Chandra Kumar Gurung Ji has been holding yoga sessions for our community every Sunday for the past few weeks. He has graciously been teaching beginner and moderate levels of yoga and it has been an amazing experience.
He was born in a remote village of Gorkha, Nepal, and had an inexorable quest for life and the wonder of the universe which led him to become a student of science. A student who wanted to get deeper into the idea of mind and matter. But, he thought that there must be a broader concept than science for learning and applying the idea to life and it was spirituality. In order to quench the thirst for spirituality, he was involved in the practice of yoga and meditation under the tutelage and direct discipleship of Dr. Yogi Vikasananda. Through the long years of practicing yoga and meditation, he realized that the quest and thirst for spirituality are unappeasable and he felt to make it his life-long phenomenon. With his dedicated and devoted mind, he received unpayable and invaluable wisdom during the period of a program named ‘Five Years Self-transformation and Personality Development’ conducted by his mentor Dr. Yogi Vikasananda at Manokranti Matrix Gurukul, Godawari, Lalitpur, Nepal. Determined to be a spiritual practitioner, he became a Yoga and Reiki Master.
The longing for spirituality even got higher and higher which led him to undergo the ‘8 Days Underground Meditation’. He didn’t stop there. He kept doing various experiments to realize the power of spirituality. To be specific, the power of yoga and meditation. On the other hand, he also undertook ‘21 Days of Water Fasting’ which had a lot to tell about the mind power and power of spiritual practice. Definitely, spirituality doesn’t emphasize the practice of power. However, they are the tools to heighten and empower one to lead further into enlightenment. After getting as much knowledge as he did, he followed the path of healing and teaching needy people. He imparted his spiritual knowledge and life-inspiring ideas to people from different corners of society. He traveled to many places in Nepal to share his practical experience so that he could share the practical approach to spirituality through yoga and meditation by incorporating them into the life of people. Not only did he deliver the wisdom on spirituality, but also inspired many people to live their life with optimism, positivity, and hope. While traveling different districts of the nation, he kindled the light of health, peace, positive mind, and happiness to hundreds of thousands of people. The unyielding effort of helping the humanity has not ended but has been continuing even after moving into the USA. Mr. Chandra Kumar Gurung from Nepal currently resides at Seattle, Washington with his loving wife Ambika Adhikari and a beautiful daughter Satyaa.
Please watch this Moderate Yoga tutorial by our Reiki and Yoga Master Sri Chandra Gurung.
Thank You to all of our Board of Directors, especially Tara Aryal and Saurav Kakshapati, our Yoga Master, and Videographer Deepak Karki for making this event session possible.
Pramoj Adhikari, RN, BSN is the 2022 candidate for DNP-FNP at the Pacific Lutheran University and is an active community member of Nepal Seattle Society and the newly formed Nepali Health Board. In guidance with Nepal Seattle Society, Nepali Health Board and Bhutanese Community Resource Center, especially in participant recruitment, Pramoj was able to go door-to-door and provide education geared toward Nepali diet. This webinar was made possible under Project Spring Forward funded by Department of Health. Please watch to learn about his project findings and how you can incorporate some of the stuff discussed in your day-to-day life!
On the morning of May 7th, Pramoj Adhikari presented his study findings to the community and we had around seventeen participants. Our questions and answers session was very engaging and interactive and we had great questions like what type of rice to eat and when to eat rice as we Nepali love rice.
Sachin Gurung, one of the participants who works as Software Engineer at Amazon shared,
“Very informative presentation. Loved it. Looking forward to future projects!”
Pramoj shared that the next phase of the project is going to be creating informative materials about what to eat as a Nepali living abroad with pre-diabetes.
On May 5th, 2022, the Nepal Seattle Society organized a Gardening 101 class to learn the basics of gardening in the pacific northwest region. Our respected community leader and organic gardener, Nil Tilija conducted the class and gave us a tour of his garden. Even though the evening started with some rain; our host Nil Tilija started up a fire pit and served us some warm tea with organic mint and honey from his garden. He started the class by sharing some benefits and background of how he began his journey to become an organic gardener.
