Friday, April 05, 2013

Other crafts in Bhaktapur

 It's quite a touristy place and there are lots of shops selling crafts and souvenirs.
Here a small Tibetan community has found their niche, painting thangkas, the religious paintings of Tibetan Buddhism. Here a piece of fabric is being stretched on a frame waiting for the master to paint on it. They wanted to demonstrate the making of a sand mandala but I said I wasn't interested. The whole purpose of the demo was probably to get me to buy it. I wasn't going to buy anything and I don't want them to waste their time. A sand mandala is another kind of painting except here they use colored sand to form the pattern, seal it and frame it. That's Ok, I'll pass. I don't buy any souvenir when I travel or else my home will be filled with stuff. I bring home only pictures and memories.

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