It is not humanly possible to describe Kathmandu succinctly if one strives for accuracy. It is a city bursting with frenetic energy, vibrant colors, rich cultural history, devoted spirituality, and people of striking beauty. It is also a place of abject poverty, political tumult, and great uncertainty. I created this vlog with the intention of providing a video collage of many of the sights I encounter on a daily basis; it is meant to show only bits and pieces of a complex mosaic of fascinating characteristics (i.e., it is NOT an exhaustive description by any means!).
Notice the elegance and grace with which the Nepalese carry themselves. Smile at the unusual sight of a baby monkey nonchalantly riding on its mother’s back in the middle of a crowded sidewalk. Absorb the plight of a malnourished child living on the streets. Feel the beeping horn of a maniacal taxi driver reverberate through your ears.
Tapailai Kathmandu Ma Swagat Chha (welcome to Kathmandu)!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WU284JhqAQM
I also made the following video of a rickshaw ride, just for fun:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YObagmaFvUc
Posted By Jessica Tirado
Posted Jul 16th, 2009
5 Comments
Maelina
July 17, 2009
These videos are amazing!!!
Joe
July 17, 2009
Hey Jess! I can totally see what you mean out there. Just watching your vide-o-saic (you like that? =]) was quite the stimulus; I can’t imagine what being there is like!
So watching, I had a question I figured might be good to ask here: traveling around Nepal, it seems like one Nepali looks like another to an ignorant westerner. So how do the Nepali people know who the Dalit in the crowds are, or who belongs to what caste in general there?
Rob
July 20, 2009
keep being amazing and doing what u do. u r a light in the darkness
Christine
July 24, 2009
Jess,
Amazing! We are so blessed to live in America. I am so impressed with you. Godspeed.
Jessica Tirado
August 12, 2009
Christine, Rob, and Maelina: Thank you so much for your words! I really appreciate the encouragement, as I’m still such a novice at video editing.
Joe: Thank you for your words as well, and I’m really glad that you asked this question on here. It was one of the first things I wondered about once I got to Nepal. Basically, it’s not a matter of ethnicity, tribe, personal features that can be observed in someone’s appearance, etc. There are essentially three ways to identify what caste someone was born into: 1) looking at their national ID card, which has the designation on it, 2) the person’s last name (in Nepal, it is customary to give both one’s first AND last name during introductions, so caste identification can be done immediately), or 3) observing what they are doing. Regarding the last criterion, if you see anyone on the street sweeping up garbage, removing dead animals from the road, cleaning toilets — i.e., all of the “dirty” jobs — the person is almost certainly a Dalit. Dalits are generally only allowed to perform the most disgusting jobs that already have a “polluting” effect on the workers, which contributes to the cycle of untouchability. Pretty extreme, right?