<img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91689c7e80680e06f0e8jpeg.jpg" alt=""/>France’s Bonhams has withdrawn five 600-year-old religious objects stolen from Nepal from an ongoing auction after widespread international pressure.The five gilded bronze statues were among 12 wrenched out of a torana at the Mulchok of Patan’s Taleju temple in the 1970s and 1980s. They were going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q%3Dnepal%26main_index_key%3Dlot%26fbclid%3DIwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0%23/ah0_0%3Dlot%26q0%3Dnepal%26c0_0%3DFR%26MR0_display%3Dsearch%26m0%3D0?q%3Dnepal&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE6Csuin3rHc_xmc1_3F647kJ8pdg"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l’Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a> till June at an asking price from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-wants-stolen-antiquities-returned-from-france/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-wants-stolen-antiquities-returned-from-france/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHbwvWlCsrL3w5hcyXRmVSA0qNwtw">Nepali Times</a> had reported on the auction sale on Thursday, and this had been followed by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Nepal office of the Paris-based UNESCO to put pressure on Bonhams and the French government to return the objects. <img width="595" height="306" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91699c7e80680e06f0e9jpeg.jpg" alt="">The anonymous administrator of the group, Lost Arts of Nepal, who first traced the gods told Nepali Times via text, “I am really happy that our gods are returning home, finally all my research is paying off, this has been great teamwork.”In a dramatic turnaround, Bonhams wrote to all officials, reporters, and institutions that had posted about the bronzes that they were being pulled out of the auction. Heritage activists said that if the auction had gone ahead, they would have been bought by anonymous collections and could have vanished forever. <img width="595" height="201" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b916b9c7e80680e06f0eajpeg.jpg" alt="">On hearing the news, American arts crime professor Erin Thompson said, “Halting this sale sets an important precedent: Paris is no longer the place to go if you want to sell stolen heritage. The case shows that Nepali activists and journalists are paying close attention. The black market in stolen Nepali heritage won't be able to operate in the dark.” The whereabouts of the remaining seven statues from the Mulchok frieze is not known, but the cancellation of the auction has raised hopes that they may soon be traced since they cannot be publicly sold.  The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH1drCCwbqC9fl03c_kXIexIpddhA">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHQhQvho-zFlf5H-6WCZVLMvJRTXg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF3yySJPyoBVfHrERybVxRqh0Q6sA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFsTng4-VOHBhly_11FwzmONOQrPQ">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGwnsdz5uB5biY1LNf2TWGzvSxgTQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.  <img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b916c9c7e80680e06f0ebjpeg.jpg" alt="">In Kathmandu, heritage activists including Rabindra Puri got in touch with UNESCO Kathmandu to put pressure on Bonhams since it was time-sensitive. He told Nepali Times, “This reminds me of the cultural repatriation of the one which I was involved in with Christie’s in 2013, the withdrawal was a success due to the teamwork.”This is the latest in a series of repatriations of stolen Nepali objects from collectors and museums abroad. In April, an 800-year old <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGP0AjkP5Kyu4pLWCphItFKSxpqxg">Laxmi-Narayan figure</a> was returned to Nepal by the Dallas Museum of Art, and will soon be restored to its original shrine in Patan’s Patko Tole. After it disappeared it had been spotted at the Sotheby’s auction in 1990 and vanished again.Four other statues have also been repatriated in the past two months from Art Institute of Chicago, including a 13th century carved Apsara and a 14th century Buddha, a 15th century Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects." target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/%23:~:text%3DA%2520museum%2520of%2520copies%26text%3DBhaktapur%2520architect%2520Rabindra%2520Puri,many%2520of%2520its%2520religious%2520objects.&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622902410304000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGiOoC5w5M6jYmnliQrIShMAak7nA">Replicas of the 12 idols</a> stolen from Mulchok, including the five that were being auctioned by Bonhams, had been made and installed on the frieze in 2013 during a restoration of the temple by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT).Another heritage activist, Roshan Mishra of the Taragaon Museum, said he was surprised Bonhams acted so fast to cancel the auction. He said: “This is a great precedent for the future. It sends the message that Nepal’s antiquities cannot be sold anywhere, anymore.”

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Bonhams cancels auction of Nepali antiquities

<figure><img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1f89c7e80680e09d8dajpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The original torona over a door in Mulchok of Patan Darbar Square in early 70s. Photo: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. And after the 12 gilded bronze figures were stolen from the frieze in 1984. Photo: ELFRIEDE MOELLER.</figcaption></figure>Even though smuggled Nepali religious objects are starting to be returned to the country from museums and collectors in the West, gilded figures stolen from a temple in Patan 40 years ago are going up for auction in Paris this week.The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF7mJbqkuTE9UN6m-7_0LYaiYQ8XQ">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEz4FY3QxYWX-ajjca-us3O2ZFiVg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPHer28HHdclqxzcTf223rrLInSA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-qYDQhec_Y8GefnPJ4YemWm0ugA">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzMdQX7qDVXKuuW0LieGbwkItrrQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) that were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.The objects which were individually wrenched out of the torana in the 1970s and 1980s are now going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l'Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a>. The asking price is from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.The original gilded bronzes from the torana were first recorded in the early 1970s by Indian art historian BN Banerjee in his book, Architecture of Nepal for the Archaeological Survey of India. Art historian Mary Slusser had also documented pictures of the original statues before they were stolen one by one.  The thefts were documented in German scholar Jurgen Schick’s book, Gods are Leaving the Country: Art Theft from Nepal, in which he writes, ‘One of the most odious cases of art theft in Nepal was the plundering of the torona of the Taleju Bhavani temple in the royal palace of Patan.’ The auction was first spotted  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal">Lost Arts of Nepal </a>who tracked the ongoing auction at Bonhams, Paris  on its Facebook page on Thursday.  <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1fb9c7e80680e09d8dbjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Altogether 12 precious bronzes of the goddess Durga and her retinue dating to the 16th century were stolen from this site alone, and the torana was stripped bare. Later these bronzes were put up for sale by an auction house in Stuttgart in Germany.  “Of 12 statues that were torn out of the torana, thankfully five have now surfaced at the auction in Paris, so we now know where they are. I hope in the near future we will find the other seven as well, and they will be returned to Nepal,” says Rohit Ranjitkar of Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) who is involved in the restoration of temples and monuments in Patan.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects.">Replicating Nepal's stolen gods</a>, Alisha SijapatiOn 15 April, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/">Nepal welcomed back an 800-year-old Laxmi-Narayan figure from the US</a>, which was stolen nearly 40 years ago from Patan’s Patko Tole. The statue was first located in 1990 at a Sotheby’s auction and was later spotted at the Dallas Museum of Art. Since then, four other statues have been returned to Nepal from collectors and museums in the United States: a 13th century carved temple eave depicting an Apsara, a 14th-century gold seated Buddha in Bhumisparsa Mudra, a 15th century seated Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga from Art Institute of Chicago. <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/emilinesmith/">Emiline Smith</a>, lecturer of Criminology at the University of Glasgow says, "Many countries around the world have been deprived of their rich cultural heritage for centuries through the exploitative and colonial looting and trafficking of cultural objects. Those countries have requested their cultural heritage back for decades, and now it finally seems like the 'repatriation debate' is gaining momentum.""While museums have attempted to work with claimants to return heritage as part of their decolonisation efforts, much more work needs to be done in this area - and not only by museums, but also by private collectors, auction houses and other stakeholders. Much like museums, auction houses including Bonhams should hold the objects they trade to the highest level of scrutiny," Smith says. <figure><img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf1fd9c7e80680e09d8dcjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2010, a bronze Garuda water spout, the centrepiece of the Sundari Chok in Patan Darbar Square, was also stolen. However, it was retrieved by police a year later in Kathmandu before it could be smuggled out of the country.The exquisitely carved original figure is now on display at the National Museum in Kathmandu, while the Sundari Chok has a replica bronze created by artisans at the KVPT. In 2013, the Department of Archaeology had also approached the KVPT team to make replicas of the 12 figures from the Mulchok of Taleju Temple torana. “The torana had been stripped bare, and we had to refer to the original photographs to make replicas when we restored the Mulchok,” Ranjitkar told Nepali Times. There is now moral and diplomatic pressure being brought to bear on Bonhams to stop the auction. Roshan Mishra, director of Taragaon Museum in Kathmandu has reached out to the auction house in Paris with evidence of the origin of the statues, and that the stolen items should be returned to Nepal.“This is groundbreaking news for us that five of the 12 stolen antiquities have been located, we have to bring them back like the other statues from American museums,” says Mishra.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/us-museum-returns-stolen-nepal-god/">US museum returns stolen Nepal god</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2009c7e80680e09d8ddjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2039c7e80680e09d8dejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2059c7e80680e09d8dfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf2079c7e80680e09d8e0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf20a9c7e80680e09d8e1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepal Embassy in France have already started the process to halt the auction immediately. Sanjay Adhikari, a heritage activist and lawyer says, “Nepal’s religious objects were being actively worshipped, they are not decorative art to be auctioned or kept in museums. They are not just metal or stone objects but our gods and goddesses we have been worshiping for generations and need to revere for generations to come.” Adhikari has already filed an application at the Department of Archaeology and UNESCO Kathmandu office for the return of the Mulchok figures. He says since France has always been a pioneer advocate for heritage conservation and where the UNESCO headquarters is located, its government should realise that its global reputation is at stake. He says, “This is a moral as well as a legal obligation of the government of France and  I hope there will be positive intervention from it and from UNESCO to bring our gods home.” Suresh Lakhe of Patan Museum says, “I knew that they were stolen in the 1970s, and just like the Laxmi-Narayan statue that was returned from the US will be restored to its original shrine in Patkotole these figures also belong in Mulchok. These are our gods."<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-gods-return-from-exile/">Nepal's gods return from exile</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="1662" height="968" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131140/636cf20d9c7e80680e09d8e2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even while effort is on to suspend the Bonhams auction, there are two other stolen religious objects from Patan that are in a warehouse of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in France (a 12th-century Vishnu with Laxmi and Garuda, which was stolen from Chyasal in Patan in late 1970s and another 12th-century statue of Uma-Mahesvar stolen on the night of 23 May, 1984 from Nasmanatol in Bhaktapur) which also need to be returned.  <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2109c7e80680e09d8e3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221110131144/636cf2139c7e80680e09d8e4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Art historian Lain Singh Bangdel had documented these two stolen figures in his book Stolen Images of Nepal. Bangdel's late daughter Dina was working with the curator at the Guimet to get the statues back to Nepal before she died in 2017. American art crime professor Erin Thompson says, “Museums have started to wake up to the reality that stolen Nepali art needs to go back to Nepal. But dealers, auction houses, and many collectors are still ignoring the continuing crime of depriving Nepal of its heritage. The only way to stop the market in stolen cultural heritage is to stop the demand. No one should be buying cultural artifacts from Nepal because ever example of ancient or sacred artifacts from Nepal whether in a museum or on the market, was stolen.”

