It is perhaps only when they become a part of the story they are reporting that journalists realise just what a narrow segment of reality they depict in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/journalists-reflect-on-a-year-of-crisis-coverage">coverage of a crisis</a>. This is especially true when foreign correspondents report on a disaster like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the earthquake that hit Nepal on 25 April 2015</a>.&nbsp; For the first seven days, as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/photos-nepal-earthquake-2015,2207">videos and photographs of a devastated city</a> were broadcast around the world on TV and the internet, my family got frantic calls from friends and relatives. They seemed surprised that we were still alive, that our house was intact, we had food and water, or that they could even make that phone call. &nbsp; Like everyone else, they had seen images of Kathmandu Valley’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">historic monuments</a> reduced to rubble, piles of bricks where people’s homes used to be, and photographs taken from <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Insurance,361">rescue helicopters </a>of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/earthquake-vacates-villages-in-nepal">destroyed villages</a> clinging precariously to steep mountainsides. These apocalyptic scenes had convinced them that nothing was left. Yet 80% of the houses in Kathmandu Valley were intact. Even in the historic heart of the city, the main temples and palaces were still there. The only thing different in most neighbourhoods after the earthquake was that there weren’t the usual traffic jams. In fact the first foreign correspondents to parachute in the next morning were surprised on the drive into the city that they didn’t spot a single ruined building. Had they flown into the wrong hotspot by mistake? Many of us in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/media-matters">the media</a> are accused of distortion by being selective in what we choose to report. Some foreign correspondents are careful not to fall into that trap -- trying instead to break away from <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/how-does-the-nepali-media-cover-rape?fb_comment_id=2170690649622056_2288366001187853">stereotypical coverage</a> and catch a deeper understanding of what is really happening beneath the surface, or away from the spotlight. Still, there is a formula for news and it’s hard to file a story that doesn’t fit it. Which is why after every disaster it is, quite literally, t<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/deadly-Jure-landslide-presaged-earthquake-delayed-rehabilitation,2486">he same old story</a>. The international media arrives in herds and hunts in packs. Everything has to conform to a preordained script: you parachute in and immediately find good visuals of ‘utter devastation’; recruit an English-speaking local who does not need subtitling; trail <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/it-better-be-better-next-time">the rescue teams </a>with sniffer dogs you flew in with. Then it’s back to the hotel bar to swap stories of derring-do, before calling the desk to plan tomorrow’s story of slow government response, and the day after tomorrow’s account of yet another survivor pulled out alive. After that, get a ride in a rescue helicopter for the out-of-town visual of utter devastation in a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere">remote mountain village</a>. To my knowledge no foreign correspondent went around shooting streets in which all the buildings were still standing. They did not have time to look at farmers <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=10241">harvesting potatoes</a> by the roadside as they rushed to pan across more historic ruins. Few ever reported that only 14 of Nepal’s 75 districts were affected.&nbsp; No-one found it extraordinary or newsworthy that the phones were working, that they could tweet even from the hinterland, or that Kathmandu got back electricity in three days. Such bits of information didn’t fit the script.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250425040416_33825cb2cbfd900de54a5df2188747755745c613c67c29968ca8f4093bfc6a33.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250425040416_33825cb2cbfd900de54a5df2188747755745c613c67c29968ca8f4093bfc6a33" data-rendition-name="original" width="1058" height="528" loading="lazy" alt="Disaster journalism"> </figure>  TV crews from the BBC, Al-Jazeera and others had pitched their tents (with their own Honda generators) next to each other in Kathmandu’s Darbar Square, to frame the ruins of the Hanuman Dhoka palace as the backdrop to invited talking heads. No wonder TV news programs are called ‘shows’. One interviewee was asked if he could dim the lights for a Skype interview to make it look like things were really dark in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/rebuilding-better-than-before">post-earthquake Kathmandu</a>. A scheduled live stand-up with a local journalist by CNN’s Anderson Cooper was cancelled at 4am local time because they were rioting in Baltimore. Such <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Between-the-lines/nepali-journalists-reported-on-disaster-with-compassion,500">disaster reporting</a> distorts the scale of destruction, either exaggerating the damage or not highlighting the areas where things are much worse. Because competing TV channels are in the same helicopter, there is a temptation to over-dramatise, embellish and overstate. And countries like Nepal better have their disasters on a slow news day in North America. Soon, it was time to leave and travel to another <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/past-disasters-foretold">disaster zone</a>. Many international reporters had left by the time the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/after-the-aftershocks-the-survivors,3006">aftershock hit on 12 May</a>, destroying homes already weakened by the main quake. The media distorts reality by disproportionate coverage. Facts do not add up to the truth when we are selective in choosing what to report. Facts, in fact, can lie. Similarly, when the scale of the disaster is too big to comprehend the screen is just not wide enough to show the immensity of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/five-years-after-avalanche-langtang-is-locked-down">an avalanche</a> that obliterates a village of 500 inhabitants, like it did in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/langtang-after-10-years">Langtang</a>.&nbsp; The challenge now is to keep the international spotlight on Nepal as the country rebuilds. But the media pack has left, and with it the headlines that keep the crisis alive. Already, donations for relief and rehabilitation have started tapering off. Kunda Dixit Reprinted from BBC Academy on 26 May 2015. For a longer version of this piece, go to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/webarchive/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fblogs%2Fcollegeofjournalism%2Fentries%2Fae5fd09c-c333-48b5-9b35-06238d7f9e71">BBC Academy Blogs</a>.

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Disaster Journalism

Shristi Karki

Towering monument to 2015

This is the 63rd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, and studying abroad. <h2>Mani Prasad Gurung&nbsp;</h2> When <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/11-56-25-april-2015-wkc9q2an">the earthquake </a>hit, I was in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/bhaktapur-2-0-d8m66qhb">Bhaktapur</a> for work. My friend who had driven us from Kathmandu was so scared after the earthquake that he was shaking and was unable to drive as his arms were too weak. So I took the driver’s seat as we headed back to Kathmandu. Perhaps <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/you-must-be-having-so-much-fun-there">living in Japan </a>for almost a decade meant that I was more used to the shaking. Many around me were panicking. Thankfully, I managed to call my family immediately after the earthquake and found out they were safe before the phones got disconnected. After reaching Kathmandu through <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/from-nowhere-to-nowhere">damaged roads</a>, everyone was outside their houses and scared because of the frequent <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/seismological-Centre-2015-earthquake,2230">aftershocks</a>. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_cf8b3dd9420c9a36528eb8ed93de4275b6b3ebc702de51bab6f63635294fdb66.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025041905048_cf8b3dd9420c9a36528eb8ed93de4275b6b3ebc702de51bab6f63635294fdb66" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  I am originally from Bahundanda in Lamjung. It was difficult to reach people on the phone, but we did what we could to stay updated. Recently, we took it upon ourselves to rebuild one of the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">historic temples</a> that had been destroyed by the earthquake. It will be inaugurated this week on 19 April, ten years after it collapsed. Over 320 people from Lamjung now living in the US, Australia, Japan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as various parts of Nepal contributed. It is a collective effort of hundreds of individuals attached to our village.&nbsp; <h2>Sitaram Giri&nbsp;</h2> I worked in Dubai for seven years, starting out as a construction helper before my boss hired me as his personal driver since he liked my work and trusted me. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/speaking-the-language-of-overseas-work">Life was all right overseas</a>, I suppose. But coming home for a two-month break after five years abroad and spending time with my children, I just did not want to be away again. I wanted to come home to Nepal. I am not sure what changed, but my heart just was not in Dubai. I dragged myself to stay on for 2.5 more years before finally deciding to call it quits in 2015. I had driving skills, so I could use that to find a job in Nepal. &nbsp; I stayed in Kathmandu for a few days and headed to my village in<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/after-the-deluge-in-nepal"> Sindhupalchok </a>to help out on the farm. I was having my morning meal one day exactly ten years ago, when everything started shaking. I ran outside just as my home collapsed in a cloud of dust.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_75d4425924ced5f17656e62ffcec00ba5f76c790871adb3186b70edd84256106.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025041905048_75d4425924ced5f17656e62ffcec00ba5f76c790871adb3186b70edd84256106" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  People were screaming that there were children buried <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/miracle-boy-six-years-after-nepal-quake">under the rubble</a>. I lost my grandmother, but could rescue my nephew from a collapsed building. We tried to dig out as many people as we could while consoling those who lost family members and helping with the funerals. Many survivors lost their livestock. The earthquake struck just a few days after my return to Nepal. It was God who brought me back to be with my family. If I was abroad, I would be in so much stress. As it is, my children were in Kathmandu, and it was difficult for me to reach them. But they were safe.&nbsp; Being in my village also meant I could help my neighbours. Friends from abroad sent us support for reconstruction. With that, some of my own savings, a government grant and some loans, I eventually rebuilt my house for Rs700,000. It did cross my mind that I might have to migrate for work again, but I also had this जति गरेनी एस्तै हो feeling that it would not make a difference. After years of hard work overseas to build my home, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/born-again-after-the-earthquake">the earthquake</a> destroyed it in seconds – as if the house never even existed. I lost my phone in the quake. In it were all my photos from Dubai. <h2>Subhash Acharya</h2> I worked in Iraq for 32 months, and again in Saudi Arabia for 44 months before heading back to Nepal where I now run an electronic shop. My economic situation made me decide to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">migrate</a>, but I chose Iraq because my brother was there. I was in Saudi Arabia when the earthquake struck Nepal in 2015. I saw images of destruction online, Dharara had collapsed and there was death and devastation everywhere.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_b3bdafb2128e7fe3c7fca28e08ed2881fcb4b87f8ceb6958b7e2893c930e22b0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="2025041905048_b3bdafb2128e7fe3c7fca28e08ed2881fcb4b87f8ceb6958b7e2893c930e22b0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  I worried because if that was what happened to Kathmandu, my home village in Sindhupalchok would also have been affected. Indeed, when I got in touch with my family four hours later, I learnt that there was nothing left of my home but the first floor. Thankfully, everyone was alive. I already had a return ticket for Nepal for my vacation after a week so I decided to come home as planned. If I did not have a ticket, I would have bought one for the very next day. My family was safe, so I decided to stay in a tent for two months. Everyone around us was affected. My friends and company in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/saudi-labour-reforms-to-benefit-nepalis">Saudi Arabia </a>helped me and my colleagues who bore losses. When overseas, we help each other during times of trouble like medical or family emergencies. We pool funds and chip in however much we can, whatever we can manage. This time I was at the receiving end. In addition to the SAR2,000 ($540) from my company, I received about $1,000 from my fellow workers from India, Bangladesh, and Philippines. I was really very touched by their generosity. <h2>Gopal Theeng Tamang</h2> I was an undocumented security guard in Malaysia when I heard about the earthquake that shook Nepal in 2015. My mind immediately went to my brother and sister-in-law in Sindhupalchok which was badly affected. The rest of my family was in Kathmandu, and were safe. But I could not reach my brother and his wife. Calls were not going through the first few days. When I finally made contact, I learnt that their house had collapsed completely.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025041905048_3fffd2700ba545e7b462bd77f2f91e252c364e81c2b9bfbe59c88ea7e132a754.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025041905048_3fffd2700ba545e7b462bd77f2f91e252c364e81c2b9bfbe59c88ea7e132a754" data-rendition-name="original" width="540" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="DD 63"> </figure>  They had built this home with their lifetime of earnings. My sister-in-law would cry on the phone, and I tried to help my brother in whatever small way I could. A group of us in Malaysia also organised a small campaign to raise funds to buy rice for families in our village. As security guards in Malaysia, we had to work long hours. I had 12 hour night shifts, and even though a disaster had struck my home country, duty called. &nbsp; My brother has rebuilt a smaller tin-roofed house. I left Malaysia and emigrated to Iraq for five years where I worked as a housekeeper, waiter and then barista. I moved back to Nepal for good two years ago.

