Mandir Pachadi, Banepa

A little slice of life off the beaten track here in Nepal.

Once a week I visit a 'secret bar' in Banepa, which sells a particularly fine raksi (Nepali rice wine), which is brewed on the premises. Many rural areas brew raksi of some description, and believe me some of it has the same properties of paint stripper but this is pretty good stuff, providing I only visit once a week!

It's a good place to practice my language skills and become part of the community and I guess its a measure of my integration that I have been given a Nepali name, Janak...

The jerry cans at the back hold the raksi, with the darker one being the extra strong one. Designer labels not required. The woman in the picture runs the bar, and along with her husband cooks various Nepali snacks and ferments/brews the raksi on the premises.

I'll post some colour images here soon I promise, but I figure this could be my homage to Robert Frank!

Oh, and the title...Mandir Pachadi is Nepali for 'near the temple' and a well used phrase to describe the location. Very apposite, and a reminder of the close proximity of the spiritual and the secular in this country.