Nepal wants stolen antiquities returned from France

<figure><img width="4916" height="1673" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91189c7e80680e06f0cbjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>The original torona over a door in Mulchok of Patan Darbar Square in early 70s. Photo: ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA. And after the 12 gilded bronze figures were stolen from the frieze in 1984. Photo: ELFRIEDE MOELLER.</figcaption></figure>Even though smuggled Nepali religious objects are starting to be returned to the country from museums and collectors in the West, gilded figures stolen from a temple in Patan 40 years ago are going up for auction in Paris this week.The five gilded copper-bronze images of <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/8/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF7mJbqkuTE9UN6m-7_0LYaiYQ8XQ">Nrityanath</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/10/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEz4FY3QxYWX-ajjca-us3O2ZFiVg">Mahalaxmi</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/11/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGPHer28HHdclqxzcTf223rrLInSA">Chamunda</a>, <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/12/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH-qYDQhec_Y8GefnPJ4YemWm0ugA">Shiva Gana (Bhairab)</a>, and <a href="https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/27185/lot/9/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1622807155775000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGzMdQX7qDVXKuuW0LieGbwkItrrQ">Panchmukhi Hanuman (Hanu Bhairab</a>) that were among 12 on a 16th century frieze at the south door of the Mulchok of the Taleju Bhavani Temple in Patan.The objects which were individually wrenched out of the torana in the 1970s and 1980s are now going under the gavel at the<a href="https://www.bonhams.com/search/?q=nepal&amp;main_index_key=lot&amp;fbclid=IwAR08FrLJGybL4CN9zmFKI1jHZhMFs1DHIegVeWPfDBRRsaJOy0u0NbO66H0#/ah0_0=lot&amp;q0=nepal&amp;c0_0=FR&amp;MR0_display=search&amp;m0=0?q=nepal"> Art Bouddhiste et Hindou de l'Himalaya in Bonhams, Paris from 1-10 June through Himalayan Art Online</a>. The asking price is from 3,000 to 5,000 euros.The original gilded bronzes from the torana were first recorded in the early 1970s by Indian art historian BN Banerjee in his book, Architecture of Nepal for the Archaeological Survey of India. Art historian Mary Slusser had also documented pictures of the original statues before they were stolen one by one.  The thefts were documented in German scholar Jurgen Schick’s book, Gods are Leaving the Country: Art Theft from Nepal, in which he writes, ‘One of the most odious cases of art theft in Nepal was the plundering of the torona of the Taleju Bhavani temple in the royal palace of Patan.’ The auction was first spotted  by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lostartsofnepal">Lost Arts of Nepal </a>who tracked the ongoing auction at Bonhams, Paris  on its Facebook page on Thursday.  <figure><img width="1080" height="810" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b911b9c7e80680e06f0ccjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Altogether 12 precious bronzes of the goddess Durga and her retinue dating to the 16th century were stolen from this site alone, and the torana was stripped bare. Later these bronzes were put up for sale by an auction house in Stuttgart in Germany.  “Of 12 statues that were torn out of the torana, thankfully five have now surfaced at the auction in Paris, so we now know where they are. I hope in the near future we will find the other seven as well, and they will be returned to Nepal,” says Rohit Ranjitkar of Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) who is involved in the restoration of temples and monuments in Patan.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/replicating-nepals-stolen-gods/#:~:text=A%20museum%20of%20copies&amp;text=Bhaktapur%20architect%20Rabindra%20Puri,many%20of%20its%20religious%20objects.">Replicating Nepal's stolen gods</a>, Alisha SijapatiOn 15 April, <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-homecoming-of-nepals-gods/">Nepal welcomed back an 800-year-old Laxmi-Narayan figure from the US</a>, which was stolen nearly 40 years ago from Patan’s Patko Tole. The statue was first located in 1990 at a Sotheby’s auction and was later spotted at the Dallas Museum of Art. Since then, four other statues have been returned to Nepal from collectors and museums in the United States: a 13th century carved temple eave depicting an Apsara, a 14th-century gold seated Buddha in Bhumisparsa Mudra, a 15th century seated Ganesh, and a 13th-century Chaturmukhi Shivalinga from Art Institute of Chicago. <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/emilinesmith/">Emiline Smith</a>, lecturer of Criminology at the University of Glasgow says, "Many countries around the world have been deprived of their rich cultural heritage for centuries through the exploitative and colonial looting and trafficking of cultural objects. Those countries have requested their cultural heritage back for decades, and now it finally seems like the 'repatriation debate' is gaining momentum.""While museums have attempted to work with claimants to return heritage as part of their decolonisation efforts, much more work needs to be done in this area - and not only by museums, but also by private collectors, auction houses and other stakeholders. Much like museums, auction houses including Bonhams should hold the objects they trade to the highest level of scrutiny," Smith says. <figure><img width="2048" height="1722" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b911e9c7e80680e06f0cdjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In 2010, a bronze Garuda water spout, the centrepiece of the Sundari Chok in Patan Darbar Square, was also stolen. However, it was retrieved by police a year later in Kathmandu before it could be smuggled out of the country.The exquisitely carved original figure is now on display at the National Museum in Kathmandu, while the Sundari Chok has a replica bronze created by artisans at the KVPT. In 2013, the Department of Archaeology had also approached the KVPT team to make replicas of the 12 figures from the Mulchok of Taleju Temple torana. “The torana had been stripped bare, and we had to refer to the original photographs to make replicas when we restored the Mulchok,” Ranjitkar told Nepali Times. There is now moral and diplomatic pressure being brought to bear on Bonhams to stop the auction. Roshan Mishra, director of Taragaon Museum in Kathmandu has reached out to the auction house in Paris with evidence of the origin of the statues, and that the stolen items should be returned to Nepal.“This is groundbreaking news for us that five of the 12 stolen antiquities have been located, we have to bring them back like the other statues from American museums,” says Mishra.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/us-museum-returns-stolen-nepal-god/">US museum returns stolen Nepal god</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91229c7e80680e06f0cejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91249c7e80680e06f0cfjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91279c7e80680e06f0d0jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="854" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91299c7e80680e06f0d1jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="974" height="1299" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b912c9c7e80680e06f0d2jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The Department of Archaeology in Kathmandu, the Ministry of Culture, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepal Embassy in France have already started the process to halt the auction immediately. Sanjay Adhikari, a heritage activist and lawyer says, “Nepal’s religious objects were being actively worshipped, they are not decorative art to be auctioned or kept in museums. They are not just metal or stone objects but our gods and goddesses we have been worshiping for generations and need to revere for generations to come.” Adhikari has already filed an application at the Department of Archaeology and UNESCO Kathmandu office for the return of the Mulchok figures. He says since France has always been a pioneer advocate for heritage conservation and where the UNESCO headquarters is located, its government should realise that its global reputation is at stake. He says, “This is a moral as well as a legal obligation of the government of France and  I hope there will be positive intervention from it and from UNESCO to bring our gods home.” Suresh Lakhe of Patan Museum says, “I knew that they were stolen in the 1970s, and just like the Laxmi-Narayan statue that was returned from the US will be restored to its original shrine in Patkotole these figures also belong in Mulchok. These are our gods."<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/nepals-gods-return-from-exile/">Nepal's gods return from exile</a>, Alisha Sijapati <figure><img width="1662" height="968" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b912f9c7e80680e06f0d3jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Even while effort is on to suspend the Bonhams auction, there are two other stolen religious objects from Patan that are in a warehouse of the Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in France (a 12th-century Vishnu with Laxmi and Garuda, which was stolen from Chyasal in Patan in late 1970s and another 12th-century statue of Uma-Mahesvar stolen on the night of 23 May, 1984 from Nasmanatol in Bhaktapur) which also need to be returned.  <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91329c7e80680e06f0d4jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121136/636b91359c7e80680e06f0d5jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Art historian Lain Singh Bangdel had documented these two stolen figures in his book Stolen Images of Nepal. Bangdel's late daughter Dina was working with the curator at the Guimet to get the statues back to Nepal before she died in 2017. American art crime professor Erin Thompson says, “Museums have started to wake up to the reality that stolen Nepali art needs to go back to Nepal. But dealers, auction houses, and many collectors are still ignoring the continuing crime of depriving Nepal of its heritage. The only way to stop the market in stolen cultural heritage is to stop the demand. No one should be buying cultural artifacts from Nepal because ever example of ancient or sacred artifacts from Nepal whether in a museum or on the market, was stolen.”

