Sep 24. 2011 – Today we went by buses to the western outskirts of Kathmandu on Nepal’s only east-west road.  Further from where we stopped is the road south into India.  It’s very busy because so much of Nepalis’ basic necessities come from India, rice, salt, oil and so on.  The crazy traffic prompted G to tell me about the system for road accidents.

Truck drivers all contribute to a fund that pays out if they have an accident.  We’d call that insurance.  Sounds normal so far.  But back when the Rana family operated the country as a tax farm (prior to 1951) and they were the only ones who could have trucks, they established that the penalty for killing someone on the road is just a fine.  That law remains in effect.  If you run over someone you pay a fine and that’s the end of the problem.

What this means is if a truck driver injures someone, the insurance fund may have to pay out large medical fees and compensation for the rest of the victim’s life whereas if the victim is killed there is only the fine to pay.  Consequently, if a driver hits and only injures someone they will normally go on to run over and kill them.

An American guy at the next restaurant table yesterday who has spent several months a year here for 17 years was chatting with three others and expressing surprise that an accident the previous day had resulted in the death of a man who was one of a large crowd of pedestrians.  How come nobody else was injured but this one guy was squashed?  Now we know.  This also explains why road accidents often result in locals blocking the road for a day or so.  They know there was not just an accident but also a mortal crime.

Sep 29, 2011 – Today is the first day of Dashain. Hindus start to do the ritually prescribed things.  Today they plant barley seeds.  Others will wait a few more days.

The part everyone looks forward to is feasting.  Huge numbers of animals will be ritually sacrificed then eaten. It is projected that only 15-20% of the necessary goats will be of Nepali origin this year.  The remaining 80%+ will be imported from India. Ideally one should sacrifice a buffalo but most people cannot afford that.  A goat is next best.  If you can’t afford a goat, a chicken is OK. For the last few days chicken trucks have been coming in to Kathmandu.  Men walk along the streets carrying a chicken casually suspended from where its wings are attached to its back.  Most of  the birds look alert and surprisingly calm.

The latest version I’ve read of why buffaloes should be sacrificed goes like this:  Once upon a time all the Gods and Goddesses were being bothered by demons.  None had enough power to defeat them.  At last all the deities began to dance.  They danced with such vigor that great clouds of dust arose.  At that moment Goddess Kali manifested from a lock of Lord Shiva’s hair (he is the member of the Hindu trinity who is responsible for destruction and creation; Kali handles just destruction).  Kali was immediately covered with dust particles energized by the deities’ dancing.  She gained all that power and had enough to kill the demons’ vehicles, which were buffaloes.  The demons fell to the ground where they were easier to kill.  Therefore, we should kill buffaloes on this date to commemorate Kali’s triumph.

Sep 21, 2011 – Today G and I walk to another village where it’s probable no Westerner ever came before.  There’s no temple or historical site in this area, just very poor villages an hour-long slog through the “jungle”.

We stop at a tea shop where locals gather.  The proprietor is excited to find an American in his shop.  “America is the richest country in the world” he tells G then proposes to sell me a jewel he took from a snake deity, a naga that lives in rivers.  Nagas produce one jewel from their body during their entire incalculably long life.  It casts intense light 21 feet in every direction.  They need it to hunt for food at night.  If you can take such a jewel when the naga is not looking you can keep it, but if the naga sees you it will bite you and you will die, not after one minute or one second but instantaneously.  That’s why such jewels are so rare.

The man says I can see the jewel if I’m interested but to buy it will cost eighty thousand million rupees.  That’s a little over one billion dollars.  G admits I do not have so much money in my pocket today.  The man says he is sorry, in that case he cannot show us the jewel.  G says he has read about such jewels but never imagined he might meet someone who possessed one.

The man’s wife prepares tea for us.  It is exceptionally tasty but appears to lack magical properties.