https://youtu.be/27DSJhsNLYgFive years after the earthquake destroyed its central temple, the 350-year-old Rani Pokhari royal pond at the centre of Kathmandu is finally getting back its original look.The temple had been rebuilt after previous earthquakes in the Moghul stucco dome style, and was going to be converted into a concrete-lined structure. But today, the shrine, the causeway and pond perimeter gleam with russet brick.Rani Pokhari has gone through many avatars in the past centuries. The earliest, an engraving commemorating the visit to Kathmandu by <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/on-queens-pond-rani-pokhari,4092">Prince Waldemar of Prussia</a> in 1845, shows the Balgopaleswar Temple having a Shikhara style spire. After it came down in an earthquake, Jang Bahadur Rana had it rebuilt with the Moghul dome architecture of north India that he admired so much.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badea9c7e80680e077fbejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="612" height="451"/><figcaption>Rani Pokhari from the German publication ‘Die Reise Seiner KöniglichenHoheit des PrinzenWaldemar von PreußennachIndien in den Jahren 1844 bis 1846’ (The journey of His Royal Highness Prince Waldemar of Prussia to India: in the years 1844 to 1846). The temple is in the original Shikhara style spire.</figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badec9c7e80680e077fbfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="679" height="379"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badee9c7e80680e077fc0jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="628" height="386"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf09c7e80680e077fc1jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="627" height="384"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>This structure came down again in the 1934 mega-quake, and Juddha Sumsher Rana had it reconstructed and whitewashed, adding a metal fence around the pond. This structure, too, was destroyed in the 2015 earthquake, and Kathmandu Mayor Bidya Sundar Shakya’s attempt to surround the pond with cafes and shops was <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/08/24/save-rani-pokhari/">vehemently opposed</a> by the local community.Finally, the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) is giving Rani Pokhari more or less its original look. After delays due to the lockdown, reconstruction is finally nearing completion.The pond was built in 1671 by King Pratap Malla after his consort, Queen Anantapriya was devastated by the sudden death of her son, Prince Chakrawatendra Malla. The king could not bear to see his queen so distraught, so he built Rani Pokhari to soothe her, and memorialise their lost son.It was an exquisite architectural and ecological masterpiece showcasing the meticulous craftsmanship of the Malla era. The pond was consecrated with the crystal clear waters from 51 sacred sites from all over the subcontinent.On the south side of the pond there still stands a statue of an elephant bearing King Pratap Malla and his two sons Chakrawatendra and Mahipatendra. Four smaller temples protect the central temple from the four cardinal points.Besides its beauty, the pond was also an engineering feat. It was fed by an intricate underground network of channels to keep it full throughout the year. It also served to manage the surface water around in the area during monsoon, so that runoff from as far as Asan market would empty into the pond and overflow past farmlands down to Tukucha Rivulet in the east.Because Rani Pokhari recharged ground water, it kept the water sources like hitis and wells in the surroundings flowing even in the dry season. The pond bed was lined with semi-permeable black clay (dyo cha) so it retained water but also allowed some of it to seep through. The pond thus served as a rainwater reservoir that not just replenished groundwater, but also irrigated nearby farms.“Rani Pokhari shaped the water management system around the area at that time,” says Sudarshan Tiwari, professor at the Institute of Engineering and a conservation architect.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf19c7e80680e077fc2jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1000" height="564"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf49c7e80680e077fc3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Kathmandu Valley traditionally had an urban-rural symbiosis with densely-packed towns situated on higher ground, with intensive farming in the fertile soil below. The pond is a reminder of the wisdom of Kathmandu’s rulers who understood this ecological balance, as well as its cultural significance.“Since the day of its inauguration the pond was already considered a sacred site due to the temple in the centre and because water from 51 holy places were ceremonially poured into it,” says <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deconstructing-reconstruction/">heritage conservationist Alok Siddhi Tuladhar</a>.After it was damaged again in the 2015 earthquake, President Bidya Devi Bhandari inaugurated the reconstruction of Rani Pokhari in January 2016. The Kathmandu Metropolitan City got a budget of Rs120 million for the job, but it started to line the perimeter with cement for shops, and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2016/09/01/unesco-concerned/">used concrete to rebuild the temple</a>. After opposition, the work was stopped and handed over to the NRA.