A Sherpa Village

A Sherpa village, Solukhumbu

Thasang

Thakali people are indigenous toThasang area. So, anything related or attached to Thasang is near and dear to Thakali people. Thasang is synonymous for Thak- Khola valley, which is currently part of the Mustang district in Dhaulagiri Zone. From the heart of the valley, there flows the river - Kali Gandaki, which has created the deepest gorge of the world that lies between Mount Dhaulagiri and Nilgiri range. The gorge is in the south of Ghasa village. Thasang lies at an altitude of approximately 2500 meters above the sea level. In winter months, the temperature drops down below 0 °C (up to -18 °C). It is located between “Ghasa” in the south and “Tukche” in the North. It is also called Thak sat-se, which comprises13 villages - Tukuche, Khanti, Kobang, Larjung, Bhurjungkot, Nakhung, Naurakot, Titi, Dhumpu, Taglung, Kunjo, Lete and Ghasa. The current population of Thakali people is reported as12,000 (according to 2012 census). The religious path of Buddhism is an important element inThakali rituals, custom and culture. “Nari  Jhowa” is our deity for wellbeing and protection of Thakali community. There are main three Thakali  festivals: Toranhla,  Phalo and Lha Phewa. The Thakali comprise four clans: Chyoki, Salgi, Timchan and Bhurki, which is has been Sankritized into Gauchan, Sherchan, Tulachan and Bhattachan.

Buddhism

http://www.thebigview.com/contents.html

Geospatial Revolution

Interesting !!

Link for Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poMGRbfgp38

Link for Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXS0bsR0e7w

Link for Part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OePOK6nzcaY

Link for Part 4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9F7z9LLYxf8

CROSSROADS

 

 

 

Journey of a Red Fridge

This is a story of a Nepali boy, who has to work as a porter to support his family and studies. This touches your heart, in such a way that this is a story of all Youths from deprived community throughout Nepal. For all of us, who have enough to eat and have support from family to go to any schools within the country or abroad, but sometime forget our duty and tend to stray a bit away from what we supposed to do, this story is a lesson for us. Otherwise, it is time for us to seriously re - examine our values and attitude towards life.

Link:

http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/films/redfridge/filmviewer.php

Thakali Song and Dance: Saima Daima Yas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lGcQpVoB4I&feature=youtu.be

B/W silent documentary of Thak Khola

A B/W silent documentary of Thak Khola. Date Unknown. We can guess, this must have been documented before 1950s.

Link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eor1Wqgs2zU

Thakalis and Thak Khola: Ducumentaries by Surendra Gauchan

A must see documentary on Thakali culture by Surendra B. Gauchan. This is a commendable work to preserve Thakali culture and these documentaries portray rich social customs that exist in our community.

Part 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CB_bfJvm0nU

Part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=DjeobdTMIfU&NR=1

Thakali women, their dress and ornaments

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOCCZVHiIfU

Thakali Youths

Ekdam man paryo, I recommend all to watch this youtube video. I can see one aspect of Thakali youths i.e. their organized activity during Toranla. This sort of energy and enthusiasm must prevail among us.

Links:

Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzm3YbFelb8&feature=youtu.be

Facebook forum: Youth Thakali Community ( till date - 712 members)

https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/youthakali/?fref=ts

Movie named "Thakali" - Let us be skeptical

It is reported in Nagarik news that there is a Nepali movie titled "Thakali" being screened in Thak Khola. It is said that the movie will hit the show soon. The movie is reported to be based on Thakali culture that is related with marriage. I am of the opinion that the movie is a strong medium for educating as well as for portraying the good and bads of a community. So, I suggest that Thakali people be aware what the story is trying to depict and its the message to the mass. Otherwise, it may backlash our social values and mis - representation of culture that it will permanently tarnish causing irrevocable damage to our national image.

Note:

This is my personal opinion. If the intention of the movie is truely dedicated to local culture and its beauty, without ill intent, I am ok with it. Otherwise, I write to our community leaders to think about it and act upon it, if there are wrong intent.

