NEPAL

 

READ

Buddha’s Orphans, by Samrat Upadhyay, tells the story of a baby who is abandoned by his desperate mother in a public area in Kathmandu. His mother then goes and drowns herself in a nearby pond. The baby is found by an old homeless man, who takes him to a poor corn seller he knows, a woman named Kaki. They name the baby Raja, and Kaki takes it upon herself to raise him.

Buddha’s Orphans also tells the story of Nilu, a girl about the same age as Raja, who lives nearby with her widowed mother. Nilu grows up privileged and well-to-do, but her mother is a heavy drinker who eventually moves her young lover into the house and takes up other vices.

Raja and Nilu meet as young children when Kaki goes to work in Nilu’s mother’s house. They form a bond that lasts even during the times that circumstances keep them apart, such as when Raja is stolen away from Kaki and raised by another couple. Eventually, Raja and Nilu marry, against the wishes of both their families.

A baby boy is born to Nilu and Raja, and they name him Maitreya. Their marriage is happy, with Nilu working as a teacher and Raja eventually finding a job as a writer for a travel magazine. Tragedy strikes, however, causing them to separate. When they finally get back together, they have another baby, a girl named Ranjana. She gives them great joy, but her life takes an unexpected turn.

The book’s timeline spans decades, during which time the political situation in Nepal is volatile. Raja becomes involved in protests against the monarchy, and is jailed briefly during one of the protests. Over the years, the demonstrations intensify, especially after the fall of the Berlin Wall, which reminds the people in Nepal that change is possible. Finally, the King gives up his power and becomes merely a ceremonial figure.

Throughout the book, Raja is never able to come to terms with the fact that he was abandoned by his mother at birth. The narrator explains the circumstances towards the end of the book, but that only satisfies the curiosity of the book’s readers, not Raja himself, who never knows why his mother left him.

I found Buddha’s Orphans to be interesting and easy to read. Both Raja and Nilu were likeable characters making their way on their own, rather than asking for help from the families who had often failed them. This was the type of book I had hoped for when I first began this reading-the-world project, one that tells a compelling story, while also providing a glimpse into the culture of the country.

COOK

Raja spends many of his childhood years in the home of Ganga Da, a government worker, and his wife Jamuna, who is afflicted with a mental illness. Jamuna becomes very attached to Raja, and at one point in the book, Jamuna asks the servant to cook Raja some kheer. I googled to find out what kheer is, and discovered that it’s a rice pudding. I found a recipe for a vegan version on the VegNews website, and I’ve been eating it for breakfast the past couple of mornings. It’s quite good, especially served cold, and it's made with coconut milk, rice, brown sugar, coconut, dates, almonds, cloves, and cardamom.

GIVE

GlobalGiving’s website lists dozens of projects in Nepal, so I searched through the list until I found one with a sustainability focus. Many areas of Nepal have no electricity because of the difficulty of building an electric grid in such a mountainous region. For this reason, people often rely on kerosene lamps for lighting. This is a problem for many reasons: “Fumes from the kerosene lamps affect eyes and lungs and contribute to global warming with the release of greenhouse gases. The quality of light is inferior and there is a high risk of accidental fire.”

This project would “provide solar powered lamps as a sustainable substitute.” In addition, village youth and students would be given an orientation on renewable energy, and would be trained in maintenance and repair. Multiple charging stations would be installed in schools.

More information on this project is available at: A Clean Solar Alternative to Kerosene Lamps, Nepal - GlobalGiving.

 

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