Left: Buddhist monk surrounded by pigeons
nightmares. And always,
the ever-present heaps
of fi re-hued garlands.
Here I would see the
Royal Kumari.
There are three
kumaris in Nepal, but
the Royal Kumari of
Kathmandu, the embodiment of
the Hindu goddess Taleju, is the most
important one. She lives in the Kumar Ghar (Palace)
in Durbar Square and can only leave the palace for
special festivities. She is always carried; her feet may
not touch the ground. When a kumari is chosen,
she must meet a long and specifi c list of trials and
criteria. First, she must be premenstrual. At the
onset of menstruation, the search begins anew for
the next kumari. She must also be a virgin with a
perfect body, and be brave enough to witness several
sacrifi ces without tears. I wondered how they judged
some of the more exotic criteria, like chest of a lion
and lashes of a cow.
The Royal Kumari was new to the role, just four
years old. Although photos are prohibited, she
appears from time to time on the balcony in the inner
courtyard. The architecture of the palace was rich with
intricate designs and carvings of deities, beasts, and
warriors. We waited patiently, cameras put away, our
empty hands in full view.
She came surrounded by her watchful attendants;
small and vulnerable with pouty lips downturned in
bemusement. We stared at her and smiled. Like a doll
in her ceremonious clothing, she gazed at us solemnly.
And then, she was gone. The crowd began to chatter.
She was so tiny.
As I fl ew homewards over the Himalayas toward
Varanasi, some part of me was still wandering the
streets of Kathmandu; a city of incredible visual
intricacies. A year later, a certain shade of orange, a
fl ight of pigeons, or fl uttering string fl ags catching the
sun can still transport me there. ā
After travelling to ļ¬ fty countries and teaching for
twenty-eight years in Sherwood Park, Violet St.Clair
retired to devote more time to her other interests ā
writing, languages, and reading anything other than
essays in curriculum development. She has published
with CBC, Vancouver Sun, and the Globe and Mail.
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