THE KINGDOM OF WONDERS

  THE KINGDOM OF WONDERS
-VISITING CAMBODIA -THE PEARL OF ASIA

(Published in The Himalayan Times, October 23, 2014)

                                                                                           (Sandhya Regmi)

 

After eight years out of my decade-long stay and work in Vietnam, I had a change for a milestone trip to its neighboring country—the Kingdom of Cambodia—the ‘Pearl of Asia’ and the paradise for the ancient and enchanting archeological wonders. And the pearl of the pearl is Angkor Wat, a colossal structure located in Siem Reap. Tagged by UNESCO as a world heritage, the gorgeous Angkor Wat stands as the largest and the oldest religious structure man has ever made in the world.  

We travelled by bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Siem Reap. Immigration procedure at the boarder was chaotic. On the way, we halted for 2 nights in Phnom Penh, enjoying its beautiful and historical landmarks and attractions: Royal Palace with the Silver Pagoda, National Museum, French colonial buildings, and river-side restaurants.   

After a tedious 7-hour bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, the luxurious 4 star Prince D’ Angkor hotel & spa welcomed us with open arms to bask in its splendor of elegance. After a plunge in its relaxing saltwater pool and a short nap in the finely decorated deluxe room with traditional Khmer style furnishing and wooden floor, we took a brisk walk to the heart of the city to dine in the Temple Balcony restaurant. The popular airy balcony surprised us not only with mouth-watering selection of both local Khmer and international cuisine but also with Apsara Dance performance, a living Khmer culture.

Early morning next day, after a truly sumptuous buffet breakfast at the Blue Diamond Restaurant of Price D’ Angkor, we headed to our main expedition to explore the legendary Angkor temples and undiscovered treasures in Cambodia. Even the burning heat of May could not deter us.

What a pleasant coincidence it was. The first day of our visit to Angkor fell on the sacred day of Bhaishakh Poornima, May the 2^nd, the auspicious day of the birth of Lord Buddha.  Monks within Cambodia and from the neighboring countries had come all the way long to be in the holy land of Angkor; we were walking together with a crowd of monks, clad in all orange costumes, till we reached the main entrance of the colossal temples. It gave me such a pious feeling as if I were living in the pagodas for ages. This association with the monk outburst a blend of extreme satisfaction and joy within my heart, the heart that has always welcomed and adored the teachings and philosophies of Buddha & Buddhism. 

Our first visit was to the legendary Angkor Wat and the giant faces of Bayon. We stood gazing at the massive 3-tiered pyramid crowned by 5 lotus-like towers 65  meters from ground level. No exaggeration, Angkor Wat is architecturally and artistically breathtaking!! We could see the exterior and interior of the temple densely carved with hundreds of figures of ‘Apsaras’ and scenes from Hindu Mythology.  Though Angkor Wat was constructed as a Hindu temple, it has served as a Buddhist pagoda since Buddhism became Cambodia’s dominant religion in the 14th century. I paid homage to the Buddha Images before departing Angkor.          

On the way trip to Bayon we could see the south gate of Angkor Thom, a classic example of Jayavarman VII monument, the Khmer King who constructed hundreds of monuments in Cambodia in less than a 40-year period. Angkor Thom contains the Bayon temple with its more than 2000 enormous mysterious faces. I captured several shots of Angkor Thom in my camera which I later dared to reflect on my canvas.

While in the temple city, we also grabbed an opportunity for a half–day trip in the Happy Ranch Horse Farm, riding on gorgeous Cambodian horses through rice fields, villages and Buddhist pagodas. 

Now, the time for final judgment. The trip generated both regret and relief. Regret for not visiting such a wonderful place earlier. Relief for ultimately being able to visit the land of archeological wonders, monks and ‘Apsaras’. Holidaying in Siem Reap and exploring the wonders of the precious Angkor seemed to me like an endless journey as life itself. Just as the Angkor, once the capital city of Cambodia, lost to the world for 1000 years, got rediscovered and now stands tall as the pinnacle of the ancient art, architecture and civilization, I found myself rejuvenated, reunited and reincarnated in the series of Buddha Images with new creative prowess. My trip to Cambodia remains one of the most unforgettable, educational, and historical trips in my life.

