Nepal's "living goddess" eyes banking career
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Nepal's "living goddess" eyes banking careerNepal's "living goddess" eyes banking careerChanira Bajracharya, 15, has been the Kumari or#x "living goddess" of Patan, anchamiliaancient town south of Kathmandu, for nine years, blessing devotees at the temple and riding in decorated chariots 18 times a year during Hindu and Buddhist festivals.Now, with her time as living goddess drawing to a close -- the young virgin deities retire on reaching puberty -- Bajracharya is contemplating a career in banking if she makes grades good enough to study commerce or accounting.Last week she became the first living goddess ever to take the school leaving certificate examination, which was administered to her in her temple, which is housed in her home."I want to study commerce or accounting and be engaged in the banking sector," she told Reuters in a rare interview, dressed in her ceremonial costumes, her eyes rimmed in black kohl and a third eye painted in the middle of her forehead.Living goddesses are not allowed to mingle freely with outsiders, andchamilialessons are also given privately in the temple.Former goddesses have gone on to work or got married after they retired, but not many have pursued an education, with cost possibly an issue: living goddesses receive 1,500 rupees (about $20) a month from the state, but only a nominal sum when they retire, and a good college can be pricey.Young Buddhist girls from Kathmandu's Newar community are chosen as "living goddesses," considered to be incarnations of the Hindu goddess for power, Kali.They live austerely in temples in three cities in Kathmandu valley, with the main goddess,Offset Plates, who blessed Nepali kings before the monarchy ended in 2008, living in a temple in Kathmandu.Critics say the traditionchamiliaviolates the child's #xhuman rights and leaves her unprepared for life after retirement.相关的主题文章：
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