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I get a cheap room in the center of town and sleep for hours. The
next morning, with Mr. Shah’s son and nephew, I visit the two temples in
Kathmandu that is most sacred to Hindus and Buddhists. At
Pashupatinath (outside which a sign proclaims ‘Entrance for the Hindus
only’) there is an atmosphere of ‘febrile confusion’. Priests, hawkers,
devotees, tourists, cows, monkeys, pigeons, and dogs roam through the
grounds. We offer a few flowers. There are so many worshippers that
some people trying to get the priest’s attention are elbowed aside by
others pushing their way to the front. A princess of the Nepalese royal
house appears; everyone bows and makes way. By the main gate, a party
of saffron-clad Westerners struggles for permission to enter. The
policeman is not convinced that they are ‘the Hindus’ (only Hindus are
allowed to enter the temple). A fight breaks out between two monkeys.
One chases the other, who jumps onto a shiva linga, then runs screaming
around the temples and down to the river, the holy Bagmati, that flows
below. A corpse is being cremated on its banks; washerwomen are at
their work and children bathe. From a balcony a basket of flowers and
leaves, old offerings now wilted, is dropped into the river. A small
shrine half protrudes from the stone platform on the river bank. When it
emerges fully, the goddess inside will escape, and the evil period of the
Kaliyug will end on earth.
At the Boudhanath stupa, the Buddhist shrine of Kathmandu, there
is, in contrast, a sense of stillness. Its immense white dome is ringed by a
road. Small shops stand on its outer edge: many of these are owned by
Tibetan immigrants; felt bags, Tibetan prints, and silver jewelry can be
bought here. There are no crowds: this is a haven of quietness in the
busy streets around. Kathmandu is vivid, mercenary, religious, with
small shrines to flower-adorned deities along with the narrowest and busiest
streets; with fruit sellers, flute sellers, hawkers of postcards; shops
selling Western cosmetics, film rolls, and chocolate; or copper utensils
and Nepalese antiques.