Greetings from the Rooftop of the World!

Morning in the village of Thaukel… aromas of smoke and incense, ginger and garlic… first there are dogs, yipping and yowling… then pigeons, making their bird-brained cooing in the eaves under the thatched roofs… and finally the ladies doing their morning puja (prayers) ring bells and chant softly… open the curtains and a night of hard beds and cold water fades into insignificance as you gaze at the gleaming white rooftop of the world – the Himalayas.

We prepare for the day by boiling water for a bucket bath, drink our chai and eat biscuits, then head out for a fun day with four of the older girls. There is an International Womens Art Festival in town, with shows at several different venues, and we have promised four of our aspiring artists that we’ll take them for a viewing. So on this sunny Sunday afternoon, Dick and I set out for Patan Museum with Krishna (a mischievous and talented dancer and artist), Parbati (whose ever-ready smile belies her life in a daydream world), Samjana (a live wire whose unbounded energy creates some amazing art) and Srijana (a brilliant chess player and artist).

First we crush into a “micro” – the local bus. It’s hard for us Westerners to comprehend how many people can be packed into these Toyota vans – the concept of “personal space” is very different here! Forget the Western expectation of 3 in the front and 3 on each of the rear seats… the average number of passengers in each bus is 20 – and they don’t leave until the bus is full – which means some passengers ride standing up or squatting. The girls were thrilled because they could sit on each other’s laps and save me 10 rupees per person – you’re only charged for the actual butt space you use… (10 rupees is about 7 cents). There’s something comforting about being snuggled in together, and everyone is scrupulously polite as we bounce along the potholed streets.

We arrive in Patan and walk through the streets filled with shops selling everything from magnificent handcrafted bronze and wood carvings to cheap Chinese knockoff clothing… then to the beautifully restored Patan Durbar Square – all ancient temples and ponds in the Newari style - brick and carved sel wood – and we enter the museum through doors guarded by two ornately carved temple dogs.

The art is a bit sparse at this location, but the girls carefully inspect each piece, chatting softly to each other about the medium – what they like and dislike about each piece. They all agree that their favorite is an airbrushed goddess by a French artist, so Dick takes a souvenir photo of our four goddesses. The visit must have been inspirational, because on the way home in the micro there’s a lot of boisterous talk, as we drive past rice fields turned golden in the late afternoon light.

It’s such a pleasure to be with these girls – such promising young lives. When the Ama Ghar kids ask us how many children we have, we always reply “We have 38!”. It makes them laugh, but it fills us with hope that we might be able to help 38 kids have a good life – whether they will be artists, mothers, teachers, scientists, or leaders in a better world.