“We wanted to make sure everyone involved had a say in the reconstruction, as the NRA is just a temporary organisation, so we formed a committee consisting of people from KMC, Department of Archaeology and local experts,” explained the NRA’s Sushil Gyawali.After much debate the NRA decided to rebuild the temple in the original 1671 Shikhara style, and also revive the original hydrological elements used in the pond. This was not an easy job. <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/resurrecting-rani-pokhari-right/">Experts from Bhaktapur</a> were brought in to line the pond with black clay and bricks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109141140/636badf79c7e80680e077fc4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>The biggest challenge was to revive the previous water management system. The artesian wells and underground channels that fed the pond have dried up or have been destroyed by surrounding building construction.“We will do our best to fill the pond through natural means but we will have to take extreme measures if the plan fails,” explained Gyawali.One of those “extreme measures” was to start filling the pond last week with muddy water from a nearby tube well. But this was also stopped after local opposition.“It was a mistake. Rani Pokhari is a holy site and using tubewell water diminishes its religious, cultural and ecological value,” said Tuladhar. The NRA stopped using the tubewell water, but Gyewali says that even the heavy monsoon rains will not be enough to fill the pond.Other options are to use the trial feed from the Melamchi tunnel, or rainwater harvesting from the reconstructed Darbar High School and Tri Chandra College.Another problem might be that the bed of the pond is lined with trapezoid dachhi appa bricks and the gaps between them could over time be blocked by debris and prevent seepage of water for recharging.“This will not only defeat the purpose of recharging the underground channels but it will also make the pond dirty, so money has to be spent in cleaning it,” says Sudarshan Tiwari.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/draining-the-swamp/">Despite the compromises</a> during its reconstruction, Rani Pokhari has become a symbol of what proper restoration should look like. Relentless activism and communities uniting to preserve this heritage has saved  Kathmandu’s past for its future.

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Building back Rani Pokhari even better

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d1d9c7e80680e06b331jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1132"/><figcaption>Tripurasundari Temple in Kathmandu undergoing restoration. Photo: LOCHAN RIJAL</figcaption></figure>On 25 April 2015, when a 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit Nepal, aside from lives lost and homes destroyed, there was great damage to the temples and monuments of Kathmandu Valley.Today, five years later, many have been rebuilt, some of them adhering even more to the original designs. But there are others which are only now being rebuilt like the 1,300 year old <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/rebuilding-kasthamandap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/rebuilding-kasthamandap&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587903386769000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHVHZi5tkXtZzhJYryQ1LGnTOBPUg">Kasthamandap</a> and other shrines, with reconstruction further delayed by the COVID-19 lockdown.One of the more unique monuments under reconstruction is the Kal Mochan Temple and Mahadev Temple in Tripureswor. Having been built relatively recently in 1818, the temple is also unique because it is a tribute to a Shah queen, Lalita Tripura Sundari, but built in the style of the Malla period.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d209c7e80680e06b332jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="252" height="128">The temple has been under renovation for the Kathmandu University Department of Music after signing a 25-year agreement with the Guthi Sansthan that manages heritage activities and the Department of Archaeology.The elegant, tall temple is located by the banks of Bagmati, and was in the process of being retrofitted when the 2015 earthquake struck damaging the structure and the surrounding sattal. But a dispute between a self-styled musical instrument museum occupying the north wing of the temple courtyard, has been refusing to vacate despite losing its case against Kathmandu University.