<h2>Empirical climbing</h2> There have been many books and even films made about George Mallory and Andrew Irvine who disappeared below the summit of Mt Everest exactly 100 years ago.&nbsp; But on this centennary of their expedition, The Last Englishmen: Love, War and the End of Empire by the American biographer <a href="https://deborahbaker.net/biography/" target="_blank">Deboarah Baker</a> (<a href="https://asiasociety.org/converts-tale-exile-and-extremism" target="_blank">The Convert: A Tale of Exile and Extremism</a>) puts the 1924 British attempt to climb the world’s highest mountain in political, geopolitical and cultural context. The Last Englishmen reads like historical fiction, but it actually a meticulously researched backgrounder on two main protagonists: a geologist and a surveyor — both siblings of famous British poets of the era. Geologist John Bicknell Auden is older brother of poet Wystan Hugh Auden (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ascent_of_F6" target="_blank">The Ascent of F6</a>), and the map-maker Michael Spender is the brother of anti-Fascist poet Stephen Spender (<a href="https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/i-think-continually/" target="_blank">I Think Continually</a>).&nbsp; The cast of characters in Baker’s book seem to be suffering post-traumatic stress of World War I, and are drawn to the pristine tranquility of the mountains, the Himalaya in particular. Badly bruised by the loss of so many young men, Britain itself needed healing, and the conquest of the world’s highest mountain was seen as a way to redeem some of the empire’s tarnished glory. The fact that Mt Everest had to be accessed through India (because Nepal then was closed off) also meant that the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/1921-rendezvous-mallory-pumori-and-everest" target="_blank">British could use a successful ascent</a> to prove that it was a civilisational force different from other European powers bent solely on extraction and exploitation of their colonies.&nbsp; India was going to be ruled differently, which is probably why Baker used the famous Jawaharlal Nehru quote (“I am the last Englishman to rule India”) for her title of this book. Other characters include other British explorers Eric Shipton and Bill Tilman (‘the terrible twins’ of mountaineering) who between them have at least four high Himalayan passes named after them across Nepal. Then there are the Bengalis in Calcutta, including the poet Sudhin Datta (of <a href="https://www.thestatesman.com/opinion/curtains-on-the-adda-1502905694.html" target="_blank">Parichay Adda</a>) who caught between his Anglophilic disposition and the tug of Indian independence. It is easy to get lost in Baker’s story-telling because she multitasks — weaving so many strands into her tapestry. But at the epicentre of it all is Mt Everest and the British drive to get to the top first (before the Americans and especially the Germans) even amidst India’s independence struggle. Although The Last Englishmen came out in 2018, it is during the centennary of the most celebrated mysteries of mountaineering that it should be read because of Deborah Baker’s effort to give us the state of affairs in the period between the world wars. In one telling sentence, she summarises: ‘… the tortured conceit that Everest, a mountain that wasn’t even in India, was a proxy for England’s global domination.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240525030544_a8b6e203c4a84cb07caabc826b6a600685c40136a8b6ef082a065f3deab1639b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20240525030544_a8b6e203c4a84cb07caabc826b6a600685c40136a8b6ef082a065f3deab1639b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="The Last Englishman NT"> </figure>  <h2>Guiding Everest</h2> <a href="https://adventureconsultants.com/our-guides/guy-cotter" target="_blank">Guy Cotter</a>, a mountaineer and mountain guide whose father was a climbing buddy of Edmund Hillary, has been organising expeditions to the Himalaya for over 20 years.&nbsp; He was at Everest Base Camp during the tragic spring 1996 season when 8 climbers died in a blizzard near the summit. In fact, Cotter was talking on the radio to Rob Hall high on Everest and patching him to his pregnant wife back in New Zealand. The event was depicted in the 1989 film Everest and the 1997 bestseller by Jon Krakauer.&nbsp; Everest Mountain Guide is a guidebook on how mountaineering has changed (or not changed) since the military style assaults that began with the early expeditions 100 years ago. Cotter, now 58, took over the company <a href="https://adventureconsultants.com/" target="_blank">Adventure Consultants</a> after Hall died, and has himself climbed Everest five times. The book is a memoir of Cotter’s mountaineering career, from his first climbs in the New Zealand Alps to the Himalaya. Besides being a rivting story, it also gives us a behind-the-tent peek into the bureacuratic, technical and organisational challenges of leading expeditions to the world’s highest mountains. Cotter ends the book with self-reflection on the impact of large guided expeditions, the draw of the Himalaya that leads to overcrowding, and the media’s obsession with everything to do with the highest mountain in the world.&nbsp; In the meantime, foreign guides now have competition from Nepali-run companies like <a href="https://www.eliteexped.com/" target="_blank">Nims Purja’s Elite Exped</a>, Tashi, Mingma, and Chhang Dawa’s <a href="https://www.sevensummittreks.com/" target="_blank">Seven Summit Treks</a>, <a href="https://14peaksexpedition.com/" target="_blank">14 Peaks Expedition</a> of Kami Rita (who on 22 May climbed Everest for the 30th time), or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/mingma.g/?hl=en" target="_blank">Imagine Nepal of Mingma Gyalje</a>. &nbsp; Cotter writes about them: ‘I have been amazed by the meteoric rise of many (Sherpa climbers) … during this ascendancy they have maintained their spirit and grace and unique character.’ But Cotter is critical of the absence of Nepal government oversight, and says this presents an opportunity for local stewardship of the mountains.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240525030544_0c7132339c521cb842518730c72d41322a0a92c06ae9e10fd2211bda1fb8a74d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240525030544_0c7132339c521cb842518730c72d41322a0a92c06ae9e10fd2211bda1fb8a74d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Everest Mountain Guide NT"> </figure>  <h2>Unsung heroes</h2> Besides the debate about siege expeditions and pure alpine style climbing in the Himalaya is the related contention that while western climbers get all the attention and fame, the guides who help them get to the top are anonymous.&nbsp; The Ice Fall Doctors on Mt Everest, the teams that fix ropes right to the summits so that their clients can jumar up go largely unmentioned. Their work is much more dangerous because they are exposed to risky areas of the mountains for longer periods. The under-recognised role of Nepali climbers was highlighted by Nims Purja in the Netflix film 14 Peaks. Since then, Nepalis have started setting up their own expedition companies (see above) and many are not just high altitude guides but are world-class climbers themselves. Some of this historical injustice is set right by Canadian author of mountaineering chronilces, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/voytek-kurtyka-unleashed" target="_blank">Bernadette McDonald</a> in her latest book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alpine-Rising-Sherpas-Triumph-Climbers/dp/1680515780" target="_blank">Alpine Rising: Sherpas, Baltis, and the Triumph of Local Climbers in the Greater Ranges</a>.&nbsp; <a href="http://www.bernadettemcdonald.ca/" target="_blank">McDonald</a> digs into the history of mountaineering to find that behind every first ascent that made Western climbers celebrities is a Sherpa, Rai, Gurung, Balti or Hunza that made the climb successful.&nbsp; In Alpine Rising, McDonald, &nbsp;goes back to the early German expeditions in the 1930s to Nanga Parbat in which dozens of Nepali high altitude porters were killed. Maurice Herzog’s first 8,000er ascent of Annapurna is famous in mountaineering history, but McDonald says not many people know about Ang Tharkay Sherpa who not only helped carry loads to the peak, but physically carried the frostbitten Herzog down. More recently, Alpine Rising recounts the fist fights on the Lhotse Face between Sherpas and Simone Moro; how Pakistani climber Ali Sadpara is sidelined in expedition chronicles; and the high altitude guide Muhammad Hassan who collapsed on K2 and climbers stepped over him for their summits.&nbsp; But things are changing, and there were two iconic moments on K2: the 2014 ascent by three Nepali women climbers, Pasang Lhamu Sherpa Akita, Dawa Yangzum Sherpa and Maya Sherpa and the 10 Nepali climbers led by Nims Purja who literally marched to the summit of K2 singing Nepal’s national anthem in 2021 — the first winter ascent of the world’s second highest mountain.&nbsp; There is a tectonic shift happening in Himalayan mountaineering, and the tragic, happy and funny details from the earliest expeditions to climbing in the age of Instagram are in the pages of Alpine rising.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240525030544_219beda832b28e3e1321cafe787e10a0eaac3939ac226d2375019befc2cb9371.jpg" data-media-id="editor_17" data-image-id="20240525030544_219beda832b28e3e1321cafe787e10a0eaac3939ac226d2375019befc2cb9371" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Alpine Rising NT"> </figure>  &nbsp;