VIETNAM IS FLOURISHING

VIETNAM IS FLOURISHING

(Published in The Himalayan Times, April 24, 2014)

                                                                                           (Sandhya Regmi)

Throughout my stay abroad in Asia and Europe I have been highly influenced by the literature and art of the host country and —being a literary writer and artist myself—I’ve played my part to introduce and promote Nepal’s literature and art through various available means to those countries, particularly India, Germany, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam. Hence my visit abroad has always been special because it has been not only for a vacation but also to represent Nepal internationally.

To me, literature and art are not only instruments for expressing sentiments and providing entertainment, but also benchmark for calibrating cultural and social prosperity of the nation and impetus for political and social change. Moreover, I have always seen possibilities of social networking and program for literary exchange and interaction—in the global context. This on one hand gives opportunities to writers and artists from different nations—with diverse cultural, social, and religious background—to introduce themselves and their works to the international world and on other hand serves as an intellectual forum to express and discuss ideas, opinions, suggestions, and proposals to preserve and promote our art, culture, language and literature.

In December 2013, I was formally invited by the vice-dean of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Humanities and Social Studies to participate and represent Nepal in the international literary conference in HCMC Vietnam, where I had the pride of introducing Nepali literature, prominent literary figures and Nepali literary masterpieces to the vast literary world of Vietnam and beyond.

Many foreigners still configure their imagination about Vietnam through the lens of war, though Vietnam has overcome the hardships caused by almost 20-year long war-destructions. Many are unaware of how Vietnam got independence and reunification. The situation of today’s Vietnam and its people, as I observed with my own eyes, make me believe that the country is healing its wounds, reinventing itself and developing rapidly with free market economy favourable for foreign investment. Its rapid progress in infrastructure development could serve as an example for a developing country like Nepal.

During my journey, I saw Vietnam flourishing amidst captivating natural beauty and tranquil village life. Its highlands and rainforest regions, far from being devastated, continue to yield new species and team with exotic wildlife. Its islands and beaches are among the finest in all of Southeast Asia, and its cuisine is amongst the most delicious and healthy in the region. Today, this gracious and graceful country is an outstanding travel destination.

My trip to Vietnam also opened my eyes to many interesting facts: Vietnam is the largest exporter of cashews in the world, and the second largest exporter of rice; despite being a developing country, its literacy rate is 94%; Vietnam has one of the lowest unemployment rates among all developing countries, Vietnam has a rich art, culture and literature background. The list goes on. 

The War Remnant Museum, filled with exhibits of descriptive histories of the American war in Vietnam. The photograph of the heartbreaking events during the war, the unbearable sufferings of the prisoners of war and of the innocent victims of the Agent Orange (the toxic chemical spread by the American aircrafts from 1961-71 in South Vietnam) left us feeling awfully gloomy. Our heart got some solace after visiting the Reunification Palace, the Fine Art Museum, the Vinh Nghiem Pagoda and the renowned monument of uncle Ho Chi Minh in front of the beautiful architecture of Saigon City Hall.

From Saigon the Petro Express Hydrofoil took us in less than 2 hours to the nearest sea beach of ‘Vung Tau’ Peninsula and to the seaside resort, from where we could enjoy the majestic panoramic sea views. The romantic Lan Rung restaurant offered us fresh lobsters and a variety of seafood performing the traditional Vietnamese Dragon Dance as a preparation for the New Year Celebration.

The most memorable part of my trip to Vietnam was the journey to Halong bay in northern Vietnam next to Hanoi, 2 hours flight from Ho Chi Minh City, a place of extreme natural beauty and serenity. We were traveling in the Imperial Cruise admiring the majestic beauty of thousands of amazing limestone islands, islets and spectacular rocks in the middle of the bay. Adventuring into caves and grottos climbing up and into vast chambers to see the stalactites and stalagmites and hear the folklore stories was amazing. We passed by the floating village which still accommodates the fishing people, enjoyed kayaking in the vast ocean renting a boat and even took a tour to explore pearl farming in the island. An overnight stay in the cruise was a remarkable experience with great service of hospitable staffs offering an excellent blend of Vietnamese culinary delights and continental cuisine.