With Saturday's deadline on Malaysia’s announcement of new criteria for selecting private recruiting agencies for migrant workers having lapsed, Nepal and Bangladesh have rejected the conditions.
The Malaysian move three weeks ago came in the aftermath of deadly GenZ riots in September, when Nepal’s interim government does not have designated heads in the Foreign Ministry and the Labour Ministry.
Interim Prime Minister Sushila Karki instructed the Labour Ministry to examine the implications of the standards and recommend appropriate steps to address them, but it has said it cannot send Nepali workers to Malaysia based on those criteria.
“In line with Nepal’s foreign employment policy and regulations, we are currently unable to accept or implement the proposed criteria,” says Pitambar Ghimire, spokesperson at the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security in Kathmandu.
In response to the government’s request for their opinion on the Malaysian stipulation, the Nepal Association of Foreign Employment Agencies (NAFEA) has also flatly rejected the criteria, saying it could create a harmful syndicate and restrict fair competition, violate Nepal’s Constitution and laws, and increase recruitment fees that workers must pay.
On 25 October, the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sent letters to the governments of Nepal, Bangladesh, Burma, Pakistan and India with 10 criteria meant to ‘rationalise the number of licensed private recruitment agencies permitted to facilitate recruitment and placement of workers to Malaysia’.
The proposed criteria include: at least five years of operating experience, deployment of 3,000 workers in the past three years of operation, experience sending workers to at least three countries, valid licenses and good conduct certificates, five employer testimonials, operating their own training and accommodation centres, and even a requirement for the staffing agency to have a 10,000 sq m office maintained for three years.
“We have communicated our views to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and have proposed discussing various labour related matters with our Malaysian counterparts diplomatically through bilateral dialogue and negotiations including renewal of the Nepal-Malaysia labour agreement,” Pitamber Ghimire said.
NAFEA has urged the government to prevent this measure from moving forward using diplomatic channels, and has held &nbsp;several gatherings and press conferences opposing the proposal since the Malaysian letter was received three weeks ago.
“We have taken commitment letters from members that they will not be engaged in activities related to the syndicate,” said Sujit Shrestha of NAFEA. “And if they break the commitment, they will face consequences including the revocation of their NAFEA membership. These letters also send a strong message to the government that this is irrevocably and collectively rejected by the industry.”
Bangladesh has also not accepted the proposal despite the 15 November deadline to send a list of recruiters that meet the criteria. That in itself would have been an impossible task to complete to begin with even if the government had accepted the proposal.&nbsp;
According to media reports, Bangladesh has sent a letter to the Malaysian government requesting that three of the proposed criteria be relaxed. This includes flexibility regarding the requirements for a 10,000 sq ft office, a dedicated training center, and the condition of having deployed 3,000 workers in the last five years. Despite the official request to Malaysian authorities, the Bangladeshi Government has also been collecting applications from recruiters who meet Malaysia’s proposed criteria, raising confusions about the contradictory stance.&nbsp;
Just like NAFEA, the recruitment association in Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Association of International Recruiting Agencies (BAIRA) has also outright rejected the proposal including in a letter to the Bangladeshi government, calling the criteria ‘unprecedented and exclusionary, unreasonable, discriminatory and syndicate-driven &nbsp;that would effectively disqualify 99% of legitimate agencies from participation’.&nbsp;
Now that the ball is back in Malaysia’s court and the proposal has not gained much support from two of the major origin countries, it will be interesting to see how they respond.

Nepal, Bangladesh reject Malaysian conditions

New and old, businessmen and former diplomats, engineers and academics — they have all been trooping to the Election Commission to register political parties ahead of the Sunday deadline.
Till press time Thursday, five new parties had been registered and 21 new parties were in the process of applying. Behind the scenes, new parties are head-hunting, well-known figures are shopping for parties to join, while older parties are splitting or uniting to form new united parties.
“It is reason for optimism that people are enthused to form new parties,” notes political analyst Indra Adhikari. But, she adds, this does not mean that despite the celebrity status they will win votes and succeed in politics.
The outlier in all this are the Nepali Congress (NC) and the UML, which are still licking the wounds after being swept out of power by the GenZ protests in September. Neither are too keen on elections because of the prospect of losing badly.
Former prime minister K P Oli is the most recalcitrant, and seems to want to scuttle elections so Parliament will be reinstated. After announcing that he was stepping down, the NC’s Sher Bahadur Deuba has had a change of heart in Singapore and is gunning to restore Parliament.
