A Busy Day
Friday 12th August 2022 was Krishna Janmasthami, and it was
a school holiday. We could not do anything special but in the evening, me and
my father went to visit the famous Krishna Mandir of Patan Durbar Square. This
is the most famous and popular temple of Lord Shree Krishna, and a large
number of devotees visit the temple on this day. It was about 9pm when we
reached the temple, and there were a large crowd and a long queue of people
waiting for the darshan of Lord Krishna.
Saturday 13th August, 2022
Today was Saturday, so we woke of
late. We had our usual breakfast of Roti + Omelet + Milk (which was a “BIB” – ‘Breakfast
In Bed”). I got ready for the day, not knowing how it would be a LONG and BUSY
day !
After breakfast, I was finishing my
school’s homework and suddenly I remembered that my good friend Riya had told
me that her mother was admitted here in the Patan Hospital. When I told my dad,
he told me to confirm with Riya by telephone. After speaking with Riya, I found
out that her mom had given birth to a baby boy, and she too is coming to Patan
Hospital. I was excited. We quickly made a Congratulation Card, and got ready
to visit them in the Patan Hospital’s Maternity Ward.
We hurried to the Maternity Ward, and
the good thing was I knew Riya’s mother’s name, so it was easy to search her
name in the Admitted Patient’s Name. Her bed number was 254. We found Riya, her
mother and the new baby there – and we gave our Congratulations to them. I also
met Riya’s father in the Hospital.
After we talked with Riya, my father
told me to invite Riya to our Quarter. So I invited her to my place. Since we
had a big ground where we could ride our cycle, I let Riya ride my bicycle. I
introduced her to my other friends from the quarter also. We showed her all the
places where we play, including our “Children’s Play House”. We gave her
some snacks, and she told us that she needed to leave. So I dropped her in
the hospital and I also spent some time there, watching her grandmother clean
the baby and bathe and oil him.
By then it was lunch time. We had our
lunch, which was prepared by my mom, at around 12 pm. We had to prepare ourselves
to go to the Airport to drop my mom. My mom had to go to Bharatpur by plane, so
we had to drop her at the Domestic Airport. Her flight was at 2pm and we
reached the airport by 1 pm. At the Airport’s entrance gate, only passengers
were allowed to enter the terminal building. All bags and luggage were X-ray
checked at the entrance – but I sneaked in to bid good-bye to my mom, and the guards
did not mind either.
After dropping mom, our plan was to
visit Pashupati Nath Temple. It was mid-day, and was very hot. Pashupatinath
temple was very near the Airport. At the entrance my dad had to take off his
shoes. Because of the heated floor, almost everyone was jumping and some
parents were carrying their children, so that their feet would not burn. I was
allowed to enter with my slippers, but at the main gate, another guard told me
to put aside my slipper, so that we could do the darshan.
Inside the temple, we visited many
small temples and idols, like the Vasuki Nath, Budhanilkantha, Ganesh,
Saraswoti, Shree Krishna, Bhairab, Dakshinkali, Hanuman etc. There was also a
place where there were hundreds of small Shiva Lingas, arranged in a Maze like
pattern, and we walked through this maze-like place. There was also a temple at
its center. We were lucky to enter the main Pashupati Nath Temple and encircle
it and do the Darshan from all four sides. Soon after, it was time to close the
Temple !! We also saw Arya-Ghat, where the deceased people were getting
cremated.
We also went to the Deer Forest,
across the Bagmati River, but we did not find any deers, and we returned
because the path was steep and it was too hot to continue. We will again go
there on a cool day.
On our return, we found a street
vendor selling bead-bands with our names in it. So we bought some of these
bands, with our names, for me, my brother and my friends.
By this time, it was 3pm, and we then
went to Maiti Devi house to meet Hajurba and Hajurma. They were both fine and
were pleased to see me. We could stay there only for 15 minutes, because it was
getting dark, and we had a plan to go swimming also, so we had to reach our
quarter quickly.
After reaching our quarter, we got
ready to go to the Swimming Pool at Satdobato, along with my Dada. While returning
from Maiti Devi, we were nervous because it was getting darker and darker, and
we feared that it might rain and we will be forced to cancel our swimming
program. Luckily it did not rain, and we reached the Pool by 4.30pm. The reason
we needed to go the Pool was that Dada had a swimming competition on Monday,
and he needed to practice for it.
In the Pool we swam from two hours
from 4.30pm to 6.30pm. Dada practiced hard and did well also. He completed 25m
in just 47 seconds !! I also did and underwater sommer-sault and also taught my
dad how to do it. We had a very fun time there and we were all tired. We also
had some nice snacks of yogurt and donuts.
We walked back to our quarter from
Satdobato Pool. Dada went for a haircut and we returned and took nice baths.
Today we all three were quite tired.
We had our dinner at 9pm. To avoid doing dishes, we used disposable plates.
Finally, it was the end of a very long,
busy and tiring day, because we had several events all in one day. The day was
however enjoyable. I talked to my mom who was in Bharatpur before going to bed.
By 10pm I was in my cozy bed……. and I dozed off……. after writing my diary……..
GOOD
NIGHT !! SLEEP TIGHT !! DON’T LET THE BED BUGS BITE !!!
