The monsoon has been unrelenting this year, pretty much since I arrived in Nepal, certainly in Lakeside Pokhara. Happily, however, there have been occasional respites and it’s important to be ready to take full advantage of these as you never know when there might be another. The skies clear and the sun shines and hopes rise that the monsoon might be nearing its end – until the next storm. Sometimes the rains are intermittent and during the night, with the days brighter and sunnier, but there are frequently episodes of non stop downpours extending from one day into the next, as now.
I had been planning a visit to the great Shiva statue on the hill overlooking Lakeside since I first saw it, and wrote the earlier post ‘Shiva’s Land’. So, a recent lifting in the weather coinciding with my actually being here to enjoy it, I took up the offer of a visit there with my young friend and host at Greenhills, Ishwor. Ishwor has a motorbike and sometimes takes me down into Lakeside for shopping and coffee. It’s a great experience, zooming along on the open road with the wind in your face. I have always loved speed and used to drive fast when I owned a car.
This drive was to be rather longer and more challenging than the weekly visit into Lakeside, given Shiva is located high on a hilltop the other side of Phewa Lake and given, too, that the road leading up to it is pretty much as bad as the road to Ghandruk, thanks to the impact of the heavy rains. This became particularly apparent when we stalled in one deep muddy hole and the foot I put out to balance myself sunk into mire up to my ankles, taking my shoe off with it. But aside from this and given the potential for more serious mishaps, we made it up in good time and safely.
The statue sits atop a large modern temple and the whole edifice is still under construction, although now nearing completion. Saturday crowds of day trippers were swarming everywhere and the general air of a construction site, complete with noise and widely strewn debris and litter undoubtedly detracted from the otherwise stately, serene air of the statue itself. I am not an enthusiast of modern Hindu depictions of divinities, although I understand that many folk do want an externalised image that conforms to their idea of a particular divine personage. However, this Shiva managed to combine an air of majestic, transcendent omnipotence with a more earthly male vigour and power. As Supreme Being, this may be an acceptable way to convey the formless All Powerful in manner we lesser humans can relate to.
We wandered around taking photos of the statue and surrounding scenery, the views from this vantage point as ever expansive and inspirational, given the relative clarity of the weather. To my surprise, Shiva himself actually looks away from Phewa Lake, across to the moutainscapes behind, but this hadn’t been at all evident from back in the guesthouse.
So, eventually to lunch, which Ishwor suggested we should take atone of the many different establishments he knows, this one really beautifully located deep in a green valley surrounded by lush forests and fields, aptly named The Farm. It’s one of the few to boast that distinguishing feature, an Infinity pool and not exactly in the standard tourist budget price range. No matter, we ordered coffee, which was excellent and then progressed to lunch, or brunch given the still early time. I made covert plans to return before long and spend a couple of days here as a personal retreat, away from the humdrum of the guesthouse and its other friendly, if not always peaceful residents.
The weather closed in again not long afterwards and it’s been raining non stop for nearly two days now, underlining the importance of being responsive to the moment. The end of August approaches and with the coming of September and early autumn, I am reminded of that time a whole year ago now, back in Uttarakhand, when six long months of the first India lockdown ended and I travelled up to Gangotri, Badrinath and Kedarnath. It’s starting to acquire the same feeling with the same calling, so I hope before long when the monsoon finally ends, I shall be on my way to ancient Muktinath temple, in the remote mountainous province of Mustang.
