Kathmandu Magic: Land of Enchanted Tibetan Stupas, Land of a Revered Living Child Goddess

Kathmandu . . . the name itself seems to connote an enchanted land. Perhaps my moody, pastel image of the Buddhist stupa at Bodhnath might invoke a hint into the ethereal nature of this deeply religious and historic city.

But all great cultures have endured struggle. In past years Nepalese society was burdened with frequent Maoist uprisings and blockades. Today it's more peaceful but in 2001 eight members of the royal family, including the revered king and his wife, were ruthlessly murdered by a drunken, disgruntled prince. He was upset that his future bride wasn't on the approved list of his possibilities--or so the official word was put out. He had no defense because they say he turned the gun on himself shortly after his nefarious escapade. Be that as it may, virtually the entire royal legacy of the past couple hundred years was wiped out in an instant--except for an heir who was conveniently in the northern city of Pokhara at the time of the incident. No autopsies were allowed, the royal dead were immediately cremated, and that particular palace was burned to the ground in short order. So, lingering doubts as to what really happened still persist. Of course, there are local perceptions about other possibilities such as a CIA conspiracy, or the Indian government's interference, or a Maoist plot or whatever ones imagination might conjure up when these kinds of national tragedies occur.

Today the country has moved forward from this recent bleak history . . . well, almost. Maoist officials have now been elected into parliament and they espouse peace but during the last decade or so they wreaked havoc across the land. The new king Birendra (the prince who conveniently found himself in Pokhara when the royal tragedy occurred) was democratically relieved of his power in 2008 by a national referendum and he now resides in a humble two-bedroom house on the outskirts of Kathmandu. The word "royal" was shortly thereafter stripped from the name of the national airline and the former royal palace has become a museum. Today there is virtual calm in the land and a burgeoning, vibrant democracy is at hand.

On my first day in Nepal I journeyed to the imposing Swayambhunath Stupa perched high on a hilltop overlooking the Kathmandu Valley but, alas, I found the stupa shrouded in scaffolding for renovation. I trudged down the hill feeling a bit disappointed and left with only a photo of the Buddha's footprints sprinkled with flower petals, red tikka powder and a few grains of rice placed there as offerings.

On my second day in this magical city, the Maoists brought the entire country to an abrupt halt with a three-day nationwide strike because they were disgruntled and unsatisfied with the progress of political reform--there was too much corruption and there was still extreme poverty in rural areas. No vehicles moved, no shops were open, no restaurants served food. Nothing inched along. That is . . . unless one decided to walk.

Allaying my fears of an ongoing nationwide renovation of heritage sites, I was relieved to find nearby Bodhnath Stupa not covered in scaffolding. This is one of the few places in the world where unfettered Tibetan Buddhist culture still exists. My visit came with a prize when I discovered the stupa was draped in festive night lighting that would offer a photo not frequently seen--something we travel photographers love to encounter. So I found a pleasant rooftop restaurant with the best angle of view, set up my tripod and indulged in a big glass of beer while waiting for that magic moment of twilight when the night lighting would perfectly balance with the lingering deep blue of a diminishing sky. Hopefully the decorative lights would be turned on before the sky went black. If not, my plan was to use a tripod and shoot an exposure when the sky was rich in cobalt hues then afterwards sandwich that frame in Photoshop perfectly aligned with a later exposure that recorded the twinkling lights when the sky was dark. But as the sky started to wane someone flipped the switch and the stupa was suddenly awash in light--well, half of it, which would have made my post-production Photoshop efforts quite exhaustive in trying to clone half the lights in perspective to the other side of the stupa. Oh well, another sip of beer. My computer work would be cut out for me later that night. But after two or three more swigs of Nepali brew the other half of the monument charged to life just in the nick of time before the last color in the sky slipped away.

The purity of line in the design of Bodhnath Stupa is not replicated with such grace anywhere else in Nepal. Watchful eyes of the Buddha are painted on four sides of the gilded tower above the stupa dome. Thousands of devotees circumnavigate the ...