Halong bay has not only been recognized as the UNESCO world heritage site but has also been declared one of the new seven natural wonders of the world. It is universally acknowledged as an unmissable corner of Vietnam. Indeed, the site ranks as the top tourist attraction in the country. The Vietnamese say “If you haven't seen Halong Bay, then you haven't seen Vietnam.” In truth, to truly grasp and appreciate its wonder, you really must see it with your own eyes.

SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF GLORIOUS HIMALAYAS

SPIRITUAL DIMENSION OF

 GLORIOUS HIMALAYAS

(Published in the Rising Nepal Friday Supplement, June 6th, 2014)

                                                                                              (Sandhya Regmi)

Sir Edmund Hillary had extreme emotional attachment to Nepal, Nepalese, and the Himalayas. Hillary considered Sagarmatha as the holy shrine of Lord Shiva, so he believed that stepping on Mount Everest with their feet would amount to an act of disrespect to the holy land, so both Edmund and Tenzing Norgay bowed down their heads very low, soon after reaching the summit and planting Nepal’s ‘sun and moon’ embodied flag.   I was moved and blown away emotionally while reading these lines, thinking how high and pious our Himalayas were considered by these climbers. The glorious Himalayas appeared to me an embodiment of spiritualism. I got inspired to celebrate the glory of the great Himalayas and thus plunged into the world of mountains with my  colours and canvas. I literally felt as if I were travelling far away from the sufferings of materialistic word and reaching a spiritual world of utmost happiness and serenity.

After the success of my seventh solo painting exhibition entitled “Faces of Buddha”- a collection of 32 diverse faces of Buddha as seen all around the world - in August 2013, my eighth solo painting exhibition entitled “My Motherland Nepal Gloriously Stretched Amidst The Endless Sky” was recently accomplished at Nepal Art Council Babarmahal, Kathmandu. A series of 15 Himalaya paintings of Nepal fascinated myriads of visitors including art connoisseurs with an unprecedented enthusiasm to travel from the painful materialistic world into a heavenly spiritual one since the day of its inauguration jointly graced by prominent poet Prof. Tulasi Diwasa and senior writer, poet, artist, art critic and dramatist Prof. Dr. Abhi Subedi, chaired by Mrs. Greta Rana and specially attended by the Seven Summit Women Team led by the coordinator Mrs. Shailee Basnet. 

The Great Himalayas series of paintings are the measures of deep expressions of my extreme emotional attachment to my nation and its soil. Through them, I have literally poured out my sentiments of sincere love, affection, respect, and gratitude to my motherland. These paintings are 'Gitanjali' to my prideful country and the people. I have indeed got literally too nostalgic to paint my country's most precious natural gift, the crowns of Nepal- that provide link between the earth and the heaven.   

Through the series of my Himalaya paintings, I have sung the songs out of my patriotic heart, as in my patriotic poem 'A Letter To My Motherland Nepal’. It is never in the house of God that our country lives, and sure never in the spreading scaffold, but in work illumined with songs of praise and hymns, in the open space and in the temples of our heart that our country lives. Our motherland is not an idol but honour, is faith and not festivity. Our country is not lost in labyrinth of aphorisms, of religion and philosophy; it is not lost in the bitter war of doctrines and dogmas. It dwells in the enlightenment of clean thoughts and lofty ideals, not in the magic wand of witchcraft of politics and diplomacy, but is alive in cordiality of wisdom and intelligence.

That blending of my patriotic feelings of dedication and devotion towards my country with my skills have produced some landscape masterpieces of Nepal. Sunset and full-moon night scenes are part of this series where I paint 'Glorious Sunset Over Mt. Everest', 'Sunset Celebration In The Mountains' and 'Nuptse At Moonlit Night'. The attraction of the beautiful Pokhara has been painted entitled 'The Fusion of Fishtail, Fewa & Flower'. With my inner eyes I see the mountains as charming Angels and love to name them as the 3 sisters: 'Ganga', 'Jamuna', and 'Yamuna'. I see the accomplished Kanchanjangha as a source of enthusiasm and challenge in life. My poetic heart melts as the snow of the Himalayas and flows in the charismatic 'Phoksomodo' and 'Tilicho' - which I name 'The Lake Of Ambrosia' ('Ammritkunda').