Link:

http://www.nagariknews.com/entertainment/nepali-film/story/4038
 

Orange !!

Thak Tatopani is famous for its Orange

Orange !! wah, as the caption says Thak Tatopani and neighbouring villages are famous for orange. This is also one of the seasonal income for people in this locality. Now, people are encouraged to plant orange in their unused land, as they see market access due to Pokhara - Beni - Tatopani - Jomsom - Muktinath highway.



 

Thasang

Thasang

Tentative interview timeline

Mount Nilgiri, Bhurung Tatopani and Rupse Chahara

View of Mt. Nilgiri (7141 m) from Thak Tatopani

The panoromic view of Mt. Nilgiri is captured from Thak Tatopani, one of the famous villages in Myagdi for its reputation in trade and hospitality business. The neighbouring villages are namely Bhurung, Narchyang, Suwa, Phagam and Dana.  The major attractions around Thak Tatopani:

1.  Tatopani Bazaar and Tatopani Kunda:Tatopani bazaar is one of the thriving business centre in the region. The village is 6 to 7 hrs ride from Pokhara. This can be a night stop for a trip to visit Mustang. There are plenty of tourist hotels that serve good food and lodging. Another attraction is the hot spring, which is famous all over the globe for its healing as well as aesthetic importance.



Thak Tatopani Bazaar

Tatopani Kunda

2.  Dana and Rupse Chahara: Dana village has a historical importance in that this used to be the adminstrative point for business between the people from the Mustang and businesspeople from Myagdi, Baglung and Parbat that was based on barter system. We still can find beautiful stone roofed of memorable local architectural masterpiece with "Decorated Jhyal". This Jhyal reminds you of those that we can see in Kathmandu. A half and hour walk north would take you to a natural wonerland called Rupse Chahara. It is true to its name. This waterfall that carries with it cold water that directly comes from Himalayan glaciers at the foot of Mt. Dhaulagiri.

Rupse Chahara

Decorated Jhhyal

 

3. Beautiful Bhurung: This would take around 3 -5 hrs of uphill walk from Thak Tatopani. In the early morning hours, you can hike to Bhurung, Madal Dhunga and Kimla Kharka and then return back to Tatopani in the evening. The treasure of the trip would be gorgeous view of the Kaligandaki gorge, which is considered the world's deepest gorge and the of course, the Northern himalayan range.

Concept paper

Concept Paper:

“The best gift that you can give to anybody is the purity of listening”, one of the most beautiful saying that anyone must have come across till now. Or else, s/he must have felt the same at least once. If we have not, then we must learn to appreciate the power of “listening” from today. To many of us, the word “listening” may be just mere daily act or sound that hits your eardrum and activates some part of brain. 

But what if we go deeper and try to find its true meaning. The nearest word that has similar meaning is “empathy”, which is an approach of sympathy putting yourselves in other’s position and awakened state of mind that leads to “karuna”.  

Our wish for the whole world  that  it would be better a better place to live, if we can learn to be empathetic to fellow beings. Or else, there will be a continious state of perplexity. Sometime, we may be tender and feel empathetic to sentient being, but tend to undermine these qualities in our worldly life of day - to - day chaos. However, there is no room for complacency if we want to save our ecosystem, since there is no time left for it. So, we have to start talking seriously to free all of us from ‘ignorance’.

Of course, this is a great task to achieve. For greater reason, no matter how little contribution this may seem, we have to contribute selflessly as a proverb goes, "drop by drop forms an ocean".  Therefore, I am of opinion that we need to open up and listen to each other; thereby,  helping each other.

Practically speaking,  the revolution in the field of social media is boon for us. We can utilize the various gadgets and free software, which are useful to us, in a most economical way in order to do what we have conceptualized so far.

Purpose:

1. To raise socio – political awareness among Nepalese youths through use of social media
2. To connect and conduct interaction between key opinion leaders, scientists, literary figures, entrepreneurs, freelances and students.
3. To archive all the conversations through cloud computing

Methods:

• Skype Interview
• Webinar