When disaster strikes home

On the morning of 25 April 2015, as shocked residents of Kathmandu were sifting through the rubble of collapsed homes and temples, there was thunder in the air. Many thought it was another earthquake. A formation of six Indian Air Force MI17 helicopters were flying low over the Lalitpur to land at the airport. Soon after, the Chinese Air Force dispatched its own MI17s, flying over the Himalaya. In the week that followed, the US Marines flew in V-22 Ospreys from Okinawa with mid-air refueling along the way. Then C-17s landed in Kathmandu with UH-1L helicopters in their bellies. Singapore, Israel, Japan, Thailand sent military aircraft with relief and also evacuated their nationals. The Nepal Army only had three small helicopters at the time. So, the most urgent need after 25 April was air support to lift injured people out of remote areas, fly in relief supplies, and conduct aerial surveys of the most affected regions.&nbsp; “The international response was commendable. It was immediate and overwhelming,” recalls &nbsp;Sagar Shrestha of the Nepal Red Cross Society. Indeed, it may have been too overwhelming: the airport soon ran out of apron space as heavy jets started coming in one after another.&nbsp; Despite the intensity of the shaking, there was no damage to the runway and terminal building and the airport was immediately operational. This meant that within 16 hours of the earthquake, a Turkish Red Cross emergency response team had already landed in Kathmandu. The Nepal Army set up a command and control centre at its hangar at the Airport to coordinate relief and conduct medevacs from affected areas. Army personnel accompanied the helicopters to navigate in high terrain. But in the immediate aftermath, it was local communities that sprang into action to dig survivors out of the rubble. Since most of the collapsed buildings in Kathmandu were not concrete high rises, it did not need specialised equipment.&nbsp; Before long, the Nepal Army, Armed Police Force (APF) and the Nepal Police came together in the search efforts, carrying out most of the rescues, pulling babies out alive after 22 hours. “The APF was responsible for search and rescue and the army had the job of transporting wounded people,” recalls Govinda Raj Pokhrel, vice-chair of the Nepal Planning Commission at the time.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250412150420_444da7500f04cad6cb37e728d5dbc09d358e0a08e35ede82b6900dfe416cc41c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250412150420_444da7500f04cad6cb37e728d5dbc09d358e0a08e35ede82b6900dfe416cc41c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1778" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="It better be better next time NT"> <figcaption>A Turkish seach and rescue team arrived the very next day after the earthquake because Kathmandu airport was not damaged. Photo: WIKIPEDIA</figcaption> </figure>  The government declared a state of emergency and requested international help within 3–4 hours of the earthquake, and relief flights started arriving immediately. In parts of Kathmandu where concrete structures had collapsed like Gonga Bu, their carbon dioxide life detectors and listening equipment helped locate buried survivors.&nbsp; But it was old fashioned pick and shovel and sniffer dogs that sufficed in most collapsed structures in Bungamati, Bhaktapur, Sankhu and other badly-affected towns. Local first responders and the APF and Army were responsible for most of the rescues. Lack of information to international relief agencies meant that most arrived with equipment that was not really needed. There was also duplication with foreign search and rescue teams stepping on each other’s toes in ruined neighbourhoods. “The government launched coordinated rescue efforts, assigning specific responsibilities to each ministry. For instance, the Ministry of Forests was tasked with managing helicopters arriving from foreign countries to ensure smooth logistics,” adds Pokhrel.&nbsp; Sushil Koirala who was the prime minister at the time, coordinated with the ministers and assigned them responsibilities. The government was slow to coordinate international assistance, and when it finally took charge, it insisted aid go through a ‘one-door policy’ to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.&nbsp; This was heavily criticised on social media by Nepalis and foreigners alike, and actually dissuaded many wishing to help to either withdraw or delay providing monetary and in-kind support. The other government decision that was ridiculed was an over-enthusiastic Customs Department that wanted to tax relief material. Although some of the clothing, food and home repair supplies were low quality or inappropriate, obstructing help during an emergency was not a good idea.&nbsp; “There were issues at the airport as large numbers of foreign aircraft were flying in. And the one-door policy for donations to be through the prime minister’s fund became a problem,” admits Pokhrel, adding, “the government was in full control though, which is required during such large-scale disasters.” Pokhrel helped organise an international pledging conference within two months after the earthquake. Even while aftershocks rocked Kathmandu, international donors from 34 countries responded generously with promises of $4.4 billion. However, some of that money was calculated in the help already sent, and much of the pledges never materialised.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250412150420_9d9cde1aad5ed3233702719394f1ca01c99d7c6e4dd8fb12d4bed97bb14b7183.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250412150420_9d9cde1aad5ed3233702719394f1ca01c99d7c6e4dd8fb12d4bed97bb14b7183" data-rendition-name="original" width="640" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="It better be better next time NT"> <figcaption>Most of the rescue of survivors was carried out by Nepal Army and APF. Photo: NEPALI TIMES ARCHIVE</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;“Some foreign assistance did come in, but there was no clarity to mobilise and coordinate the relief, which should have come from the government,” says Sagar Shrestha of the Red Cross. The earthquake struck just as Nepal was preparing to promulgate a new Constitution with controversy about its provisions. Unhappy with it, India blockaded border checkpoints for six months, relief supplies was stuck, and there were shortages of food, fuel and medicines. “Nepal was in political transition, so some lack of coordination was understandable, but given the circumstances we did as much as we could,” says Pokhrel of the post-disaster period. Nepal also could not say no to international offers to rebuild monuments which it could have done itself. Large flags of American, Chinese and other countries were painted at reconstruction sites of destroyed monuments.&nbsp; Help comes with strings attached, and it was obvious some countries were deriving propaganda value from it. Because of Nepal’s strategic location, the presence of so many aircraft from India, China and US gave the impression that this was more of a military exercise — especially near sensitive northern border regions. Ten years later, there are lessons to be learnt that will be useful when the next disaster strikes, as it surely will in future. Foreign assistance was robust and rapid, but coordination struggled with logistical, political, and capacity constraints. There was also a glaring need to upgrade urban search and rescue capacity of the security forces — especially for collapsed multi-storey concrete structures because next time we may not be so lucky. &nbsp;Pneumatic drills, rotary rescue saws, concrete cutters, chipping hammers, hydraulic shoring, and life detectors like thermal, CO2 and snake-eyes have to be prepositioned in various parts of the country. Nepal Army also needs more heavy helicopters and station them in bases in Surkhet, Pokhara and Dharan for rapid deployment. The rescue of people from a fire on a high-rise in Itahari earlier this month needed a helicopter to fly all the way from Kathmandu, and that may have been too late if the fire was more serious. Raging forest fires in the past two weeks all over Nepal has also exposed a woeful lack of aerial firefighting capacity, a gap which the Nepal Army could fill with water dropping equipment. This is important because the next earthquake could also be followed by uncontrolled urban fires. Says Sagar Shrestha of Nepal Red Cross Society: “The biggest lesson is that there needs to be better communication about what is needed after a disaster and coordination between Nepal’s agencies and the internationals to make relief flow smooth.”&nbsp;