Kunda Dixit

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Mountains of books

Radha, a recently retired Kumari, is excited to explore Patan Darbar Square for the very first time as an ordinary girl. She has left behind the elaborate and time-consuming rituals that burdened her childhood as the living goddess of Patan.&nbsp; Along with her uncle Pradip and brother Dhiraj, Radha spends a Saturday weaving in and out of the square, testing each other’s historical knowledge. Meanwhile, Amogh, a vengeful priest whose family suffered unjust displacement during the age of the Mallas, discreetly maneuvers around the square, scheming to regain his supernatural powers.&nbsp; Just as Amogh spots the former Kumari and her family at the square, an earthquake hits Kathmandu Valley, and a series of strange things happen that threaten the balance of the realms. The new Kumari of Yala is yet to be chosen, but Radha must step up to protect earthly beings as is her divine duty.&nbsp; The book opens with a compelling journey through the alleys of Patan, immersing the Nepali reader in tales of familiar structures and temples. It can actually be a good guide to the differences between Mul Chok and Sundari Chok, even to millennial Newas like me who do not know enough about our own people’s culture. And as a researcher and cultural expert who has written interactive heritage maps of Patan Museum and Hanuman Dhoka, author Rishi Amatya is perfectly placed to weave the knowledge into this, his first novel. The book is about a Kumari, one of the more mystical aspects of Kathmandu Valley civilisation, and the reader is taken along on the tour of Patan Darbar Square with the characters Radha, Dhiraj and Pradip. We are reintroduced to many of the structures, temples and motifs we have all grown up around, but perhaps did not know the stories behind them. References to Kawas, Khyas, Black Curtains, Mha Puja and Kartik Dances also refer readers to the Valley’s intangible heritage, and shed light on questions we all had as children but stopped asking because we did not have access to answers.&nbsp; The novel’s plot itself is gripping, the subject matter intriguing and the reader is kept on edge till the very end. Like most fantasy fiction, the storyline carries the book, peppering the reader with a few explanations of Nepal Bhasa words here and there. Amatya describes esoteric Newa traditions and rituals with just enough detail to keep the action moving. &nbsp; The fusion of fantasy with Newa mysticism is a rare feat, especially in an English-language novel. Amatya has exceeded expectations, tastefully bringing mythical elements to life.&nbsp; He had his work cut out since he has to introduce readers to the intricate world of Vajrayana concepts, even for those not familiar with this Buddhist system of beliefs. The narrative strikes a balance between humour and spookiness, making it a compelling page-turner. Warning: it can be a bit scary reading the book late into the night.&nbsp; Young Newa women born and brought up in the Valley may find, like I did, that I needed this book, in this genre, in this language, to revive affinity for my identity. This may be true for many young Newas scattered around the globe who are distanced geographically from the beauty that is our heritage. We are not equipped with the language or even the stories to do our traditions and culture justice.&nbsp; Amatya did that for me through Radha: Wrath of the Maeju. I was able to walk around Patan Darbar Square, a place I have been through a hundred times, with new found knowledge and pride. I have never felt seen in a fiction, let alone a fantasy. Now I do.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231207101216_6817988561260d05d5a428dc662a2a510971311078d63750a31780dc6a58ce9e.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20231207101216_6817988561260d05d5a428dc662a2a510971311078d63750a31780dc6a58ce9e" data-rendition-name="original" width="810" height="559" loading="lazy" alt="Radha detail"> </figure>

Patan heritage in fantasy fiction

<img width="2388" height="1316" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0f39c7e80680e0d705fjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Project Syndicate: Your latest book, <a href="https://www.alephbookcompany.com/book/ambedkar-a-life/">Ambedkar: A Life</a>, is a biography of Babasaheb Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a figure widely revered in India for his role in abolishing the caste system, empowering the Dalit community, and creating India’s constitution. How might a modern Ambedkar regard – and resist – rising bigotry and majoritarianism in today’s India?Shashi Tharoor: There is no doubt that Ambedkar would have opposed this trend in India today. He was the first – and remains the most important – figure to articulate a non-Hindu conception of Indian nationalism, making current attempts by the Hindutva movement to appropriate him astonishingly hypocritical. Ambedkar deplored what he called Hindu society’s undemocratic nature, as reflected in its internalisation of inequality and untouchability. “If Hindu Raj does become a fact,” he bitterly exclaimed, “it will, no doubt, be the greatest calamity for this country.”On majoritarianism, Ambedkar famously reminded the Constituent Assembly of the vital importance of minority protection, arguing that “minorities are an explosive force which, if it erupts, can blow up the whole fabric of the State. The history of Europe bears ample and appalling testimony to this fact.” Given that India’s minorities have “agreed to place their existence in the hands of the majority” and “loyally accepted the rule of the majority, which is basically a communal majority and not a political majority,” the majority has a “duty not to discriminate” against them. Such a man would surely have spoken out strongly against the majoritarian bigotry that has been on the rise in India in recent years.Beyond being a Dalit icon, you point out, Ambedkar had strong feminist credentials. In fact, he placed “equal emphasis upon both caste and gender-based discrimination.” Where did Ambedkar succeed in improving women’s position in Indian society? Are there other parts of Ambedkar’s legacy that do not get the attention they deserve?Ambedkar was far ahead of his time. In a 1942 speech, he declared: “Let each girl who marries stand up to her husband, claim to be her husband’s friend and equal, and refuse to be his slave.” This was an audacious assertion of Indian women’s dignity within their own families – one that few Indian men would echo even today.Ambedkar’s approach to women’s rights was anchored in his profound commitment to equality. And his impact was considerable. It was because of his exhortations that Dalit women changed their style of draping their saris to match other Hindu women – a visual reflection of the principle of equality that undergirded his beliefs. He also fought successfully for maternity benefits for women laborers.Ambedkar even sought to pass a resolution in support of government-funded birth control in the Bombay Legislative Assembly in 1938. While his resolution was defeated by conservative opposition, he had sown seeds that would eventually flower: the law was passed in the 1970s. Likewise, the Hindu Code Bill that he advocated – which proposed to grant Hindu women the right to inherit property, to initiate divorce, and to manage their own finances – was initially resisted. But these are all the laws today.Ambedkar: A Life begins with a caveat: “This is the story of the rise of a man of ideas, illustrated with extensive quotations from his writings and speeches, and not of a man of physical adventure.” For readers outside India, who might not be familiar with Ambedkar’s ideas, which quote or concept would you be most keen to highlight?There are so many! If I had to pick one lesson, I would point to Ambedkar’s understanding – of which he convinced the Constituent Assembly – that it was not enough to abolish untouchability. To undo millennia of discrimination and exploitation, India had to institute the world’s first and furthest-reaching affirmative action program, which uplifted the oppressed by, for example, allocating places for them in schools, universities, government services, and even parliament. It is thanks to Ambedkar that affirmative action in India goes beyond guaranteeing equal access to opportunities; it guarantees equitable outcomes by reserving a share of opportunities for Dalits and Adivasis. You have <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/india-waning-dependence-on-china-friendly-russia-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-09">argued</a> that the Ukraine war has turned India’s “long-standing diplomatic and strategic dependence” on Russia into a <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/russia-ukraine-war-boosts-india-strategic-vulnerability-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-03">serious liability</a>. But many – <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/indian-foreign-policy-promise-and-pitfalls-muslim-world-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-06">including</a> India’s foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar – are convinced that the war can strengthen India’s global standing. Have discussions within Indian policy circles about relations with Russia changed since you first sounded the alarm? At the same time, has the war created opportunities that India should be seizing?So far, Indians consider their global status enhanced by the Ukraine War, as India is one of the few countries that is being wooed equally by both sides – and succeeding at maintaining good relations with each.India has dramatically increased its oil imports from Russia – which it secures at a discount – and is reselling some of that oil to the United States, after refining it locally. To many, Russia now looks not like a liability, but rather like a useful partner whose conduct in Ukraine it is in India’s interest to overlook. The US, for its part, has no interest in alienating India at a time when China’s increasing belligerence and “friendship without limits” with Russia remain matters of concern in Washington.So, India is still riding high, and international criticism of its foreign policy is muted. As a result, domestic criticism understandably remains almost non-existent.You have <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/india-waning-dependence-on-china-friendly-russia-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-09">urged</a> India to “recognize the need to cooperate with others to constrain China’s overweening ambitions.” How would you approach this objective? Are groupings like the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue – comprising Australia, India, Japan, and the United States – likely to do what is needed to <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/russia-ukraine-war-boosts-india-strategic-vulnerability-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-03">protect</a> India’s “core security interests”?India seems to be the least willing of the Quad’s members to give the grouping a security dimension. The fact that China sits on its border – and occasionally breathes fire down its neck – may partly explain this reluctance. But, in fact, this is all the more reason to pursue greater security cooperation.Despite India’s historic policy of non-alignment and avowed refusal to join any alliances, China’s assertiveness warrants cooperative efforts to keep its ambition in check. I have even called for widening the Quad into a “Quad Plus,” which includes Southeast Asian countries with similar apprehensions about China’s muscle-flexing. But none of this seems to be in the cards. India’s wariness of security pacts still prevails.India faces no shortage of domestic challenges, including <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/india-demographic-divide-north-south-population-growth-by-shashi-tharoor-2022-12">uneven population growth</a> across regions. You cite “ignorance about family planning and the benefits of smaller families” as the “principal factor” behind rapid population growth in India’s northern states. What enabled the southern states to get it right, and how can their success be at least partly replicated in the north?India’s southern states have dramatically different human-development indicators from their northern counterparts – higher literacy rates, better health care, lower maternal and infant mortality, and more gender equality, to name a few. These factors go a long way toward explaining the growing population imbalance in India.But the north is gradually catching up, and it’s estimated that in a couple of decades, fertility in the northern states, too, will have fallen to replacement rates. By then, however, our population will have peaked at about 1.7 billion, compared to just 300 million when India gained independence 75 years ago. © <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/">Project Syndicate</a><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20230208140216/63e3a0f79c7e80680e0d7060jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="177" height="252">

