Each morning at 5:30 the morning sun coupled with the local rooster wake us up. Rain or shine we head out for a dawn walk around our neighbourhood. The route varies each day and is dictated by how much time we have and whether it rained over night; flooded muddy paths are hard to negotiate!
This morning David and Bibiana and I walked over to Patan Durbur Square (the oldest part of Patan) and while striding along a pretty busy main road, a red brick pathway going off to the left caught my eye. I turned in and we started to follow the very narrow twisting laneway flanked by tall old brick buildings.
The laneway broadened out slightly and there were two choices, continue to follow the path, or go off the right through a small wooden doorway into an inner courtyard, For no particular reason I walked through into the courtyard. It was about 100 square feet, the buildings were original dark brick with old carved wooden window frames. Against one wall was a single 30 foot tall Golden Buddha statue. There were no plastic chairs, motor bikes or electrical wires. There was a small brick gathering spot for morning washing and I suspect little has changed in the courtyard in the past 100 years. To the right of the Buddha there was an old didi leaning on a window frame looking into the square. She was dressed in the traditional white sari of a widow and she had a kind smile. We exchanged a Namaste as I walked back toward the door to leave the courtyard.
From time to time it’s good to not have a plan, and let chance be your guide.
No comments:
Post a Comment