It better be better next time

Every earthquake, even a minor one, shakes <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur">Bhaktapur</a> more severely than other parts of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/time-capsule-of-kathmandu">Kathmandu Valley</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-traditional-seismic-resistant-designs">seismologists</a> attribute this to its soil structure. It was no different<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu"> in 2015 when a 7.8M earthquake rocked central Nepal</a>. Brown dust from collapsed buildings blanketed the town like a sand storm. Even 10 years later, the scars of that disaster are all around, even though most of the monuments have been rebuilt.&nbsp; At the entrance to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/clash-of-cultures-in-bhaktapur">Bhaktapur Darbar Square</a> is the Rameswar temple, where workers are lifting bricks to repair the damage. The Vatsala Durga temple inside the palace complex collapsed, but the all-stone structure has been masterfully restored.&nbsp; The Yaksheswar Mahadev temple is encased in a bamboo scaffold. Piles of bricks and tiles &nbsp;are stacked below it. Some workers are on top of the temple, while others work on the ground mixing mortar. To the north of the Darbar Square is the Fasi Dega temple which has been rebuilt. The 55-window palace and the art museum which were damaged have also been repaired.&nbsp; The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nyatapola-alight">five-storey Nyatapola</a>, which survived both the 1934 and 2015 earthquakes, just underwent a $6.3 million renovation. In Taumadhi Square below, the Biska Jatra chariot is under construction for upcoming festivities. Some tourists are on it, posing for pictures.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090432_8da447f3cf32a67ba22eedda74af74a6636cd001b544a303eb8e5f8adf3115e3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250407090432_8da447f3cf32a67ba22eedda74af74a6636cd001b544a303eb8e5f8adf3115e3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1284" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> <figcaption>All photos: AJAY HAKAJU</figcaption> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Monumental-loss,2215">Monumental loss</a> At Pottery Square, three workers sit atop an under-construction structure whittling away with chisels. Nearby houses are still supported by wooden beams. Dattatreya Square was also damaged during the earthquake, but has been renovated.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/born-again-after-the-earthquake">After the earthquake</a>, the international community rushed in with offers of help. Kathmandu’s Hanuman Dhoka was restored by the Chinese, Gaddi Baithak by the Americans and various countries ‘adopted’ other monuments. But Bhaktapur declined assistance. UNESCO wanted to be involved since Bhaktapur had been a World Heritage Site since 1979. Germany wanted to help with a €10 million grant, since it had spearheaded the Bhaktapur Development Project 40 years ago.&nbsp; “We believed that we should be able to reconstruct our monuments ourselves,” says Ram Govinda Shrestha, an architect with the municipality. Indeed, Kathmandu Valley has historically rebuilt after every major earthquake with its own resources. Architect and conservationist Rabindra Puri says, “It is shameful to let someone else come in and do the reconstruction for us, especially since the manpower and material would be ours anyway. Why use money from elsewhere?”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090436_7f19bc8a185c9f71404db44fba086438d6c29a3acb63a63d027cbdd4053e1b4f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20250407090436_7f19bc8a185c9f71404db44fba086438d6c29a3acb63a63d027cbdd4053e1b4f" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> </figure>  The budget for reconstruction came from the government, town entry fees, taxes, and donations. That was the easy part. But this was followed by multiple discussions between the municipality, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA), the Department of Archaeology, and multiple stages of proposals, designs, estimations, and building. New committees had to be formed at every step. “Part of the reason why there were so many steps is because we have to let the government know that we were working as frugally as possible,” recalls Shrestha. It cost more than $200 million to rebuild the 116 heritage structures that were destroyed and damaged.&nbsp; Nevertheless, Bhaktapur stands as a model of locally sourced reconstruction in every way. Community people themselves got their hands dirty along with domestic workers and learned various aspects of reconstruction. “We showed what is possible when locals feel a strong sense of responsibility,” adds Shrestha. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/tourists-trickle-back-to-Bhaktapur">Bhaktapur is waiting for you</a>, Peregrine Frissell But while the monuments were rebuilt, it was not the same with residential buildings. Many of them still have cracks running down their brick façades, and some neighbourhoods are still in ruins with small trees and bushes growing from the rubble.&nbsp; More than 300 people were killed and over 2,000 wounded in house collapses in Bhaktapur. There were some dramatic rescues, including of a baby Sonish Awal who was rescued by an APF team 24 hours after being buried under the rubble.&nbsp; Sonish is now 10 years old, and his house has been rebuilt. The government vowed to ‘Build Back Better’ as fast as possible, by removing bureaucratic hurdles and grant Rs300,000 in three instalments, as well as access to loans at low interest. But things did not go smoothly.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250407090436_d503e5c966f33978abf99a0fa8307369d81bcc6a6e5d768cf88b7dee273cb6cf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20250407090436_d503e5c966f33978abf99a0fa8307369d81bcc6a6e5d768cf88b7dee273cb6cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1123" loading="lazy" alt="Bhaktabur rebuilt 10 years after Nepal earthquake NT 1"> </figure>  “Bhaktapur is very dense, so there was a lot of confusion about where property lines ended, and where walls were,” says Biswanath Sujakhu, a municipality engineer. There were also disputes in families with multiple sons who had stakes in the house, as the act treated them as a single household.&nbsp; Many of the disputes have not been resolved yet, which is why there are so many ruins. &nbsp;Homeowners who chose to remake their houses to look traditional were promised further subsidies of up to Rs300,000, but even that was not enough to pay for the Rs5 million or so needed to build a multi-storey cement structure.&nbsp; Banks weren’t giving loans easily, and multiple changes to the NRA chief meant the grants were not easy to access. Many residents took high-interest loans from local cooperatives. Or they were forced to undersell their land plots. “Bhaktapur also had restrictions about the styles and height of buildings, but many houses didn’t comply as people could only work with the money they had at the time,” adds Sujakhu. Nepal Vocational Academy, established by Rabindra Puri two years before the earthquake in 2013, played a crucial role. The academy produced enough masons, woodcarvers, and stone carvers so that there wasn’t a shortage. The students were also involved in <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/guest-editorial/guest-editorial-better-late-than-never,891">reconstruction efforts</a> across the country. Puri has just one gripe: “A lot of old houses that were perfectly fine were torn down for no reason. Those houses are 200-300 years old and could have been restored instead of being reconstructed.” &nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-with-the-old-in-nepal">In with the old in Nepal</a>, Shriluna Shrestha

Vishad Raj Onta

Bhaktapur 2.0

This is the 62nd episode of Diaspora Diaries, a Nepali Times series in collaboration with Migration Lab providing a platform to share experiences of living, working, and studying abroad. On 25 April 2015, I was on a video call with my friend in Nepal from the UAE when she suddenly panicked. Her house had started shaking. My instinct told me it was an <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/deadly-earthquake-hits-w-nepal">earthquake</a> so I told her to get out of the house as soon as possible.&nbsp; As she ran outside, the line got disconnected. It was my turn to panic. A few moments later, she called again to tell me she was safe, but got disconnected again. Since then, I have not heard from her and all my efforts to reach her have been in vain.&nbsp; Even after a decade, I do not even know if she is alive. After her call, I was worried about my family as news of the mega earthquake had already started spreading. I could not get in touch with my father in Rasuwa, but was relieved to know my brother and other family members were okay and camping outdoors. &nbsp; My father, who had gone to the market, was missing and I was worried. My brother finally called to say he was all right. I was somewhat relieved that my family back home had survived the earthquake, unlike thousands of others. That our house was destroyed mattered less, but I was concerned about the frequent <a href="about:blank">aftershocks</a>.&nbsp; Being away at such a time is difficult. I am sure most <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/50-diaspora-diaries-in-nepali-times">Nepalis in the diaspora</a> were in a similar situation: restless, sleepless and desperate to be back home as we refreshed our phones for updates or tried to call relatives. Some replied, others did not. My heart was in a constant state of worry: about my family, my village and my country.&nbsp; I was desperate to come home. My family was safe and alive, but maybe I could at least save one person from under the rubble if I went back to Nepal. But I was in the middle of my employment contract in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/uae-warning-to-send-back-workers-including-nepalis">the UAE </a>and could not just leave. After around two weeks, the desperate urge to return started subsiding and I became more practical. If I returned to Nepal, I would once again be unemployed and hard up. My family was living in a temporary shelter, and the best thing I could do was to earn as much as possible so we could <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">rebuild our house</a>.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080412_80b55004bc3a3fd19b9c95339a24f5f22d2a74b4fc61ba07deb46955d1df2674.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20250405080412_80b55004bc3a3fd19b9c95339a24f5f22d2a74b4fc61ba07deb46955d1df2674" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="DD 62"> <figcaption>Aman Eakal back in Kathmandu, showing a photo of his home destoryed in the earthquake, and trying to build a singing career. </figcaption> </figure>  My heart was aching not just for my family but also for my country. I transferred my first month’s salary of Rs80,000 to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund. As my family was safe, I thought it was more important to contribute to the nation.&nbsp; I had served seven years in the Armed Police Force (APF), and perhaps that is why I felt a sense of responsibility. I also started remitting as much as I could to my family. Even before the earthquake, I was most careful about my spending habits, some might even consider me a कन्जुस miser.&nbsp; We value every paisa because we are aware of the pain of our families <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bringing-korea-s-prosperity-to-nepal">back home</a>, and our own sacrifices: eating the previous day’s rice with cold veggies or dal in a plastic bag on the roadside during lunch breaks.&nbsp; The earthquake made me even more cautious. I wanted to send home every extra Dirham I could. I took on more overtime hours and even stopped spending on fruit and meat in the market on my days off.&nbsp; I was in the APF’s communication department, so I knew people in the Nepal government and I stayed in touch with them for earthquake updates. Nepalis in Dubai also asked me about the latest from home.&nbsp; Even today, when I think of that time during the earthquake, my heart feels heavy. It was poverty that kept me far from my family and country. I had migrated to work so I could invest my savings in my younger brother and children.&nbsp; My childhood memories are of scarcity and challenges. I did not even know what it meant to eat खाजा snacks in school. Till Grade 5, all I had was a pair of shorts, we could not even afford trousers. My family could buy me a school uniform only after Grade 7, and I wore it right through my school life. It was only after my father went to work in Kathmandu that we stopped worrying about eating two meals a day. But poverty is relative. There were fellow students who got to eat lunch in school and focus on homework, whereas I had to finish household chores that left no time for assignments. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080412_21b47d56f3941ca53b9faa933de900b8eb0c7564f687d0f18d16a800bc58522b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20250405080412_21b47d56f3941ca53b9faa933de900b8eb0c7564f687d0f18d16a800bc58522b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1287" loading="lazy" alt="DD 62"> <figcaption>A page of lyrics Aman Eakal wrote during the earthquake that evokaes longing for the motherland, worry about home and family, and a commitment to rebuild the country.</figcaption> </figure>  And there were those who were even worse off, and did not go to school at all, or dropped out. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/14-years-after-conflict-no-closure-in-nepal">The Maoist conflict</a> made it impossible for me to stay in the village because the guerrillas tried to force me to join their militia.&nbsp; My older brother was in the Army and refused. To avoid them, I even used to ask my mother to lock my room from the outside. But one day, they dragged me out and warned that my brother or I had to join the Maoists within one month. They even fired shots to scare me. My brother was posted in Itahari and told me to run away to Kathmandu. I quit my studies and joined the APF but the salary was low and my mentor from the force, a deputy inspector who treated me like a son, died in an accident.&nbsp; I lost interest and decided to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/making-overseas-migration-better">migrate overseas</a>. My APF salary was Rs10,200 a month at the time, and in the UAE I would earn over Rs72,000. I had loans of over Rs850,000 mainly because of my mother’s health expenses. With my Nepal salary, it would take me a lifetime to pay off these loans so I had to migrate.&nbsp; I worked as a security guard and later refilled cash in ATM machines in the UAE, and it was all to support my family. I focused a lot on my younger brother and parents as I was unmarried for the first few years. My own studies had been affected by poverty, but I could not let my brother face the same fate.&nbsp; I enrolled him in a private school and asked him to focus on his studies. I would fulfil all my personal dreams through him. He is now doing a PhD in China and this could not make me prouder. I think it is my life’s biggest achievement. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/quake-survivors-migrate-for-work">Quake survivors migrate for work</a> My father sacrificed his life for us. I was told that he used to bleed from his mouth from overwork as he crushed stones or cut wood. I wanted to make sure my parents would not have to worry about work or money anymore.&nbsp; I gave up all my dreams and passions in life except one — a deep desire to one day record my own songs. After returning to Nepal, I recorded three songs, including one that I had written some 20 years ago.&nbsp; I do not know what the future holds. I do not have the money to start my own business in Nepal, although it is constantly on my mind. I am a new father and my responsibilities are growing. If I am unable to start a business soon, I may very well have to migrate again to the UAE or to Europe. &nbsp;&nbsp;  <figure> <video controls src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250405080416_306fcaa9702389af66c5c9476c6cffb792ebcc298a544e5c080e3e220faed8ec.mp4" alt="" width="100%" height="100%"></video> <figcaption>Away from home when Nepal shook | Aman Ekal (Diaspora Diaries 62)</figcaption> </figure>