“Ambedkar would have spoken out”

<img width="2000" height="2083" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239939c7e80680e0c73edjpeg.jpg" alt=""/>Two books released this week deal prominently with the Kalapani border dispute between Nepal and India, and both eschew jingoism for historical records and present pragmatic ways to resolve this bilateral irritant.In National Security and the State: A Focus on Nepal, retired Brig-Gen Keshar Bahadur Bhandari of the Nepal Army uses Kalapani as bookends in his foreword and epilogue. Now more than ever before, he says, Nepal needs to devise and follow a national security doctrine if it is to survive between the world’s two most populous countries.In Nepal-India Border Disputes: Mahakali and Susta edited by Pitamber Sharma, a slew of cartographers, geographers, historians and even a hydrologist pore into colonial era maps and treaties to explore why Kalapani-Lipulekh-Limpiyadhura became disputed in the first place.Read together, the two books present ideas about how Nepal can navigate the treacherous geopolitics of being a country of 30 million squeezed between two Goliaths on either side with 2.6 billion peoples.Nepal’s founding king Prithvi Narayan Shah already had a national security policy that he set forth in his Dibya Upadesh 250 years ago with the ‘Yam Doctrine’. The only difference is that today Nepal is a tuber betwixt three boulders, not just two.The most direct impact of this was felt in the last three years when Nepal’s politicians went at each other with hammers and tongs, weaponising the MCC, and in the process offending all three powers: the United States, China, India.Bhandari’s recommendation is that Nepal has no option but to follow another one of king Prithvi’s guiding security principles: ‘Jai katak nagarnu, jhikikatak garnu’ (Don’t provoke needlessly, but be ready to defend.)Reading the historical recaps in National Security and the State, it becomes clear that the threat to Nepal’s national security since the Gurkha Conquest in 1769, and especially after 1816, was not so much from belligerent neighbours, but from within the royal court in Kathmandu itself.The royal families and their courtiers were entangled in endless conspiracies, vengeance and violence. The constant back-stabbing periodically erupted in ‘front-stabbing’ in the Bhandarkhal and Kot massacres, and even the murder of the royals in 2001.The Shah and Rana dynasties were historically prone to feuds over succession, and some of this was because of the promiscuity of monarchs who begat progeny from multiple queens and concubines. Courtiers and advisers took sides, and rival regent queens appealed for support from the East India Company via the British Resident.In that respect, contemporary politics in the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is not much different, as politically promiscuous leaders openly seek patronage of powerful actors in Delhi or Beijing in their in-house power struggles.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/the-india-nepal-china-geopolitical-tri-junction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The India-Nepal-China geopolitical tri-junction</a>, Kunda DixitBhandari compares the security doctrine of other small states like Israel which punch above their weight, but says also-landlocked Mongolia could be a more appropriate model for Nepal: ‘What China is to Mongolia, India is to Nepal … what Russia is to Mongolia, China is to Nepal.’Unlike Nepal, which is vulnerable due to its overwhelming economic dependence on India, Mongolia has created a ‘third neighbour’ to boost its economic security, the author argues. <figure><img width="1280" height="719" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239969c7e80680e0c73eejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Nepal is not a ‘small’ country, it is just small compared to its giant neighbours. When it became the oldest nation state in South Asia two-and-half centuries ago, there were only 22 other countries in the world, and today it is the 40th most populous in the world. Bhandari dissects the term ‘nation-state’, and puts forth the argument that because of its ethnic diversity Nepal is actually a ‘state-nation’. As someone who was also involved in peacekeeping operations in Afghanistan, the author wants steps to be taken to prevent potential ethno-cultural conflict in Nepal. Although there are chapters on the Nepal Army, and especially its conduct during the Maoist insurgency, the book expands the definition of national security beyond the military to also refer to political stability, economic security, cyber security, human security and even climate security. The reader could wonder why Nepal even needs a national army when it may not be much of a deterrence against foreign invasion. Like Costa Rica, it could free up a chunk of its budget to resolve precursors to internal conflict like social injustice, inequity and poor governance. National Security and the State is a largely objective assessment of Nepal’s security concerns, but on some issues Brig-Gen Bhandari does take a stance. He postulates that Nepal might still be a monarchy if the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006 was between the Maoists and the Royal Nepal Army, instead of with the 7-party Alliance. He also has strong views on regulating the 1,880km India-Nepal open border because ‘it has done more bad and good to Nepal … exacerbating security problems’. He also maintains that secularism was covertly added into the 2015 Constitution, and that: ‘The cause of Hindu religion would protect many of Nepal’s national security interests.’ Going by the intolerance and polarity in India today, Nepal may have to think twice about importing insecurity from the South. The ‘soft power’ of religion may not do much to firm up Nepal’s ‘soft state’. The border dispute with India is one of Nepal’s major security concerns, and Nepal-India Border Disputes: Mahakali and Susta tries to put the matter to rest with chapters by Nepali experts including geographer Mangal Siddhi Manandhar, former government secretary Dwarika Nath Dhungel, geodetic engineer Prabhakar Sharma, and historian Tri Ratna Manandhar. As geography professor and former head of the National Planning Commission Pitamber Sharma concludes in his overview, ‘The boundary issues between Nepal and India can be settled only by the strict obedience of the Sugauli Treaty.’ Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Territorialism</a>, Editorial That treaty between the British East India Company and the Gorkha Empire signed in 1816 shrank Nepal to territory west of the Mechi and east of the Mahakali rivers. But the treaty did not have a map, and it was left to interpretation which was the main flow of the Mahakali at its upper reaches in the tri-junction between Nepal, India and China. This compilation makes a case for Nepal’s claim, but does so without falling into the nationalistic trap, presenting an objective analysis of why and where the boundary was changed. The conclusion: disputes over the river borders at Kalapani and Susta are a legacy of British India. As Dwarika Dhungel points out in his chapter, early maps showed the Kali River originating in Limpiyadhura but the British later found that there was a much easier trade route to Tibet for the import of valuable shatoosh baby antelope wool along a tributary to Lipu Pass. They then surreptitiously manipulated their survey maps to first cover up the Kali (Kuti Yangdi) and then show Lipu Khola as the main river, shifting the border eastwards. Dhungel notes: ‘How a lesser stream could be recognised as the main branch of the Kali is beyond any logic.’ If trade was the main preoccupation for Britain, for independent India it was the strategic importance of Lipu Pass — especially after the border war with China in 1962. King Mahendra allowed the Indian Army to ‘temporarily’ stay in Kalapani, and it appears to have been historical Nepali indifference by local authorities as well as faraway Kathmandu that allowed the Indians to stay put. With Susta, the reason for the dispute is the shifting main channel of the Gandak westwards, and came to the fore in the 1960s. Nearly 40sq km of what was once Nepali territory now lies in India if one is to accept the joint Nepal-Britain Rozar Martin maps of 1817. It is clear that colonial Britain pushed the Kalapani boundary for its trade interest and left India to deal with the consequences with Nepal, which it is doing to this day. The border issue is then used by politicians in both Kathmandu and New Delhi to wave the populist flag from time to time. China’s past border agreements with India on Lipulekh have shown that Nepal cannot rely on Beijing for support.   In the epilogue to National Security and the State, Brig-Gen Bhandari urges Nepali leaders to use ‘proper lobbying and persuasive pressure’ to either make Kalapani a peace buffer, or to swap it, as example, for a permanent highway corridor from the southeast tip of Nepal to Bangladesh through Indian territory. His advice: ‘Since a small state cannot change its neighbours, it has to learn to live with them … more so Nepal can bring the two neighbours with diverse political and sociocultural values closer for a common and great economic interest.’   Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/nepal-needs-intelligent-intelligence/">Nepal needs intelligent intelligence</a>, Dipak Gurung National Security and the State: A Focus on NepalBy Keshar Bahadur BhandariNepa-laya, 2022426 pages, Rs 995Also available through Thuprai and Amazon <img width="1000" height="1178" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/637239999c7e80680e0c73efjpeg.jpg" alt=""><img width="640" height="754" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221114131148/6372399b9c7e80680e0c73f0jpeg.jpg" alt=""> Nepal-India Border Disputes: Mahakali and SustaEdited With an Introduction by Pitamber SharmaMandala Book Point, 2022192 pages, Rs 1,595Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/stories-of-nepals-summiteers/">Stories of Nepal’s summiteers</a>, Ashish Dhakal

