::: BEAUTY LIVE IN THE WORLD :::

The Kali Gandaki river flows south from the Ti betan Plateau, cutting through the Himalayan range, flowing through the world's deepest gorge, flanked on either side by mountain massifs rising up several thousand metres. The gorge functions as a wind tunnel and the barren cliffs are eroded by the strong winds.

The settlements of Upper Mustang have to withstand harsh climates, intense solar radiation and a large fluctuation in temperature.

This region north of the Himalayas, lies in the rain shadow of the summer Monsoons. Settlements depend on water, which is scarce and when sources dry up, the settlements are moved to a more advantageous location. The eroded remains of the earthen walls of old settlements can be seen throughout Upper Mustang, blending in with the wind-beaten cliffs.

The mud structures are constantly subjected to the weather.

The sun and wind work their way into the surfaces and break them down into their natural forms.

Humans struggle against the persisting forces. Shelters are moulded out of the ochre -grey earth. Houses, fortresses and cities take on forms created as the fruits of civilisation, a cultural environment containing human activities. The balance between the wind and the mud walls exists so long as the human hand keeps up the modelling.

In a system of continually changing states, the only constant is the play of forces, the humans in close contact with the natural environment. What is the essence of the place? What is left when one takes away all the crumbling mud walls? What is it that gives the city its identity? Is it the city wall that one should try to preserve, or is it the Gompas, the Chhortens and the Palace that give the city its intrinsic aura? The city mirrors the state of the inhabitant’s mind. The structure of the dwelling fabric reflects the social structures. The position of the religious and political institutes corresponds to the centres of power and their relationship to the people. The edge of the city, the wall, shows us how this community interacts with its surroundings. Each part was created in response to natural, social, economic or political influences.

Today, this balance has shifted and change has washed away all those sensitive responses. The forces playing on the city and the values which formed the basis for planning decisions, both have undergone a major break from their original state — all the more reasons for the need to conserve these transitional cities. 

The trend of rural Nepalis opening their doors to travellers passing by their villages has been inculcat ed in our traditions and customs since time immemorial.

However, providing bed and breakfast or home stay for monetary gains is a fairly new concept in the country.

Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) endeavours to make this hospitality trait an economically beneficial opportunity for Nepalis.

Home stay is a system where the local people accommodate tourists in their houses, with tourists paying for the services rendered. People living in any region, rural or urban, can offer home stay. Nonetheless, NTB has set certain criteria and standards to ensure quality for the guests. These include factors like a house should not have more than four rooms, with maximum two beds of standardised size of 6.5 feet x 3 feet in each room. A room should not accommodate more than two guests. The rooms should not be damp or have leaking roofs. The rooms should have cross ventilations, but should be far from cowsheds, especially in rural areas. The people offering home stay also need to have a first aid box handy.

Furthermore, one has to register their houses with the government authority and each community or district should have at least five houses registered to benefit from this programme. Those offering home stay should own the houses being offered for the service and one has to obtain a recommendation letter from the village development committee or the municipality to be eligible.

Keshab Man Amatya, president of Society of Consulting Architectural and Engineering Firms, Nepal opines, "Bathroom facilities are a sensitive issue. Foreigners are not familiar with Indian pans and will have difficulty using it. A commode is a fundamental necessity for them." Replacing an Indian pan with a com mode is fairly easy, as much renovation is not required. A basic white commode can be purchased for Rs 10,000 and can be replaced at minimum costs by plumbers.

Devendra Nath Gongal, architect and director of Multi Disciplinary Consultants also stresses on the requisite of high level of sanitation for people interested to offer home stay.

"We only have to maintain the standards on hygiene. Other changes are actually secondary and not really necessary, since home stays are cultural exchanges between the host and the guests," says Gongal.

In order to increase awareness about this campaign at rural areas, NTB has dispatched field experts, who not only orient locals about home stay possibilities but also provide technical courses and capacity building training to equip them to meet the basic standards required.

"The crash course lays emphasis on cleanliness and hygiene, as toilet system and facilities are the major problems in rural villages," explains Prachanda Man Shrestha, chief executive officer at NTB.

A NTB study conducted in 2010 revealed that there are 66,603 tourist beds available in 15 selected tourist sites in Nepal. Some major destinations incorporated in the study were Kathmandu, Pokhara, Chitwan and Lumbini. This study also illustrated that there were 236 units of home stay houses available in the selected tourist destinations. "With the initiation of new services, we hope to increase the number to 1000 units by the end of Nepal Tourism Year (NTY) 2011," says Shrestha. The aim of this campaign is to actively interlink local people with the tourism sector and provide a viable economic alternative for local people. It is an employment generator with the least investment of money and time. It has been promoted as one of the best means to experience the culture and customs of Nepal, which boasts of 103 ethnic compositions.

The prices for home stays are purely based on market forces -demand and supply. There is no intervention by other organisations. "Home stay is basically a relationship between hosts and guests," says Shrestha.

Sirubari, a Gurung village in Syangja district near Pokhara has adopted the home stay system. The village has now developed as a growing tourist destination, thereby increasing the living standards of the people and the village itself. "We are using Sirubari as an example and we hope to see similar progress in other villages as well," opines Shrestha.

NTB is marketing the concept in collaboration with the Tara Village Development Committee. Various promotional means like brochures, posters, media, travel agencies and websites have been utilised to promote the home stay campaign.

We often travel in the hope of reaching a destination or a summit and are ready to go miles before sleeping in course of time, in the words of Robert Frost. And, this is our destiny. Most of us are bound to face our fortune to cross several hurdles while travelling the new road. This might be our challenge, a serpentine and rough terrain, and this might be our kismet, a never ending journey of the pilgrim ordinary citizen aspiring to reach the final destination, to bathe in the holy water, to purify sins, stubbornness and shamelessness. Nevertheless, this might not be the case in contemporary Nepal, a country which could have been a paradise, but it is no better than a converted playground for sinners. Nepal has become a country of repulsive forces since a few years in the name of the so-called democratic exercise. This is not the democratic practice at all if I am not wrong in understanding democracy. To some extent, democratic exercise in substance is what is required for the overall development of the country where every citizen is granted the rights that matter. However, over a period of time democratic exercises not in substance only in form staged in the different forms of melodrama in the different segments has proved a curse for the country trying to march towards lasting peace and progress, an ordinary citizen’s destination.

Plots are being hatched by some in the name of drafting a new constitution, prime ministerial election and bringing the derailed development process into the right track. Framing a new constitution could have been done within the stipulated time, with the resolution of several contentious issues. Ambiguity prevails as to whether the ordinary citizen will have the new constitution within the revised schedule of the Constituent Assembly.

My realization is the outcome of facts. The aim is for happiness and prosperity. But, no one should be interested in the kind of happiness generated by earning through bribery, by hurting others, by making merry with the money of their corrupt father, by marrying for wealth only or by getting unfair success.

My idea of lasting happiness is confined to simple living and high thinking. The development model may vary even for that one goal.