord Buddha

 

 

 

This picture depicts the birth of Gautama Buddha, in a forest at Lumbini.The legend goes that directly after his birth, he made 7 steps on lotus flower and proclaimed that he would end suffering and attain supreme enlightenment in this life. The Buddha's mother (Mayadevi) is holding a branch of a tree for support during birth.

 A Buddhist myself and being much fascinated to the values, beliefs and practices of its settings, I sketched this picture in the Month of  Gunlā (Nepal Bhasa: गुंला) . Gunma is the tenth month in the Nepal Era lunar calendar; a holy month for Newar Buddhists when they recite the scriptures, observe fasts and visit places of worship playing devotional music. It is one of the most important events in Newar Buddhism.The practice of observing the sacred month is descended from the rains retreat dating from the Buddha's time when monks stayed in one place and taught the Dharma.

 

Playing Dice

King Jaya Prakash Malla and Goddess Taleju Bhawani playing Dice

 

It appears to have taken hold in Nepal in the 6th century.Jaya Prakash Malla, the last king of Kathmandu was a devotee of Goddess Taleju Bhawani, whose temple stands in Basantapur Durbar Square in Kathmandu, Nepal. According to legend, Taleju Bhawani used to come to Jaya Prakash in human form late at night to play tripasa (dice). But when she realized the king was having lewd thoughts about her, she stopped coming. The King understood what had happened and in repentance carried out purification rituals. Taleju Bhawani then came to him in a dream and told him she would never again appear to him in human form. Instead she ordered him to take a young girl from a Shakya clan, one who had the thirty two qualities and was prepubescent and establish her as the Goddess Kumari. This is now the tradition of Kumar started in Kathmandu during Maya Prakash Malls’s reign. This sketch of mine depicts the same story.

Eligible girls for Kumari are Buddhists from the Newar Shakya caste (the clan to which the Buddha belonged) of silver and goldsmiths. She must be in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the battis lakshanas, or 'thirty-two perfections' of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as such:

• A neck like a conch shell
• A body like a banyan tree
• Eyelashes like a cow
• Thighs like a deer
• Chest like a lion
• Voice soft and clear as a duck's

In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be very black, she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs and a set of twenty teeth.The girl is also observed for signs of serenity and fearlessness.

As I came from Shakya clan, I was constantly asked by my friends, out of curiousity, as to what, how and why Kumari came into being and why was it that I did not become one! Henceforth, I decided to sketch one of such events relevant to Kumari and her origin.

 

 

 

 

Here we are at the threshold, ready to take a step to another stage

And years from now on, we may be miles apart

So these moments have been captured in our Marians' Echo page

As these times will be there, dwelling deep inside our heart...

Lord who looks down

 

As a Shakya, I belong to a priest family which takes privilege as a caretaker at the Buddhist temple of Seto Machhindranath (Janabahaa Dyo or Aryavalokiteshwor), also worshipped as White Machhindranath by Hindus. My father (eldest son of the family) has to perform several rituals daily and follow strict rules to stay pure when his turn comes as a caretaker to the temple. I, along with my entire family help out in the process. I made this sketch of Lord Avalokiteshwor while it was my family's turn as the caretaker of the temple back in the month of December, 2013.

Seto Machindranath is worshipped by the Hindus as the god of rain and the Buddhists worship the deity as an aspect of Avalokiteshvara (Aaryawarta Lokeshwor). Avalokiteśvara ( lit. "Lord who looks down") is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. This bodhisattva is variably depicted and portrayed in different cultures as either female or male.

  

 

 

A strong woman is a woman who has weathered many storms without losing goodness of her character.

Traditional Newar family

The Newar people or Newars (/nɪˈwɑrz/;Nepal Bhasa: नेवार) are the indigenous people of the Kathmandu Valley and its surrounding areas in Nepal and the creators of its historic civilization. Since I belong to this ethnic group of Nepal, I thought of portraying the daily life of my community's ancestral lifestyle through my sketch work.

 The Newar caste system is the system by which Newars, the indigenous people of Nepal's Kathmandu Valley, are divided into groups on the basis of their hereditary occupations.For Buddhist Newars, Bajracharyas, and the Shakyas (collectively called "Bare") were most typically involved in trade.While the Bajracharyas' exclusive occupation is priesthood, the Shakyas follow the hereditary occupation of goldsmiths. The sketch demonstrates a customer who has come to a goldsmith to have her golden bangle forged while a woman from his family happens to be offering the man a Hookah (a traditional water pipe that is used to smoke flavored or sweetened tobacco).

  

Ferociously calm...