A survival strategy for Nepal

Nepal Nexus, the English translation and updated version of the 2013 bestseller <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/by-the-way/nepal-politics-india-interest-prayogshala,176" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prayogshala </a>by editor <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=18914#.XkEYJjIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sudheer Sharma</a>, offers readers a vivid account of Nepal’s ten-year conflict, the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=11741#.XkEaUTIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2006 people’s movement</a>, the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/nepal-from-royal-to-republic,3736" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fragile transition</a> that followed, to the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/02/13/the-rise-and-fall-of-the-maoists/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maoists’ subsequent rise to power</a>. The English version was translated by Sanjaya Dhakal for Penguin India and released last year.Sharma, who was and is once more the editor of Kantipur, begins with a personal account of his experience as a war reporter during the time of the state-Maoist conflict. Although he describes the book as an inside account of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), the reader finds it more of an account of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Shadowing-prachanda,3383" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Prachanda</a>’s rise to power, and only tangentially of the party he led.  Sharma has a soft corner for Prachanda, and does not conceal his sympathies for the erstwhile revolutionaries. ‘It is my view that the major credit for <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/issue/346/Editorial/13468#.XkEbDDIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">restructuring the state</a> should go to the Maoists,’ may come across to many as giving too much credit to the CPN(M) for what was essentially a violent shortcut to power. To be fair, the journalist in Sharma tries to be objective and balance his views with those of others with explanations, experiences, and interviews. (See box, below) <figure><img width="640" height="831" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b74439c7e80680e062384jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: KIRAN PANDEY</figcaption></figure>The translation may not exactly be a page-turner, but has gripping revelations about the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/The-turning-point-war-nepal,3986" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dynamics</a> between the palace, Parliament, the (Royal) Nepal Army, Nepal Police and the Maoists between 1996 and 2006. The account of just how much India’s <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/by-the-way/Nepal-elections-India-influence,164" target="_blank" rel="noopener">intelligence agency RAW </a>was micro-managing Nepali politics through the conflict, during and after the <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/three-kings-in-four-days-nepal-massacre" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2001 royal palace massacre</a> gives new insight into the cloak and dagger world of spooks.One of the highlights of Sharma’s book is the treatment of Nepal’s relations with its neighbours, in particular India’s role in helping the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=8406#.XkEfxDIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Maoists join mainstream politics – apparently as a way to weaken a nationalist monarchy </a>as well as to show India’s own Maoist revolutionaries that there was an electoral path to power. <img width="200" height="275" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b74459c7e80680e062385jpeg.jpg" alt=""><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5110#.XkEgDDIzbIU">Sh</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5110#.XkEgDDIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">yam Saran</a>, who was Indian ambassador to Nepal (2002-2004) and went on to become foreign secretary (2004-2006), looks at the broader question of India’s place in the world in his book. There are sections in <a href="https://www.amazon.in/How-India-Sees-World-Kautilya/dp/9386228858/ref=sr_1_1?qid=1581327963&amp;refinements=p_27%3AShyam+Saran&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">How India Sees the World</a> that deal with the same historical period as <a href="https://www.amazon.in/Nepal-Nexus-Inside-Account-Maoists/dp/0670089303/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=nepal+nexus%5C&amp;qid=1581328025&amp;s=books&amp;sr=1-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepal Nexus</a>, but from New Delhi’s perspective. Saran came as <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/from-nepali-press/Saran-undid-monarchy-deal,2081" target="_blank" rel="noopener">envoy after the royal massacre</a> and witnessed Gyanendra’s four years of steady power consolidation. By 2005, the king was in open confrontation with New Delhi, and Saran writes that India's <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13431#.XkEg3TIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘twin pillar’ doctrine</a> to support <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=317#.XkEguDIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy</a> became untenable, and Delhi turned to the seven party alliance with the Maoists (nicknamed ‘SPAM’).Almost every Nepali is an expert on relations with India, and social media has profuse conspiracy theories about Big Brother. Many writers and diplomats have dissected Indo-Nepal relations during the turbulent period from 1990-2017. For his part, Sharma tries to provide evidence of India’s constant meddling in Nepal’s internal affairs – right from the 1950 Treaty to the 2015 blockade.Sections of Saran’s book that deal with Nepal see things quite differently, of course, and that is to be expected. He has an opposite take on New Delhi’s behind-the-scenes dealings in Kathmandu. In the chapter ‘India and Nepal: A Relationship of Paradox’, Saran describes the souring of the relations between the neighbours after the promulgation of Nepal’s Constitution and the economic blockade that followed in 2015.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/campaigning-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Campaigning in Nepal</a>, EditorialSaran defends India’s handling of that tumultuous period, absolving <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5604#.XkEhOzIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">South Block</a> and the PMO of all blame for allowing bilateral relations, which Prime Minister Modi had normalised with his<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/by-the-way/india-foreign-policy-shift-offers-nepal-chance-to-redefine-ties,339" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> 2014 visit to Kathmandu</a>, to disintegrate. The chapter may as well have been titled: ‘How the Indian State Wrecked Relations with Nepal’.Saran describes how it was India that steered the Maoists into above-ground politics in 2006, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/02/03/rethinking-secularism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced secularism into Nepal’s new constitution</a>, and how it opposed that same constitution for the sake of the rights of Madhesis. Ironies of ironies: regime change in India meant the BJP is no longer a big fan of Nepal’s secular constitution.Sudheer Sharma’s analysis of the Indian blockade calls a spade a spade: India was angry about not being consulted about the new <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/GUEST-COLUMN/madhes-more-integrated-with-rest-of-nepal,366" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Madhes province which did not include five contentious provinces</a>: Jhapa, Morang, Sunsari in the east and Kanchanpur, Kailali in the western Tarai. ‘After it refused to entertain India’s counsel and coercion, many in Nepal thought India decided it was time to teach a lesson to its small neighbour … with the ultimate weapon of a border blockade,’ writes Sharma, providing examples of covert Indian involvement in supporting the<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/07/21/unrest-in-madhes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Madhes agitation</a>.Read Also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/eminently-beneficial-for-india-and-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eminently beneficial for India and Nepal</a>, Ajit Baral Shyam Saran sees it differently: ‘Supplies from India to Nepal were blocked by the Madhesis in the border leading to hostile sentiments among Nepalis.’ Saran sticks with the story that India supported the rights of Madhesis in the writing of the 2015 Constitution. He writes, rather condescendingly, that India has always been generous towards Nepal and that, despite all the help, Nepalis always misunderstood its large neighbour.Interestingly, <a href="https://cprindia.org/sites/default/files/A%20complex%20nexus%20in%20Nepal.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shyam Saran himself reviewed Sudheer Sharma’s Nepal Nexus</a> in the India’s Business Standard newspaper. He wrote: ‘The book creates the impression that the Madhesi issue is somehow created by India and that it flows from the ethnic links of the people of the Nepal Tarai and those living across the border in UP and Bihar. However, there are <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/indian-nepalis-alarmed-by-citizenship-amendment-bill/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">several million Indian citizens of Nepali origin</a> especially in Uttarakhand, West Bengal and Assam, and they are all from the hill districts of Nepal. Mr Sharma could have at least acknowledged some of these additional and significant dimensions of the relationship between the two countries.’Read Also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/autopsy-of-a-blockade%20,2863" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Autopsy of a blockade</a>, EditorialShyam Saran goes on to accuse Sharma of making an ‘illogical claim’ that India was afraid that the communist insurgency would spill over from the Nepal into the Gangetic plains and destabilise the entire region, and that this was why it felt Nepal’s Maoists needed to be mainstreamed.Bilateral relations between Kathmandu and New Delhi are once more at a low point because of the border dispute over <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/territorialism/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kalapani</a>, and perspectives that do not engage beyond the state’s official line will not help find common ground. Hopefully, both political leaders and the general public in India and Nepal and India will better understand the complex chemistry of their ties, and will find common ground. Alas, neither of these two books will help do that. <figure><img width="418" height="634" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b74479c7e80680e062386jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="434" height="660" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b74499c7e80680e062387jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Sudheer Sharma on Nepal Nexus</h2> Sudheer Sharma has returned once more to Kantipur as editor, and speaks about the English translation of his book, The Nepal Nexus. He spoke to Nepali Times this week about how it has been received in Nepal and India.  Nepali Times: What has been the reaction to the translation of your book?Sudheer Sharma:  I have always wanted English readers to be able to read and have documentation that would help them in research. I have been to various book shops in and around Kathmandu to sign my books, but it was in Pokhara, that I saw the overwhelming reaction of readers. At this week’s Kantipur Conclave there was much positive response. It has been selling well in Delhi’s Khan Market.  What is different in Nepal Nexus compared to Prayogshala?Prayogshala was released in 2013 after the Constituent Assembly had just been dissolved. Since then there have been significant changes in Nepal’s politics. Nepal Nexus is not just a translated version of Prayogshala but is updated with four additional chapters that look at the promulgation of constitution in 2015, the Madhes movement, Indian blockade, the rise of KP Oli and <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/tsu-namo-2-0-and-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Narendra Modi </a>and the <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/political-geography-of-india-nepal-china-ties/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">growing relationship with China.</a> <figure><img width="1440" height="1440" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109101132/636b744b9c7e80680e062388jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>How did the idea of Nepal Nexus come about? Soon after the release of Prayogshala, Penguin India contacted me to release the book in English as well. It sounded interesting. Sanjaya Dhakal did the translation and with initial help from Thomas Bell.While many have appreciated your book, some have not. Whether official or unofficial, India never declared the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/aftershocks-of-the-blockade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 border blockade</a>. But I have documented the facts with research and investigation. Naturally, some people do not like what it reveals. Some readers think the book is based on the history of Maoists movement, but in reality, it’s about three entities that have shaped Nepal – the monarchy, Maoists and New Delhi. The monarchy is gone, and the Maoist party is dissolved, and we are still trying to mend our relationship with New Delhi.Former Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran criticised your book in a review.  He has not challenged me factually. We all have different interpretations and it is fair to have different opinions. As a matter of fact, I liked his review. The book is now public property, everyone is entitled to pass on their opinions. More discussion, the merrier.Where is India-Nepal relations now? Nepal and India need to have a relationship that is built on equality and respect. India has always tried to micromanage Nepal, and that was clear when they sent a special envoy to stop the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2015/09/20/peoples-constitution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Constitution in 2015.</a> It was the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/As-It-Happens/when-the-blockade-ends,618" target="_blank" rel="noopener">border blockade</a> that really damaged relations. Nepal and India should have a vibrant relationship, there are problems and we need to jointly find solutions to. There are more problems from India, but Nepal too has problems.  How can the two neighbours redefine their relationship?There are many clauses and treaties that should be revised. Particularly the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=16852#.XkEdXjIzbIU" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1950 treaty</a> and some other clauses that have kept Nepal in an unequal and unfair position. India needs to change its mindset and should not treat Nepal like its ‘little brother’. Nepal also has to change its behaviour. We are overly dependent on India, and this needs to be reduced. If <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/eminently-beneficial-for-india-and-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">treaties and agreements are revised</a>, I am sure the relationship between these two neighbours will be stronger than before. Readers' write:It is strange that the role of China did not find a mention in this interview with Sudheer Sharma. Everything said an done, China has figured as the new critical variable for redefining and mending Nepal's ties with India. Compared to the 2015 days, India is more amenable and respectful in its dealings with Nepal . For instance, the cross border petroleum pipeline that has been on the anvil for ages has since been realized, only because, following China's major inroad into Nepal, India found out that its traditionally sadistic attitude of browbeating Nepal into submission would work no longer. While India has been viscerally unprepared to deal with smaller nieghbours in equal terms, Nepal's own politicians of whichever stated ideological hue have been unprepared to put Nepal First in their dealings with their overlords in India. Much has happened since India pushed Nepal into China's embrace beginning 2015 blockade. The troublesome Madhesi front has quietened. Open interferences from New Delhi or its outpost at Lainchaur have become things of the past. The belligerents in New Delhi have learned their lesson: Today, the whole of India blames them for pushing Nepal into China's embrace. While Nepal must be enormously grateful to China, there is much more that the country should be doing towards helping the Nepali politicians to put Nepal First in their own ideological commitment s and dealing with the rest of the world.Bihari Krishna Shrestha