Neither party and their leaders have shown any remorse for the 8 September massacre, or understood the outrage on the streets against their decades-long incompetence and corruption. &nbsp;
Among those registering parties are various GenZ youth groups and family members of those killed during the September protests. Notable among the new parties certified this week was Gatishil Loktantrik Party (गतिलो) backed by Buddha Air founder Birendra Basnet and led by sociologist Dinesh Prasai. Dharan Mayor Harka Sampang’s Shram Sanskriti Party is also registered.
Energy and Infrastructure Minister in the interim government Kulman Ghising has backed the Ujyalo Nepal with former secretary Anup Kumar Upadhyaya as its chair. Ghising has been playing coy about his political ambitions, and is planning to resign from his cabinet post before elections.&nbsp;
Ghising had been talking to Rabi Lamichhane’s RSP about joining, but that negotiation failed. Former RSP lawmaker Sumana Shrestha was supposed to join Ghising, but pulled out following Ghising’s reluctance to resign from government.
Ghising has much public support because he is credited with ending power cuts as head of the Nepal Electricity Authority, but is now getting flak for being unwilling to give up his ministerial portfolios while still wanting to contest elections. &nbsp;
Ujyalo has hit other snags. GenZ activist Tashi Lhazom, who was considered for a Cabinet position last month but was dropped by Prime Minister Sushila Karki, has said she is not in Ujyalo despite being listed as a Central Committee member. Another member has said that he will not be a part of Ujyalo due its “a lack of political culture”.
Even though Nepalis from across backgrounds and professions are eager to participate in the country’s new political landscape, there are doubts about the structure of their parties, ideology and electoral platforms.&nbsp;
Hurriedly set up parties without a shared philosophy have less chance of political influence and longevity. For example, the RSP was formed just months before the 2022 polls to become the fourth-largest party in Parliament, has lost its momentum, and its leader is in jail.
“Parties like the RSP, which did some positive work after being elected, have still not been able to establish a clear ideological roadmap or organisational structure,” Adhikari says. &nbsp;“It is easy to form parties, the real work goes into building an institution, which is the hard part”
Meanwhile, despite expectations of increased and inclusive youth participation not just at the polling booths but also on the ballot, only a few GenZ-led parties are applying at the Election Commission. They include the Rastriya Pariwartan Party and the Rastriya GenZ Party Nepal. Most other parties are led by men in their 40s, even in their 70s.&nbsp;
Analysts note that despite hopes of young blood in politics, Nepalis are still inclined to trust those with experience, as evidenced by GenZ’s choice of Sushila Karki to succeed KP Oli as Prime Minister after the September protests.&nbsp;
“So it will be difficult for young Nepalis without prior political experience to lead parties and it will be even more difficult for them to cultivate enough public trust to get votes,” says Adhikari.&nbsp;
Then there are the old political players, who have been breaking up and making up new alliances. Resham Chaudhary quit his Nagarik Unmukti Party and registered a new one.
Last week, Puspha Kamal Dahal’s Maoist Centre, and Madhav Kumar Nepal’s Unified Socialists merged along with smaller leftist parties to form the Nepali Communist Party (NCP). Disgruntled former UML members like Bhim Rawal have also joined the NCP. On the other hand, Janardan Sharma has fallen out with Dahal and is going his own way.&nbsp;
Even though the NC, UML and NCP show little sign that they have learnt their lesson and will be turning a new leaf, they still have the party organisation and vote banks to fall back on at election time in the runup to 5 March. &nbsp;
Says Adhikari: “At the end of the day, Nepali society remains hyper-partisan. And although the newly-formed parties and their popular candidates may give older leaders a run for their money, established parties will still benefit from their solid vote base.”

Party Time

The very first frame in The Lama’s Son starts with a vision of Shangrila and the quest of a mythical utopia in the Himalaya when the rest of the world is crumbling away. It is also the personal search of filmmaker Kesang Tseten, but what he finds there are adherents of the Bon Po faith clinging to the last remnants of a culture as it erodes away like the sandstone cliffs of Mustang. “It was while editing the documentary that the story became distilled: how does what we see in the high Himalaya relate to the notion of the Shangrila idyll that especially the West ascribed to them,” asked Tseten during a recent trip to Kathmandu from Berne where he now lives. He continued: “Often and perhaps rightly criticised as an orientalist construct, I wondered if there was any basis at all to the Shangrila notion, and I hung the film on that idea.”&nbsp; Tseten takes us to the vast vistas of Mustang and Dolpo, a landscape of his Tibetan ancestors. This is as much an intimate documentation of families on Nepal’s Himalayan rimland torn between remoteness and globalness as it is about Tseten’s own quest for rootedness.&nbsp; We start from Lubra, a 3,000m village in Mustang the 15 households of which follow the Bon faith. Lama Tsultrim is from a 900-year-old lineage of the animist faith and an exponent of the tradition that is slowly being subsumed first by Buddhism and now modernism. For Tseten, the material is familiar, and not at all exotic as it is for non-Nepalis and indeed for many urban Nepalis. Bon, founded in Tibet, predates Buddhism, but over time, the two religions have come to resemble each other.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_ecf8148fbaa17b93c81ddfa3ed244bed266e3ef6af0cd5e6ca7b64c181b97d45.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251113111156_ecf8148fbaa17b93c81ddfa3ed244bed266e3ef6af0cd5e6ca7b64c181b97d45" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  ‘Both believe in karma, rebirth, and that humans can become enlightened. Nature and spirits are predominant in Bon, and rituals are what keep them benign and alight,’ says Tseten, who rarely narrates in his documentaries. “This is not really a personal film as such, but it has a point of view,” Tseten said. “I decided to have a voice-over on this one and cast my presence in the film.”