I admit that at the tender age of 16, when I had to leave my country and go overseas for higher education and professional life, continuously living over two and a half decade-long stay abroad in “Paradesh” in isolation, my love for my land, culture, society, nation welled-up. Nepal rolled down the edges of my eyes, not tears for sure. It was not heart that pulsated, but Nepal deep inside my chest. While missing my home country, I continued to live in my own imaginative world of Himalayas, Yeti, and the Sherpas, the rivers and the lakes, and got literally lost in the virtual mists- growing even more nostalgic. Understandably, my deep rooted love for my nation coupled with the blissful moments I got deprived of while living abroad created such emotional waves in my life. I turned to the paintings for solace. I concede that it is only after painting the great Himalayas, my heart got filled with the heavenly nectar of the natural beauty helping me attain the sublime state of infinite happiness and peace.   

                                

Nature has ever since been our great teacher, a school of wisdom, an institute of knowledge, an university of understating and an academy of illumination. From untiring rivers and rivulets that flow ceaselessly onwards, we never cease to learn the mighty lesson of life that moves ahead constantly despite overwhelming setbacks. From upright hills above that never exhaust, we learn the lessons of watching with unyielding patience and unflagging determination. From snow-capped ridges which never cease to melt, we learn the lesson inexhaustible abundance that hides behind unspeakable benevolence of consciousness deep within. From abysmal recesses of cooing pine trees, imbue the sweetness that lies embedded in mass of persistence and strife. Smitten with buffets of snow-flakes and biting frost in winter, and shorn of their beauty, we learn from the cheerless trees enlivened and rejuvenated with lively fresh shoots in spring.

My paintings represent Nepal far across the globe as a piece of Shangrila directly fallen from Heaven to Earth. The pristine landscape, riverines, cascades of precious rocks, and pious snow capped mountains and the glorious environment take us to a spiritual world of supreme sense of happiness and natural relief far away from the ever-expanding anxiety and suffering of the materialistic world. And their inherent beauty attract people from all over the world, not only for mountain climbing and trekking but also for spreading the message of peace and plead for nature conservation.

As an Environmental Engineer, I endeavoured to create awareness on Environmental Preservation and Sustainability through my paintings. These paintings bring along with them the message that we have to safeguard these natural blessings. This demands protecting them from the threats of Global Warming and shielding them from detrimental effects of Climate Change. Unless we are to choose the path of self-destruction, we have irrevocable obligation to conserve the Mother Nature so that we could breathe and walk on clean, green mother earth and hand over the heavenly earth with uncompromised natural resources to our future generations.

(paintings by the author:)

PROMOTING NEPALI LITERATURE ABROAD

       Promoting Nepali Literature Abroad 
(International Literary Conference in Ho Chi Minh City)

(published in the Rising Nepal Friday Supplement June 6th, 2014)

 Sandhya Regmi representing Nepal in the International Literary Conference in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Dec 20^th -23^rd , 2013 

Sandhya Regmi with the vice-dean of the HCMCSSH Dr. Hoa Tran

 Sandhya Regmi
(Nepali Literary Ambassador to Vietnam )

Since the very beginning of my professional life I have been contributing to the literary world through my articles both in the Nepali and the English language in newspapers and magazines, and throughout my stay abroad, I have been highly influenced by the literature of the host country, and —being a literary writer myself — have played my part to introduce and promote Nepal’s literature through various available means to those countries. Hence my visit abroad has always been special because it has been not only for a vacation but also to represent Nepal internationally.