Two takes on the Nepal-India nexus

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58cf9c7e80680e05485bjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1400"/> T his time of year <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/high-and-dry-upper-mustang" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mustang</a> is a profusion of colour: lapis lazuli sky with dazzling clouds, purple fields of buckwheat, ripening golden barley terraces, Dhakmar’s towering red cliffs, yellow rocks, salmon sunsets.So why would <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nepali-times-buzz/profile-of-kevin-bubriski-photographer,1954" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kevin Bubriski</a> and Sienna Craig publish a photo book called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mustang-Black-White-Sienna-Craig/dp/9937623871" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mustang in Black and White</a>?As Tibetologist Charles Ramble explains in the preface, ‘Mustang: Black and White, But Never Gray’, the Kingdom of Lo was historically perceived as a ‘dark’ corner. Even early Bon Tibetans found the place forbidding and inhabited by demons.But Ramble gives <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/kundadixit/2012/09/07/monsoon-in-the-rainshadow/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mustang</a>’s ‘darkness’ a positive attribute. ‘Sometimes, darkness is the best place in which to see the cosmos in its full radiance,’ he writes. Anyone who has gazed up at the Milky Way from the starlit landscape around the ancient monastery at Lo Gekar will know what he is talking about.Mustang is technically in Nepal, but is part of the trans-Himalayan plateau, situated on what used to be the shores of the Tethys Sea. Exposed boulders high on cliff faces were once strewn on the banks of the prehistoric Kali Gandaki, which cut through the mountains as they rose, lifting fossilised ammonites that once crawled the ocean floor.Bubriski writes that Mustang’s colours have always fascinated him, adding: ‘My choice to represent Mustang in black and white was motivated by the dramatic power of how the bright sunlight and deep shadows transform the physical earthen forms and shapes of chörten, gompa, mountains, ladders and doorways into visually powerful and compelling compositions.’<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1153" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bubriski first came to Nepal</a> in 1975, spending two years in Humla as a <a href="https://nepalitimes.atavist.com/untitled-project-rmc8q" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Peace Corps</a> volunteer. Most of his photographic life has been in darkrooms working with black and white prints, eschewing the digital camera. Finally giving in, he now uses a smartphone app for square black and white images with artificially frayed edges.Artists have been <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/mustang-on-canvas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">inspired by Mustang to use various medium</a> to capture its richness. Robert Powell took to water colour to depict Mustang in his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Earth-Door-Sky-Paintings-Mustang/dp/0906026539" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Earth Door Sky Door: Paintings of Mustang</a>. Bubriski explains his choice of black and white photography: ‘As the reality of the colour world was distilled by my eye… I found the visual transformation and abstraction intriguing with what it added, yet also with what it took away.’<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58d29c7e80680e05485cjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="700">Sienna Craig is an anthropologist who first travelled to Mustang in 1993, and has kept coming back for research. In stark, poetic prose in chapters that take us town-by-town up the trail, she describes how the place is changing with outmigration, the arrival of the road and mobile connectivity.Even the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/living-below-nepals-melting-mountains/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">climate breakdown</a> is forcing villages to relocate and swollen glacial lakes' bursts regularly bringing down destructive torrents of grey mud paste and boulders.  There are now <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/mixed-blessings-in-mustang/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vast apple plantations</a> where it was once too cold for orchards.Change is a constant in Mustang today. The trails at Tsarang have hoof marks next to tractor tyre tracks. Mule trains are being replaced by Boleros, young men in Adidas caps and Nike sneakers loiter by sidewalk shrines, waiting for travel documents that will take them to Korea or Iraq. With no men to work the fields, diesel threshers do the harvesting. The sound of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/k-pop-in-k-town/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">K-pop</a> wafts with the wind in the poplars in Choser.Yet even with change, the ruins of ancient forts blend back into the cliffs they were built on. Eroded by the wind, it is hard to tell what is monastery and what is mountain — they are embedded in each other.‘Has the wind carved this landscape to resemble the ruins of ancient buildings? Or are these manmade remnants of an ancient civilisation?’ asks Craig. Maybe both, as abandoned homes dissolve back into the landscape. In exquisite monochrome and lyrical text, Bubriski and Craig have captured Mustang in a photo frame of time ‘neither past nor future, just present’. Change has come to Mustang, but Mustang will keep its mystery and darkness.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58d59c7e80680e05485djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="276"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108141124/636a58d69c7e80680e05485ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="276"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Charles Ramble has himself co-authored a new book (also published by Vajra) on the abandoned settlement of Chuksang, where once stood a 17th-century nunnery. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Blessing-Land-Architecture-History-Buddhist/dp/9937928826" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Blessing for the Land</a> traces the history of the head lama of Künzang Chöling, who dedicated his monastery to the land, choosing the slope on the other side of the Kali Gandaki known as ‘Convent Ridge’. Although on the academic side, the book is part-archaeology, part-architecture, part-anthropology, but mostly it is deep history.Ramble and other authors work with archaeologist Nyima Drandul from Mustang, who is a descendant of the Künzang Chöling nobility. A Blessing for the Land and Mustang in Black and White are both available in Kathmandu book stores, and are fascinating journeys in time and space. Both books force us to rethink Nepal’s diverse cultural history, and to ponder how much more of our past we do not yet know as we plunge into an uncharted future.

Mustang in shadows and light

It's Raining Books

Nepal’s only international aviation gateway, at Kathmandu airport, will cut night-time operation hours to allow construction of taxiways, and airlines have been told to curtail flights. This is expected to lead to more than normal chaos during the height of peak autumn and spring tourist seasons at an airport that is congested even at the best of times. The airport will close from 10PM to 8AM from 8 November-31 March 2025. The taxiways will now connect to the thresholds at both ends of the runway, making the airport more efficient in handling higher frequencies of landings and takeoffs. The parallel taxiway extension will allow international flights to land every 4 minutes instead of the current every 7 minutes. At present planes have to wait to land until a plane taking off backtracks along the runway.&nbsp; Kathmandu is Nepal’s only airport with international operations, and it has only one runway that is only one way in from the south over the mountains. With the taxiway improvement, the airport will be able to handle 42 aircraft landings and takeoffs per hour — double the current capacity.&nbsp; The Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) has been trying to entice international airlines to also start flying to and from the other two international airports at Pokhara and Bhairawa (Lumbini) by slashing landing and handling charges. But so far only Nepal Airlines operates a weekly flight to Bhairawa from Kuala Lumpur.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241018161016_046569e53d1d66cd445cc66c697c0ef724810aec9f54bdf827481e3cd6b80c32" data-rendition-name="original" width="2356" height="1134" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport expansion"> <figcaption>Kathmandu Airport Expansion plan with extension of taxiways to the thresholds of runways 02 and 20 that will limit airport operations from 8 November 2024 - 31 March 2025. Areas in blue are existing structures, including the international terminal which in future will be the domestic airport, and the new international terminal near the north end of the runway,</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241018121028_6e17cc2ee87c1b02d78cb54905825b7aa15299b7a00f5eddb01a59579ab85c1a" data-rendition-name="original" width="1353" height="1328" loading="lazy" alt="Kathmandu airport NT"> </figure>  CAAN has reportedly told international airlines to cut their flight frequency to Kathmandu citing the shorter operation hours and has told budget airlines to shift some of their flights to Pokhara or Bhairawa, or face cuts. Many airlines currently operate regular flights to and from Kathmandu between 10PM and 8AM: Air Arabia to Sharjah, Fly Dubai to Dubai, Jazeera Airways to Kuwait, Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines, several Nepal Airlines flights, and one of four daily flights by Qatar Airways to Doha. Jazeera Airways, FlyDubai, and Thai AirAsia have applied and got permission from CAAN to begin regular flights to Bhairawa’s Gautam Buddha International Airport. Starting 9 November, FlyDubai will start making a stopover in Bhairawa before flying on to Kathmandu. Immigration, customs and security are all fully functional in Bhairawa. In Kathmandu, the next phase of the airport upgrade includes converting the current international terminal for domestic operations, the construction of a new international terminal where the domestic departure area is now, as well as moving the hangars and the Nepal Army Air Wing to the eastern side of the runway. The apron area will also double its parking space for widebody jets. This is part of a Airport Capacity Enhancement Project that was initially funded through a $80 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the entire masterplan is expected to cost $800 million. This project is the latest upgrade to Nepal’s only international airport since it saw its first flight in 1949. The current international and domestic terminals are too small to handle the current annual traffic volume of 8.5 million passengers a year that is growing at 20% a year.

