culture

 Nepal's culture is greatly influenced by its music, architecture, religion and literature. Your first sight of Nepal may leave you speechless, the great quantities of temples, churches, monasteries and other religious buildings, the hurly-burly in the streets and the number of people and animals socializing on every corner of the narrow cobble-stone lanes.

Culture and customs in Nepal run deep.
Some of them you will find interesting, some strange and others beyond logic.

But as long as you show respect and sensitivity to local traditions, willingness to learn and adapt to Nepalese ways and values, you will be fine. For a people so deeply rooted in traditions and culture, Nepalese are remarkably open-minded and easy-going. If at any time, you have doubts, ask or simply do what other Nepalese do.

Most Nepali people follow the Hindu religion, whilst there are also many Buddhists and a small percentage of Taoists, Christians and Muslims. I find it fascinating however, that despite the rich diversity in culture and beliefs, Nepal seems to be exceptionally tolerant of other people’s beliefs. There is no segregation between different religious temples and people seem to accept everyone’s individual beliefs without prejudice.

For girls, Nepal can be a difficult place to visit, especially when we are on our placements… As tradition goes, when women have their time of the month, they aren’t allowed in the kitchen, nor are they allowed any contact with men. In the village they are usually sent to sleep in the barn with the livestock- a custom which leads to many deaths in the winter. This is by no means an out dated tradition; it is very common even today, hence all the girls on the programme have been advised be extremely discreet to avoid such bestial treatment.
I thought I’d write about a few of the customs and cultural traditions that I found particularly interesting in the past two days. When we arrived at Restless Development offices, we were greeted by all the staff and welcomed with a traditional ceremony- the Nepali workers rubbed Tika powder on our forehead (red is the national colour) before giving us  a marigold chain.
In the evening we had daal bhaat for the first time, the national dish in Nepal. It is a basic dish of lentil soup, rice and curried vegetables, which you mix together and eat with your right hand. It may sound quite weird but the flavours are amazing when you mix the food with your hand!

 The political situation in Nepal has become exceedingly volatile throughout the past several years. The country has gone through an extremely tense transition of power often characterized by violent struggles between the King, political parties and Maoist insurgents. This political instability has taken its toll on the country’s economic performance as it has adversely affected the country’s manufacturing, transport, communication and tourism from time to time. 

Due to the high level of political violence and corruption within the country the economic opportunities within the Nepali economy are lacking. In both the public and private sectors, corruption, petty as well as grand, has become a fundamental problem and is considered endemic by many Nepalese. It has become a major obstacle to economic and political reforms, accountability, transparency and effective governance.