Benefits of Gardening
With several benefits from gardening, Nil mentioned some from his own experiences. For instance:
Gardening as meditation and stress reliever; a relief of mind, body, and soul.
One can be as close as possible to nature.
A great form of physical activity; pulling plant roots, digging soils, reaching to various tools and plants, twisting and bending your body helps strengthen muscles, and build flexibility.
Eat what you grow, healthy and nutrients from your own hard work.
Cost efficient and pesticides free organic food.
Process of Growing your Vegetables
As a beginner for gardening, an individual should have some basic knowledge and familiarize themselves with what kind of planting zone they belong to such as timing and seasons best for each vegetable, consideration of exposure to lights, water, soil, fertilizers, and insects. To start with, we do not require a big yard to start. One can start from their patio or a small backyard where there is better exposure to light.
Timing is one crucial part in gardening that every individual should be aware of and which season is best for which kind of vegetables. There were varieties of vegetables and herbs that were planted and explained which vegetables are best according to seasons. He gave a brief explanation about vegetables that are suitable for summer, spring, fall and winter seasons. The best growing season in the pacific northwest region is from May 10 to October 5 (5/10 to 10/5) , but there are certain vegetables that can be grown in winter such as: garlic, leeks, potatoes, kale, chards, mustard green (Rayo Saag), and other root vegetables such as carrots, beets, turnips, parsnip etc.
In addition, an individual should have knowledge on what kind of nutrients are required for the plants. Another crucial ingredient for the initial stage of gardening is soil and light. He also mentioned that using organic compost is a good nutrient for the plants and better for the environment. Nil makes his own organic compost which is very beneficial to the plants and soil health. He collects vegetable waste from his kitchen including eggshells and coffee grind in a worm bin to make the organic compost by feeding earthworms in order to expedite the fertilization process. Earthworm casting is the source of organic fertilizer that is full of microorganisms. This process is beneficial for the growth of the healthy plant. Furthermore, he also mentioned that without pollinators we can not grow vegetables and fruits. Bees, hummingbirds, and other forms of insects and flies are the best pollinators.
The final step after planting is proper irrigation. It is another crucial process for growing healthy vegetables. The best way to water plants is with the help of a sprinkler system. We can also water plants with a hose and make sure that the water reaches the root of the compost by feeding earthworms in order to expedite the fertilization process. Earthworm casting is the source of organic fertilizer that is full of microorganisms. This process is beneficial for the growth of the healthy plant. Furthermore, he also mentioned that without pollinators we can not grow vegetables and fruits. Bees, hummingbirds, and other forms of insects and flies are the best pollinators. The final step after planting is proper irrigation. It is another crucial process for growing healthy vegetables. The best way to water plants is with the help of a sprinkler system. We can also water plants with a hose and make sure that the water reaches the root of the plants without overflowing our plants.
He then took us inside to his first phases of gardening where he explained how to start the seeding process and how to take care of seeds at an early age and when to transfer them outside. For the initial stage of seeding, one should be prepared with seeds, potting mix, and seed starter kit which are easily available in the market during the season. The most informative part of the seeding process is that it depends on the size of the seed and how deep we need to plant the seed. The early stage of seeding needs heat and light. As we live in the pacific northwest, heat and light are the things to be concerned about. Nil mentioned that in this kind of weather like the pacific northwest, we can put the seed starter by the window for light and provide them with additional grow light and heat pad. Once the plants are a few inches tall from the starter kit, it can be transferred outside for further growth. Another takeaway note was, not to transfer the seed starter if the weather is not consistent. The plant needs consistent heat and light and the weather should not be frosty, which will kill the plants.
