Nepal tourism Year 2011

30 participants from the Borderlands Group participated in the launching of ‘Nepal Tourism Year 2011’ campaign. The campaign was officially inaugurated by Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal amidst a grand function organized on February 26, 2010 at Tudikhel, Kathmandu. The inauguration ceremony saw participation from representatives of different political parties, tourism and economic sectors, private sector, sports, entertainment and ethnic communities. ‘Together for Tourism’ is the slogan of the national campaign.

16 different political parties have pledged to maintain peace and avoid strikes and bandhs in 2011 and tourism entrepreneurs are hopeful that at least a million tourists will come to Nepal during the Nepal Tourism Year 2011.

Borderlands participation in Nepal Tourism Year 2011

Holi at Borderlands

“Every other building is a temple and every other day is a festival’, this is a famous saying about Nepal that goes very well with the numerous festivals that are observed in Nepal. Nepal will be celebrating one of its important festivals, Holi (Fagu Purnima) or the Festival of Colors, on February 28, 2010 and the people of Terai will celebrate the festival on March 1, 2010. This is one of the most colorful and playful festivals of Nepal. Groups of people, young and old alike are seen drenched with water and covered in different colors from head to toe. This spring time celebration sees an outburst of youthful exuberance in which throwing colors, water and water-balloons (Lolas) on onlookers is also acceptable. People from all walks of life celebrate this festival with a lot of merry making.

Holi at Borderlands

This festival, that takes place on the full moon day in the month of Falgun, has an ancient origin and celebrates the triumph of the ‘good’ over the ‘bad’. The festival is allegedly named after the mythical demon Holika. Legend has it that there once lived a devil and a powerful king, Hiranyakashyap, who considered himself a god and wanted everyone to worship him. When he found out that his own son Prahlad worshipped Lord Vishnu, Hiranyakashyap started making plans to get rid of Prahlad. He asked his sister, Holika, who had the boon to enter the fire unscathed, to assist him in his endeavor. Holika supposedly entered a blazing fire with Prahlad on her lap in order to destroy Prahlad, however, in a turn of events, Holika lost her life due to her sinister desire and Prahlad was saved for his extreme devotion for Lord Vishnu.

This festival officially starts with the erection of the ceremonial pole called the ‘Chir pole’ at Basantapur Durbar square in Kathmandu. The bamboo pole, fringed with strips of cloth representing good luck charms, is decorated with colorful flags. After the pole is put up in the street at Basantapur, the festivities and worship commences for the week, at the end of which, the bamboo pole is taken to a bonfire.

Holi is also celebrated in India with a lot of enthusiasm and zeal.

Expat Celebrating Nepali Holi

H Bul Bul Bird

A birdwatching trip was organized by Nature-treks.com/ Himalaya on February 12, 2010 for two Scottish enthusiasts. The birding trip, from Godavari up to the half of Phulchowki hill, lasted for about 6 hours. During the trip, around 51 species of birds were identified including some rare and endangered ones in addition to common species of birds. Grey-sided Laughing Thrush, Fulvous-breasted Woodpecker, Red-billed Leothrix, Grey-headed Woodpecker, Yuhina Yuhina flavicollis etc. were some of the names of the birds that were sighted during the trip. The birdwatchers said that the trip added new species of birds to their existing birds list.

Phulchowki hill rises from Godavari garden and reaches the height of 2760m. It is the highest valley rim and a large number of different types of birds are found here. The forest is home to around 300 species of birds including some endangered, rare and vagrant ones.

Bird watching Godawari Jungle

Media Coverage

PATA Travel Mart

Borderlands Group actively participated in PATA Adventure Travel and Responsible Tourism Conference and Mart 2010 (ATRTCM) held at Soaltee Crowne Plaza, Kathmandu from February 1-5, 2010. Inaugurated by Hon. Sharat Singh Bhandari, Minister for Tourism, the conference boasted an impressive list of speakers and addressed key issues facing the tourism industry. The event has been a huge success and seeked to improve awareness and generate increased commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism practices.

Borderlands Group in PATA Travel Mart

The religious ‘Maha Shivaratri’ Festival, one of the most important festivals of the Hindus, falls on February 12, 2010. ‘Maha Shivaratri’ marks the night when Lord Shiva performed the divine art form known as ‘Tandava’, a dance performed by Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati. It is also believed that Lord Shiva was married to Goddess Parvati on this day. According to Hindu mythology, Shiva’s Tandava is a vigorous dance signifying the cosmic cycle of creation, preservation and dissolution. Devotees from as far as India come to Nepal for this festival and line up with other devotees in front of Shiva temples throughout the nation, particularly the famous Pashupatinath temple, to pay their homage to Lord Shiva, the God of Destruction. Even tourists can be seen in the vicinity of the temples reveling in the celebrations. This day is also very popular among the young and old alike. ‘Sadhus’, ‘Babas’, the locals as well as tourists are seen smoking marijuana on this day.