Kathmandu airport to cut flight hours

As Kathmandu becomes more congested and polluted, and with remote online work becoming the norm, many professional Nepalis are planning to retire in Pokhara, or move there.&nbsp; With its stunning mountain panorama, balmy winters and proximity to a profusion of wilderness areas, builders are responding to this demand with new townhouses, housing development and apartments. One such block of flats is the 10-storey <a href="https://sungavaapartment.com/">Sungava Apartment</a> located at Phulbari above the Seti River, near the point where it flows into and under Pokhara. The imposing structure near Manipal Hospital is almost complete, and on a recent visit the site was strewn with huge boulders unearthed while digging the foundation.&nbsp; The Seti brought down these boulders during a gigantic flood that geologists estimate happened 800 years ago when a chunk of Annapurna IV broke off and ploughed into the glacier below. Today, Sungava (means ‘orchid’) sits safely on a high terrace, 100m above the blue-green Seti and commands a view of Dhaulagiri, Annapurna South, Machapuchre, Annapurna III and IV.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024102411104_5f8fc736c86ea3c08d7bef43bb727081d3cc1a2caa55ae2b441717e6044de7e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="2016" height="1512" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  The soil here is conglomerate that has solidified like concrete, and the boulders were extracted by heavy earthmovers. It is intriguing to think that these metamorphic rocks as big as cars, rounded by glacial grinding, were once a part of a much higher Annapurna IV. Even for those with little interest in geology, Sungava is an ideal place to contemplate the tectonic forces that pushed these peaks into the sky to be sculpted into delicate shapes by wind, snow, earthquake and avalanche over millions of years. The view of the Himalayan panorama from Sungava’s many balconies are breathtaking when not obscured by clouds, or the haze that drifts in from across the southern border. On most days, just watching the towering pyramid of Machapuchre (Tamu name: कतासुँ क्लिको) play hide and seek with the clouds is mesmerising. There are rocks aplenty at Phulbari, and it is probably the flowers that grew along the flat terraces e that gave the place its flowery name. The boulders will hopefully be turned into a rock garden while landscaping. An nearby restaurant complex is making the best use of the stones in its design, using flat rocks as outdoor benches and tables. Sungava was designed by the husband-wife architect team of Deepak Sherchan and Jyoti Joshi of <a href="https://thedarkmermaidamarbshrestha.blogspot.com/2013/12/creative-builders-collaborative-cbc.html">Creative Builders Collaborative (CBC)</a>, which also built Heritage Plaza, Indreni Apartment and numerous other projects in Nepal. Sadbhavana retains CBC’s trademark Newari-style masonry and here it borrows from the orange brickwork of the old town of Pokhara, integrating it with modern design elements. A few of those heritage houses are still standing in Ganesh Tole and Ram Krishna Tole in Pokhara’s old quarter.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024102411108_5eb64a4885961b6d30781cefeb1e8a313da313ac5227c7a66b60f0c7d48d6fab" data-rendition-name="original" width="1362" height="595" loading="lazy" alt="High living below the Himalaya NT"> </figure>  About 400m from the apartment past a bend on the river, and down below three tiers of terraces in the canyon is a suspension bridge. Below it, the Seti is still swollen with post-monsoon flow as it tumbles away in a hurry to head down south.&nbsp; Back at the apartment, it is quiet, far away from the hubbub of Lakeside a 15 minute drive away, and in the lap of greenery. There are 52 units at Sungava and it already has a close-knit prospective community of professionals, including doctors, publishers, engineers, and businesspeople from the renewable energy and IT sectors.&nbsp; Some residents say they opted for a second home in Pokhara to make it a ‘base camp’ to explore the Annapurnas with its many hiking trails made newly accessible with new roads. With the NRN citizenship law, overseas Nepalis can now also buy the flats. &nbsp; The floor plans include options for north and south-facing 3-bedroom apartments with verandas, and the facility has underground parking has EV charging, heated pool, sauna and gym. There are still some unsold apartments with panoramic views of the mountains and one can imagine oneself at the kitchen with its huge window, humming a ditty while preparing breakfast: “खाना पकाउँ हिमाल हेरेर...”

High living below the Himalaya

When the United Nations held its Summit of the Future at its headquarters in New York in September, many world leaders, including Nepal’s Prime Minister K P Oli, highlighted the effect of climate breakdown in increasing the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. What did not get as much attention was the long term impact of the climate crisis on food production. In fact, heat stress, weather extremes and the consequences on rain-fed agriculture is already being felt worldwide, undermining the chances of the <a href="https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/">UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</a> being met by 2030.&nbsp; The SDG’s 17 targets commit countries like Nepal to reduce poverty and inequality, end malnutrition, protect the natural environment, and ensure that citizens all enjoy health, justice and prosperity without leaving anyone behind.&nbsp; However, besides the impact of climate breakdown on agricultural production, in Nepal the area under cultivation is impacted by urban expansion, falling productivity and the need for expensive inputs like fertiliser and pesticides.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241019041052_626413c5baf4dae407ac9579231b41daeb51510aa636b75aeb7489d94cca6a62" data-rendition-name="original" width="999" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Kathmandu's urban sprawl is eating into its fertile cultivable lands. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  Now, a new study led by Nepali researcher Prajal Pradhan at the University of Groningen in The Netherlands looks at how urban agriculture may offer a solution to falling food production and meeting SDG targets. The researchers evaluated 1,450 publications exploring the contributions of urban agriculture with both positive and negative effects, and published their findings in the journal Cells Report Sustainability. Urban agriculture can help achieve 17 SDGs, positively influencing 81 targets. However, it could also undermine 51 goals.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-vanishing-land">The vanishing land</a>, Taylor Mason “Urban agriculture offers immense potential for sustainable development, but realising this potential depends crucially on adopting practices that minimise its adverse effects while maximising its benefits,” Pradhan explains. Urban agriculture can substantially enhance urban food security, provide employment to the urban poor, serve as ground water recharge in built-up areas, and preserve open spaces that can serve as safe havens during disasters like earthquakes. However, it also presents problems like the potential health risks from contamination and the need for expensive inputs. &nbsp; “Urban agriculture plays a definitive role in advancing the SDGs, but achieving this requires tailored, context-specific solutions that address the unique challenges of different regions,” says Yuanchao Hu of Wuhan University in China and who is a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “But it needs equitable access and rigorous management of environmental risks.”