Asmita Bhattarai, a native of Bhaktapur, wasted the first few months of 2022 thinking about whether she should go to Australia to pursue her higher education. As soon as she completed high school, her mind was virtually divided over the idea of abroad education. One day, she would think she should go abroad to get better options for career development. The next day, she feared she would be homesick.
She was restless and undecided for months.
Then, someone suggested she consult some astrologers in Kathmandu to know how her time abroad would be. She heeded that idea.
“You will have a good future and get a good job in Australia,” she remembers an astrologer she had consulted telling her, “Don’t get stuck here. Sharpen your wings to fly.”
She followed him and applied for a visa. But, she realised the process was not as smooth as she had thought. It took quite a long time to get her application approved. Restless, she visited the same astrologer, who suggested performing a puja for nine days. She thinks it was not only a coincidence that she was granted the visa as soon as the puja was over.
“It’s surprising as all predictions by the astrologers in Kathmandu regarding my life were correct. After moving to Australia, I immediately got a job here that pays me a handsome salary,” she says.
Many believe astrology is a traditional science, but there are people who think it is just a superstition. The debate is universal and timeless. But, as much as Nepali society is progressing towards globalisation, astrologers in Kathmandu say their business is thriving. They say science and technology have not affected the footfall of their clients. Not just Nepali people, but foreigners also seem to be equally interested in it.
There are many people like Bhattarai who visit astrologers in Kathmandu to find out the solutions to their problems. Samir Ghimire of Kathmandu says he visits his astrologer more than two times a week.
“Before starting anything or whenever I get in a dilemma about my career, I visit the astrologer,” he says, claiming his astrologer foretells so accurately that he cannot afford to ignore him.
“My astrologer once said that I would have a toxic relationship and it came true.”
Astrologer Shiva Raj Regmi, also the managing director of the Nepal Vedic Astrology Centre, informs that around 70 astrologers in Kathmandu that are in his contact serve around 5,000 clients–Nepalis and foreigners included–every day. He says he provides consultation and counselling to around 150 people every day.
Until some five years ago, the number of visitors was low in comparison to these days, Regmi, who is in the 17th year of his career, says adding social media have given a boost to their business.
According to astrologers in Kathmandu, people of all ages visit them. Most young people are curious about the possibilities of travelling and living abroad for work or education.
Even some parents of newborn children ask whether their children fare well abroad, says astrologer Suneel Sitaula, who says he takes just five to 10 people every day although over 20 people will be waiting for an appointment with him.
“If it were a free service, the number would be even higher,” Regmi says.
Regmi and Sitaula both say that many clients come repeatedly to astrologers in Kathmandu.
“Visiting the astrologer is also a kind of addiction,” says Regmi, “Moreover, it is also associated with the age-old culture, which cannot be easily detached from people’s lives.”