Alternate Changes, Kanchi, and the neverending path to Phaplu...

Life is full of alternate changes. In jazz, this adds more complexity to the sound of the chord. In life, I think it does the same. You might say the alternate changes make the chord sound darker. But no less beautiful. Perhaps even more so. The more you hear it, the more you get used to the sound, and to the trained ear , it's nothing less than gorgeous.

I expected my life to sound one way, and when it didn't turn out that way, it sounded different. Darker. With more complexity, you might say. But, I'm learning, in time, no less beautiful. And I hope, in time, it'll sound nothing less than gorgeous.


Part I
We arrived at the Kangel airport. Airport is using the term loosely, as it was just a strip on the side of a mountain, and I nearly had a heart attack when I realized that that's what we had to land on. No matter. Kangel, along with Mukli and everywhere else I'll be talking about, is in the Southern part of the Everest Region in Nepal, in the Solukhumbu district. After three hours of rigorous walking/climbing/trekking (let's not get into how I fell off the side of a hill and hung on to get pulled back up by one arm...or how I fell in the mud), we arrived in Mukli, and saw the health post on the way! At the place where we were staying, I was introduced to several people from the Young Stars Club. The club is a local organization that does things like provides locals with seeds for planting, classes on farming, hygiene, health. They've also started a local radio station, which people listen to on battery-powered radios, or, more often, their cell phones. People in Mukli have enough to eat. But learning how to grow more allows them to grow extra and sell it, to generate a little bit of income, instead of surviving solely on the subsistence living that they've been surviving on for generations.

The next morning (Saturday), we were up with the roosters to get started on installing the solar lighting system! Upon arrival I was greeted and honored with Khatas, white scarves from the Tibetan tradition. Many people were there, generally people who were on the health post committee or involved in some way. Yadav began by explaining the real cost of the system (my time, his time, my flight, all on top the actual cost of the system and the flight from Kathmandu to Kangel). He asked that two people from the Mulki community be there as we installed it so that if there needs to be any small maintenance in the future, they can do it themselves. I was thanked over and over by the committee chairman. It turns that I'm the first visitor of this kind to this community, because most tourists and visitors just want to go to Mount Everest of the Annapurna Region to see the mountains. They committed to upkeep of the system, and then the Young Stars Club committed to paying for any necessary upkeep.

You can see in the pictures, but it turns out that my training wasn't SO important, as there were a number of strong men happy to help. Once everyone decided where the lights should go, in what positions, etc, it took a while to get the first one done. But after that, the following three were up in no time! We were done by 4 'o clock or so, tired, happy, celebrating, and back home...

to see a goat get killed! It happened that the following day they were planning a big ceremony both to honor the villagers who had worked with the Young Stars Club in implementing some of their programs, and to celebrate me and the new solar power system. They only kill goats like this a few times a year, so it was a real honor. And kinda gross. And beautiful. And nice to be totally in touch with the food I was going to eat. This was no boneless chicken breast wrapped in plastic wrap. Check the photos, you'll see.

Part II

Nepali tea:
Tea Leaves
Water
Sugar
Cardamom
Cloves
Buffalo milk (you can use cow)

Boil, and drink! Yummy.

Nepalese Aloo Bandaghobi:
Mustard Oil
Potatoes
Cabbage
Mehti (Fenugreek)
Turmeric
Garlic
Coriander seed
Red Chilli


Heat mustard oil in a pan/wok.
Put in 1/2 tsp turmeric and a little mehti (fenugreek).
Put in sliced potatoes and sliced cabbage. Cover and cook a few minutes. Then add a little water (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup) as needed and cover to steam.

In the meantime, make the masala by crushing in a mortar and pestle (or food processor, I suppose) the garlic, dried red chillli, and coriander seed until it's finely ground.

Mix masala into the potato/cabbage mixture. Add a spoon of garam masala and cover to steam until cooked through.
Serve, with rice and Nepali pickle.

Nepali Pickle:
Mustard Oil
Tomatoes
Cumin
Mehti (Fenugreek)
Ginger
Garlic
Chilli
Garam Masala
Peas

Heat mustard oil in a pan. Add the mehti and a pinch of cumin seed and fry until mehti turns black. Add a little turmeric. Add tomatoes and a little water, and boil until cooked. Mess/mush tomatoes. Put in masala (ground fresh ginger, garlic, and chili), a pinch of garam masala, fresh peas and cook a few minutes with a small fresh green chili, split in two. Take off fire and serve with rice and Aloo Bandghobi.

Part III (an except from my journal)
I have not come on this journey to find myself. In fact, i've always known who I am. It's clear now that I spend more time in an attempt to ignore this knowledge rather than embrace it. You see, a spiritual journey is nothing but a vehicle. Hindus believe that every god has many vehicles, so that man can understand god. Lackshmi, goddess of wealth, presents on earth as a cow. So they worship the cow as Lackshmi.

When Yadav and I ate our first meal in Mukli, I was given a spoon and everyone else ate with their hand. When I asked why, Yadav said, "When you eat with your hand, you can touch and feel every grain of rice that comes between your fingers".
"So you can appreciate them more"? I asked?
He nodded, and mixed more dal into his baat.

I spend my life separating one thing from another. Dirst from clean, good from bad, Ab from Eb, jazz from classical, pain from pleasure, sweet from sour, beauty from ugliness, salty from bitter. I have spent the last 5 days being very concerned with the cleanliness of my hands and feet. Water is plentiful here. It flows as streams around every corner, and is coaxed with tubing into every kitchen and outhouse/bathroom. Why, then, are people so dirty? Don't they understand that they should be cleaner? I've walked around gingerly, careful where I sit, watching every step so as to avoid the unavoidable cow, goat, chicken, and water buffalo dung all over the ground. i've been careful not to kick up dirt, avoiding stomping too hard so that mud from the rain won't splash at my ankles. At some point in Mukli, as I sat by the open wood kitchen fire and stared at my new friends' feet, hands, the dirt in their clothes and under their fingernails... I looked at the floor. The floor was made of earth. Earth is dirt. The wood was being burned to ash. The ash was used to clean the dishes. our waste eventually turned into manure to feed the crops, and the crops, in turn, fed us. Why, then, do i spend so many of the waking hours of my life trying to separate that which cannot be separated? The language barrier stopped me from asking what I already knew the answer to. Why would I spend so much time washing off the dirt when the dirt is not separate from myself? Dirt grows food, which eventually becomes a part of us. Dirt grows trees, which we eventually cut down for our homes. Why, then, do I spend all of this mental time separating Ab from Eb when the two are one in the same? Musical, scientific manifestations of the beautiful force of the world, or what others call god.

I did not come on this journey to find myself. I've known who I am all along. I am you, you are me, and we are all connected, from the record studios in Hollywood to the wood and clay stoves in the mountains on Nepal. People around the world just have different ways of expressing this oneness.

From Nepal, and safely back in Kathmandu,

Sara/Kanchi/just a name