To me, literature is not only an instrument for expressing sentiments and providing entertainment, but also a benchmark for calibrating cultural and social prosperity of the nation and impetus for political and social change. Moreover, I have always seen possibilities of social networking and program for literary exchange and interaction—in the global context. This on one hand gives opportunities to writers from different nations—with diverse cultural, social, and religious background—to introduce themselves and their literary works to the international literary world, and on other hand serves as an intellectual forum to express and discuss ideas, opinions, suggestions, and proposals to preserve and promote our art, culture, language and literature.

In December 2013 I was formally invited by the Vice-Dean of Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences & Humanities to participate in the International Literary Conference in Vietnam. The conference entitled “Literature in the Globalization Context of the 21^st Century” was sponsored by the Japan Foundation. This was indeed a golden opportunity for emerging writers like me to broaden the knowledge in literary fields through presentation, discussion and interaction coordination.

The conference was a big success to both the national and international participants related to literature and literary works in acquiring information in depth on pre-modern as well as modern global literature. It additionally served as an excellent informative and educational platform on masterpiece literary works of the participating countries not only to the academicians and scholars of literature but also to the young university students in their strenuous journey of learning.

Attendance by the Consular General of Japan and the Director of the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange and their congratulatory speech added extra merits, attraction and significance to the conference. The conference’s concluding remarks by the vice-dean of HCMC University was both emotionally and intellectually brilliant and thought-provoking.  

The conference was divided into 3 panels for paper presentation as well as discussion. The classification was based on the topic of the paper, and each panel contained 19 presentations. All the 3 panels ran simultaneously on a single day in 3 different halls hitting the record of a total of 57 presentations being accomplished in one day. This was in fact a big achievement made by the conference organizer. It gave the opportunity to broaden our knowledge in diverse topics of pre-modern and contemporary literature in today’s global context in a short duration of a couple of days which otherwise would have taken an individual reader months and even years of concentrated efforts.

                                                               

As the only participant representing Nepal in the huge gathering of prominent poets, writers, international academicians, professors, and educational professionals from USA, Japan, Thailand, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam, I had the pride of introducing Nepali literature, prominent Nepali literary figures and Nepali literary masterpieces to the vast literary world. Particularly I emphasized on the three legendary icons of Nepali literature. These demigods of Nepali literature are: late Laxmi Prasad Devkota who is awarded 'Mavakavi' (the great poet), late Lekhnath Poudel who is rewarded 'Kavi Shiromani' (the gem of all the poets), and late Bal Krishna Sama who is often regarded as ‘the Shakespeare of Nepal’ due to his famous play-writings.

Additionally, this conference served as an excellent chance to shake hands and start foundation for building friendship-bridges. Moreover, it also provided me the chance to present 75 pieces of Nepali-literature books as gift to the library of the Department of Oriental Studies of HCMC University introducing the prominent Nepali literary figures and their literary masterpieces to the literary world of Vietnam and proposing for translation into Vietnamese language the prominent works of Nepalese Writers - 1) “Jeewan Kanda Ki Phool” (A Flower in the Midst of Thorns) by Jhamak Ghimire, 2) “Sireesh Ko Phool” (Blue Mimosa) by Parijat, and 3) “Seto Bagh” (Wake of the White Tiger) by Diamond Shamsher.  

 Though translation of a large body of Nepali literature is now available in English, Nepali literature remains largely unknown to the global literary community and hence has not been able to draw the attention of the world. I am of the opinion, for Nepali literary works to be made easily accessible to the international world, a translation organization has to be established at the national level which should make a team of experts who work fairly and impartially while selecting the master-pieces for translation into English and other languages, and hire highly professional and capable translators to do the translation and such literary works should be promoted abroad. Limited individual effort and lack of professionalism with limited resources are insufficient to promote the Nepali Literature internationally. Nepal should also take membership in the International Translation Organization established in 1953 under the UNESCO consisting of 155 member countries in which over 80,000 professional translators and language experts are working. 

In today's world of Information Technology and globalization, the language, culture, literature and art do not and should not remain isolated within a national boundary. They must be made accessible to the international world to foster unity in diversity. Its benefit is obvious. It is recommended to organize such international literary conferences also in Nepal as a regular event, say on an annual basis, so that the whole process gets opportunity for continuity, consolidation, and further prosperity in coming days.