Back in Pokara

Odd being back in town after 2 days in the Highlands, but they have blocked off streets for a festival and it is incredibly quieter. We hope to see some music and dance performances.

If anything, the Annapurnas were more spectacular this morning. It was clearer and the sunlight on the snow seemed to turn all possible variations of orange, red and pink. Amazing!!! The ride back to Pokara was hair raising. The taxi crept along a really windy road and did some hairpin turns while dodging other cars, rocks, motorbikes, etc.

The longer we are here, the more we realize that Nepal, with all its fascination and glorious beauty is a heartbreaking place. Kate has mentioned the desperate poverty. People frantically call to us from stores to come in and look bedspreads, jewelry, wall hangings, all kinds of crafts. people follow us down streets trying us to buy jewelry and practically beg us to buy jewelry and trinkets. Cab drivers and rickshaw drivers stop in front of us when we stop and
look around and try to usher us into seats, and seem really disappointed when we say we are only going two blocks. People really try to convince us they should do our laundry even when we tell them we just had it done. These people are quite desperate, and barely making it at best. The wonderful kids we talked with yesterday are mostly pretty poor, it's a wonder they keep their sense of playfulness. We've seen desperate poverty in Mexico and other places, but this is harsher than those situations.

Then there are these power outages. In February electricity will be unavailable for 16-18 hours a day. We talked to someone in Sangerkat who mentioned several reasons for them. Nepal largely relies on hydro electrical power and the main dams have been damaged. Also, there is a water shortage; there has been low rainfall and snowfall n the mountains possibly because of climate change. Also, Nepal buys electricity from India, but the supply lines have been damaged by storms . The situation is a little 1984-ish; power isn't available in the evening, but is available around 2 in the morning when most people can't use it. Actually people tell us it's an ongoing problem - the current government didn't create it, but they are not solving it either.

What can improve this situation? Maybe the Buddhists are onto something when they say suffering is a given and the only thing to do is to work on one's own heart and consciousness and be helpful to people wherever it's possible. But this doesn't answer the question of why some people have it so much harder than others, especially in a place like Nepal.

I am a great believer that one can recognize the human suffering in a place and still love its birds, flowers, ecosystems and mountains. Non-human life also needs protection. Also, life is bittersweet for humans and for other creatures; recognizing this might help us think about realistic and kind ways to be helpful.

I am rambling, and will stop. We'll be based in Pokara for the next five or six days, and will let you know how we're doing. Namaste, as always. PG