olivierfox - Tumblr blog

[olivierfox]

Guryong Shanti Town on Flickr.

[olivierfox]

A glimpse at the huge and amazing lanterns of Seoul Lantern Festival on Cheonggyecheong stream.

[olivierfox]

Happy Holi! 130 kids, 10 volunteers, 3 kilos of dye powder and 4000 water balloons… Don’t worry, they were biodegradable! The volunteers strategized military style and had an early rise at 5:15AM to ensure no child was left undrenched and uncoloured. An amazing day for everyone!

[olivierfox]

Romantic... Forever!

[olivierfox]

undefined

Nepali television is full of Indian films and the kids love them, especially the ones produced in South India. A typical South Indian action movie features a hero that is one-man army who can defeat hundreds of vilains without getting harmed. This hero is attached to his family but due to some reason the family has disowned him or he is looking to avenge if not the death of the heroine, the death of her/his relative. The action scenes are so ridiculous that a fighting sequence from "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" would look realistic compared to them. Have a look at this funny improvised action scene starring the kids of Annapurna House and our volunteer Marco from Italy and follow the blog of the Umbrella Foundation @ blog.umbrellanepal.org!

[olivierfox]

Dashain is all about being back in your village and spending quality time with your extended family. Playing kite or swing, visiting your relatives to catch up with them, getting tikka from your elders, giving them gifts, eating the delicious sukuti (smoked buffalo meat), drinking raksi, gambling the money you received by playing cards... also trying to not gain too much weight!

[olivierfox]

I got to spend Dashain in Dhading district with a lovely Newari family which welcomed me as if I was part of the family. Dashain (दशंै) is the biggest hindu festival of Nepal, lasting 15 days, it is a rich and complex festival and is celebrated slightly differently according to the castes of Nepal. The significance of Dashain though, is the same for all Nepalis: Good always prevails over Evil. Most Nepalis go back to their village to celebrate Dashain and perform the ceremonies (pujas) with their community. One of the most important day is Pachali Bhairab, when animals (goat, chicken, buffalo...) are sacrificed, their meat shared then eaten throughout the festival.

[olivierfox]

Let's talk about one less known but nonetheless popular dish of Nepal called Dhido (ढिंडो). It is a ancient dish which still widely consumed in rural areas due to its cheapness compared to Dal Bhat. Dhido is composed of a pudding based on millet, maize, wheat or even a mix of these flours accompanied with a vegetable soup made of spinach, nettle or potato. How to eat it: dip some on the (kind of tasteless) pudding in the soup the put it in your mouth, it is believed to taste better if it is swallowed without chewing. It is a very basic but delicious dish if prepared properly!

[olivierfox]

Pulukishi or Yeravat Hathi is an elephant deity which can be observed in one the many processions and dances during Indra Jatra. Indra is Lord of Rain and the King of Heaven, a eight-day long festival is dedicated to him to thank him for the monsoon rain. The procession was preceded by dozens of excited children running around and throwing straws while the elephant was making its way to the various temples of Bhaktapur, leaving nothing but a genuine smile on people's faces.

[olivierfox]

Bungamati is surrounded by fields of rice, corn or spinach etc; vegetables are being grown in every garden providing the necessary for the everyday Dal Bhat. In Nepal, 66% of the population is dependant on revenues from agriculture.

[olivierfox]

Bungamati is a typical Newari village 10 km away from the south of Kathmandu. From its woodcarving craft to its agriculture techniques as well as its inhabitants that will not jump on to foreigners for their money, the lifestyle in Bungamati has remained authentic since the 16th century. It is a real pleasure to get lost in the little streets of this village.

[olivierfox]

Teej (तीज) is a three-days hindu festival dedicated to the goddess Parvati, specifically her union with Lord Shiva. It is celebrated only by women, for the well-being of their husbands, as well as for the success of their relationship with them. The first day of Teej is spent dancing and eating big feasts so women can fast on the next day. The second day is the main day, in Kathmandu, women gather in Pashupatinath Temple to visit the Shiva temple. They worship Shiva's lingam by performing ceremonies (puja), then they dance throughout the day and night. The third day is also dedicated to puja for Parvati, only after this, women are allowed to take a solid meal.

[olivierfox]

Lovely music video by Night for their song Kathor.

Night is a nepali band I discovered six months ago while they were performing in a bar in Kathmandu. Their use of traditional instruments in their beautiful melodies instantly grabbed me and brought me into their world. Be sure to check out their upcoming album Ani ukali sangai oraali to be released in October!

[olivierfox]

Ball. Kids love it so much at Umbrella that the life expectancy of a single ball is not more than 2 days. Concrete, nails, spikes, dogs... Plenty of ways to burst it. If not, it's just the neighbours that won't give it back. What to do?

[olivierfox]

Sahuji (सहूजी) — Shop owner

[olivierfox]

As you would expect, in Nepal not everything is running smoothly. The zoo of Patan is a perfect exemple of what simply should not exist. There the animals are staying in way too small enclosures and looking obviously poorly treated. You could see the boredom and the sadness in their eyes.

[olivierfox]

To all Pinterest lovers, you can now pin directly from my website any photo or photoset you like! Enjoy!