Anisha, Surej and Sushma
Beside Manamaiju temple, Manamaiju, Kathmandu, Saturday, October 3rd, 2015
When I walk past Manamaiju temple, I often see Sushma playing on the tiled area that surrounds it. On this day, her brother Surej was with her, as well as her friend Anisha.
As I take the photo, almost directly behind me is a stepped pit area with a spigot in the bottom. I believe it was used in the past for washing laundry, although right now the spigot doesn't seem to be providing any water.
Next to the stepped pit is Manamaiju Secondary School where (every day but Saturday) you can hear the sound of children rolling out over the metal gate. When school lets out at 4pm, the main street of Manamaiju is filled with students in uniform, walking in twos and threes and fours, carrying their backpacks, and talking and joking with each other.
The yellow wall seen on the left is the exterior of Manamaiju temple. The railing that surrounds it has scores of tiny shallow bowls that can be used as lamps during festivals. All they require is a bit of ghee [clarified butter made from the milk of a buffalo] or oil, and a small piece of wick.
Just to the right of the temple, you can see a home that was partialy broken apart in the earthquake and is now being disassembled for it's parts. The last couple of times that I have passed, a lone man standing atop the corrugated metal roof has been throwing down bricks for re-use.
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