Lastly, as a participation appreciation, the participants received various seeds which Nil Tilija had harvested in his garden and distributed to the group. It was an informative gardening session for beginners as well as medium gardeners. There were positive responses from the participants and Nepal Seattle Society is looking forward to conducting this kind of event again in the future.
After almost two years of being trapped in lockdowns due to the pandemic where we were unable to get together, Nepal Seattle Society opened the doors after much consideration, to celebrate the auspicious New Year 2079. Saturday, April 30th in Shoreline Community College we gathered together head to toe in our beautiful cultural dresses and with big smiles.
महामारीका कारण सिर्जना भएको लकडाउनको विषम परिस्थितिले गर्दा हामी सँगै भेला हुन नसकेको झण्डै दुई वर्षपछि नेपाल सिएटल सोसाइटीले नयाँ वर्ष २०७९ को शुभ अवसरमा नयाँ बर्ष बिशेष कार्यक्रम आयोजना गर्यौं । हामी शनिबार, अप्रिल ३० गते शोरलाइन कम्युनिटी कलेजमा भेला भयौँ । हाम्रो सुन्दर सांस्कृतिक पोशाक र मीठो मुस्कान पहिरेर हामी आएका थियौं |
More than 300 new and existing members of the Nepal Seattle Society filled the air with happy conversations and some meeting each other for the first time ever not behind a zoom screen.
नेपाल सिएटल सोसाइटीका 300 भन्दा बढी नयाँ र पुराना सदस्यहरूले zoom बिना भेट्न पाएको अवसरमा खुसी साटासाट गरे |
Youth and Cultural Committee members and the Board of Directors worked hard over the past month to organize this large event. We worked hard on trying to organize logistics, and coordination and ensure that the event would be inclusive and welcoming to all of our Nepalese community and not just the members of the society.
Youth and Culture Committee का सदस्यहरु र Board of Director विगत एक महिनादेखि यो ठूलो कार्यक्रम आयोजना गर्न मेहनत गरेका थिए । हामीले कार्यक्रम सु-व्यवस्थित गर्न कडा परिश्रम गर्यौं र यो सुनिश्चित गर्यौं कि यो कार्यक्रम समाजका सदस्यहरू मात्र नभई हाम्रा सबै नेपाली समुदायलाई समावेशी र स्वागतयोग्य हुनेछ।
We started with paying respect to our motherland, Nepal, and {karmabhumi}, USA reciting the national anthems followed by remarks from NSS president Dasharath Budhathoki about all the amazing efforts from NSS in the past few years.
हामीले हाम्रो मातृभूमि नेपाल अनि कर्मभूमि अमेरिकाको रास्ट्रीय गान पालैपालो बजाएर कार्यक्रम को शुभारम्ब गर्यौं ।
त्यसपछि झण्डै 2006 देखी नेपाल सियाटल society ma board of director, सल्लाहकार हुँदै 2019 देखि नेपाल सियाटल सोसाइटीको अध्यक्ष भएर काम गरी रहनुभएका दशरथ बुढाथोकीलाई stage मा आमन्त्रण गर्यौं।
The pandemic didn’t stop us from serving our community and we wanted to let our community know how hard we were working in extending partnerships with various health organizations like the Department of Health and the CDC Foundation to work around health equity and vaccine equity for our minority community. Our partners in return wrote statements and made a video to wish our community a happy and safe rest of the year.
महामारीले हामीलाई हाम्रो समुदायको सेवा गर्नबाट रोकेन र यसकै प्रमाणस्वरुप हामीले स्वास्थ्य विभाग र सीडीसी फाउन्डेशन जस्ता विभिन्न स्वास्थ्य संस्थाहरूसँग साझेदारी विस्तार गर्न कत्तिको मेहनत गरिरहेका छौ भन्ने बारेमा भिडियो देखायौ ।
We then started opening the event to our performers who showcased their many talents and amazed the audience. Our first performer who opened our show was Aaryav Adhikari who is only 10 years old, self-taught, and uploads his dances on youtube. Aarvav mesmerized his audience with his fast footwork and hip-hop moves.