I think everyone has that ferocity inside of them; its part of our genes, its our instinct.

 

Bhairava is an important deity of the Newars. All the traditional settlements of Newars have at least a temple of Bhairava. Kala Bhairava, is a Hindu deity, a fierce manifestation of Shiva associated with annihilation. He is often depicted with angry eyes and sharp, tiger's teeth and flaming hair, stark naked except for garlands of skulls and a coiled snake about his neck. In his four hands he carries a  trident, drum, and skull. He is often shown accompanied by a dog

 This deity fascinates me because so far all the other deities I have observed, I have always found them in a calm and soothing position. However, the fierce, however strong and bold look on Lord Kala Bhairav reminds me that as humans have different personality and mood in different hours, the same applies to the deities! Also, the strength and power management skill in Bhairav impresses and inspires me to empower myself not only physically but mentally as well. Moreover he is also known as the manifestation of Lord Shiva who manages time. So while in Grade 8, I made this sketch of his impressed by the various characters he possesses.

My name-My identity

Although we loved you dearly,we couldn't make you stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,hardworking hands at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove us,
He only takes the best....."

     My name "Aryatara" is as special as the person who named me to be so- my grandpa *YAGYAMAN BAJRACHARYA*

It is believed that human nature can be changed with the proper understanding of the mathematical principles applied to language, and specifically to name. When asked, “Who are you?”, we reply with our name and not that of our friends’ or brother’s or sister’s. We respond only to our name and it indeed determines our identity and personality.

 Called the ‘Goddess of Action’, Green Tara or Aryatara is emerald colored. (Also known as Jetsun Dolma in Tibetan Buddhism), she is a female Bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism and appears as a female Buddha in Vajrayana Buddhism. She is known as the “mother of liberation” who represents virtues of success in works and achievements.

As my name is ‘Aryatara’, I decided to put myself on paper and further explore my hobby of sketching and drawing at the same time. While in Grade 10, I made a sketch of this deity whose name I have inherited and dedicated it to my Baba(maternal grandfather) who named me so!

 Before you, sitting on a lotus, is a beautiful woman with a body of green radiating light. Tara’s body language expresses her inner realizations and outer activities. She doesn’t sit with her head down or with her arms crossed in front of her chest, as we do when we are closed or unhappy. Rather, her “dancing posture” is relaxed, open and friendly. Her outstretched right foot indicates her readiness to step into the realms of suffering, confused beings in order to help us. Due to her altruistic intention, Tara can appear in these realms without being adversely affected by the environment. She doesn’t shy away from suffering, but faces it fearlessly and compassionately, thereby counteracting it. Her left leg is tucked in, demonstrating that she has full control over her subtle inner energies. No matter whether others praise or blame her, harm or help her, her energy is not pushed off balance and she does not lose her equanimity.

 Tara’s right hand in the gesture of granting sublime realizations shows that by following the path we can attain these realizations ourselves. This gesture is also called the gesture of generosity, symbolizing her willingness to give material possessions, love, protection and the Dharma to all beings according to their needs and their dispositions. Her left hand is in the gesture of the Three Jewels, with the thumb and ring finger touching and the other three fingers stretched upward. These three fingers represent the Three Jewels. They indicate that by entrusting ourselves to these three and practicing their teachings, we can actualize the unity of compassionate bliss and wisdom, symbolized by the joining of her ring finger and thumb.

 As appealing as the meaning of my name may sound, it stands to be equally challenging for me to be able to justify its connotation! However, I know that I'd want to be the first "Aryatara" of the twenty first century than a re-incarnation of some deity!

buddha timi feri auu shanti lyau

 

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song. 

 

The Lord Laddu

~My savior and life guide~

 

 

Raised by my grandmother, I seem to have developed many of her enthusiasms, particularly her religious nature and belief in God. My grandma greatly worships Lord Ganesh. As fancy as it may sound, whenever something went missing at home, grandma just had to bribe Ganeshji to offer him his favorite Laddu. And then mysteriously, one way or the other, that particular object at the end of the day would be discovered! These happenstances always mystified me. However seeing her utmost faith in Ganesh has invoked in me sense of hope and optimism that is not to cease. Although being a Hindu Deity, devotion to Ganesh is widely extended to Janis and Buddhists as well.

 Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify. Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom.As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions.

 While in Grade 7, two significant events occurred in my life. One shook me greatly, the demise of my grandfather, my hero and the other was my considerably outstanding academic performance throughout the year. Startled by incidents, I started worshipping Lord Ganesh profoundly beginning from this year with all the more vigor (that continues till date) and the very year, I made a sketch of this deity who, I believe, has been my savior and life guide.