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/red-monsoon-lochan-rijal-song-true-to-nepali-roots,1288" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/red-monsoon-lochan-rijal-song-true-to-nepali-roots,1288&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587903386769000&amp;usg=AFQjCNEtqZZjjmY53T2Gkl_BEzheXjBrEw">Lochan Rijal</a> heads the Department of Music at Kathmandu University and is optimistic that the school and its students from Nepal and 35 other countries can move in once renovation, which is funded by the Thai government and university, is complete.“The Lalit Tripurasundari site is the best available spot for a school of ethno-musicology,” Rijal said. “Our purpose is to amalgamate both tangible and intangible heritage so that students can have an authentic cultural foundation for their study of music.”Just as the university was planning to move it, the final touches of the renovation work has been delayed by the coronavirus lockdown. Even so, wood carvers, architects and construction workers are at work at the site, aiming to complete the project on schedule.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d219c7e80680e06b333jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="960"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We have to finish the project anyway, but for that the lockdown needs to end, otherwise, we will run out of funding. But we are patient, and will wait it out,” Rijal adds.<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587903386769000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFG_Q8hIvlgYNWdO-4RpWKhxp_Z2w">Rohit Ranjitkar</a> of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/lessons-from-25-April,2967" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/lessons-from-25-April,2967&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1587903386769000&amp;usg=AFQjCNGD-utSq2cBDN7zPuxfWjrjJZcLBg">Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust</a> is a consultant architect for the Tripurasundari Temple project and brings with him vast experience from the renovation work in Patan.“The temple was had fallen into disuse for a long time, there were squatters living in it, and the monument suffered from lack of maintenance and supervision,” Ranjitkar says. “The Department of Music coming on board will mean a new beginning in preserving this unique  heritage.”<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d259c7e80680e06b334jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d289c7e80680e06b335jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="640" height="427"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Indeed, the renovation stays true to the original architecture of the complex, but has completely remodelled the inside of the sattal for use as classrooms and for musical performances. The KU Department of Music started outing Bhaktapur and expects to move into the new premises later this year.Artisans from Bhaktapur are busy replacing wooden columns that have bene damaged by copying the carvings from the intact ones. The metal roof has had to be repaired, and the pinnacle is gleaming in the sun after being cleaned and dusted, possibly for the first time in the 2002 years since it was built.The Tripurasundari restoration has given added meaning to post-earthquake revival by turning a shrine also into a temple of learning.<h2>Fighting to preserve heritage</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121120/636b8d2e9c7e80680e06b336jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Although Bhaktapur and Patan have made much progress in renovation of temples, monument complexes and shrines, Kathmandu has not shown the same level of commitment.Being the capital, Kathmandu has had to deal with foreign countries competing to rebuild various parts of the old town. Even though Nepal has rebuilt its monuments itself after destructive earthquakes every 100 years,  governments since 2015 have not been able to say no. The hanuman Dhaka Palace is being rebuilt by the Chinese, the Gaddi Baithak was renovated by the United States, the Japanese are rebuilding a section of the Nasal Chok.But there have been delays even the sites that the municipality itself was reconstructing like Kasthamandap and Rani Pokhara. Disputes arose between heritage preservationists and the city government which wanted to pour concrete and depart from the original style and design. The disagreement has finally been sorted out, and both sites are now being rebuilt.Dharara tower, where more than 60 people were killed five years ago, was also bogged down in a controversy about how to rebuild it. It was finally decided to keep the base of the tower that remains as a monument to the earthquake, and build another identical tower next to it.In July 2019, UNESCO issued a statement on dropping two construction projects from Basantapur Durbar Square the Jagannath and Gopinath temples, following threats from the community and local workers.Sushil Gyewali, the head of Nepal Reconstruction Authority, agrees that there have bene delays in Kathmandu and hints are lack of coordination between various government entities.He adds: “It is true that the authority has prioritised family homes, and heritage reconstruction has suffered, and the lockdown has pushed the completion further.”