&nbsp; Lubra's Lama Tsultrim is called upon to perform rituals from Kagbeni and other villages, but there is no one to continue the tradition after him, which is passed from father to son. Lama Tsultrim’s son (hence the title of the film) is a sushi chef in New York and has been gone for 20 years. “The Lama is like a setting sun, his son should come back and take over his father’s responsibilities,” says a local youngster chatting with friends. “If he dies tomorrow, where do we go? We can’t just light butter lamps ourselves to the gods.” It is not only the Lama’s son who has left. The village is nearly empty, and more are planning to leave. One of them is Chimi, a teacher who will be joining her fiancé who is an Uber driver in New York. Her brother is already in Hong Kong. In Lo Manthang a local is back home for a three-month vacation after being in New York for 12 years. A shopkeeper was in Japan for several years, and has returned. “Everything has changed, our language, our tsampa, our religion. We used to work and live together, now the children live separately,” says a middle-aged woman. “There are roads now, and vehicles stop right outside our house, but what’s the point? No one stays home.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_47b4c4984fa33e42791b16dba1f078aaa7f9d8bd51ca3bfd5415b436c3a0bf2c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251113111156_47b4c4984fa33e42791b16dba1f078aaa7f9d8bd51ca3bfd5415b436c3a0bf2c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  Like most of Tseten’s films, The Lama’s Son is an honest documentation of a place and people whose lifestyle, culture and heritage cling precariously to the past. In Dri village we come across local women filling their buckets with water. Tseten asks them why the village is so empty: “Where is everyone?” The women reply that they are “here, there and everywhere”. Then it is their turn to ask Tseten about where he lives and what he is doing in their village. Migration is a recurring theme in Tseten’s documentaries from We Corner People, In Search of the Riyal, or Saving Dolma. His previous film Diversity Plaza documented the lives of Nepali and Tibetan emigrants in Jackson Heights in the borough of Queens in New York.&nbsp; Diversity Plaza was shown at DOC NYC in 2023, and The Lama’s Son will be one of only two Asian films shown next week at one of the biggest documentary film festivals in the world.&nbsp; “The Lama’s Son is not loud, not attention grabbing but intimate, so I was surprised they chose a quiet film for a big, flashy event,” Tseten told us. In Lama’s Son, we also see how climate breakdown is impacting Nepal’s trans-Himalayan regions. Lama Tsultrim shows us the aftermath of a recent glacial flood that swept away houses and fields. The debris-covered farms are as hard as cement.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_c82126a3c2dc4577b99beb9bef20aafa16f532a3f41e59caea17c93914c59fff.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251113111156_c82126a3c2dc4577b99beb9bef20aafa16f532a3f41e59caea17c93914c59fff" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  The nearby village of Dhey at 3,900m is a high and dry cold desert. Farmers get one crop in a year, but the springs have gone dry and there is no snow in winter. So they are relocating to New Dhey, closer to the road. We follow Kesang Tseten to Samling in Dolpo, which at 4,200m is another Bon village. Locals are preparing for the Walchu festival in which Lama Sherrab carries out elaborate rituals to appease spirits that can turn malevolent. But unlike Lama Tsultrim in Lubra, Lama Sherrab has a community of lamas to help him, including two sons, one of whom will eventually take on his role. We move on to the adjacent village of Bicher and listen in as locals talk about how despite being dirt poor, they thrive in scarcity and are resilient. “We wear sheepskin, eat stew and yak meat, and drink wine. But we are very poor, we have nothing. Look at how dirty our clothes are. We may be dirty, but we have few illnesses,” says one. But even here in Upper Dolpo, a week’s walk from the nearest road, things are changing. There are mobile phones, readymade clothes and instant noodles.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113111156_d1472165cfa9ffa6edbf72de59167e8cbddcc2bf4a7928f7830e099966259a78.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251113111156_d1472165cfa9ffa6edbf72de59167e8cbddcc2bf4a7928f7830e099966259a78" data-rendition-name="original" width="1920" height="1080" loading="lazy" alt="The periphery cannot hold NT"> </figure>  At the Walchu ritual, Tseten watches men and women with hand-woven blankets and down jackets sing and dance after the main ceremony. He narrates: “Bon is sustained by a way of life that fosters a fine but fragile balance between nature and people, where humans come before gods. This is what lies at the heart of Shangrila if there is such a thing.” The film then takes us half-way around the world to a Bon centre in New York, but (spoiler alert) the eponymous Lama’s son never appears. He did not want to be filmed, but it makes for a more powerful portrayal of the life of emigrants forever trapped between two worlds. “Bon villages may be in danger, but the Bon has spread widely across the world,” narrates Tseten, a director who likes to call his storytelling ethnographic, and avoids coming to an apt conclusion. Lama Sherrab’s words after the Walchu ritual is a perfect segue:&nbsp; “Whether you say om mani padme hum (in Buddhism) or matri mi yu (in Bon) they are the same. When you go up, it’s the same heavenly realm. If you go down, it’s still the lord of death who awaits. There isn’t a separate heaven and hell for Buddhists and Bon, it has to be the same for both.” &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312110_82817ef48840bb6baa1732d5b0b90c90ead2f9bd9eb0c289940fa61d8058de8d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025111312110_82817ef48840bb6baa1732d5b0b90c90ead2f9bd9eb0c289940fa61d8058de8d" data-rendition-name="original" width="7087" height="10004" loading="lazy" alt="The Lama's Son NT"> </figure>  The Lama’s Son by Kesang Tseten, 2025 Shunyata Films To be screened at DOC NYC 16 November at 2:05PM local time, Online: 17-30 November Details <a href="https://www.docnyc.net/film/the-lamas-son/">here</a>.

