The Blue Hour - A Himalayan Living Learning Journey with Prof. Pramod Parajuli
The tragic Himalayan tsunami in Nepal and Tibet calls our awareness to the Blue Hour, a powerful time of civilizational ending and beginning, a window of opportunity for humanity to rethink its presence within the biosphere, says Prof. Pramod Parajuli.
Our hearts are with Nepal and Tibet, and we are deeply saddened by the devastating "Himalayan Tsunami" of August 26 that has so far claimed more than 1,200 human lives, and counting. The tsunami was a sudden geologic event, amplified by a warming climate, melting glaciers and permafrost that have incrementally over decades been destabilizing this geologically young region of ice and steep mountain peaks known as the world's 'Third Pole'.
Sushim Thapaliya
A tremor of the Earth unleashed a massive tsunami of water, rocks, mud and debris down steep mountain ravines. In less than half an hour, everything that lay in the water's path – entire villages and the immeasurable living worlds of people, plants, animals, families and communities – was swept away. Now more than ever, Nepal needs a just and compassionate response from the world – you can contribute to the Official (Prime Minister's Office) site for relief here:
As the tragedy struck, we were about to release the first episode of our new Himalayan Living Learning Journey with Prof. Pramod Parajuli, the founder and thought leader of Annapurna Pluriversities: Learning to Regenerate While Regenerating to Learn, and host of the online forum Regenerative Nepal: Dream to Design. And if you missed our first interview with Pramod, you can read and watch it here.
In our session recorded on July 4, 2026, just as El Niño was rearing its head, Pramod introduced us to the idea of the Blue Hour. The Blue Hour is the hour of dusk, the metaphorical opening of a window of opportunity for dreaming, reflection and transition. It raises into sharp relief the possibility and imperative for humanity to rethink its role and presence as part of the biosphere. After the flood, Pramod shared a short reflection, describing the flood as a powerful signal from the Earth herself, announcing a moment for humans to be awakened to a new geologic, climatic and civilizational reality. It is an invitation for humans to dream, re-imagine and re-design new ways of co-existing with this new reality. Listen here:
Our July 4 conversation set the context for our upcoming series of heart-connected co-inquiry with Pramod. As we spoke, Pramod had recently returned from two and a half months of travels and conversation in Nepal, helping to shape the Annapurna Pluriversities vision. In this episode, Pramod shares his fresh impressions and reflections on the ecological, geographical, biocultural and civilizational contours of the Blue Hour that is dawning in this extraordinary Himalayan region of the Earth. From the dramatic disruptions of climate and water cycles to the vibrant possibilities of Sanctuary, as well as food, flavour and fibersheds, we will dream and design into the living, emerging stories and possibilities of the Himalayan region:
"The blue hour is part of a fluid and ever ephemeral spectrum of possibilities in nature, which is beautifully highlighted by this time of the day when daytime animals enjoy the last moments before nighttime animals wake up. This is where the sounds and smells are denser, and where the bluest light gives depth to the landscape. The time is ripe to dream, design and create new economic, cultural and political landscapes," Pramod said.
Nepal lies at the center of the Hindu Kush-Karakoram Himalayan system (HKKH), the massive Third Pole connecting and extending from Afghanistan to China to Myanmar through the flows of water. For millennia, the water from the Himalayas has fed the civilizations and rice-eating cultures of this entire region. Between one-third and forty five percent of the human population lives within the green area on the map above!
The extraordinary features of the Himalayan uplift completely reconfigured the climate and geological situation of the whole world, Pramod observed. In turn, this same geography, in its ever-changing dance with the monsoons, will powerfully shape the prospects for emergence of a post techno-industrial world that is based in biocultural life systems. As the flood continues to awaken us and call us forth to the dream space of the Blue Hour, we will be exploring the clarifying visions and emerging possibilities with Pramod through the lenses of water, soil and soil carbon, food systems, the flavor economy, health and healing, pilgrimage, hospitality, tourism and more.
In this Blue Hour, the opportunity is emerging for Nepal to serve as a Sanctuary and to create a new living, learning laboratory that integrates all these aspects of living systems in a new approach of thinking and learning. We hope you will join us on this new, uncharted adventure!
Here are further links to learn more about the wider context and continuously unfolding situations of flooding, glacial instability, early warning and disaster risk and management in Nepal:
Kunda Dixit
Kunda Dixit
Nepali Times