Away from home when Nepal shook

The 7.2M Taiwan earthquake on 3 April was a reminder for us here in Nepal about the importance of preparation with up to code infrastructure, earthquake early warning sensors hooked to mobile &nbsp;networks, seismic risk education in schools, and swift emergency response.&nbsp;
Although 13 people were killed, readiness saved lives. Skyscrapers shook and swayed but did not fall, high-rises tilted but did not collapse. A similar intensity earthquake in Taiwan in 1999 had killed 2,400 people. &nbsp;
This week marks nine years since Nepal’s 2015 earthquakes that killed nearly 9,000 people. It has been four months since a 6.4M quake <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">struck Jajarkot and West Rukum</a> near midnight on 3 November, claiming 153 lives.&nbsp;
In the immediate aftermath of 2015, building codes, earthquake-resistant designs and retrofitting became high priority. But as memories fade, so does the fear. Nine years on, buildings <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-of-high-rises">including high-rises that flout zoning and building codes</a> have come up in Kathmandu while <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-occupation-of-tundikhel">open spaces have further shrunk</a>.&nbsp;
Himalayan seismologists have warned that 2015 was not the Big One, the kind of quake that hits central Nepal every 80 or so years. Neither was Jajarkot the megaquake scientists had expected in western Nepal’s seismic gap. As we have been saying in this paper for the last 24 years, the next big earthquake is ‘not a matter of if, but when’.
While the 14 districts affected by the 2015 disaster have now mostly been rebuilt, and are better prepared, the rest of the country is not. A &gt;8M megaquake in Western Nepal would be a trans-boundary disaster of unthinkable proportions.
In Jajarkot and West Rukum, many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/jajarkot-survivors-show-collective-resilience">survivors spent the winter </a>without a roof over their heads, and they still await relief to rebuild. The National &nbsp;Reconstruction Authority (NRA) might have taken nine months to set up after the 2015 earthquake, but that disaster should have been a lesson for timely assessment for earthquake relief at the very least.
Nepal is a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/lost-and-damaged">landmine of disasters</a>. Nearly 350 people have died just in the past year in floods, landslides, lightning, and forest fires, and not including Jajarkot. We are now in the thick of wildfire season. Hundreds of forest fires are burning across the country, some for weeks. Three fire-fighting soldiers and three children picking mushrooms were killed by wind-fanned flames just in the past week.&nbsp;
The <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-suffers-another-winter-drought">prolonged winter drought</a> should have warned us that this year, the fires would be much worse. But adding fuel to the fires, as it were, is the new trend of burning wheat straw after harvest by farmers.&nbsp;
Fire is always followed by flood, and this year, weather models predict above-normal monsoon precipitation. As it is, monsoons have become erratic with extreme downpours followed by weeks without rain. Mohan Mainali’s ongoing series in Nepali Times <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/people-and-mountains-are-thirsty-in-eastern-nepal">analysing meteorological, hydrological and demographic data from eastern Nepal </a>shows that Nepal has always suffered from either too little or too much water, and this has contributed to outmigration.
Landslides triggered by heavy rainfall along Nepal’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">poorly designed roads</a> in never-ending states of construction magnify the risk. Landslides can also frequently block rivers, which raises the need for early warning systems.
And if all this was not bad enough, we have the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/sikkim-flood-is-warning-to-nepal">threat of GLOFs </a>from glacial lakes swollen with ice melted by climate breakdown. The water level in the Tso Rolpa glacial lake in Rolwaling was reduced by 3m in 2002, and the water level of Imja Lake was lowered after the 2015 earthquake to mitigate the risk of GLOFs. But these lakes continue to expand as the Himalaya warms 0.7oC faster than the global average.&nbsp;
Thulagi glacial lake below Himalchuli is another one in danger of bursting, and would wash away four hydropower projects downstream on the Marsyangdi River. A GLOF from the precariously situated Lake 464 in the Hinku Valley would race down the Dudh Kosi Valley, into the Sun Kosi and right down to the Tarai.&nbsp;
While these lakes are all dangerous by themselves, they could burst simultaneously during a major earthquake. Which means Nepal must be prepared not just for earthquakes, but the co-seismic risk of catastrophic debris flows along its rivers.&nbsp;
Disaster preparedness means knowing and acknowledging potential without spreading panic and crying wolf. And:&nbsp;
<ul>
 <li>Stockpiling and pre-positioning food and other relief materials</li>
 <li>Investing in search and rescue equipment and training</li>
 <li>Safety drills and earthquake education in schools</li>
 <li>Decentralised first responders with aerial medevac</li>
</ul>
Shristi Karki

Disastrous preparedness

For a year or two after the 25 April 2015 earthquake, the residents of Kathmandu were too terrified to return to their high-rise apartments. None of them collapsed in the 7.8 disaster, but many sustained serious structural damage. &nbsp;
Fast forward nine years, and they have all but forgotten that frightful day. Kathmandu is back to building substandard structures, even as land prices drive developers to build taller.&nbsp;
With no more space to spread horizontally, Kathmandu is going vertical. But structural engineers say most of the high rises do not take into account seismicity, soil condition, construction methods, quality of raw materials, fire hazard, and search and rescue in collapsed concrete structures.
“Much of our focus since the 2015 earthquake has been on building and construction, but not as much on where we are building,” warns Sangeeta Singh, Professor of Urban Planning and Deputy Director of Centre for Disaster Studies at the Institute of Engineering.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale
She adds: “Kathmandu is not really suited for high-rises. We have to first test the condition of the soil, but building permits are being issued without this fundamental step.”
Kathmandu Valley is a former lakebed with soft topsoil prone to liquefaction and excessive shaking, as seen during the 1934 megaquake. Many ruptures tore up the surface in 2015. &nbsp;
During an earthquake, the rock layers below Kathmandu ring like a bell and the vibrations on the surface take between 0.5 to 2 seconds for one oscillation. Buildings also vibrate, but at different frequencies depending on their height, construction material, and arrangement of their structural components.
At five floors, the vibration period of a building is 0.5 seconds, which is the same as that for Kathmandu Valley, and this could cause more damage, says structural engineer Surya Narayan Shrestha at the National Society for Earthquake Technology - Nepal (NSET).
“Building anything that is five storeys or higher in Kathmandu needs special design and structural considerations,” says Shrestha.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/shaking-things-up">Shaking things up</a>, Editorial
Technologies exist to reduce seismic risk in high-rises, and these are used in earthquake-prone cities like Tokyo, Los Angeles, Jakarta or Mexico City.&nbsp;
Base isolation, for example, separates the vibration of the land and the building, reducing damage from soil-building resonance. Base isolators move and stretch under pressure, absorbing much of an earthquake's impact by reducing swaying and shaking. &nbsp;
Seismic dampers change the pattern of vibration altogether, dissipating energy as vibrations move across a structure. But these are all expensive technologies, and none of the high-rises in Kathmandu use them.
However, Nepali engineers who can help with technology transfer are working in the field in Nepal and overseas. Kathmandu’s high-rises are already very expensive, and making them seismic-resistant would be an incremental cost.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/learning-from-jajarkot-what-we-didnt-after-2015-695vpzle">Learning from Jajarkot what we didn't after 2015</a>, Sushil Gyewali
The shape of high-rises also matters. Reinforced concrete buildings with asymmetric designs of the kind that are seen in newer structures in Kathmandu experience more torsion and shear during quakes. High-rises with regular geometry are stronger. &nbsp;&nbsp;
An even bigger concern is that of emergency evacuation and rescue in case of fire or earthquake. Kathmandu fire services do not have ladders that reach the higher floors of most new structures.
“High-rises mean more people and potentially higher casualties,” explains Shrestha. “We need immediate evacuation routes, fire escapes, emergency ladders, and fire trucks that can reach higher. Right now, safety features are voluntary and not mandatory.”
The street access, shelters, open spaces, and evacuation routes are integral to disaster preparedness and the safety of neighbourhoods and not just buildings. Most new high-rises in Kathmandu have narrow access roads.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/rebuilding-resilience-7-years-later">Rebuilding resilience 7 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel
Since most of the buildings that survived the 2015 disaster were reinforced concrete structures, it fed the misconception that they are safer. But Himalayan seismologists say that if the intensity and duration of the shaking had been just a little higher, many substandard concrete structures would have collapsed.&nbsp;
And that is the final gap: Nepal’s limited expertise and equipment for search and rescue inside collapsed concrete structures. Kathmandu’s high-rises need to be better prepared for the next Big One.
“Structural safety and design were at the front and the centre after the 2015 earthquake, we also revised some building codes but we are back to square one with contractor-driven construction, especially in peri-urban areas,” says Sangeeta Singh, who is also with the National Planning Commission. “We need to monitor construction as much as design.”&nbsp;
Shrestha at NSET agrees there have been improvements in building practices in the past nine years, but adds, “We have both learnt and unlearnt lessons from 2015. The awareness hasn’t yet translated into action on safety.”
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/lessons-not-learned-from-2015-o2etq6zu">Lessons not learned from 2015</a>, Sonia Awale

