Myths About Nepal Non-Nepalese Should Know RIGHT NOW

Leena
Leena
Jul 29, 2017 · 3 min read

My country is a lot more than *momos*

“Have you seen Mt. Everest?”

“Have you ever climbed Mt. Everest?”

“Why your eyes are not slanted?”

Hundreds of times I am showered with this kind of questions here in India. And guess what my response would be…

“I live in the lap of Everest”

“I don’t need to climb Everest, it’s always in my heart”

“Unity in diversity is my nation’s specialty, Nepalese faces are beyond slanted eyes”

It’s okay to make some assumptions but I feel a bit upset when people generalise things without knowing the actuality of it.

The Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, shortly and sweetly known as Nepal is one of the Asian nations sandwiched between two giants China and India. I feel proud to say that it is one of the naturally beautiful countries in the world and CNN’s recent announcement has added another feather to its hat. CNN released a list where Nepal is ranked among the world’s coolest countries. Wow!

Nepal is full of natural beauties and tourism is the largest source of economy here. Data say, Nepal gains $471m annually via tourism industry. The above picture features famous American singer/performer Selena Gomez’s Nepal visit.

Oh no… please… This hurts. Mount Everest, the highest mountain on Earth is situated in the range of the Himalayas that touches the China border. I feel proud to be a citizen of the country that owns Everest.

Better not to utter this in front of any Nepali. Nepal is an independent country bound by India to East, West and North. Do you know, years back when Hrithik Roshan said he hates Nepal, that sparked deadly strike? The statement is still believed to be just a rumor.

Momos is a traditional delicacy of Nepal. It is loved by almost every Nepali citizen and majority of the people know how to make it. But not all. More than half of the people I have met here in India have asked me about momos.

I often hear Indians saying to me — “you don’t look like Nepali” because majority of Indians think Nepal people are slant-eyed and Mongolian-faced. Slant-eyed and flat-nosed people are one of the ethnic groups of Nepal.

The devastating earthquake that killed nearly 9K people in Nepal, in 2015 destroyed many of the villages. Not the whole Nepal.

Lumbini, a holy city of Nepal in Rupandehi district is the birth place of Gautam Buddha. Controversies have been raised in the past where some write ups and documents claimed Buddha to be born in India.

If you simply google, you will find a Wikipedia page that states: “Kumari, or Kumari Devi, or Living Goddess — Nepal is the tradition of worshipping young pre-pubescent girls as manifestations of the divine female energy or devi in Hindu religious traditions.”

It is said that the living goddess has to live the same way whole her life. But the reality is, after having the life of Kumari for some specific years, a girl steps out into the public and leads the normal life.

The Nepalese Royal Massacre that occurred in 2001 still haunts each the Nepali people. The incident took the lives of dozens of people including the entire family of King Birendra. The world media, then, reported that Prince Dipendra was the person behind all this incident, but every single person of Nepal knows the whole occurrence was plotted and King Birendra’s brother Gyanendra was the flag bearer of it.

Thank you, guys, for reading me. I hope it helped you understand Nepal, in some way.

Nepal is such a beautiful land one must visit at least once in their life. Nepal is waiting to welcome you in 2018. Share your plans with me at leena@wittyfeed.com, we will together book the tickets. *SMILE*

Cheers!

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Originally published at www.wittyfeed.com on July 29, 2017.

Leena

Written by

Leena

Digital Content Specialist www.leenachitwan.com

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