त्यसपछि हामीले कार्यक्रमलाई हाम्रा कलाकारहरूका लागि स्टेज खोल्न थाल्यौं जहाँ आफ्ना धेरै प्रतिभाहरू प्रदर्शन गरेर दर्शकहरूलाई हेरेको हेरै पारेका थिए। हाम्रो पहिलो कलाकार आर्यभ अधिकारी थिए जो केवल 10 वर्षका छन्, स्वयं-सिकेका छन्, र युट्युबमा आफ्ना नृत्यहरू अपलोड गर्छन्। आर्यभले आफ्नो हिप-हप फुटवर्कले दर्शकहरूलाई मोहित पारे।
Next, we had Ava, Ira, and later Trisha from the Newah Organization of America perform a Newari Dance, choreographed by our talented Palpasa Manandhar. Their parents were watching from behind the stage curtains beaming with pride as they represented their beautiful traditional culture.
त्यसपछि अमेरिकाको नेवा अर्गनाइजेसनबाट आभा, इरा अनि त्रिशाले नेवारी नृत्य प्रस्तुत गरेका थिए। उनीहरूका अभिभावकहरू मञ्चको पर्दा पछाडिबाट उनीहरूको सुन्दर परम्परागत संस्कृतिको प्रतिनिधित्व गर्दै गर्वले मुस्कुराउँदै हेरिरहेका थिए।
Bringing nostalgia back and reigniting our love of our villages was Sanvi Sharma who performed in the beautiful song Dada Ghare Saili.
पुराना सम्झना फिर्ता ल्याउदै र हाम्रो गाउँघर प्रतिको मायालाई पुनर्जीवित गर्दै सान्भी शर्माले डाँडा घरे साइली गीतमा प्रस्तुति दिएकी थिइन् ।
Following up with the beautiful performance were our youth and culture committee’s members Sakar Shakya, Soniya Kunwar, Smriti Dahal, Kajal Sapkota, Reecha Sapkota, and Sandhya Basnet, Shubhu Shakya who also helped as volunteers behind the scene. Special thank you to Soniya for being the liaison with our performers, finding the venue, writing the itinerary, and being on top of it. A special thank you to Smriti Dahal for keeping track of all of the expenses. Another special thank you to Kajal Sapkota for leading the decoration of the venue and Shubhu Shakya for being on top of meetings, and logistics, and contacting our sister organizations. These are only some of the things on top of our heads!
यसलगत्तै अर्को सुन्दर प्रस्तुति दिन Youth And Culture Committee का सदस्यहरु stage मा आए हाम्रा कलाकारहरूसँग सम्पर्क भएकोमा, स्थान पत्ता लगाउने, र हाम्रा कलाकार हरु लाई सम्पर्क गर्नु भएकोमा सोनियालाई विशेष धन्यवाद। सबै खर्चको ट्रयाक राख्नु भएकोमा स्मृति दाहाललाई विशेष धन्यवाद | कार्यक्रम स्थलको सजावटको नेतृत्व गर्नु भएकोमा काजल सापकोटा, हाम्रा भगिनी संस्थाहरूसँग सम्पर्क गरेर कार्यक्रम सफल पार्न सहयोग भएकोमा शुभु शाक्यलाई अर्को विशेष धन्यवाद।
We took a break from the dances by opening the floor to Ritika Khanal who sang beautifully the song Timile ta Hoina by Bacchu Kailash on her ukelele. Ukulele was accompanied by Krishna Gurung with his Madal and Bhawan Thapa with his Basuri. It was a special performance for Ritika and us because this year is her last year in Seattle and she will be going to Harvard Law School with her whole family who is going to move there to support her and her education.
