Krishna Janmastami

Good to be home, and warmly welcomed by neighbours and people in town. Its still raining, so everything is damp. Apart from infestations with ants, piles of gecko poo, one mouldy pillow, and water dripping through the bathroom ceiling from upstairs, the flat was fine when we returned.
I went to the ETC on Tuesday to find everything closed for a government holiday, but Gita (the wife of the 'peon' Lalmani, who lives in the caretaker's house) was grazing her cows on the school field, and lopping branches off the trees to feed to the goats.
On Tuesday evening, we discovered the reason for holiday, as music blared all night for Krishna’s (the eighth incarnation of Lord Vishnu) birthday, with loud celebrations in brightly decorated shrines erected at regular intervals along the roads. On Wednesday afternoon the 200,000 population of the city descended onto Main Road for the procession from the Krishna temple. Every temple had its’ own float pulled by oxen, painted in Terai pink and blue stripes, or in splendid coats. The colours of the floats, decorations and clothes are brilliant; so different from the drab colours of Europe. Each float had huge, LOUD loudspeakers powered by generators on hand carts. After nearly two hours, the main chariot pulled by a huge team of men arrived, preceded by a truck removing the festoons of electrical wires that hang over Main Road. The surge of people to touch the chariot and receive blessings was terrifying, but we were kept safe by our friend from the kitchen shop and a group of students.
The new training rooms are already in use, with members of Village Development Committees and teachers being prepared for their roles as election observers. A representative sample of women, dalits, janajati and members of different political groups. There seems to be a consensus now that the election will happen, but there is a great deal of political unrest and 3 bombs in Kathmandu after we left on Sunday. A UN official in a brand new white land cruiser arrived on Thursday to oversee proceedings, and on Friday some young Americans in jeans and baseball caps from the Jimmy Carter Foundation appeared.
David has been at Bokhari this week, cycling and wading through mud to get to the school, and sitting damply in lessons while the rain blew in through the glassless windows onto tiny barefoot children. He feels welcome, and enjoys attempting to chat to the teachers during breaks as well as observing lessons and giving some feedback. There doesn’t seem to be a timetable, and many of the children are working in the fields or as domestic servants. If its raining they tend not to come to school at all, so his carefully constructed plan is difficult to adhere to. Tulsi and Durga returned from Kathmandu on Wednesday, and we had a full staff meeting on Thursday, which lasted several hours. People came and went, and many glasses of tea were brought. Tulsi has established that ‘inclusion’ and student-centred teaching should be our priorities. Good news for VSO and me!
Following our exposure in the national press, Tanka, his wife and brother came to the door early one morning to record an interview for the BBC, so you may hear us on the World Service speaking in both English and Nepali (badly).
The Kathmandu marathon will take place on October 6, with many volunteers taking part as a fund raising activity for development projects in Nepal. Some people are running full or half marathons; we and many others will jog / walk 10km. There is a website if anyone feels inclined to make a donation for our efforts! www.smallenergy.com