Sonia Awale

The rise of high-rises

Who better than Rohit Ranjitkar, Nepal’s foremost heritage architect, to put together this voluminous documentation of the repair, restoration and rebuilding of Kathmandu Valley’s monuments after the 2015 earthquake. Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley: Before &amp; After the 2015 Earthquake is a sort of post mortem of how the historic temples, shrines, monasteries, stupas, rest houses and Rana palaces were rebuilt from the ground up – with both good and bad examples. But it is a tribute to Ranjitkar and his colleagues that restoration has been sensitively done, reusing salvaged material, and employing modern items only when necessary for structural purposes. Cement was not used, and stainless steel dowels only inserted inside stone columns to make them safe.&nbsp; Ranjitkar is director of the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), and within minutes of the earthquake at 11:56 on 25 April 2015, he was out on Patan Darbar Square, helping rescue not just those trapped under the rubble but also mobilising Patan’s community to carry valuable stone carvings, wooden columns and fallen bronze idols for safekeeping in the nearby Patan Museum.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_c3165c450933eb0f523acf1fa726d0e354e68a516d87a91de72829e12b2f27d7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2023072110074_c3165c450933eb0f523acf1fa726d0e354e68a516d87a91de72829e12b2f27d7" data-rendition-name="original" width="960" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  In the week after the earthquake, he stopped Nepal Army bulldozers from clearing the debris from the 12th century Hari Shankar temple and the 400-year-old Char Narayan temple so items could be retrieved. Many of these were classified and restored to the exact place on the temples. In the store room of &nbsp;Patan Museum were artifacts from the 1934 earthquake which were also put back in their right places.&nbsp; Destructive earthquakes happen every 80 years or so in Nepal and this allows the skills, craft and knowledge of restoration to pass from one generation to the next. This book is a part of that tradition.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_024da2a4ae2ba5c95bb08767a5d4b27b88bcf6a2a2a03ef05a92c8e4a4286d2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023072110074_024da2a4ae2ba5c95bb08767a5d4b27b88bcf6a2a2a03ef05a92c8e4a4286d2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="2015 and present NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_07d8487a9232d6ace1d1a3be01a6a7bc72f8f5b3763c9e09cb744220e187e6e6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2023072110078_07d8487a9232d6ace1d1a3be01a6a7bc72f8f5b3763c9e09cb744220e187e6e6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="669" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  Ranjitkar provides numerous examples of damaged wooden struts and tympanum that were replaced, repaired, and missing pieces recarved from scratch. The 625-page volume is lavishly illustrated with photographs and drawings of the reconstruction process. This makes the book itself a treasure house of information.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_563614fcf5090e03daf43531a3ece74a2b9be6454cf12b6cd6a173aa9f5e77d8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023072110078_563614fcf5090e03daf43531a3ece74a2b9be6454cf12b6cd6a173aa9f5e77d8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="951" loading="lazy" alt="Jagannath sketch"> </figure>  High on top of the Taleju in Patan, KVPT did not just rebuild the titled cupola but corrected faulty reconstruction after 1934. The book includes details of the rebuilding of the Machindranath Temple in Bungmati, the Indrayani Temple (below) built in 1792, Kasthamandap, Boudhanath stupa.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_521dc33e26ccee0ab5eff1ff095d101b4c14cbc4a37b78936d1f6077d4814ab5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2023072110074_521dc33e26ccee0ab5eff1ff095d101b4c14cbc4a37b78936d1f6077d4814ab5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="668" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_3f86551605f5ec6ba2c27c456b804d3554030329649c10c0b68695da49ab77eb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023072110074_3f86551605f5ec6ba2c27c456b804d3554030329649c10c0b68695da49ab77eb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>  In Bhaktapur, Ranjitkar shows &nbsp;how a watercolour painting by Henry Ambrose Oldfield in 1853 was used to restore the west façade of the Malati Chok not only to pre-2015, not even pre-1934 but to its original design in the 19th century.&nbsp; Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley does not just feature the restoration of Malla-era structures, but also former Rana palaces that now serve as government buildings like Singha Darbar, Rastra Bank, Harihar Bhavan or Keshar Mahal. Ranjitkar gives examples of mistakes like the 1832 Lagan Silkhana that was demolished after damage. We are sure there are many other examples of how restoration could have been done better, but this book is mostly about the ones well done. <h2>Restoration of a King</h2> The cover of Monuments of the Kathmandu Valley: Before &amp; After the 2015 Earthquake has the dramatic and hitherto unpublished photograph (right) of Patan Darbar Square while the temple structures were coming down in a cloud of brown dust.&nbsp; The image was taken by James Kirk at exactly 11:56 on 25 April 2015, and shows the 350-year-old bronze statue of King Yognarendra Malla falling from its pedestal as flocks of frightened pigeons circle above the dust cloud.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_0c32b837a1a62ec4a2cfefb67f7885c279f2eeacf249dbc406bbdcfda704fcc9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2023072110070_0c32b837a1a62ec4a2cfefb67f7885c279f2eeacf249dbc406bbdcfda704fcc9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_f0e64b42bab652f4c1aab5b7ef343fd49bc42b4ada0424863e12c844514229a4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2023072110074_f0e64b42bab652f4c1aab5b7ef343fd49bc42b4ada0424863e12c844514229a4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;Kirk took another photo at 12:33. By then the dust has settled, and the statue is lying on its side, with a ‘top-less’ South Taleju in the background. There is already someone trying to dig through the rubble of the Hari Narayan temple to rescue people trapped underneath.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_c4f2745f6da695d72506cbe83550dab02e4b296a683f921fcb40bb2bca52f75a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2023072110070_c4f2745f6da695d72506cbe83550dab02e4b296a683f921fcb40bb2bca52f75a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1333" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110070_624dffc791430e7f6e046a4056a31fff96b325dcb6eebc58a053d54e9f1358b9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2023072110070_624dffc791430e7f6e046a4056a31fff96b325dcb6eebc58a053d54e9f1358b9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721100716_54baebd3651092231970c654d0babf9edaaae6ba59f25089830b133e204fe63d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20230721100716_54baebd3651092231970c654d0babf9edaaae6ba59f25089830b133e204fe63d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1750" height="1465" loading="lazy" alt="Restoration of a king NT"> </figure>  King Yognarendra Malla’s statue was damaged, but looks as if it is kneeling in prayer. The face did not even have a scratch. The king and his consorts were repaired and consecrated on top of the column in 2017. Even the gilded copper bird finial, which was lost and &nbsp;miraculously found was replaced on top of the serpent. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_f5fbc8754184fbd5a05056ae93d12ae5445f5f214d260563a08811663735ef45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2023072110078_f5fbc8754184fbd5a05056ae93d12ae5445f5f214d260563a08811663735ef45" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110078_75ef64548c8de35cf4497ba97961e0b1c6650dcb1f90f6f979fb6183d3657cfe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2023072110078_75ef64548c8de35cf4497ba97961e0b1c6650dcb1f90f6f979fb6183d3657cfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="706" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721100728_323655d03a94bdef9e17709caaf547501aac2e6c9c17f5662f258c073cfd4b54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20230721100728_323655d03a94bdef9e17709caaf547501aac2e6c9c17f5662f258c073cfd4b54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Yogendra Malla"> </figure>  <h2>&nbsp;REINCARNATION</h2> The Charnarayan temple built in 1566 in Patan Darbar Square collapsed in a cloud of dust.&nbsp; The first photograph by Suresh Lakhe taken at 12:01 shows the square engulfed in dust. Five minutes later, people are standing at the centre of the square as the ground swayed, and structures collapsed around them. Pigeons wheeled overhead.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_95b7359387aa2bf3456d412f13bdbba39c4ed6da767392572d2e2a1b78f986a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20230721090756_95b7359387aa2bf3456d412f13bdbba39c4ed6da767392572d2e2a1b78f986a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_07d3503758e7152df470bb2a514ccf95e755ab673b056ba984fe4019c1e68c6c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="20230721090756_07d3503758e7152df470bb2a514ccf95e755ab673b056ba984fe4019c1e68c6c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_cc75d8468d2eddb167ab15fa7add71802495df6f59572aadc05db2544b46c408.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20230721090756_cc75d8468d2eddb167ab15fa7add71802495df6f59572aadc05db2544b46c408" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;The last photo taken in 2019 shows the temple meticulously restored by KVPT from the foundation up, using local material like yellow mud mortar, and &nbsp;traditional building techniques.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721090756_9436d09379a7ca1258be665ef0a10fef098fcf5245de778bdaf3aac5c07bef6b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20230721090756_9436d09379a7ca1258be665ef0a10fef098fcf5245de778bdaf3aac5c07bef6b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="750" loading="lazy" alt="Reincarnation NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230721150736_fd0a53230e6bdc860666fc8cc84bfbb22adc7e1720b573437ababd103ddf3601.jpg" data-media-id="editor_18" data-image-id="20230721150736_fd0a53230e6bdc860666fc8cc84bfbb22adc7e1720b573437ababd103ddf3601" data-rendition-name="original" width="2194" height="1415" loading="lazy" alt="Book Launch"> <figcaption>The book by Rohit Ranjitkar (extreme right) being launched by the former head of the National Reconstruction Authority Sushil Gyewali, Director General of the Department of Archaeology Damodar Gautam and American Ambassador Dean R Thompson. Photo: MADAN PURASKAR PUSTAKALAYA </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023072110074_b732aa116e67e555e8583b7804b7f874252dc826ddafd32564827e3cce31d974.jpg" data-media-id="editor_19" data-image-id="2023072110074_b732aa116e67e555e8583b7804b7f874252dc826ddafd32564827e3cce31d974" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Rebuilding better than before book details NT"> </figure>  The book was launched on 21 July in Yalamaya Kendra, Patan Dhoka.&nbsp;

