Morning calm on the paths of Kathmandu

Over the years, Kathmandu has become a sprawling city where rampant urban development seems to fill every last free space. Yet, nestled within this jumble of disparate buildings is a veritable open-air museum, with more than 3,000 temples, palaces, and pagodas, including seven listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites, spread across the 600 square kilometers of the valley, forming the largest concentration of monuments in all of Asia. At 5 a.m., Kathmandu awakens to the ringing of bells. This is the time when worshippers of all faiths tour the temples. A graceful silhouette in a scarlet sari holding an offering box, a venerable man perched on his traditional hat, a young bank employee in a suit and tie... each leaves blessed, their foreheads stamped with a red powder, the tikka, and the crown of their heads adorned with flower petals. Instead of the all-too-classic morning jog, Nepalese people prefer to indulge in the rite of puja, a religious offering to honor Ganesh, Shiva, Vishnu, Buddha, or one of the 33 million deities in the Hindu pantheon, a way to start the day on the right foot. For the photographer in me, it's also the ideal time to begin my day and capture the timelessness of Nepalese spiritual life, whether in Hindu or Buddhist temples. Nepal has certainly changed in the 40 years I've been visiting, but my morning strolls in the Kathmandu Valley remain unchanged, as the scenes unfolding before my eyes seem to come from a bygone era. Around 8 or 9 a.m., when the hubbub settles, the crowds fill the streets, and tourists begin to wander through the city and temples, smartphones in hand, the spell slowly breaks... Black and White analog photography