The periphery cannot hold

The sixth edition of PhotoKTM will mark a decade of visual storytelling and continue its role as a vital platform for photographers and visual artists to explore the politics of photographs and their role in shaping our histories and futures.&nbsp; The month-long festival across Kathmandu Valley features 18 exhibitions, slideshows, workshops, artist talks, panel discussions, portfolio reviews, and film screenings. While Nepal Art Council will be the anchor venue, the festival will go on the road in Mangahiti and Chyasal in Patan, Nigu Pukhu in Madhyapur Thimi, Nandi Keshar Bagaincha in Naxal and Tribhuvan University. The curatorial themes of PhotoKTM 6 Global South Solidarities draws inspiration from the historic 1955 Bandung Conference in Indonesia, which marks its 70th anniversary this year.&nbsp; The festival explores the political and cultural legacy of the Third World Project, exploring the history of global resistance and solidarity, and how they have shaped contemporary processes to reclaim sovereignty of regions battered by centuries of colonialism, exploitation, and violence.&nbsp; The festival spotlights the work and curatorial voices of artists from over 40 artists based in the Global South, from Santiago to Lubumbashi and Quito to Dakar, alongside Nepali photographers and filmmakers. “We hope this year’s coming together will deepen cultural understanding among artists and cultural communities across the Third World, strengthen reciprocal transnational solidarities through the sharing of our histories, stories, struggles and hopes, and open up pathways for more south-south collaboration and exchange across geographies,” says NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati, co-founder and festival director.&nbsp; Also featured are eight Nepali artists from the 2025 photo.circle fellowship cohort, whose works explore questions, challenges, and contradictions surrounding the notions of ‘development’ and ‘progress’ in contemporary Nepal.&nbsp; The festival comes two months after the GenZ protests, at a pivotal moment when Nepal is navigating significant political transitions. Says curator Diwas Raja KC: “From anti-colonial struggles to the Bandung Conference, to the non-alignment movement and revolutionary cultural exchanges, these histories continue to shape how countries like Nepal imagine their place in the world.”&nbsp; PhotoKTM6 is supported by the Shikshya Foundation Nepal, the Embassy of Switzerland in Nepal, as well as independent non-profit organisations FreeMuse and Cultural Workers Solidarity Front. “I think it is particularly relevant that these spaces are created and maintained because it is only if people meet and continue to do this important work, in which they think collectively, they work collectively, and they hold up certain values, that they will be capable of contributing to what I would call a ‘free world’,” says yasmine eid-sabbagh, who is the invited interlocutor to this year’s festival. &nbsp;&nbsp; <h2>Ji ta Newa Bhyaa Mawa (I don’t know Nepal Bhasa)&nbsp;</h2> Jyoti Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121124_0fbeb8abf122867f5d5294c6e4c7ef2a4e3785e2d4083fb663ebe543e9b8396d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251113121124_0fbeb8abf122867f5d5294c6e4c7ef2a4e3785e2d4083fb663ebe543e9b8396d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="667" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: JYOTI SHRESTHA</figcaption> </figure>  Jyoti Shrestha was born to Newar parents in Kathmandu but grew up without learning the mother tongue, Nepal Bhasa. ‘My parents, with the best of intentions, taught us English and Nepali—languages of success and survival in a world that had set ours aside... A Newar without language, I felt alien in the very culture that was meant to be mine,’ writes Shrestha in her testimony. Nepal Bhasa is in UNESCO’s ‘definitely endangered’ list. Shrestha has begun to learn her language with help from her parents, and in doing so, their relationship has shifted for the better. She adds: “No census counts the intimacy of a shared memory, the tenderness of language passed between generations, or the weight of an inherited silence.” <h2>The Land Remembers Our Name&nbsp;</h2> Rejin Purja  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_14b44a9e7a9d27c9ac5e893e59930d049d1be05401a42217c304a7d08c2e47e2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20251113121128_14b44a9e7a9d27c9ac5e893e59930d049d1be05401a42217c304a7d08c2e47e2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: RENJIN PURJA</figcaption> </figure>  The Department of Mines and Geology has confirmed the presence of iron ore in Jhumlawang in East Rukum. Iron mining has not started yet but a Kathmandu-based private company is said to have won the bid at Rs40.3 million. If the project indeed takes off, most of the families will have to be evacuated. “Not only will they lose their houses, land, and forests, but their roots, culture, and autonomy are also at stake. How can this project be considered of national benefit when it forces the very people it should serve to live in fear of their future?,” Rejin Purja writes in his testimony. Economic development exploits the natural resources of native and indigenous communities. Such projects may boost GDP and corporate profits, but they rarely improve the lives of the people whose land is being extracted from. This work reflects the uncertainty felt by the local people about their village’s future. <h2>Fragmented Land and Me</h2> Sujata Khadka  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_f28f960361f822792d8e4442f61deaea71bdf6022b9906509b7e9258939fdbcb.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251113121128_f28f960361f822792d8e4442f61deaea71bdf6022b9906509b7e9258939fdbcb" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: SUJATA KHADKA</figcaption> </figure>  Sujata Khadka’s ancestral home in Godavari’s Jharuwarasi was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, after which her family built a new house on a small plot of land nearby. In the decade since the earthquake, rapid land trade has turned the farmland surrounding her home into a housing development. For the past 10 years, Khadka has been watching natural and man-made events unfold on the plots from her window on the second floor of her house. The land has been witness to playing children, negotiating brokers, bulldozers, and prowling wildlife. But despite relentless hemming and hawing by buyers and sellers over the past decade, no houses have been built on the land. &nbsp;“This misshapen land feels like a stage where a cast of characters performs an ongoing act,” says Khadka. “Perhaps this land and I are spectators to this drama.” <h2>Why doesn’t home feel like home?