Lord Shiva is usually worshipped in the form of Shiva Linga, and on the auspicious occasion of ‘Shiva Ratri’, devotees worship it by offering bael leaves, milk, curd, honey, flowers, fruits etc. Most of the devotees hold an all-night vigil and austerely fast all-day, some without even drinking water. The devotees also chant hyms like ‘Om Namah Shivaya’ and other Vedic Stotras dedicated to Lord Shiva throughout the day.

It is believed that this festival summons the summer and supposedly after this day, the weather becomes warmer, heralding the summer season!

Giant Ladder

The Borderlands Management organized a Staff Retreat program for the Borderlands team on January 23, 2010 at Gokarna Forest Resort. Mr. Anil Chitrakar, Mr. Bhushan Tuladhar and Mr. Rajendra Mulmi were the facilitators during the program. A total of 37 participants took part in the retreat which aimed at improving communication, trust, leadership, employee bonding and support among other things.

The retreat began with an introduction round where the participants introduced themselves to their colleagues. This was followed by a session where the Borderlands team highlighted their expectations from the retreat. Blob tag and Human spiral were some of the icebreaking activities that the participants took part in before the visioning session. The participants were then divided into 4 teams and each team was asked to make a presentation of how they perceived the vision of the Borderlands Group. Mr.             Megh Ale then discussed about the various upcoming activities of the Borderlands group. SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) Analysis was yet another highlight of the day.

High Surfing

The staff of the Borderlands Group then practiced the High Rope Course scheduled to be officially launched on January 26, 2010. Overall, the program was a huge success which can be proven from the fact that the participants enjoyed themselves to the fullest and also learnt to effectively work together as a team. At the end of the day-long program, when asked if the program was effective or not, the participants said that it was very effective as they learnt to trust, motivate, work as a team, plan and focus, increase their self-confidence, learn from their mistakes, overcome fears, challenge the risks etc.

Dont be Scared

Borderlands Group, in association with Gokarna Forest Resort, launched the ‘Borderlands/Gokarna Forest Resort- High Rope Course’ on January 26, 2010 amidst a program organized at Gokarna Forest Resort.

The launching ceremony, which comprised of icebreakers, debriefing and High Rope Course activities, was attended by various media personnel. Additionally, the media personnel actively participated in all the activities and were very enthusiastic about the whole course. When asked, at the end of the ceremony, to relate their experiences, they said that the activities were great and that it definitely assisted them to work together as a team, improve trust, communication, leadership and coordination among other things. They further said that in addition to being adventurous, the activities also assisted in improving their intellectual skills as well.

Similarly, on the same day, 29 staff from the Gokarna Forest Resort also participated in the High Rope Course. At the end of the day, they too said that the program was a great one and it will definitely help them to imply the learnings of the course to their work place and thus, assist them to better work together as a team to achieve the organization’s objectives.

The ‘Borderlands/ Gokarna Forest Resort- High Rope Course’ involves a series of five activities (Funky Monkey, Don’t be Scared, V-Cool, Crazy Ladder and High Surfing) that focuses on the participant’s physical, emotional, social and intellectual capabilities and encourages them to stretch their limits. The Borderlands Group, pioneer of the High Rope Course in Nepal, uses the High Rope activities in conjunction with the Professional Development Programs, Team Building Events and School Programs. The Group has taken measures to ensure that the safety of its clients is not compromised under any circumstances.

Borderlands Group welcomes all to be a part of this ‘Inspiring Experience’.

T other Side

The Borderlands PDP organized a Staff Retreat/ Team Building Program for the staff of USAID/ Nepal Democracy and Governance/ Peace Support (DG/PS) team from January 28-29, 2010 at Park Village Resort, Budhanilkantha. There were a total of thirteen participants in the program that comprised of internal sessions in addition to team building games and initiatives. The major objective of the program was to finalize the Results Framework of the USAID/Nepal DG/PS team for the next 5 years in addition to bonding with the team members and having fun.

Clove Hitch

Participatory and interactive methods were used during the program. Presentations, brainstorming sessions and discussions, group work, exercises, team building activities etc. were some of the program highlights. Various games and initiatives such as: clove hitch, data transfer, trust fall exercises, magic carpet, toxic waste etc. were included in the two-day program. Actively involved in all the activities, the participants said that the program was a successful one as they were able to attain their objective i.e.: the Results Framework was drafted.

USAID Team Building