Kunda Dixit

Rebuilding better than before

Two adjoininig villages became household names after the 25 April 2015 earthquake: Laprak and Barpak in Gorkha district.&nbsp; The quaintly rhyming names of these two Gurung settlements evoke frightful memories of the destructive power of the 7.8 magnitude earthquake. The epicentre was just 8km away, and the earthquake levelled most houses in both villages as well as surrounding ones. On the eighth anniversary of the earthquake, Laprak and Barpak hold lessons on how not to design and implement post-disaster reconstruction of homes. Ram Gurung along with most Laprak residents had nowhere to go when his home was destroyed in 2015, so the family lived in tents in a livestock meadow in Gumsipakha up the mountain. “I did not want to go back, there was nothing to go back to,” Gurung recalls. After the earthquake, overseas Nepalis helped the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) to build an integrated settlement in the same pasture in Gumsipakha. It was supposed to be finished in two years, but stretched to five with cost overruns to Rs576 million.&nbsp; But today, only 50 of the 573 new uniformly built houses in Gumsipakha are inhabited. Laprak is now an example of how even well-intentioned disaster response can be inappropriate.&nbsp; The houses all look the same, they do not reflect the integrated townscape of traditional Gurung villages, it is a four hour hike away up the mountain from the original village, it is colder, and gets snow in winter. &nbsp; Laprak was hit by a destructive landslide 17 years before the earthquake, and geologists had recommended relocating the village even back then. But it looks like relocating the new settlement in Gumsipakha was not a good idea.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/guest-editorial/nepalquake-8-years-later">#NepalQuake 8 years later</a>, Anil Pokhrel  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230425110412_471044c43596f287ab6a97d7d4d68864f6fc5a67cfece4bcf198b555defcba5f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20230425110412_471044c43596f287ab6a97d7d4d68864f6fc5a67cfece4bcf198b555defcba5f" data-rendition-name="original" width="853" height="525" loading="lazy" alt="2015 earthquake map NT"> </figure>  Like the adjoining village of Barpak, most families here have members who have served in the British and Indian armies. The earthquake accelerated the outmigration from Upper Gorkha, so there was also no need to build so many new houses anyway. Most remaining residents are farmers and pastoralists, but the new houses do not have space for livestock like in traditional Gurung homes. If the villagers stay in Gumsipakha, they would have to come down to Laprak every day to take care of the fields and animals. “The houses and the location were just not suited for farming families like ours,” says Kamala Gurung, who has moved back to Laprak. “There is no space for storing our harvest, or to build sheds for animals or even for the children to play in.” The new houses have two floors, and are also not fit for extended families. Locals have found that &nbsp;doors and windows of the houses are not sturdy enough, and they do not feel safe with just a plastic roof. But the biggest problem is that there are no nearby springs at Gumsipakha. The charity CARE Nepal did bring water from 19km away, but the pipes burst due to the freezing cold this winter, and residents had to fetch water from a spring half an hour away. For many, that was the last straw. Marsi Gurung is one of the few people who still Iive in the new settlement, and thinks people will move back if the water problem is solved. “They did not plan this properly at all,” he says. “Many people have moved back to Laprak despite the landslide danger there.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/back-to-classroom-for-earthquake-preparedness">Back to classroom for earthquake preparedness</a>, Rachael Lau&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023042511048_35683ecbdc20d4922f5b83f012f934b9d29ca2971ac9fc5b7e100fa44af27d2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023042511048_35683ecbdc20d4922f5b83f012f934b9d29ca2971ac9fc5b7e100fa44af27d2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1293" height="699" loading="lazy" alt="Lapark 2"> </figure>  Same story elsewhere In Yasikai village of Rapti Municipality in Chitwan, villagers were relocated 6km west to Kalitar after the earthquake because of landslide risk. The NRA provided land and Rs6.5 million to construct new houses, but no one lives there.&nbsp; According to Ward Chair Ashok Kumar Praja, the reason people are still living in Yasikai is that “The houses in Kalitar are not suitable for farmers, there is nowhere to keep the animals,” says Praja. Some 56 families of Kapurgaun of Dhading district were also relocated to Bhuwalepani and Ale following the earthquake. The NRA got Rs4.5 million to build new homes, but after living there for a short time people started moving back to their original village. The reason was the same: the new settlement had houses but no arrangements for farming and animals or any employment opportunities. And even though it was only 10km away from the district headquarters, it was four days away from their old village. After the earthquake, the NRA authorised building 64 settlements in 32 districts out of which 20 have been constructed and 44 are still being built. More than Rs1.42 billion has been spent to construct 3,956 houses, but most are small, narrow, and built with little consideration for the climate of the locality or of the lifestyle of residents.&nbsp; Geological conditions, physical and social infrastructure, and the local economy have been used to identify villages to be relocated after the earthquake. Standards for roads, water supply, sewerage, open areas, buildings, waste management, schools, health services, and building construction have also been spelled out.&nbsp; But most of the new settlements do not follow the planned parameters because research was rarely conducted on the social, economic, cultural, and geographical aspects of the inhabitants. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/in-a-disastrous-state">In a disastrous state</a>, Sonia Awale  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023042511048_9aa0b70acc2841793563e20f10246affe376fde62599a7b5595aead1fb47bdf0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2023042511048_9aa0b70acc2841793563e20f10246affe376fde62599a7b5595aead1fb47bdf0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1536" loading="lazy" alt="Dang NT 1"> </figure>  Former vice-chair of the National Planning Commission Pitamber Sharma blames the government arbitrarily approving designs without understanding the local needs and social history.&nbsp; Before planning a new integrated settlement, he says, it would have been necessary to study whether it was suitable for the family for whom the house was to be built, how far the farms are from the settlement, and the livelihood of the people. “Not enough homework was done to address the social, cultural, and economic background of the people who have lived there for generations,” explains Sharma. Sociologist Meena Poudel says that villagers do not feel comfortable in an integrated settlement because social and cultural ties are severed in the name of modernity, engineering, and subsidies. “People cannot live in narrow houses that are too far away from where they originally lived,” says Poudel. “People do not like development that disrupts their social, cultural, and religious relations and beliefs.” The former CEO of NRA, Sushil Gyewali says that the houses were made smaller because there was not enough money, and admitted that integrating the livelihood aspects in the new designs were never implemented.&nbsp; Gyewali adds, “If the plan was implemented properly, there would not have been complaints like this.” And that begs the question: why were the new designs not implemented properly by the NRA? The answer could be frequent changes in political appointees to head the NRA after 2015 that broke the continuity in planning. &nbsp;&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/turkey-and-nepal-face-similar-seismic-risks">Turkey and Nepal face similar seismic risks</a>, Surya Narayan Shrestha

