IA: 1HOUR OBSERVATION.

The day was just so perfect and fine. It was a pleasant day indeed. On 20^th September, I decided to observe my locality, Boudhanath Stupa, which is known for its beauty, rich cultural heritage and tourism site for my 1 hour observation for my IA.

4:20 PM.

Just when I began my observation, I saw two Taiwanese ladies accompanied by a guide who was pointing and explaining them about the Stupa just beside me.  They were taking pictures of the Stupa and I could see smile brightening their face. Then I looked straight and my eyes happened to see an old Anila (lady monk) dressed shabbily unlike the other monks sitting beside the temple spinning her prayer wheel. I wondered why was she sitting on the floor. Then I saw she looked after the shoes of the people who visited the temple. She was paid five rupees for each shoe. She was also asking people to give her money. Some did and some just ignored her. People were receiving holy water from a man who looked after the temple. Just beside the temple there was an entrance to the roof of the Stupa and I saw many people making their way through the narrow entrance door. I saw many small groups of people up in the Stupa. I saw couple, family, group of tourist, friends and some of them were alone. We actually go up to take Kora (rounds) around the Stupa, because its in our culture. But what I saw made me upset because they weren’t doing what they were supposed to. I guess majority of them just came to hang around because all I saw was them taking pictures with the Stupa, some were dating in one corner and others were laughing and talking like it was a park. But the foreigners seemed more loyal to me because though they knew nothing about our culture they took rounds around the Stupa and at the same time took pictures. They took exact three rounds and got down. But the other groups I was observing along with the tourists were still in the exact position doing what they were doing. I actually realized how many of us see boudhanath Stupa, as one of the places where people meet up, hang out and had fun. I didn’t like what I was observing so I decided to drift my eyes somewhere else just when I was disturbed by an excuse me. I saw three American ladies. One of them asked me where they could exchange currency. I couldn’t leave my spot so hence I showed them the direction. They seemed pretty clear with the direction. They thanked me and left the monastery. I looked down and saw many people doing their regular Kora around the Stupa. Most of them had Maney (holy beads) in their hands. To be honest, majority of them were old people. I later noticed few pigeons feeding on the left over grains from the morning. They were enjoying their meal. Suddenly the weather started to change. The dark clouds covered the sky and it started to get gloomy. In no time all the pigeons flew away. There was raindrops on my copy and realized that it was starting to rain. People began rushing and running to find a place where they could wait for the rain to stop. The spot that I was observing was a quarter of the entire Stupa, so therefore the monastery was their only option. In a minute the monastery was filled with people. I looked at my watch and it was almost time. I had 8 more minutes. I last thing I observed was a lady who was talking so loudly over the phone that made everybody look at her. The few minutes remaining I observed how some people of them were still taking Kora in their raincoats and umbrellas. I stopped my observation at 5:20 PM. While reflecting on what I observed I then realized how diverse Boudhanath Stupa was. I was proud to be a part of such locality. I learned that observing a particular place can be challenging but it was worth it.

Thank you.