Happy Easter Monday if you celebrate and simply happy Monday if you don’t. Remember you rock and I am sending you a gentle hug and lots of good vibes.

I have experienced some exciting days as after a year and two weeks I was able to go to work again. Cancer would have allowed me to do so last November, however, the virus had other ideas. Or maybe our government. Or both. Who knows?

Thankfully, our employer has measures in place that I can keep away from meeting many people. For all those who do not know: I work in private hospital for residents who live with mental health issues as a cleaner so meeting people is part of the job. We also do laundry and there is lots of it so for now I am on laundry duty which suits me well because I am out of the way and my colleagues are so nice to bring the laundry around and take it away too.

I thought I was super-fit after 5 months of “forced” relaxation but all the new procedures and being re-trained at laundry exhausted me quite a lot. The best husband (Jeremy Clarkson voice) in the world has the week off and has spoiled me rotten when coming home.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNKN0mWB6K2/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

I have to admit I needed to nudge myself a little to get the laptop up and do this post. It would have been so easy just to slump on the sofa and watch “Find it, Fix it, Flog it” or “Garden Rescue“, but I am determined to keep my virtual world tour going. Today, we are off to Nepal and I am very excited to learn more:

1. Introduction to Nepal

Oh dear, why am I humming an old Yusuf/Cat Stevens song? Well, I simply love the song and it does fit. Yes, Kathmandu is the capital of Nepal and that is about everything I know about the country. Oh yea… Mount Everest, of course, too. And the Sherpas. But I didn’t want to mention those. It’s such a cliche… 😉

Well, I guess you can’t get around the Himalaya and its connected hiking and climbing tourism when you want to introduce Nepal. However, did you know that it is a very diverse country people-wise? And that its a buffer between China and India? It has close connections to Bangladesh and, in fact, has more Hindu’s than Buddhists even though Buddha was born in Nepal. Or in India. They are discussing this topic, so let’s get some info from people who have more knowledge than I.

Please forgive the adverts in the videos. But they give the creators income and they deserve income so we simply live with them. Feel free to follow any of those whose work you like. Thanks!

2. An Artist of Nepal

Nepal looks like a wonderfully diverse and creative country with a lot of history, and it also seems to be fertile ground for female artists to express their experiences. You can find out about 10 Female Artists from Nepal here at this Gallery Blog.

One of them is painter and printmaker Ragini Upadhyay Grela whose contemporary art shows topics of love, compassion, social and political issues. She lost her teenage daughter several years ago which hit her hard. In honour of her, Grela created a charity that supports underpriviledged girls and women. You can see some of her work in the following video and read more about her here in this Dawn.com page.

3. The Climate Crisis in Nepal

Sorry, for being a nuisance with reminding you that beside this virus, we have to deal with a climate crisis. Some of us are just starting to experience the effects of a drastically changing climate, others experience it for years.

And then there are the thoughtless of our species who feel they can leave their litter wherever they please. This is one of the biggest problems at Mount Everest. I always think that people who climb and are privileged enough to see Mount Everest would be a bit more considerate.

And I know, I repeat myself: human migration is a result of climate change and it’s not coming: It’s already here. We are just not told. We are just told the right-wing nationalist propaganda so we can keep polluting the environment and overusing resources without thinking of the consequences. But they are going to hit us anyway…

The Food and Agriculture Organisations of the United Nations show about the problem in Nepal here in this video:

And the underreporting doesn’t only happen in developed countries. It also happens in those which are already hit the worst by climate change as this article in the Nepali Times shows.

We are all connected, if we like that or not. I hope we soon start acting like it.

4. Food of Nepal

I have never eaten anything Nepalese, but I assume their dishes are similar to China’s and India’s, and I love both cuisines so I could be fine with Nepal. Here are top ten dishes from Nepal according to Ten’z Nepal

And if you want to try and make any of these dishes at home find the links to recipes in this article.

5. A Poetess of Nepal

Today’s poetess is known as Parijat and in English speaking countries most famous for her publication “The Blue Mimosa”. Her real name is Bishnu Kumari Waiba and she was born in Darjeeling which we connect with India today. However, it used to be part of Nepal.

Parijat received her education, at first, in Darjeeling but later moved to Kathmandu. Paralyzed aged 26 she was supported by her sister throughout her life. Despite her life difficulties she was able to be a writer and poet and was part of the Nepali communist Ralfa Literature Movement.

Unfortunately, I could not find an English language video of her or about her work, so today I leave you with two links to find out more:

Parijat on Poem.Hunter

Parijat on BossNepal

6. Mental Health in Nepal (Trigger Warning)

I feel like I am repeating myself continuously, but I guess that’s how it is when it comes to mental health: There is stigma and a lack of mental health professionals. Nepal is currently working on a legal framework for mental health care and KOSHISH (a Nepalese National Mental Health Self-Help Organisation) helps to create it.

Kaitlyn Jantzi explains in this video how COVID has impacted a young woman’s mental health and how KOSHISH could help her. The trigger warning relates to the topic of suicide and suicide ideation. So please if you are affected keep yourself safe. Thanks.

To find out more about KOSHISH, please visit these pages:

KOSHISH homepage

American Psychological Association on Mental Health in Nepal

7. Some musicians of Nepal

Ah, last but not least, I am taking you to some incredible musicians. I am enjoying these musical virtual outings very much. There is so much beautiful music out there and I wonder why we are so reluctant to discover more of it.

And where are we going next week?

Come Away With Me 2021 Musical Challenge Country for Monday, April 12th, 2021

I am taking a rather random route around the world, but sometimes it makes sense. Next week we venture to Bhutan a country I know basically nothing about. Heard of it but that’s it. Please find musicians from Bhutan on the “Back To The World” blog.

As for the suggestions to take part:

1. Join in! No matter where, when and with what. You missed the first year? Don’t worry. Just jump in when it suits you.
2. Send us the link! The ping-back option does not work because my blog is now private so please leave a link in the comments of the post on the day you take part. Or leave it at the “Come Away With Me 2021 FB page“
3. Tag your post either with ” Come Away With Me Musical Challenge”/ #CoAwWiMeMuCh” / “Come Away with Me 2021 Musical Challenge” o/“CoAwWiMe2021MuCh” / . You can also use these as hashtags for Twitter and other Social Networks to give your post more exposure. If you add #blog and #music with your hashtags it will get you more readers.
4. No matter which music or country the prompt favours you create with it whatever you please. This is supposed to be a fun challenge and no chore.
5. I post a prompt for the next week with every “Come Away With Me 2021 post” I write.
6. If you like, use this picture for your readers to find the posts.

Just one more thing before you go: The hospital that is treating me is fundraising for a dedicated breast cancer unit which would allow some same-day diagnosis and better premises for patients and staff.

Please, if you can spare a little money hop over to their Just Giving Page and give as little or much as you can. Or share the page on your social media. So far the campaign has raised about half the amount needed: £446,559 of £800,000 (March 2021).

Your support means a lot to me! Thank you very much.

Thanks, my dears, for staying with me until the end.

I appreciate your presence.

Please stay safe, stay kind and remember that you rock!