Ant-e-Art friends
Holistic Yoga Ashrama
We met Shyam in October 2010, a couple of days after we had arrived in Kathmandu. As opposed to the majority of tourists visiting Nepal, we had neither intention nor enough time to go trekking in the Himalayas. Photography was our main interest. However, we didn’t want to go back home without some sort of spiritual pursuit either. But what to do and where to start? It doesn’t take one time to realize that Kathmandu is not only a holy city but also a spiritual market. Buddhist meditation, yoga classes, ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine sessions and “tasting sessions” on other traditional disciplines are offered everywhere in Kathmandu. The problem lies in finding a true and “not -so-touristy” place to experience these things. The morning we met Shyam for the first time he was sitting outside Holistic Yoga Ashrama. When asking him what we needed for yoga he answered “ nothing but comfortable clothes and a free spirit”. Suddenly, it felt as if we had found our yoga ashram. And this is Shyam’s story…
We met Shyam in October 2010, a couple of days after we had arrived in Kathmandu. As opposed to the majority of tourists visiting Nepal, we had neither intention nor enough time to go trekking in the Himalayas. Photography was our main interest. However, we didn’t want to go back home without some sort of spiritual pursuit either. But what to do and where to start? It doesn’t take one time to realize that Kathmandu is not only a holy city but also a spiritual market. Buddhist meditation, yoga classes, ayurvedic and Tibetan medicine sessions and “tasting sessions” on other traditional disciplines are offered everywhere in Kathmandu. The problem lies in finding a true and “not -so-touristy” place to experience these things. The morning we met Shyam for the first time he was sitting outside Holistic Yoga Ashrama. When asking him what we needed for yoga he answered “ nothing but comfortable clothes and a free spirit”. Suddenly, it felt as if we had found our yoga ashram. And this is Shyam’s story…
Thanka Art
In November 2010 we travelled to Nepal. Our purpose was not to go trekking, rather it was to spend time in Kathmandu, looking behind the touristy areas to see the real Nepal. On one of our walks we found Ajay Lama, a Thanka painter. Thanka art usually depicts a Buddhist deity, famous scene, or mandala of some sort. These thangka served (and still serve) as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities and bodhisattvas. We made friends with Ajay very quickly and soon decided to offer him a place as a friend of Ant-e-Art. This is his story…
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