Building back (not) better after 2015

In the black and white photograph, General Wangdu smiles broadly in front of the dusty cactus garden in Kathmandu’s Annapurna Hotel. With an ill-fitting jacket and shaggy hair he looks benign enough, but this was the last leader of the Tibetan freedom fighters who led the resistance against the Chinese from their remote mountain hideouts in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/comings-and-goings-in-mustang">Mustang</a>. Five months later, Wangdu was dead. Snapped in March 1974, I had only recently arrived in Nepal. How did I meet this legendary fighter? Possibly with his devoted camp follower, Lynne Klapecki, and probably in the Om Restaurant near Freak Street which was the preferred <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hippie-trail-nostalgia-in-kathmandu">hippie hang-out</a>. Om Lobsang and his brother Yeshe were <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/earthquake-brings-back-memories-of-camps-for-tibetan-refugees">refugees from East Tibet </a>whose cafe offered a friendly welcome and<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/momo-loco"> the best momos</a> - they became my in-laws after I married their eldest brother Tenzin, but that was a decade later.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025052403054_4573b34282b0f5395c007243d6bef12c7ba76bfd520419e994cdcea048d795a1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1583" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Photo: LISA CHOEGYAL</figcaption> </figure>  Wangdu’s English was enthusiastically rudimentary, but even riding around town with him on the back of an aging <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/kathmandu-s-new-motorbike-museum">motorbike</a>, he was a commanding presence. Always flanked by armed outriders, impressive scars marked his forearms and a pistol hung from the cord around his neck. A charismatic guerrilla leader, Wangdu was celebrated by his followers for his tough commitment and respected for his measured pragmatism. He seemed so young to have shouldered such a responsibility of command, leading hundreds of hardened <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/50-years-after-the%20raid-into-Tibet,1012#google_vignette">Khampa combatants </a>through what had been a particularly <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/heavy-snowfall-over-nepal-himalaya">brutal winter in Mustang</a>, the last bastion to hold out against the Chinese invasion of their Tibetan homeland.&nbsp; The freedom fighters of Tibet, known as the Chushi-Gangdruk, had emerged to resist the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism">Chinese takeover</a> of Tibet during the 1950s. Estimated to be 80,000-strong at the time of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-or-who-after-the-dalai-lama">the Dalai Lama</a>’s final escape to India in 1959, the sheer number of Chinese deployed into Tibet eventually forced the Chushi-Gangdruk to retreat to Mustang, From this high Himalayan stronghold, they continued cross-border raids on the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) throughout the 1960s.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025052403054_8a4a935ba25ae79dc3a63bb5c14626927020e5ec098093c45ccb9a5982e009fd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="676" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Guerrillas known as the Chushi-Gangdruk emerged to resist the Chinese annexation of Tibet during the 1950s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>  Their Kathmandu base was a small discreet lodge in a back lane near Rani Pokhari. Sipping sweet tea from a blue mug with a chipped lid, I sat bemused in a corner of the Mustang Hotel room whilst Wangdu and his cohorts received a battered brown suitcase from their CIA connection, a tousle-haired American in a leather jacket. Heaved onto the dingy bedspread that covered the thin mattress, it was clicked open to reveal piles of neatly stacked dollar bills.&nbsp; I cannot think why Wangdu allowed me to witness this handover but I was clearly no threat, a newly arrived world traveller with no understanding of the stakes nor any Nepali or <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/tibetan-music-in-nepals-sacred-valley">Tibetan language</a>. Despite armed guards in the corridor,Wangdu radiated confidence and bravado, and there was a practiced familiarity to the tense transaction. This deadly dance for many years had been funded by the Americans, tolerated by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-kingdom-within-a-republic">Mustang’s residents</a>, and permitted by King Mahendra and the Nepali authorities who it suited to turn a blind eye.&nbsp; But Mahendra died in 1972, and times were changing. Richard Nixon’s ping-pong diplomacy thawed the cold war and signalled a fresh entente with China. Nepal’s yet-to-be-crowned <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/if-birendra-was-alive-nepal-could-still-be-a-monarchy">King Birendra </a>was under pressure to curb the irritating incursions against the PLA launched from the Nepali territory of Mustang. Keen to appease his northern neighbour, on several occasions the King summoned Wangdu for peace talks but, despite increasingly overwhelming odds, Wangdu refused to surrender.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2025052403054_a8efd5cfb92cd997bd7cb74296a936fef46e2f7428f9cd642b03f1ac4ea11ecb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1055" height="885" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>General Wangdu flanked by two Tibetan resistance fighters in Mustang in the 1970s. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2025052403054_75969125a745847a2ef82b6fe8b9106c0b21a116d85b8efdf5d2ee89a347bb31" data-rendition-name="original" width="1044" height="792" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>King Birendra with General Wangdu (right in dark glasses) taken in 1974 possibly in Mustang after one of their few attempts at negotiation. Photo courtesy: RAJRNDRA KUNWAR</figcaption> </figure>  While I naively rode pillion around Kathmandu in the spring sunshine, Wangdu was in the midst of what turned out to be his final round of negotiations with the Nepal government. Refusing to cease hostilities with the Chinese, Wangdu must have suspected the cost of his decision, making his cheerful smile in the photograph all the more poignant and brave. It was only much later that I appreciated the significance of the moment. Wangdu had been sent to replace the first resistance leader in Mustang, Baba Gen Yeshe, a much derided corrupt character who stole money meant for his troops and exploited fleeing refugees by seizing their treasures. Baba Gen Yeshe never forgave Wangdu,and sought revenge in May 1974 by betraying him and his commanders to the Nepal authorities. Renewed Chinese incursions from the north, active PLA collusion with the Nepali forces under the new King, and treachery from within the Chushi-Gangdrukranks combined to seal their fate.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2025052403054_e0987a7c90d76431b0d7d5e6115ebfe3dbda7ab939e5941e079c18d722e884c0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1400" height="769" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>British television journalists George Patterson and Adrian Cowell embedded themselves with Khampa guerrillas and accompanied them from Tsum Valley on a cross border raid on a Chinese Army convoy in 1964. Photo: ESSAYS ON NEPAL / SAM COWAN</figcaption> </figure>  Mikel Dunham, renowned author of Buddha’s Warriors, writes: ‘It is possible that Wangdu was waiting for some cue from the Dalai Lama’s government-in-exile in Dharamsala, India. It is equally possible – during that last, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/the-human-cost-of-nepal-s-yarsa-gold-rush?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR31-Cqw8oyIwMPzf_35e4Skr0ululJvLf3_vDkzHn-AYG2h8uPw2rqqErg_aem_tGVn5coY1-jA7fze_xqhew">desolate winter </a>– that he made the decision to go out in glory rather than admit defeat. Over the last fifteen years, Wangdu had experienced Tibet’s organized resistance being squeezed and shoved around by every conceivable outside force.&nbsp; First they had been pushed out of their own country by the PLA; then they had been refused sanction while on <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/borderlines/nepal-india-trans-boundary-bonds?fbclid=IwAR0PpJ5zUEbwdug3g_U3ar6FUugngRY0S8Tl2v_7wqzrsHmXWcXsKjvL4t4">Indian soil</a>; then they were abandoned by the Americans because, apparently, Nixon wanted to make friends with Wangdu’s mortal enemies, the communists; then they had been betrayed by the vampiric Baba Gen Yeshe – a Tibetan and, even worse, a fellow Khampa; and now, finally Wangdu’s army was being evicted by the Nepalis. One thing was certain: Wangdu was a warrior. To imagine Wangdu simply giving up and settling down in the pacific squalor of a <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/elderly-left-in-bhutan-refugee-camp">refugee camp </a>was unthinkable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49.jpg" data-media-id="editor_20" data-image-id="2025052403054_8fc1ffef4ae751628b90ae781b66e11e51e4fdde2787207c9042efbee345ce49" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="746" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>The much derided Baba Gen Yeshe, the first Tibetan resistance leader in Mustang, who betrayed Wangdu for personal gain. Photo courtesy: MIKEL DUNHAM</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_21" data-image-id="2025052403054_b1d833cdb00d3ac4416b844d8730475cd88c238caaaf8da69889a584eea229a3" data-rendition-name="original" width="500" height="656" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> <figcaption>Aditya SJB Rana of the Royal Nepal Army whose team ambushed Wangdu and his cohorts at the top of Tinker Pass in Darchula, West Nepal. Photo courtesy: GAUTAM SJB RANA</figcaption> </figure>  By August 1974 the game was up. Wangdu and six of his exhausted party were killed on their horses by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=7270">the Royal Nepal Army</a> on the brink of escape. The officer in charge, Aditya SJB Rana, cleverly predicted their route into India after they failed to silence a police radio in Yari. A carefully laid ambush trapped them near the summit of the Tinker Pass in Darchula,at 5,000 meters the highest military operation of its time. Wangdu’s body was helicoptered to Kathmandu, and a big show made of the royal Nepal victory.&nbsp; The Tibetan armed insurgency against China had reached its end.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_23" data-image-id="20250524030520_3ff9c6fc85a65bc9a2c3afe9736d9f5f9413de752e790a5d9dca0981ea94f9b4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The last days of the Khampa NT"> </figure>

The Last Days of the Khampa

The newly-formed Himalayan Art Council is set to launch Nepal’s National Art Protection Platform that seeks to preserve <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/the-history-of-heritage">Nepal’s unique cultural heritage </a>using<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/artificial-censorship"> AI-powered tools</a>. The Council seeks to safeguard <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepali-art-going-places">Nepali art works</a> from neglect, theft and counterfeiting as well as preserve existing artwork and celebrate living masters by giving them a cultural space to continue the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/sacred-survival">sacred art traditions</a>. "We are introducing a new digital platform designed to preserve, verify and elevate <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-new-generation-of-alternative-artists">Nepal’s art for generations to come,</a>” says a statement from the Council, adding that the digital platform will use AI told for authentication and blockchain to keep track of works of art. Artists can now be protected by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/ayo-ai?fbclid=IwAR1uwmTVq4gUB70ljfRezjzukD9ArWXPuMnUikopeQ8PoiZMjicToPSwhKE&amp;=1">AI tools</a> that detect forgeries, identify their work even when unsigned, and ensure they receive proper recognition and credit. The archives will be searchable with translated inscription and interactive guides. Says curator Meena Lama: “AI and blockchains are tools that give us the power to detect fakes and identify unsigned paintings and track every piece. With these tools we can restore trust, secure authorship and give artists the dignity they deserve.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250514170544_2ab58f6313c0458f75114a692b0016bd9efb3b59d5f8f07f0da72e1e37b82f53" data-rendition-name="original" width="1300" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum."> <figcaption>Artwork at the Traditional Art Exhibition at Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  The Council is also holding an exhibition of Nepali cultural masterpieces with 50 historical <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Buzz-the-art,671">thangka and paubha </a>by past masters and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/between-the-sacred-and-everyday">contemporary works by current artists</a>. This curated collection is a living tribute to <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/when-yaks-go-so-does-culture">Himalayan culture</a> with economic depictions of deities, mandala and sacred narratives. The exhibition at <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/a-portal-into-patan-s-past-and-present">Patan Museum</a> also provides an opportunity to meet painters and custodians of art and culture. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/golden-deities">Golden deities</a>, Sewa Bhattarai ‘The exhibition is only the first step in a long journey to ensure that Nepali art is no just seen but fully understood, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Narratives-of-Faith-and-Memory-Remembering-the-Lost-Sculptures-of-Kathmandu-exhibition,987">protected and remembered</a>,’ the Council says. Artist Kailash K Shrestha of Artudio has spent decades promoting thankha and paubha traditions because of their beauty and devotional meaning. But he also says artists are underpaid, exploited and ignored. He adds, “AI and blockchain are not just buzzwords, they are powerful tools that can protect Nepal’s artists from fraud, verify authenticity and build a permanent record of provenance.” Traditional Art Exhibition Till 17 May Patan Museum