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Turning a shrine into a temple of learning

<figure><img width="4160" height="3120" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f609c7e80680e04fd04jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>PHOTOS: REETI K.C.</figcaption></figure>Usually a venue for contemporary Nepali art, the latest exhibition at the Siddhartha Art Gallery at Baber Mahal Revisited is unconventional in both form and substance.The exhibits are digital prints depicting characters from Marvel and DC Comics like The Hulk and Captain America, but on bicycles wearing dhaka topi, red tika and jamara, ready to celebrate Dasain in the streets of Thamel. Designer Disneys wearing Nepali costumes in the city’s landmarks, and there are even  Ronaldo and Messi wearing dhaka topi.“I chose international characters because they are globally recognised icons, and I wanted to showcase Nepal’s cultural heritage sites,” explained artist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sunny_toygraphy/?fbclid=IwAR0eNdEkRv9tIFU4CSfjw02uVE3CsTzfmebbFWeL82d7YCG36JIchG2S4U8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sunny Shakya</a>, who started out as a sculptor, but switched to toygraphy, combing toys and photography. He got the idea when he took a picture of toy key rings with the background of Bhaktapur. People liked his work and he came up with more toys and more settings, combining his photography skills with knowledge of culture and sculpting.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/lost-in-transition/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Lost in Transition</a>, Sewa Sewa Bhattarai <figure><img width="4160" height="3120" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f649c7e80680e04fd05jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Sunny Shakya poses in front of his digital print of Hulk Bahadur. </figcaption></figure>This is an unusual way to feature Nepali culture, but taking photographs of Barbie dolls draped in Hakupatasi, Super heroes in Nepali caps, and Joker playing the near-extinct Nepali string instrument, the arbajo.   The photographs divide the exhibition into sections: Spiderman and Batman fly kites with Spidey’s web in place of string in the section with a Dasain theme. There is a Hulk and Batman series with a little story of a fun love triangle. Captain Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean poses on a boat in Phewa Lake where he is the Pirate of Pokhara instead. Super villain Thanos carries a doko collecting grass in Ghandruk, and has obviously given up trying to eliminate half the world’s population. Aquaman protests the Guthi Bill in front of Rani Pokhari and Spiderman in front of Tribhuvan University.  “I try to make pictures meaningful,” Shakya explains, pointing to a photo of Hulk wearing a Nepali cap and waving the national flag with a background of people demonstrating against the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/culture-revolution/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Guthi Bill</a> at The Mandala recently.   <figure><img width="1500" height="1125" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108131144/636a4f689c7e80680e04fd06jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption>Hulk Bahadur protesting against the Guthi Bill. </figcaption></figure>Shakya also used names such as Hulk Bahadur or Hulk ‘Cha’, Barbie maicha, Wonder Woman is Wonder Kanchi, Captain America is Captain Nepal. Thor holds a trisul instead of his hammer.  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/365-is-not-just-a-number/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">365 is not just a number</a>, Sewa Bhattarai “I have been sculpting for 15 years, but the last eight months working on these photographs is the happiest I have been, and I have gained much more recognition,” says Shakya, adding that the plans to do more photo stories to promote Nepal’s ethnic attire and promote tourism through his photography.  Toygraphy by Sunny Shakya Siddhartha Art Gallery, Baber Mahal Revisited Until 24 July

Hulk Bahadur and Barbie Maicha

<figure><img width="800" height="1067" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101144/636a25c59c7e80680e0439ddjpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: HANS HOFER</figcaption></figure>Communities in Kathmandu Valley’s historic towns have revived age-old traditions and craftsmanship to rebuild after every earthquake in the past. The disasters provided the opportunity to revitalise ancient art, architecture, traditional techniques for wood carving and metal work. Nearly four years after the 2015 earthquake monuments like the Patan Museum (above) are examples of Kathmandu Valley’s living heritage that attract pilgrims and tourists.Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=21144&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Learning from Nepal's past to rebuild its future</a>, Prakriti Kandel<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deconstructing-reconstruction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deconstructing reconstruction</a>, Alok Tuladhar <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapur-shows-the-way-by-rebuilding-itself/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur shows the way by rebuilding itself</a>, Suyog Prajapati<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Piece by piece</a>, Sahina Shrestha<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/owning-our-past-heritage,3461" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Owning up to our past</a>, Sahina Shrestha<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101144/636a25c89c7e80680e0439dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="132">

