Bāghdwār: Headwaters of Bagmati River

To commence The Kathmandu Project, I visited Bāghdwār  today to pay my respects to the headwaters of Bagmati River. Bāghdwār is located in Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park and is a kilometer before you reach the summit of Shivapuri Peak (8,963 ft) in the northen fringes of Kathmandu Valley. Three headwater streams originate at Bāghdwār to make Bagmati River.

Torkey Baba

I had the pleasure of meeting two Babas (spiritual followers of Lord Shiva who generally choose to live Hermit-like lifestyle) who reside in Bāghdwār. Torkey Baba has been living in the area for the past 19 years and Mahatma Sushil for the past 3 months. Torkey Baba got his name from the Nepali word 'torkey,' which stands for the trunk of a tree because he lived in hollow tree trunk for five years when he first moved to Shivapuri. Since then he has moved to his current location, which has separate guest quarters equipped with solar generated electricity. Torkey Baba was very hospitable and welcomed us with cups of tea.

According to Torkey Baba, Shivapuri got it's name because Shiva and Parbati used to live at the Peak. 'Puri" in Nepali and Sanskrit means place of residence. He also informed us that Bāghdwār in fact was originally called Wākhdwār, made of two words 'wak" meaning to spit out and 'dwar' meaning door. Baba informed us that once when Lord Shiva laughed he spit out some saliva, which hit the grounds of Bāghdwār resulting to the origination of Bagmati (originally Wakmati) river.

Torkey Baba seemed well informed and well connected to the organizations that oversaw the preservation of Shivapuri and Bagmati. His cell phone had a ring tone of a famous Pop song that I recognize but can't quite name it. It is not Brittney Spears, but something along the lines.

Medani kaka takes a break to admire the view of the valley

In summation, I can't think of better way to start off The Kathmandu Project.