Day 4. April, 13. Katmandu

What else can be added as a prove of the principle difference between the Occident world and the world of Nepal? The time shift relative to Moscow is not the exact amount of hours, but 2 hours 45 minutes - how do you like it, huh? If the unified national time in China, which corresponds to four time zones in Russia, is easy for Europeans to understand as a striving for facilitation of communication within the country, then how to rationally explain the shift of 15 minutes in Nepal time comparatively to the standarts of the whole world? This irrationalism attracts a great number of people here, for whom the rationally-consumer values of civilization are abhorrent, those, who are atrracted by the irrational, the unknown, the strange.

This is some kind of escape from sameness, from that standart school 'sieve', and education in general, through which we all pass in life, and which with all its power tries to make the identical people out of us. I subscribe to an opinion of such great thinkers as Darwin and Piaget, who were very sceptical about the children, when evaluating their prospects in life, which were successfull in the school academic standing. As for my personal acquaintances, the people of 'the middle way' - those who had C-marks at school and didn't graduate from colleges and Universities, but who are engaged in the business they like to be engaged in - these people have achieved much more success, than others. 

What arouses my greatest unacceptance and rejection in the modern education - is the forming of those views on the 'right' values and 'the nature of things', which are accepted by the state machinery. 45 years ago Ivan Illich wrote: 'We permit the state to ascertain the universal educational deficiencies of its citizens and establish one specialized agency to treat them. We thus share in the delusion that we can distinguish between what is necessary education for others and what is not, just as former generations established laws which defined what was sacred and what was profane'. These words are still actual - it's not me who determine what's useful for my children to know and what is harmful, but the state determines it. And it's not me who evaluate knowledge and skills of my children, the methods and approaches they apply, but teachers, whos wage level, determined by the state, is so low nowadays, that often teachers - are the people who cannot pretend to a high-paid job.

Another institution, by which (our) state controls and affects the minds of its nationals/citizens, is (orthodox) church. That is why today in the morning our delegation had visited the Russian Embassy in Katmandu, where the parson Father Serafim said parting words and read the prayer for the success of our ascent. Father Serafim spoke very sincerely and with feeling, the prayer was really warm and good. The women drawled "Kyrie eleison' and the Father exclaimed with feeling 'Trampling down death by death', after that they said 'Amen' all together. There was the strong smell of alcohol instead of incense in the hall, because the yesterday's party was a success. It was Cosmonautics Day yesterday, and the mountaineers, as well as cosmonauts, are closer to the sky...

After the prayer Elena Trishankova guided the group to the excursion around the city, but Bogomolov and I went to buy the equipment in addition, since we've been on the excursions not once before and, basically, we can be the guides as well. I needed to buy a new sleeping-bag for ABC, designed for the temperature of -30 C. All my other sleeping-bags (this one is the 4th) I bought in the same shop, owned by Nepalese named Oleman. Before going to Oleman we went to the other shops with the purpose to see what they suggest: at first we went to the brand shops, then to the half-brand shops, watched, asked the prices and then went to Oleman. Before that the best option was a sleeping-bag for 350$, but its feathers were coming out a little bit. Oleman had seen us and was delighted. "Do you remember me?" - I asked him. "I bought sleeping bags here. The last one was two years ago". "Maybe, maybe. But I know him well", - replied Oleman and pointed a finger to Bogomolov, - "and a very-very long time. Maybe more than twenty years".

After he had learned what we nee, Oleman asked us to come after half an hour, as usual. When we came, we saw the best sleeping-bag of all we had seen in the city, the cost was only 200$. it's a pleasure to know right places and right people in different cities of the world. :)

Despite the 'high' tourist season, Katmandu is unusually deserted now. There are almost no tourists here for some reason. Usually the streets are crowded, but now they are empty and its easy to walk without a crush. As usual, the weight-lifting ability of Sherpas amazes: go try to carry a sofa and two chairs so easily! For that guy in the photo it's a usual load, his everyday routine labour.

In conclusion I would like to tell you about an important transformation of meanings, which had happened because of someone's mistake (or because of the intervention of the Supreme will) when naming the film for Channel One Russia, which is being shoot by our colleagues led by Pelsh. I have a quite serious attitude to naming, and few years ago I had studied some philosophical works on this subject, from Aristotle to our contemporaries. In brief, the conclusion can be expressed by the words of Captain Vrungel from the cartoon: 'How you name a boat, is how it will sail.' If that quote is doubtful because of the frivolous source, here is the quote of Confucius: 'On matters beyond his ken a gentleman speaks with caution. If names are not right, words are misused. When words are misused, affairs go wrong.'

 

Working title of the film of Valdis - 'The gene of height: how to pass to Everest' - isn't catchy at all. To be honest, the name is so-so. It's like: 'How to get to Bolshoi theatre?' Well, yesterday Vladislav Moroz on behalf of the company RedFox presented the t-shirts with the inscription to the members of the expedition. And somehow at some stage of making the preposition 'to' (in Russian it's the preposition "на") was lost. The name became much better: 'How to pass Everest'.

When the mistake had been noticed today, the film crew was a little unsettled, but from my point of view - for nothing. In that wording the film acquires a deep meaning, since "Everybody has their own Everest and Mont Blanc, and how many those, who live far away from the piedmont'.