&nbsp; Rapid urbanisation is eating into Nepal’s most fertile agricultural land, which means farming in remaining open spaces inside cities can be a viable alternative, especially as food prices rise.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241019041052_7b7c9413086226fbdc630d45acf772cfa1ced77a8970b9056ec5ec7e5226fdf8" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>A vegetable patch in between new houses in Thimi. Photo: TAYLOR MASON</figcaption> </figure>  “The conversion of Nepal’s most fertile land into cities is a severe problem,” Pradhan told Nepali Times. “Crop cultivation, horticulture, agroforestry, beekeeping, livestock rearing, or aquaculture can all be farming activities within and around cities.”&nbsp; The study makes recommendations for sustainable practices that build on the positive aspects of urban agriculture while mitigating the downsides, thereby promoting more resilient cities in future. Research shows that urban agriculture has been helping many countries attain SDG targets by enhancing food security and biodiversity while helping education and preservation of open spaces.&nbsp; Indeed, many farmers from the hinterland who have settled in Kathmandu Valley or other urban areas of the country have been practicing urban agriculture, leasing neighbourhood patches or cultivating roof gardens both out of necessity because of inflation and falling income to grow their own food, and also as a fulfilling hobby. Saurav Dhakal, a sustainability advocate with Story Cycle and now research fellow at the Asian Institute of Technology in Thailand, says there are socio-economic and environmental benefits of urban agriculture. “It provides benefits to all urban dwellers, regardless of their income status,” says Dhakal, “families get fresh food, and there are many other benefits like water retention, heat regulation and biodiversity. These are all public goods, so special government incentives may be needed.” It is not unusual to see vegetable patches and even paddy fields within inner city Kathmandu where an older generation of farmers are using available fertile land and <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/rooftop-gardens-kathmandu,1415">roof gardens to produce fresh, nutritious food </a>to reduce their dependence on food items that have to be bought after being trucked in from large distances.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024101905100_1291ce98dbbb8caed8702ac4b1d469b3e13016d7ecaaf3bfd5f91c974d3c0c77" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="999" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>An older generation of farmers are using any available fertile land to continue farming but it is getting more and more difficult. Photo: TAYLOR MASON </figcaption> </figure>  Nepal’s urban population grew rapidly from only 3.6% in 1991 to 25% today. There is large outmigration from the mountains to peri-urban areas of the Tarai, to Kathmandu Valley and Pokhara, with many young men then moving abroad for work. Kathmandu Valley’s population has swelled to nearly 3 million, and is growing at 6.5% a year. Dilip Shrestha, 71, used to work for Nepal Food Corporation, so he knew firsthand about inflation, shortages and vegetables with pesticide residue. So, when he designed his new house in Kathmandu, he built a spacious roof where he grows cucumber, ginger, garlic, coriander, onions, tomatoes, chili, beans, okra, pumpkin and lettuce. His family eats healthier, and he has reduced dependence on the market.&nbsp; The co-author of the Cell Reports Sustainability journal article, Daya Raj Subedi who is a PhD candidate at Beijing Forestry University, says urban agriculture also promotes inclusion and psycho-social wellbeing.&nbsp; He says, “A crucial finding of the study is the identification of opportunities and challenges associated with urban agriculture, it can promote sustainable transformation of society.” In Banepa, 55-year-old Bijaya Manandhar in her lifetime has watched the fertile farms of her neighbourhood that used to supply vegetables to Kathmandu, now completely built up with no open space left. The pandemic lockdown prompted her to turn to the family’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world">ancestral livelihood by growing food</a> not on terrace farms, but on the roof terrace. Manandhar is now a part of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/rooftop-agriculture-on-the-roof-of-the-world%5C%5C">कौसी खेती र करेसाबारी क्रान्ती</a> (Rooftop Farming and Garden Revolution) which has an online membership of 52,000, and awards annual prizes to women who excel in urban agriculture.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20241019041052_7257f5def8f823f35a799fa6f6825e153f2ffa406ac11325d4fe74049b79e96d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="736" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> <figcaption>Rooftop farming is gaining popularity as a form of urban agriculture. </figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20241019041052_beff1a4494ce896dd8fd383ee1f518e5448bcf7ea8bb138255391c7bcb9769ed" data-rendition-name="original" width="4000" height="3000" loading="lazy" alt="urban agriculture in Kathmandu"> </figure>  Pradhan says the challenge now is to upscale such examples of successful urban agricultural practices so they support Neal’s efforts to meet SDG targets. He adds, “Crop cultivation around cities can be protected by land use plans and regulations. Promoting community-based agriculture, including rooftop gardens, requires community engagement and public-private partnerships across the food value chain.”&nbsp; Such support would accelerate the popularity of existing rooftop farming and community gardens in Kathmandu Valley, or kitchen garden initiatives in Pokhara, and building on traditional farming practices that are preserved and integrated into urban settings like in Bhaktapur and Banepa. In Lalitpur, the Women Entrepreneurship Facilitation Center promotes urban farming enhancing both sustainability and empowerment.&nbsp; Another co-author of the report, Yuanchao Hu from China says followup research of the team will aim to identify good practices in local urban agriculture practices. He adds, “There are examples of urban agriculture that optimise sustainability, ensuring that it remains a viable solution for cities globally while countries try to meet SDG targets.” Prajal Pradhan, Daya Raj Subedi, Kshitij Dahal, Yuanchao Hu, Prakriti Gurung, Sijal Pokharel, Sagar Kafle, Biplav Khatri, Sudeeksha Basyal, Monika Gurung, and Aruna Joshi. Urban Agriculture matters for sustainable development. Cell Reports Sustainability, 1:100217, 2024. [DOI: 10.1016/j.crsus.2024.100217] Prajal Pradhan (<a href="mailto:p.pradhan@rug.nl">p.pradhan@rug.nl</a>) This article is brought to you by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/" target="_blank">Nepali Times</a>, in collaboration with <a href="https://inpsjapan.com/en/" target="_blank">INPS Japan</a> and <a href="https://sgi-peace.org/" target="_blank">Soka Gakkai International</a>, in consultative status with UN ECOSOC.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240630110640_30c3782f9c09219bf1c249b51483a3cfb7a53a06d117d2aebd23ca7080d12758" data-rendition-name="original" width="680" height="103" loading="lazy" alt="SDG logo"> </figure>

