Culctur

Crooked, timeworn streets flanked by irregular, multi-roofed pagodas, stupas and stone sculptures, and into rooms cluttered with horror-eyed masks, spinning prayer wheels, trippy thangka scrolls and Tibetan carpets. Muttered chants, esoteric tantric hymns and Nepalese music hang in the air, whether it be the twang of a four-stringed saringhi or the plaintive notes of a flute. Traditional folk musicians, or gaines, gather for an evening of singing and socialising; classical dancing and trance-like masked dances enliven the Kathmandu Valley and Bhaktapur regions; while no wedding would be complete without the raucous damais - Nepal's modern ensembles. Religion is the lifeblood of the Nepalese. Nepal was declared a secular state by the parliament following the reinstatement of democracy in April. However, there has been a demand by some people to declare it a Hindu state like it previously was. Though many people are Hindus, there are many who practice a syncretism of Hindu and Buddhist beliefs. The population that isn't Hindu or Buddhist is Muslim, Christian, Sikh, or shamans. While the food acclaimed as ‘Nepali’ and served in restaurants is dal-bhat-tarkari (rice, lentil soup and curried vegetable) with some pickle. Most of the time meals of the affluent Bahun chetris and Newars are dal-bhat-tarkari, this is hardly the makings of nepali people’s food and is definitely not what all Nepalis eat. Nepal has as many types of food as ehnic groups. Even when you eat the same old dal-bhat tarkari, here can be so many types of vegetables you can eat, cooked in so many different ways. Some famous foods are sel roti, _____________. In Kathmandu, food native to any part of the world is available. Along famous trekking routes With any (or all) of these food, you can have a lassi, locally produced beer, or chang, which is a brew made from barley, mainly in the mountains.