Looking for Shaligrams
This post starts with a family story.
Bear with me, it all comes together...In 2009 my intrepid parents went trekking to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. They may have been looking for a romantic escapade to remind them of the heady days of their youth but I tagged
along (well, I was in the country at the time) and spending that time with them was one of the (many!) highlights of my life thus far. We trekked a part of the way up the Kali Gandaki river, a favourite stamping ground, to Muktinath and Kagbeni, one the most incredible places in the world. IMHO. Beyond Kagbeni, further up river, lies one of my dream destinations, the area of Upper Mustang, a hidden kingdom, a remote and restricted area that combines breathtaking scenery with incredible culture. All things being equal, I'll be exploring further up the valley next year with arguably the best trekking guide in Nepal, Bishnu Rai.
In 2009, dad and I dipped a toe into the region, wandering up to the town of Thini, looking for shaligrams which are fossils of nautilus type sea creatures who lived in the oceans 240-65 million years ago. Ammonites are another name for the fossils. And there's probably a more scientific distinction between the two than shaligrams are blackish and ammonites are lighter.
I've sketched both many times to try and work out how to polymerically represent them. Googling provided wonderful images and I had a time playing with ideas. The fellow who writes here loves his ammonites and he had some good pictures. The other picture is from a site that sell fossils, Blackhawk fossils and an educational site. The
images provided great fodder for creativity.I took a couple of photos of the canes I made while I played. Some may become buttons (a first for me) and some will be assembled into a necklace in the style of a Rai coin mala. I want to incorporate katags (the traditional Tibetan offering scarf) so will have to work out the logistics of that another time. And I want to explore using darker tones and making ridged ones, maybe even making some moulds. You heard it here first people. Watch this space.