Back to the land in the cities

The 700-year-old Lakshmi Narasingha temple in Bhaktapur houses a rare half-lion and half-human incarnation of Lord Vishnu carrying the Goddess Lakshmi. The temple was destroyed in the 1934 mega earthquake that killed 10,000 people and destroyed many monuments in Kathmandu Valley. It was rebuilt by a German project in the 1980s, but as a single-storey structure instead of its original two-tier pagoda design.&nbsp; With new findings from in-depth research, Bhaktapur municipality began re-restoring the temple in 2021, preserving its original architecture.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20241017131016_2fae38cce543ad7b1f6de632feb3e212e08ed1acedd747830e949d7b8e878f18" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “Our temples and heritage sites hold deep meaning. It is disheartening to witness how often they lose their original elements, whether by design or accident,” explains Kumar Chawal of the Consumer Committee of Bhaktapur. “There is a need to preserve our architecture and protect its historical value for future generations. Otherwise, we risk losing a vital part of our identity.” The Laksmi Narsingha restoration is similar to the Bhai Dega temple in Patan Darbar Square which also collapsed in 1934, but was rebuilt with a Moghul-style dome by the Rana government at the time. Only two months before the 2015 earthquake, heritage conservationists had started to rebuild Bhai Dega as the original three-tier based on early photographs. But priorities shifted when four other temples in the square were brought down by the 7.8M earthquake on 25 April 2015.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20241017131016_697ea707d9ad163be5de5f2efbf5b70d3cab771adcc22f0fae6bf937c6cb0130" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  This showed how damage to monuments in Kathmandu Valley spanned from one earthquake to the next. Bhai Dega restoration remains half-complete to this day because money for its restoration ran out.&nbsp; Whereas Bhai Dega restoration was done by the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust with grants from western embassies and international foundations, in Bhaktapur it is the municipality itself that allocated the Rs30.7 million needed to restore the Lakshmi Narasingha temple. The expected date of completion is early 2025. The municipality and local communities are focusing on two main aspects: preserving the past and promoting localisation. The restoration team has designed a blueprint for the temple by using historical photographs and insights from older generations.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241017131016_182882fdc393c99e70d1d0490319e415229563666c4934e3a582426ebf00ca30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="560" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “At first, the Lakshmi Narasingha temple had only one entrance, but during the demolition process, we uncovered the foundations of four doors. Now, we are restoring all of them. This is an example of how our ancient structures have changed over time, often without our knowledge,” says Chawal. “Constructing temples is not like building houses. They carry historical and spiritual values, which is why they hold a special place in our hearts,” he adds. By replicating ancient design elements and rebuilding the temple as accurately as possible to its original form, the team has stayed true to Bhaktapur’s soul. But the restoration also revived ancient techniques that were in danger of being forgotten, generating employment for woodcarvers, masons, and contractors. The community of Bhaktapur’s Gahiti neighbourhood near the famous Nyatapola Temple has also set aside specific days for locals to volunteer in the reconstruction work. This has encouraged young people to take pride in ownership of their heritage. Families have also supported the effort by donating funds for bells, the temple pinnacle, and other structural features to the temple.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241017131016_db850ec0c084cdbe54f65bee92dad2ad8122d20fd60ec87ec086fbb9d2f72bd6" data-rendition-name="original" width="2048" height="1365" loading="lazy" alt="In with the old in Nepal NT"> </figure>  “I feel at peace knowing I have contributed my sweat to restoring this temple,” said one volunteer. “It is our duty to preserve our temples and heritage. The Nyatapola area will look magical once this temple is completed.” Community mobilisation is a long-standing tradition in Bhaktapur. In the past, locals have actively participated in the restoration of other temples in the city, such as Bhairav and Nyatapola fostering a strong sense of ownership. This collective engagement has not only been crucial in preserving the city's historical monuments but also in strengthening the bond between local communities and their heritage, says officials at the municipality. While securing funding is essential, and the municipality showed it values heritage conservation, the Lakshmi Narasingha restoration is proof that active involvement and sense of responsibility of the local community is as important, if not more. Local involvement also means that the monuments will be cared for into the future, When locals take ownership of these efforts, the restored monuments are not only protected in the present but are also cared for in the future.

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