BAHUNDANDA - Brahman Hill

Bahundanda is the last Indo-Aryan village before the Tibeto-Burman strongholds of the north. And also rather than the warrior clans of the Indo-Aryan Khas group who are called Chhetris, this village, in particular, is populated by Brahmans or the priestly clans. So, it isn't hard to see how the village got its name. This village however also has a sizeable population of Newars, the merchant group from the Kathmandu valley.

A local Gurung man however related a rather amusing story about how the village name came to be. To the west of the village proper, there is a hillock with a rather pointed peak similar to the pointy nose of the Brahmins. Since the hill looks like the nose of a Brahmin, the village was called Bahundanda. While most certainly untrue, this story sure has a bit of a thing going for it.

This village also happens to be the hometown of one of the most eminent poets of Nepal, Madhav Prasad Ghimire. He is most famous for his poems showing the beauty of the Nepal. His nationalistic poems are also much adored by both nationalist and jingoists alike.