Our past is our future

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csrbcdCBW4IIt has been nearly four years after the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Monumental-loss,2215" target="_blank" rel="noopener">2015 earthquake</a>, and media reports about reconstruction of damaged buildings is mostly negative: compensation is too little too late, it has not reached the neediest, and the process is too bureaucratic.Indeed, only a fraction of the 700,000 buildings destroyed have been rebuilt with government help. Since the money is not enough, families are building small sheds so they can receive their third tranche.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/deconstructing-reconstruction/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deconstructing reconstruction</a>, Alok TuladharHowever, in Kathmandu Valley’s historic towns, communities have revived age-old traditions and craftsmanship to rebuild after the earthquake just like their ancestors did after every previous disaster. In fact, along with tourism, earthquakes have provided the opportunity to revitalise ancient art, architecture, traditional techniques for wood carving and metal work.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25d39c7e80680e0439e3jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="132"/>“Earlier, it would not be possible to study the interiors of heritage structures, but the earthquake gave us the chance not just for building back stronger, but also for detailed research of how our ancestors knew about seismic resistant building designs,” says conservationist Alok Tuladhar.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25d59c7e80680e0439e4jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="786"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>One of the most dramatic examples of this is the reconstruction of the three-storey <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/restoring-bhai-dega-temple-in-patan,4046" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaidega Temple</a> in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/patan-museum-updated,1304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patan Darbar Square</a>, which was razed in the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=5065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1934 megaquake</a>, and had been rebuilt with a Moghul stucco dome. Reconstruction in the original Malla style had just begun 80 years later, when the 2015 earthquake struck.Nearby, the Char Narayan and Hari Shankar temples were reduced to rubble, and ancient pati (traditional rest houses) came down. Today, most of the damaged monuments have either been rebuilt or are covered in scaffolding (right).Leading Patan’s restoration work is the Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2017/04/26/story-of-a-temple-rising/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KVPT</a>), which was supervising Bhaidega and other reconstruction even before the 2015 earthquake. KVPT’s architect Rohit Ranjitkar says the earthquake four years ago provided the opportunity to learn more about <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/In-perfect-harmony,3251" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traditional construction methods</a> so they could be revived.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25d89c7e80680e0439e5jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933">In KVPT’s workshop in the Patan Darbar gardens, a dozen woodcarvers are busy with their chisels and mallets renovating damaged eaves and columns from the temples, and also carving new ones to replace missing originals. The descendants of famous artisans are carrying on their family professions and rebuilding after 2015, just like their forebears did after 1934, 1866, 1833 and other destructive earthquakes that struck Kathmandu Valley in the past.KVPT’s reconstruction philosophy is to retain as much of the original pieces as possible, so woodcarvers work carefully to graft pieces salvaged from the rubble, ensuring that the fresh carvings perfectly complement the darker brown hues of the original wood structure.