बच्चु कैलाशको ‘तिमिले त होइन’ गीत सुन्दर ढंगले गाएकी ऋतिका खनाललाई फ्लोर ओपन गरेर नृत्यबाट विश्राम लियौं । युकेलेले साथमा कृष्ण गुरुङको मादल र भावन थापाको बासुरीले माहोल मन्त्रमुघ्द बनाएको थियो । ऋतिका र हाम्रो लागि यो विशेष प्रस्तुति थियो किनभने यो वर्ष सिएटलमा उनको अन्तिम वर्ष हो र उनी हार्वर्ड ल स्कूल जाँदैछिन्।
To celebrate our diverse ethnic cultures, we had another group dance performed by Swosti Adhikari, Himansa Poudel, Sahistha Shakya, and Samana Acharya who also wanted to connect with both our younger and older audiences. They are sophomores and juniors in high school who connect with Nepali culture through dances that they perform in these types of events.
हाम्रा विविध जातीय संस्कृतिहरूलाई ठाउँ दिनका लागि अनि नयाँ र पुराना पुस्तालाई जोड्न high-school मा अध्ययनरत स्वस्ति अधिकारी, हिमांसा पौडेल, सहिष्ठ शाक्य र समना आचार्यद्वारा प्रस्तुत गरिएको अर्को सामूहिक नृत्य थियो।
Next, we had our most entertaining dance of the night which got the most “once more” from the audience. We had Khusiman Gurung and Srijita Gurung performing a Gurung Dance from the Northwest Tamu Society. The audience was energized watching them perform so graciously spreading young love in the air.
त्यसपछि हामीले हाम्रो रातको सबैभन्दा मनोरञ्जनात्मक नृत्य गरेका थियौं जसले दर्शकहरूबाट सबैभन्दा धेरै once more को ध्वनि गुन्जायो। उत्तरपश्चिम तमु समाजका खुसीमान गुरुङ र सृजिता गुरुङले गुरुङ नृत्य प्रस्तुत गरेका थिए ।
Following up with that same energy were our two talented duos bringing their hip-hop moves with a western Nepali and traditional Nepali song fusion which continued increasing the energy of our audience.
त्यही उर्जालाई निरन्तरता दिंदै हाम्रा नयाँ प्रतिभाशाली जोडीले पश्चिमी नेपाली र परम्परागत नेपाली गीत फ्युजनको साथ हिप-हप चालहरू ल्याएका थिए जसले हाम्रा दर्शकहरूको ऊर्जालाई उचा राख्न मद्दत गर्यो ।
Once again we had our Youth and Cultural Committee members Soniya Kunwar, Smriti Dahal, Kajal Sapkota, Reecha Sapkota, Sandhya Basnet, and Shubhu Shakya dancing to another wonderful medley of western Nepali songs. They all looked absolutely gorgeous with their belly dancing outfits and their synchronized belly moves.
फेरि पनि हाम्रा Youth and Culture Committee का सदस्यहरु सोनिया कुँवर, स्मृति दाहाल, काजल सापकोटा, ऋचा सापकोटा, सन्ध्या बस्नेत र शुभु शाक्यले पश्चिमी अनि नेपाली गीतहरूमा अर्को अद्वितीय तालमा नाचिरहेका थिए। बेली डान्सिङ आउटफिटहरू र उनीहरुको मनमोहक चालहरूमा साथ एकदमै सुन्दर देखिन्थे।
Surprise Surprise! Our event went so smoothly that we even had time to open up the dance floor to our audiences! And once again we had the cutest couple from the Northwest Tamu Society, Ram Chandra Gurung Ji and Usha Gurung Ji stepping up to serenade the audience with their performance that didn’t even seem free-styled. The audience burst with amazement at how good and entertaining their impromptu dance was.
