Nepal cannabis rituals – level 1
18-02-2026 07:00
Nepal celebrates Shivaratri in Kathmandu. Many people go to a big building to remember Shiva. They pray, sing, and dance. Some visitors come from India.
Marijuana is not legal in Nepal. But on this day, the police let people use it. This is because Shiva has a link to cannabis. Some holy men and young people smoke near the river.
Nepal stops legal sales of marijuana in 1976. Some people want to change the rule, but it does not change. On this day, tradition is more important than rules.
Difficult words: marijuana (a plant which people smoke because it changes how they feel and think), holy (connected to a god), tradition (something what people do and teach their children do too).
You can watch the original video in the Level 3 section.
Why do the police allow people to use marijuana on Shivaratri?
LEARN 3000 WORDS with NEWS IN LEVELS
News in Levels is designed to teach you 3000 words in English. Please follow the instructions
below.
How to improve your English with News in Levels:
Test
- Do the test at Test Languages.
- Go to your level. Go to Level 1 if you know 1-1000 words. Go to Level 2 if you know 1000-2000 words. Go to Level 3 if you know 2000-3000 words.
Reading
- Read two news articles every day.
- Read the news articles from the day before and check if you remember all new words.
Listening
- Listen to the news from today and read the text at the same time.
- Listen to the news from today without reading the text.
Writing
- Answer the question under today’s news and write the answer in the comments.
Speaking
- Choose one person from our Conversation section.
- Talk with this person. You can answer questions from Speak in Levels.
Stock images by Depositphotos