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25da9c7e80680e0439e6jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">One of the carvers, Pratap Shilpakar, takes a break and tells us, “I feel honoured and proud to contribute to help preserve our heritage, and to repair these precious artifacts that were carved by my forefathers.” Shilpakar was working in his personal handicraft shop in Bhaktapur before being recruited by KVPT for the intricate task of repairing the originals.Off the 17th century Pimbaha Pukhu at Sulima Chok is a small temple where the four columns holding up the roof are from different centuries. Heritage expert Anil Chitrakar points them out: “Each of these columns are from a different era, recarved after every earthquake. Our ancestors knew how to improvise and rebuild as they went along.”To be sure, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/traditions-dying-off-in-patan-temple-courtyard-as-young-generation-leave" target="_blank" rel="noopener">not many young Newa people today are too keen</a> on taking up their ancestral profession of wood carving, which needs life-long devotion and instruction to master. However, after 2015 there is renewed interest in preserving the built environment and Kathmandu Valley’s intangible heritage. Says Chitrakar: "As long as there is a critical mass of artisans to take it to the next generation, the craftsmanship will survive."Shilpakar (whose surname means ‘craftsman’) admits he has learned more about ancient styles and techniques while reconstructing Patan’s monuments -- skills that he can incorporate into his handicraft business, now that tourism is on the rebound. Reconstruction has also been a financial boost for carvers after plummeting business post-earthquake.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25df9c7e80680e0439e7jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934">Besides woodworkers, the earthquake also helped revive artisans who worked on bronze as they repaired the gajur pinnacles damaged in 2015. Masons and clay workers who specialised in traditional dachi appa bricks have also got new business after the earthquake.Studies prove that structures which had been maintained regularly before the quake suffered minimal damage. Conservation is therefore an ongoing exercise, and important not just for a regular flow of skills amongst artisans, but also safety in preparation for the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/editorial/aint-seen-nothing-yet/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">next big earthquake</a>.KVPT’s Ranjitkar says, “We apply the principle of minimal intervention to improve safety features of buildings, because human life comes first. The damage in the 2015 earthquake gave us further insight about the weak points that we need to work to strengthen.”Read also:<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapur-shows-the-way-by-rebuilding-itself/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur shows the way by rebuilding itself</a>, Suyog Prajapati<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/kathmandu-monumental-rivalry,4209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A monumental rivalry</a>, Om Astha Rai<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Piece by piece</a>, Sahina Shrestha<a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/owning-our-past-heritage,3461" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Owning up to our past</a>, Sahina Shrestha<h2>A tale of two cities</h2>Of the ancient kingdom towns of Kathmandu Valley, <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/piece-by-piece-patan-darbar-square-reconstruction,3782/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Patan</a> and <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/bhaktapur-shows-the-way-by-rebuilding-itself/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Bhaktapur</a>  have made the most progress in reconstruction because of the involvement of local communities and the activism of organisations like KVPT.It is in Kathmandu, the seat of the national government and led by a <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/editorial/state-of-confusion-kathmandu-mayor,4094" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weak mayor</a>, where the progress in rebuilding monuments have been slowest. The government has waited four years to decide on the reconstruction of <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/On-the-way-up/untie-the-knot-in-heritage-reconstruction,862" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kasthamandap</a> and <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/on-queens-pond-rani-pokhari,4092" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rani Pokhari</a>. It blundered in trying to rebuild them with concrete, ignoring traditional design styles.<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/kathmandu-monumental-rivalry,4209" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rivalry among donors</a> like China and the United States which have vied for high-visibility reconstruction projects in Hanuman Dhoka and Darbar School have also put additional pressure on the municipality.<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25e39c7e80680e0439e8jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="786">Patan heritage activist Ram Prasad Amatya, 80, shakes his head comparing his town with Kathmandu: “After four years, the Rani Pokhari and the temples in Kathmandu are still in ruins. The central government has no love or ownership for our heritage.”In stark contrast, Patan has not just rebuilt inner-city tanks like Pimbaha Pukhu, but the reconstruction has revived the entire neighbourhood, attracting new <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Heritage-homes-in-Kathmandu,3400" target="_blank" rel="noopener">homestay tourists</a> and giving locals an open space with a relaxing ambience.Says heritage activist Alok Tuladhar: “Whatever has worked in post-quake reconstruction in Patan or Bhaktapur have been achieved by local communities. The national government has bungled everything it has tried to push in Kathmandu.”