April 2008 - The tales of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White takes us on an enchanting journey of grand palaces, charming princes, timeless beauty and fulfilled wishes. No wonder, every girl, once in her life time wishes to be a princess.
However, this is one wish that usually goes unfulfilled as monarchy, in today’s world, exists in only a few countries. Hence a handful of girls get to be princesses, and even then only if, in most cases, they have royal bloodline. The girls in Nepal, however, still have a chance to live this fantasy, though with a twist. The young girls have an opportunity to be “living goddesses”, which definitely goes beyond the status of a princess. Though the living goddesses also called “Kumari” don’t get to live in a grand castle with their prince  charming and the hope to live happily- ever-after, still, they get to reside in the “Kumari Ghar”, with thousands of devotees standing below their window, to catch just one glimpse of them. The Kumari - literally meaning virgin in Nepali was the name of the goddess Durga as a child. A Kumari is a prepubescent girl selected from the Shakya caste of the Nepalese Newari community. The young goddess is revered and worshipped by some of the country's Hindus as well as the Nepali Buddhists. The idea which spurs the growth of the Kumari culture is the bodily incarnation of Hindu goddess Durga.
The Nepalese believe that the goddess Durga enters the body of a young girl. The hunt for the right girl is rather hard but systematic. However, it does give us a glimpse of the materialism that enfolds the culture. It is somewhat similar to a beauty pageant, but has more profound meaning for the devotees. It begins when the revered goddess reaches puberty and supposedly, Durga departs from the girl’s body and enters a new one. The candidates for the new goddess are only selected from the Newar Shakya caste (the clan to which the Buddha belonged) of silver and goldsmiths, clarifying the discrimination being done even in religious matters. According to the information online: “moreover, she must be in excellent health, never have shed blood or been afflicted by any diseases, be without blemish and must not have yet lost any teeth. Girls who pass these basic eligibility requirements are examined for the “Battis Lakshanas”, or 'thirty-two perfections' of a goddess. Some of these are poetically listed as such: A neck like a conch shell A body like a banyan tree Eyelashes like a cow Thighs like a deer Chest like a lion Voice soft and clear as a duck's In addition to this, her hair and eyes should be very black; she should have dainty hands and feet, small and well-recessed sexual organs and a set of twenty teeth.” This criterion explains how materialistic the approach is of the people who promote such spiritual ideologies. For them, physical perfection is more far more important any other aspect. Also before everything, the girl’s family is scrutinized to confirm their devotion to the king as she has to confirm the King’s legitimacy. So anyone who might have any conflicts with the king is automatically cut off from the candidates’ list. These aspects go as far as selection of the candidates is concerned. After that the more hideous rituals begins. The strongest contender amongst all is asked to spend a whole night alone in a courtyard of their temple where there are numerous mutilated and severed heads of sacrificed animals. The heads are illuminated by candlelight and it is to test the serenity and the fearless nature of the girl. If she gets scared then she is eliminated from the contest and the other candidate is asked to go through the ritual. It goes on until the desired results are achieved. For that numerous young girls have to live the horrible nightmare. Imagine how vulnerable a child’s mind is and what ghastly impact the sight of so many mutilated animals might leave on them. Still in the name of religion, such customs still prevail. After this, the “survivor” has to go through one simple test of choosing the belongings of the last Kumari from an assortment of accessories. Amazingly, till this point the girl is considered a mortal. She is only ‘inhibited by Durga’ once her body and soul is purified of her evil tasks done in the past lives. This is done through secret Tantric rituals conducted by the priests. Once all these formalities are complete, the Kumari is officially introduced to the public. The chosen goddess, once enters the Kumari Ghar is not allowed to leave it except on ceremonial occasions. Even her family visits her rarely. In past times, the Kumaris never acquired education, thus depriving them of their most basic right. Though now the custom has changed and special tutors are assigned to give her worldly knowledge. The young girl is allowed to have very few friends and they are carefully selected from the Newari caste. Moreover, her friends are not allowed to disagree with her and have to follow her every wish and command. This supposed act of respect negatively impacts the child’s life. The young girl gets in the habit of giving orders and emphasizes her feeling of superiority over the others. She is made to realize that she is better than the rest and has to act accordingly. This nurtures self-love and conceitedness in the young minds. People stand for hours near her palace to just have a glance of her. She is made to believe that she is all powerful and can bring good luck to people by just looking at them. All her tasks from bathing to her make-up are done by special patrons. They have to tend to her every need and desire. Also, they can’t directly order her, but have to guide the goddess through out her period. All this attention suddenly comes to an abrupt halt when the girl menstruates. After that the spirit leaves her body and takes all the glory with her. The girl becomes a mortal again and has to live like normal people which usually get very tough since, from a very immature and young age, she is accustomed to a queen’s life. Many Kumaris after becoming mortals do accept that “life doesn’t remain the same. It gets very hard.” Definitely, it doesn’t since after becoming a mortal she has to do every task herself and has to take orders from others. She loses all her celestial powers and becomes ordinary. But amongst all these strange and hard-to-believe rituals, the most striking is the early retirement of a Kumari, who gave up her status to honor another religious ritual; getting married to a Beal – a fruit associated with the Lord Shiva. Yes! Strange it is but only one question comes to my mind; that why Durga did left the girl’s body early? Was it because the Kumari ordered the Hindu goddess to do so or the goddess ordered the girl to get marry to the fruit? Can anyone satisfy these not-so-strange queries? 
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