Digital protection for Nepal’s art

<a href="https://www.instagram.com/prabalgurung/" target="_blank">Prabal Gurung</a> left Nepal for New York in 1999 to escape years of bullying, sexism and homophobia, and to pursue his dream of becoming a fashion designer. He <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqN0VaoAI5w" target="_blank">realised his dream</a>, but did not escape discrimination and racism in the new world. Propelled by passion for fashion, Gurung overcame everything America threw at him. He has attained <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/prabal-gurung-recalls-his-first-met-gala-when-zoe-saldana-was-at-his-side?srsltid=AfmBOooy-H0oGgxMit864FnW_Pmw8mUnV8rYrh-co-f6OyYK6m2ip5hP" target="_blank">fame and recognition</a> for his haute couture dress designs while remaining true to his Nepali roots, and is even more resolute in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dSmNauyzACk" target="_blank">fighting prejudice</a> in all its forms. Prabal Gurung’s newly-released memoir <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Audible-Walk-Like-Girl-Memoir/dp/B0DG11HCDQ?fbclid=IwY2xjawKZfpxleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHuZcIJO2OXyXcRm1oq1iG6wzeoF7VJFrQ7GXOFI0YxuZZ4id_CNvSZSZZIna_aem_pG_mOKG73RTnYvN8JaC4fA">Walk Like a Girl</a> is a saga of harrowing abuse in boarding schools in Nepal and India, only finding himself facing a different kind of bullying in the US. He prevails over it all to be where he is today: an award-winning American fashion designer with his own label. Walk Like a Girl was launched last week in New York at a time when everything Gurung fought for — tolerance, inclusion and diversity — are in retreat in his adopted country because of a president who has espoused a culture of bullying. The book is a searing, raw exposé of how cruel and abusive people can be even at a young age in school. On the other hand, it also shows that there are generous, compassionate and open-minded souls out there. In his book, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4le_uWX7YE">Prabal Gurung</a> calls out those who tormented and tried to hold him back (some of their names have been altered). The moral of his story is: resist, never stop believing in yourself, do not let others define you, never lose sight of your dream, and help those who have been kept out. “Walk like a girl” was a slur used by bullies back in school in Nepal and India for Gurung’s effeminate ways. He fought back then, and he is still resisting by turning those words into something to be proud of.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20250519170544_4ffc9c3f565dd2cfa754d10b224816897b82bb31ebaee91b6d79d469fc96f14e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1253" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung NT"> <figcaption>Prabal Gurung at home in Kathmandu in the 1990s.</figcaption> </figure>  “Living through it all was one thing, but writing about it is one of the hardest things I have done in my life,” admitted Gurung during the launch. “I broke down constantly during the six-year writing process.” He continues: “I did not want this to be a victim’s book. I did not want to burden my readers with my emotions. I wanted my struggle to be an inspiration for others facing what I faced. I am grateful to those who bullied me in school, they made me a stronger person ready to face the world.” Indeed, this book is a departure from his earlier one titled simply, Prabal Gurung (Abrams, 2019), which was a lush pictorial autobiography of his career in fashion. Walk Like a Girl is not a typical fashion book, it is an intimate tale of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16997">Gurung’s travails and triumphs</a>, and how he willed himself to succeed. Prabal pays a lavish tribute to his mother Durga Rana. We find out she is a descendant of the first wife of the eldest son of Jang Bahadur Rana who was banished to Palpa in the late 19th century. Prabal’s father served in the Singapore Police and that is where he was born before the family returned to Nepal when he was four. Gurung relates with brutal honesty about the violence his mother endured from his father. Durga raises three children as a single mother in Nepal, and Prabal credits her for his fierce determination to resist patriarchy and injustice, which in time manifests itself in his hyper-feminine and subversive dress designs. Writing the book has been a cathartic experience for Gurung, who says he is now relieved of the burdens of his past. It no longer haunts him, and he does not have to prove anything to anyone anymore. Walk Like a Girl has life lessons not just for the <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DJmOcSgxdWz/" target="_blank">fashion industry</a>, but for every other profession. How can my job serve a greater cause? Gurung tells us his work is <a href="https://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/why-designer-prabal-gurung-doesnt-want-just-stick-fashion" target="_blank">bigger than just making clothes</a>, it is about making the world a better place because it could do with a lot of improvement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20250519170544_d75296ad8bfdc00d88935f40d23543c6fea3d4d6a10e61a99d6cfc6127f2ee5b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1516" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung"> </figure>  This story of chasing the American dream may sound familiar to many immigrants: knocking on doors for jobs, rejections, trying to survive from day to day on expensive rent, and dealing with subtle racism in white America. Gurung finds racism is rife, and he is often mockingly called ‘gaysian’. He writes: ‘There was a strong hypocrisy — this idea of independence felt like a marketting ruse … and for all the talk of feminism in America, these high society women were trapped by the patriarchy just like in Nepal and India.’ After a trek to the Khumbu region in 2013, Gurung is inspired to use the colours, palette and textures of Nepal for his collection exhibited on Manhattan’s 8th Avenue. A major buyer tells him bluntly: “Stick to making pretty dresses … if I need to see a collection like this, I could buy a copy of National Geographic.” The New York Times was equally dismissive: ‘The designer tries to draw connections between blistered techo-fabric used to construct it and the topography of his homeland, Nepal. But, at the moment, he has lost his map.’ One potential investor tells Gurung he cannot design for Americana because “you do not look American”. Gurung wants to use expletives, but restrains himself. After a fundraiser in New York for the Nepal earthquake in 2015, some belittled his effort, saying: “Here comes the saviour."&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/prabal-gurung-by-prabal-gurung">Prabal Gurung by Prabal Gurung</a>, Kunda Dixit The Gurkha DNA must be dominant in Prabal Gurung’s genes because he does not take such mistreatment lying down. When asked by a fashion publicist why he was designing clothes for fat people, he snaps back: “Because of people like you.” He joins the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements, launches the Shikshya Foundation charity in Nepal, and has powerful allies among celebrities who wear clothes he designed: Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Sara Jessica Parker, Kamala Harris, Deepika Padukone … it is a long list.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe.png" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250519150556_48a5f4211991a23fa85b64bbd5377575ca7081d97309d7542035591dda5180fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1114" height="1534" loading="lazy" alt="Being Prabal Gurung by design"> <figcaption>Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wearing Atelier Prabal Gurung’s design for Met Gala 2025 in which the theme was ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’. </figcaption> </figure>  “I don’t dress women to look beautiful, they already are,” Gurung says. “I try to bring out their innate strength and grace.” <a href="https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17908766880140171/" target="_blank">Admirers</a> tell Gurung he makes it all look so easy, but he used to put up a strong facade to not show his own vulnerabilities in public. “I was closed because of my childhood experiences,” he says. “I was always on guard to defend myself because I never knew where the next punch would come from.” But in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPVepzPA210" target="_blank">Walk Like a Girl,</a> Gurung comes to terms with his vulnerability, and bares his soul. It has not been easy, it took sustained will power and support from his mother, sister Kumudini and a circle of close friends. “I made unbelonging my power,” he says. “Nepal is where I still have my heart and soul. Nepal grounds you. It is where people go to find themselves. But I escaped.” Recently appointed vice-chair of the <a href="https://cfda.com/about-cfda" target="_blank">Council of American Fashion Designers</a>, Gurung says: “I can’t believe I am here, it feels like it is happening to someone else. Writing this book, the healing has finally begun.” <h2>‘Everything is better in color’</h2> The Met Gala was two weeks later, and my table was an example of everything I’d been fighting for all these years as my guests represented everything I believed in: dynamic, powerful, influential women who were unapologetically original and unabashedly graceful. I was grateful to Anna for inviting me to host and dress a table that reflected my ethos—and for her guidance in doing so. I was also aware of the privilege as one of the first-­ever Asian fashion designers—not just from Nepal, but from the entire continent— to get the opportunity to do so. That fact was not lost on me. I reached out beyond the expected Hollywood celebrities and well-­known socialites to curate a table of exceptional women who inspired me. I invited Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt for their first-­ever Met Galas, as well as Michelle Yeoh, Mindy Kaling, Camila Cabello, Ashley Park, Denée Benton, KiKi Layne, Quannah Chasinghorse, and Grace Elizabeth. Together we checked many boxes: Asian, Black, Latinx, and Indigenous, each woman undeniably chic and powerful, a dazzling array of skin tones and experiences that proved my decades‑in‑the-­making hypothesis: everything is better in color. Excerpt from Walk Like a Girl Viking © 2025 by Prabal Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="20250519170520_6b91d560e9f072c37d16876901058c073a51ffa05e7ad1b9461d19e1c9c28215" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20250519170520_345240c21be400e2ce2ec629b52bd82bb53890e5bd86fe95b48340d84b5f1748" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Prabal Gurung book details NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

Being Prabal Gurung by design

Starting 17 September Turkish Airlines will fly daily to Seville, one of Spain’s major tourist draws. This is Turkish’s sixth destination in Spain after Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga, and Bilbao. Seville is in the Andalusia region on Spain’s south coast with a rich Moor history. There are approximately 30,000 Nepalis living in Spain.&nbsp;

2015-nepal-earthquake