Tens of thousands gather for Hindu festival at Nepal temple, with many lighting up marijuana joints скачать в хорошем качестве

Tens of thousands gather for Hindu festival at Nepal temple, with many lighting up marijuana joints

(26 Feb 2025) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Kathmandu, Nepal - 26 February 2025 1. Various of Hindu holy men and festival attendees smoking marijuana during Shivaratri festival in Kathmandu 2. Mid of temple structure, police officers by staircase 3. Various of attendees smoking marijuana 4. Various of festival attendee Abhishek Pathak smoking marijuana 5. SOUNDBITE (Napali) Abhishek Pathak, festival attendee: “Weed smoking should be made legal but with some limits and boundaries. There are multiple uses of marijuana and I really hope in the future that the use of marijuana will be totally legalized. Once it is legalized, the benefits would be not just for the individuals but for the entire country.” 6. Various of festival attendees smoking marijuana 7. SOUNDBITE (Nepali) Akash Rimal, festival attendee: “Once marijuana is legalized in the country, there will be so many opportunities that it could open up like in medical use.” 8. Various of Hindu holy men at festival 9. Various of drummers singing 10. Wide exterior of main entrance to Pashupati temple 11. Various of crowds of devotees around temple site 12. Various of woman lighting incense 13. Various of holy man with small drum 14. Set up shot of Hindu holy man Biplap Giri smoking 15. SOUNDBITE (Hindi) Biplap Giri, Hindu holy man: “We have come all the way from Khumbu Mela (in India) to get a blessing from the Pashupati temple. We feel great to be here in this holy place.” ASSOCIATED PRESS Kathmandu, Nepal - 25 February 2025 16. Various of Pashupati temple and surrounding areas on eve of festival ++NIGHT SHOTS ++ 17. Various of large crowd of devotees singing on banks of Bagmati river next to temple while priests conduct religious rituals with oil lamps 18. Wide of crowd and bonfire 19. Wide of gathering STORYLINE: Tens of thousands of Hindu devotees gathered at a revered temple in Nepal's capital on Wednesday to celebrate one of the country's biggest religious festivals. In the Bankali forests near Pashupati, the temple of the Hindu god Shiva, holy men and devotees puffed on cannabis smoke, a practice that is normally illegal but is permitted during the Shivaratri festival. Devotees have been praying and dancing to religious songs at the temple, which is one of the most important for Hindus around the world. About 81% of Nepal's population is Hindu. Many Hindus from neighboring India also traveled to Kathmandu for the festival. A key part of Shivaratri is the freedom to smoke marijuana, an act that is normally punishable by prison sentences of up to a month for users and 10 years for traffickers. The forest area across the Bagmati river from the temple was filled with marijuana-smoking Hindu holy men, who camp there for days during the festival. Young Nepalese men and some women were also partaking in the smoke. “Weed smoking should be made legal but with some limits and boundaries,” said Abhishek Pathak, who was among those smoking cannabis. “There are multiple uses of marijuana and I really hope in the future that the use of marijuana will be totally legalized,” he added. “Once it is legalized, the benefits would be not just for the individuals but for the entire country,” he said. Lawmakers and supporters have made efforts to decriminalize marijuana in Nepal. A petition was filed in January 2020 to legalize the farming and use of marijuana, but progress since then has stalled. Nepal was famous for marijuana and other narcotics in the 1960s, when hippies made their way to the Himalayan nation. AP video shot by Upendra Man Singh Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...