KATHMANDU, May 21: On Sunday, during my morning walk to Swayambhu, I stopped by to drink aloe vera juice sold by Radha Dhungana, who has been selling aloe vera juice and barley grass juice in Swayambhu area for a long time.
After drinking aloe vera juice and barley grass juice, as usual, our friends Pawan Podar, Mahabir Gurjar, Raju Sarada, Nakul Bhandari and others got busy with physical exercise.
At that moment a group of people resembling Japanese nationals arrived with cameras. One person from that group, dressed in a yellow suit, approached Radha Dhungana, who was busy making juice, and started to pose with the camera in a comedic manner. The sudden presence of a foreigner made everyone there curious.
That person would sometimes ask Dhungana about the benefits of drinking aloe vera and barley grass juice in a funny way in Japanese and sometimes he would talk about the Nepali lifestyle with the people engaged in physical exercise there. But his speech and mannerisms were completely humorous. His cameraman was recording all his activities on camera.
The Japanese-looking man dressed in a yellow suit was prominent in the group. He started filming people drinking barley grass and aloe vera juice while acting in different ways. Shortly, a crowd gathered there. Everyone present seemed to enjoy his hilarious performance.
As a journalist, I became increasingly curious to know about that person. On that day i.e. Baisakh 31st, Sunday May 14, I stopped my physical exercise as I wanted to go near him and find out about him. In a conversation with him, it was revealed that he is a famous comedian and YouTuber who runs a TV show in Japan. His name is Manasari Takano, a Japanese comedian. Takano, aged 32, is a friendly person who mingled with the audience in no time.
Shamans join hands to end Chhau practice
Mahabir Gurjar, who was standing there drinking aloe vera juice, said pointing to comedian Takano’s head, “If you apply aloe vera on your head, your hair will grow.” Comedian Takano opened his eyes wide in response, “Really?” he asked. Then, at his request, Mahabir applied aloe vera on Takano’s head. At this time, comedian Takano blinked his eyes very gracefully, turned his nose up, threw his hands and feet around, and had a lot of fun. All these scenes were being filmed.
He asked Radha Dhungana to make aloe vera juice and drank it. He also called his friend who came with him. Then he made a funny face and said, “Oh! How conscious are Nepalis about their health? They are ready to drink such bitter aloe vera juice.”
While talking further with the comedian Takano, it was revealed that he has come to Nepal to shoot for a comedy show. According to his show’s story, his guru is a patient whose hands and legs do not function. A character in his story suggests that his guru be brought to shamans and seek help of herbs and yoga.
According to the suggestion of that character in the story, Nepal is the country where such yoga practice, herbs and shamans are found. According to his advice, comedian Takano revealed that he came to Nepal to find the character of the story to complete the filming of the story. He also bought aloe vera and barley grass juice from Radha Dhungana during the shoot. He has to cure his master's paralysis by any means possible.
In the context of this filming, comedian Takano went to Lamjung and shot scenes of beekeeping and honey hunting. A bottle of honey was also bought for his guru's treatment.
He then went to a shaman for the treatment of his guru. When the shaman said that a rooster should be slaughtered and offered, he bought a rooster and had it slaughtered. Looking at the rooster's liver, the shaman said that his master slipped and fell in the water and got hurt.
However, his guru had indeed fallen while bathing in the river a few years ago. It is said in the story that it is true that he cannot move his limbs due to that injury. He is the character of that story. Being a character of the story, he had a lot of faith in that Nepali shaman. The demand of the story is that he should take the medicine given by that shaman to Japan with him and feed it to his guru.
The main purpose of those who come for walking in Swayambhu is to drink barley grass and aloe vera juice. According to Meera, barley grass and aloe vera juice boost immunity. That's why she told the comedian that many people are self-indulgent in their choices. Then, along with the comedian, I also climbed the steep stairs of Swayambhu and reached the temple. There he also reached the house of someone who sold divine juice.
We also sat together and drank the divine juice. He was scheduled to return to Japan on the same day after the shooting of Swayambhu on May 14th i.e. Baisakh 31st. In the short meeting, he said that he is going to return to Japan collecting many positive ideas from Nepal.
“I found Nepal a country rich in natural resources. The people here have been eating vegetables grown by themselves in their fields. Since they are also very conscious about their health, I really liked those taking yoga and ayurvedic medicines such as barley grass and aloe vera found in nature. The environment of Nepal, full of mountains and hills, is very beautiful,” comedian Takano shared his beautiful experience about Nepal with Republica, “Nepal, a country rich in herbs, is in the forefront in terms of tourism. It should be promoted,” he expressed his view, “Diplomatic relations between Nepal and Japan are very old. In this way, I will also present all these themes that I shot for my comedy show in the story.”
Stating that the consumption of modern medicine in Japan has improved human life, he believes that Nepal can become a hub of ayurveda as it is rich in natural resources and herbs. He believes that tourism in Nepal can be promoted through humorous stories as well.