<h2>Dharma Bajracharya's dharma</h2>Woodcarver gradually recovers his trade after the hard challenges of the 2015 earthquake<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25e69c7e80680e0439e9jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="933"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Despite new tools and automation, Nepal’s artisans have gone back to <a style="background-color: #ffffff; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/a-craving-for-carving,3637" target="_blank" rel="noopener">traditional methods to rebuild monuments</a> destroyed and damaged in the 2015 earthquake.In the Chwechhen neighbourhood of Patan, detailed carvings adorn almost every piece of architecture. A crumbling old temple in the square has now been lovingly and painstakingly restored to its former glory, using old techniques, raw materials and tools.Dharma Dutta Bajracharya (pictured, above) is one of the woodcarvers, and has been chiselling figures of deities into wood since he started as an apprentice to learn the craft from his father at age 13.Woodcarvers like Bajracharya lost much of their business when the earthquake and Indian Blockade reduced tourist traffic to a trickle. Luckily, the disaster turned out to be boost because of the demand for reconstruction using traditional techniques that generations of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/half-full/relearning-build-better,1118" target="_blank" rel="noopener">woodcarvers</a> have passed down to the present day.The eldest of four brothers in his family, 43-year-old Bajracharya’s upbringing was tough. “Money was tight so you either learnt the trade or you went to school, not both,” he recalls. He was the only brother interested in <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/training-woodcarvers-to-restore-the-future,3586" target="_blank" rel="noopener">woodcarving</a>, but he now fears that these skills will end with his generation because his son is not interested in carving.Bajracharya says these are skills that you cannot just be trained for, they need to be learned from a very young age. It is not just the skill and craft, he adds, but a whole culture of devotion that imbues a piece of wood with divine attributes.Younger children in the neighbourhood now wear smart uniforms and go off to school every morning. Few have time to learn the old crafts, and it is not taught in school. Bajracharya admits he wants his son to be happy, and perhaps it is just as well he does not get encumbered with a dying profession.But despite the difficulties, Bajracharya still takes great pride in his profession and it shows in his craftsmanship. “I’ve done this for 30 years, and the carvings on the reconstructed monuments will be passed down for the next generation to enjoy.”With all the rebuilding around the corner, and Visit Nepal Year 2020 reviving hopes of tourism, Bajracharya has reason to be hopeful.Taylor Mason<h2>Heritage hotel</h2><figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108101148/636a25e99c7e80680e0439eajpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="934"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Earthquakes may have preserved Kathmandu Valley’s culture in the past, but recent times it was tourism that kept the craftsmanship alive. One of the prime examples of this is <a href="http://dwarikas.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dwarika’s Hotel</a> in Kathmandu that is more like a museum of Newa devotional art than a hotel.At the peak of Kathmandu Valley’s heritage destruction in the 1970s, founder <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1181#.XFwC5FUzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dwarika Das Shrestha</a> roamed the city streets salvaging carved windows, columns and eaves. As the city itself turned into concrete, Shrestha embedded the priceless elements into a new hotel that started in 1977. Today, the award-winning hotel is an example of how tourism can help preserve heritage.Shrestha also employed local artisans to carve extra windows and doorways and thus kept the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/rebuilding-temples-a-chance-to-creat-jobs-and-to-revive-woodcarving-industry%20,2347" target="_blank" rel="noopener">tradition of woodcarving</a> alive. Along with collected woodwork, carpenters created the hotel’s furniture, traditional brick-making skills were used for terracotta work.  Today, many more Kathmandu hotels, even private residences, have emulated the Dwarika’s model of preserving traditional motifs.

Learning from Nepal's past to rebuild its future

One smoggy winter morning in February 2019, Ekta regretted coming to her sculpture class. It was the first day of her period, and the 19-year-old wished she was home, curled up in bed with a hot water bag to soothe her cramps.
Her class was at Kalapremi Ceramic Studio, a dark room on the ground floor of a house in Maharajganj, and Ekta’s teacher was the artist Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’, a noted sculptor.
