Celebrating Deshain in Bandipur

After a 4 and a half hour bus journey I had made it to Dumre, a small highway town in the valley beneath Bandipur (Image 1). There, I was met by my Nepali brother and co-project co-ordinater, Mon Bahadur Bhujel. We were both so happy to see each other, 7 months after our last encounter, and so much to talk about.

From there, we scrambled onto a tightly packed jeep and travelled up the 8km windy road, to the top of a hill where Bandipur lye. I was excited, and so looking forward to seeing my friends, their families and staying in this wonderful place again. Images 2-3 & the video show you the view from the house where I'm staying and image 4, a picturesque vue of Bandipur Bazzar. For those of you who haven't read the blog from my previous visit (www.byebyewest.blogspot.com), a year ago I had spent 4 months in this beautiful place, and formed some close and fun relationships within this community, prior to the creation of the Aandhimul Project.

Of course, one of the closest being Mon Bahadur Bhujel and his family, and without our meeting, this project would not have been, and it wasn't a co-incidence that I had planned to return on this date.

Deshain, one of their biggest festivals was happening on my arrival, and wanted tocelebrate it with my Nepali brother, Mon. You will see in image 5, Mon's mother-in-law with Tikka reminents in her hands after applying to mine, and Mon's cute son, Arpan's foreheads, and Mon and his wife in image 6, with us all together in image 8. It was a great day of going to all relatives houses and receiving Tikkas, flowers, money and food. Literally, my stomach was bursting by the end of the day! This festival really shows how important family life and families are in Nepal, they have so much respect for each other.

This experience and many more from my last visit justifies my being in Nepal, as it's not just about helping people, for me it is far greater than that, it's about creating a connection with people and giving and receiving Love, and without Love, it would mean nothing!