</h2> Karma Tshering Gurung  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_c568cdf076247f8904b289e9108ed4e7b5187d86694913751123a6b5df663142.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251113121128_c568cdf076247f8904b289e9108ed4e7b5187d86694913751123a6b5df663142" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: KARMA TSHERING GURUNG</figcaption> </figure>  Karma Tshering Gurung was born in Manang to a Manangi family, where he was raised with his siblings. But in recent times, whenever he has visited his family in Manang, he has felt a sense of unease, like the place sees him as an occasional visitor, an outsider who no longer understands the aspirations of his people. As Manang becomes a tourist spot, Gurung’s brother thinks it is a good idea to tear down their ancestral house and build a snooker house in its place. But Gurung thinks the house is their Appa’s legacy, and worth preserving. The brothers’ ideas of home have diverged. &nbsp; &nbsp;“With a camera in hand, I am trying to rediscover my relationship with this place, with my past, navigating ideas of home and belonging tied to Manang,” he says. “Maybe home for me is no longer just a place, but this search for identity, memory and connection.” <h2>Life and Struggle of Garment Workers&nbsp;</h2> Taslima Akhter (Bangladesh)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_9447434bde6d70048768c33dda8001e4e3f8da0718c8fff8f96970c4d69139ef.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251113121128_9447434bde6d70048768c33dda8001e4e3f8da0718c8fff8f96970c4d69139ef" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: TASLIMA AKHTER@Taslima Akhter</figcaption> </figure>  This project focuses on the millions of workers who leave their villages and move into crowded worker barracks in the cities of Bangladesh, in search of a better life. <h2>Between Us, a Thread&nbsp;</h2> Ahmed Alaqra (Ramallah)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_805845728d6e1fd13539d5c0af35f202f72ffbfb8e7dd502cc3c44067e2b574f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20251113121128_805845728d6e1fd13539d5c0af35f202f72ffbfb8e7dd502cc3c44067e2b574f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: RUBA ALFARAOUNA</figcaption> </figure>  A quiet gesture between photographers, image-makers, and those who hold memory like a fragile light. Palestinian, Arab, scattered — yet orbiting the same wound.&nbsp; <h2>Possible and Imaginary Lives&nbsp;</h2> yasmine eid-sabbagh / Rozenn Quéré  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_a30877e2c30764d5d29c0b0457e2722685138e968549dedd8803dee1299bc45c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20251113121128_a30877e2c30764d5d29c0b0457e2722685138e968549dedd8803dee1299bc45c" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo Courtesy: YASMINE EID-SABBAGH AND ROZENN QUÉRÉ(Photo: ) </figcaption> </figure>  An exhibition, based on family photographs and taped interviews, tells the story of four strong and feisty Palestinian-Lebanese sisters, exiled to the four corners of the globe. <h2>Martyrs, Saints &amp; Sellouts&nbsp;</h2> Siona O’Connel (South Africa)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121128_7b84f695bdd27353af1f35ff5f739283d739b4fa7594e4965ca1230d4d60940b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20251113121128_7b84f695bdd27353af1f35ff5f739283d739b4fa7594e4965ca1230d4d60940b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: BENNY GOOL</figcaption> </figure>  Comprised of photographs by Benny Gool, Zubeida Vallie and Adil Bradlow, documenting apartheid South Africa, this exhibition presents a vivid narrative of violence, loss and injuries that continue to reverberate under the rhetoric of the post apartheid landscape. <h2>Humo, Semilla, Raíz</h2> Isadora Romero (Ecuador)  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251113121132_b01b94f340265fd42dcdffd98f39f58d3b1b3385718cb055d2b35e04fb1eda58.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20251113121132_b01b94f340265fd42dcdffd98f39f58d3b1b3385718cb055d2b35e04fb1eda58" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="798" loading="lazy" alt="The politics behind photographs NT"> <figcaption>Photo: ISADORA ROMERO</figcaption> </figure>  An alternate look into environmental issues through the prism of possibility, instead of catastrophic consequence is what this exhibition brings. Romero’s visual research engages with how the loss of ancestral memory and Indigenous knowledge resulting from colonisation, forced displacement, and racism is causing seeds to disappear at an alarming rate. <h2>First week schedule (selected)</h2> Friday, 14 November Bhandarkhal Garden, Patan Museum, 5:30pm -7:30pm Festival Opening + Award of Excellence Saturday, 15 November Yala Maya Kendra, Patan Dhoka 3pm-4pm Demounting Louis Agassiz – Artistic Renegotiation of Archive, Memory &amp; Place. Talk by Sasha Huber (moderated by Diwas Raja Khatri) 4:30pm-6pm Witness or Accomplice: Photography, Human Rights and the Question of Freedom. Talk by Prof. Siona O’ Connell (moderated by NayanTara Gurung Kakshapati) Sunday, 16 November Yala Maya Kendra July, Unfinished. Jaheen Faruque Amin in conversation with Sabnam Lama, 3pm- 4pm When The World is Blind – Images by Palestinians. Ahmed Alaqra in conversation with yasmine eid-sabbagh, 4- 6pm Manga Hiti, 7pm-8pm Slideshow – Who Does The River Belong To? Monday, 17 November Yala Maya Kendra, 3pm - 4pm Memory is an Inaccurate Place: Dialogues Across Time, Territories, and Histories. Isadora Romero in conversation with Tanvi Mishra 4:30pm-6pm Third Camera – a Film Series: Ernest Cole: Lost and Found Dir. Raoul Peck 2024 | 1h 46m | English Tuesday, 18 November Yala Maya Kendra Sustaining Art Ecosystems That Resist and Nurture – Part 1 Paola Farran in conversation with Jessica Lim, 3pm- 4pm Sustaining Art Ecosystems That Resist and Nurture – Part 2 Chelsea Chua in conversation with Tif Ng, 4pm:30-6pm Khapinchhen, Patan A Photographer’s Fifty-Year Journey in Nepal. A Slideshow and Talk with Kevin Bubriski, 7-7:30pm PhotoKTM Bhoé, 7:30pm-9:30pm Rs1,800 (early bird), Rs2,000 (door sale) Wednesday, 19 November Yala Maya Kendra 3pm- 4pm Sustaining Art Ecosystems That Resist and Nurture – Part 3 Andrea Thal in conversation with Diwas Raja Khatri 4:30pm-6pm We must refuse silence! Samir Eskanda, Shahidul Alam, and Tabara Korka Ndiaye in conversation with yasmine eid-sabbagh Thursday, 20 November Nepal Art Council, 4pm- 6pm Walk-thru at NAC with Enuma Rai, Jyoti Shrestha, Karma Tshering Gurung, Manoj Bohara, Manjit Lama, Rejin Purja, Sujata Khadka, Sushila Bishwakarma More details <a href="https://photoktm.com/photoktm6-schedule/">here</a>. PHOTOKTM6 14 November-14 December Kathmandu Valley All events free and open

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