Bratabandha Ceremony Held in Nepal

Bratabandhan (sanskrit brata-promise,bandhan-to be bound), Chudakarma or simply bratabhanda is an ancient Hindu tradition carried out in Hindu families. This tradition is based on the four age periods of a Hindu man, namely Bramhacharya(0-25 years), Grihastha(25-50), Sanyasa (50-75) and Banaprasta(75+). A religious ceremony is held where a boy shaves his head and performs various rituals. It is a symbolic representation that a boy is mature enough to perform his duties as a bharmachari(that is to learn). Traditionally these boys were then sent to ashrams of gurus to learn in a vedic system of education. However today it is only represented symbolically by letting the boys beg(the ancient shyshas in ashrams used to beg home to home). At this point, the boys who want to renounce family life and get to the gurus by running (though it is just pretended as doing so)is avoided by the mama (maternal uncle) who lures them to material world or grihastha by offering money. These boys promise to stay home and at the same time perform the karmas of a bramhacharya (studying, earning a living and performing religious rites). Thus after this ceremony the boys are considered men (though not physically). They are given the Janai (yagyopavita-the holy thread from yagya)and are expected to keep with the rules and norms of full-aged men. This promise, taken by wearing the janai, holds them in a bind. This gives its name bratabhandha. From this point onwards they are permitted to take an active part in religious ceremonies (pujas, last rituals, marriages, etc.).

The pictures below are of the Bratabandha Ceremony Held in Sisneri, Lubhu, Lalitpur, Nepal on 24th January 2008. The boy's name is Abhishekh Ghimere of age 9 years old.

Fun and Simple Facts about the Himalayas

Here are the fun and simple facts about the Himalayas.
1. The Himalayas means the ‘abode of snow’!
2. The Himalayas formed approximately 70 million of years ago following a collision between India and Asia via the Indo Austrlian and Eurasian plates. This tremendous collision resulted in the beautiful Himalayan range for which Nepal is now so famous.
3. 64% of Nepal is covered by the Himalayas or Mountains
4. Eight of the fourteen eight-thousanders are located in Nepal, either in whole or shared across a border with Tibet or India.
5. Himalaya is the source of major rivers of Nepal
6. 31 of the Himalayan peaks exceed 7,600 meters
7. Of the fifteen highest mountain peaks in the World, nine of them are contained within the Nepal Himalayas
8. Mount Everest (8,848 metres), the highest mountain in the world, is part of the Himalayas in Nepal. Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first people to climb Mount Everest in 1953.
9. Himalayas continue to rise 1 cm every year - a growth rate of 10 km in a million years (source : U.S. Geological Survey)
10. Nepal has more than 200 mountains over 6000 meter height
11. Over a 1000 mountain expeditions takes places every year in Nepal, each expeditions carrying an average of 30 people, more than 80% of those expeditions are towards the Himalayas
12. Another well known fact is that the Himalayas is the source of the Indus Basin, the Yangtze Basin and the Ganga-Brahmaptura which are three of the worlds primary river systems
13. The Himalayas are geologically alive! The southern front moves approximately 20 mm a year and it is estimated that in 10 million years time, the Himalayas will have moved approximately 1,500 km into Asia

Holiest Buddhist Site: Buddhanath

Boudhanath (also called Bodhnath or Baudhanath or the Khāsa Caitya) is one of the holiest Buddhist sites in the area of Kathmandu, Nepal. It is known as Khāsti by Newars as Bauddha or Bodh-nāth by modern speakers of Nepali. It is located about 11 km (7 miles) from the centre of Kathmandu, Nepal on the northeastern outskirts of the city. Its platform is a massive mandala and it is the largest spherical stupa in Nepal.
The Buddhist stupa of Boudhanath dominates the skyline. The ancient Stupa is one of the largest in the world. The influx of large populations of Tibetan refugees from China has seen the construction of over 50 Tibetan Gompas (Monasteries) around Boudhanath. Boudhanath is one of the sites in Nepal listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Along with Swayambhunath, to the western side of the city centre, it is one of the most popular tourist sites in Kathmandu city.
The Stupa is on the ancient trade route from Tibet which enters the Kathmandu Valley by the village of Sankhu in the northeast corner, passes by Boudnath Stupa to the ancient and smaller stupa of Cā-bahī (often called 'Little Boudnath'). It then turns directly south, heading over the Bagmati river to Patan - thus bypassing the main city of Kathmandu (which was a later foundation). Tibetan merchants have rested and offered prayers here for many centuries. When refugees entered Nepal from Tibet in the 1950s, many decided to live around Bouddhanath. The Stupa is said to entomb the remains of a Kasyapa sage venerable both to Buddhists and Hindus.