आश्चर्यको कुरा त हाम्रो कार्यक्रम यति सहज ढंगले सम्पन्न भयो कि हामीले हाम्रा दर्शकहरूलाई dance floor खोल्ने समय पनि पायौं! र फेरि एकपटक हामीले नर्थवेस्ट तमु समाजका प्यारो जोडी राम चन्द्र गुरुङ र उषा गुरुङको प्रदर्शनले दर्शकहरूलाई मन्त्रमुघ्द पार्यो। उनीहरुको स्वत-स्फुर्त अति नै राम्रो र मनोरञ्जनात्मक नृत्य देखेर दर्शकहरु पनि छक्क परे ।
This was the perfect setup to end the event and open the dance floor where it was our guests’ turn to dance the night off. Our DJ/ Sound Manager Krishna Gurung electrified the dance floor with the songs submitted by the Youth and Cultural Committee while our Photographers/ Videographers Saurav Kakshapati and Bharat Gurung captured all the crazy moves in the beautiful Nepali dresses.
यो कार्यक्रम समापन गर्न र dance floor खोल्नको लागि उत्तम समय थियो – अब नाच्ने पालो हाम्रा पाहुनाहरूको थियो। हाम्रा डीजे/ध्वनि प्रबन्धक कृष्ण गुरुङले Youth and Culture committee ले समायोजन गरेका गीतहरूद्वारा डान्स फ्लोरमा उर्जा संचारित गर्नुभयो भने हाम्रा फोटोग्राफर/भिडियोग्राफर सौरभ कक्षापतिले सुन्दर नेपाली पोशाकमा सबै रमाइला पलहरु कैद गरेका थिए।
All of this would not have been possible without the relentless efforts of our many volunteers who dedicated their time and energy to ensure that everyone would have a great time.
यो सबै हाम्रा धेरै स्वयंसेवकहरूको अथक प्रयास बिना सम्भव हुने थिएन जसले हामी सबै यस कार्यक्रममा रमाइलो गर्न सकौं भन्ने सुनिश्चित गर्न आफ्नो समय र शक्ति समर्पित गरेका थिए।
Our Volunteers:
Food Preparation:
Gagan Chettri
Sushil Mulepati
Krishna Sapkota
Prakash Dhamala
Mohan Shrestha
Ananta Sharma
Tanka Dahal
Ishwor Khonsi
Lila Shrestha
Ganesh Shiwakoti
Ram Gurung
Prem Gurung
Kailash Rajbhandari
Srijana Gurung
Utkarsha Dixit
Chandra Gurung
Anuja Regmi
Achar:
Bina malla
Kunta Thapa Magar
Sita Niroula Sapkota
Surakshya Pandey Dhital
Sita Bhattarai
Dejina KC
Sushila Shiwakoti
Food Servers:
Lok Dhakal
Bikash Tripathi
Dega Rijal (Dinesh Rijal)
Performance Schedule/Management Team:
Roshani Shiwakoti
Shubheccha Shakya
Smriti Dahali
Soniya Kunwar
Volunteer Coordinator: Sophiya Kunwar
DJ/Sound System Engineer: Krishna Gurung
Decoration Crew:
Kajal Sapkota
Biraj Pandey
Shraddha Malla
Simran Rimal
Arya Karki
MC Announcers:
Abhi Kafle
Shraddha Malla
Backstage Coordinators:
Biraj Pandey
Prakash Dhamala
Clean-Up:
Sophiya Kunwar
Saurav Kakshapati
Suzanna Khadka, etc.
Membership Committee Volunteers:
TP Khanal
Era Budhathoki
Sunny Adhikari
Salma Adhikari
Angelina Karki
Subha Pakwan etc.
Entrances:
Shraddha Kc
Suzanna Khadka
Era Budhathoki etc.
Social Media Posts:
Shraddha Malla
Roshani Shiwakoti
Booths:
Nepal Seattle Society Health Committee:
Dolma Sherpa
Sagma Prajapati
Nepal Seattle Hiking Committee:
Swornima Chitrakar
Subha Pakwan
Savesoil.org
Writu Kakshapati
Shailini Karkera
Thank you to our Board of Directors (2019-2022) and Volunteers including those we may have missed mentioning for making this event possible !
Take a look at what we did this year from January 2021 to April 2022!