Two other students were already there, using all their muscle strength to knead the sculpting clay. Ekta, now 24, recalls how Kalapremi asked her if she was feeling all right. She avoided him, as she did not want everyone to know she was menstruating.
Kalapremi repeatedly asked Ekta what was wrong. She finally muttered that she was having her period, after which he grabbed her hand and led her to a partitioned corner of the studio and sat her on a chair. Before she could stop him, he slid his hand under her dress, and started massaging her abdomen.
“I was horrified,” Ekta recalls. “I told him to stop, but he didn’t listen, asking me not to be shy, saying he knew how to relieve my pain. He stopped only after I protested furiously.”&nbsp;
The art tutor then said, “You’re like my daughter. I’m doing it out of love to make you feel better, but you’re so stubborn.”&nbsp;
“Instead of saying sorry he acted like I was the one having crazy thoughts,” remembers Ekta, adding that from April 2016 to August 2020 beginning the time she was 16, the artist sexually abused and harassed her on several occasions. &nbsp;
Now, Ekta and the artist’s other former students are finally sharing their experiences and some are pressing legal charges against him, hoping that others do not have to endure what they did.&nbsp;
Award-winning artist and teacher Gopal Das Shrestha ‘Kalapremi’ (the name means ‘Art Lover’) is known for his ceramic art, sculpture, and contemporary pottery. He was <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/the-house-of-kalapremi">profiled in Nepali Times after a collaborative exhibition</a>, ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ at the Siddhartha Art Gallery three years ago.&nbsp;
His pieces, titled Gaalis, featured sculpted female figures with the heads of dogs, sheep, and donkeys (pictured) to depict derogatory terms for women. Some critics said the collection was a satire on feminists.
Kalapremi started his artistic and teaching career in 1983 and over the years taught at Bhanubhakta School, Kathmandu University School of Arts, Lalitkala Campus and at his private Kalapremi Ceramic Studio. He has also lectured at Jeonju University in South Korea and recently at Tabor Academy in the United States.
Seven of Kalapremi’s former students were interviewed for this story. Five female students said he touched them inappropriately in his studio or at Kathmandu University. Two male students said they witnessed him abuse and harass the women. In all cases, the students struggled to recognise the abuse when it occurred, and the lack of reporting systems left them to cope on their own for years.&nbsp;
Earlier this year, students shared a social media post hinting at Kalapremi’s history of abusive behaviour following which more students of the artist reached out sharing similar experiences. Some students spoke of abuse that happened as long as 20 years ago.
Kalapremi, 60, has denied the allegations. He told Nepali Times: “Some years ago, there was a movement encouraging people to hug and kiss. I used to do it purely out of friendship and love. But after seeing posts on social media last year calling out my behaviour, I realised my actions may have hurt some people. I understand now that I should have been more mindful.”
He added: “I am also an auxiliary health worker, so I know the exact points to massage to relieve menstrual pain. It’s not just menstruation, I take anyone who is ill to the hospital.”
Sexual abuse is much more rampant than reported given how difficult it is to prove it in court. The law defines sexual abuse as occuring when someone touches another’s private parts, coerces them into touching theirs, uses vulgar language, shows degrading images, or behaves indecently towards them without consent.&nbsp;
Ekta and her fellow students are consulting lawyer Suneeta Regmi Pokhrel, who says they know that even if the court decides in their favour, it is difficult to survive after speaking up, and influential men defend themselves saying they are being framed.&nbsp;
“They are in a lot of pain and weep when recalling how he abused them,” Regmi Pokhrel told us. “They are angry and have filed a case against him, but they are also terrified. They know he is a powerful man and they have seen how our society treats women who speak up against abusers. Unless people speak up, perpetrators will be emboldened.”
Art and academia in Nepal simply reflect the power imbalances in society where people with intersecting identities experience worse forms of abuse. Theatre actors Raj Kumar Pudasaini, Rajan Khatiwada, and Sunil Pokhrel were called out during the #MeToo movement in the Nepali theatre scene in 2019. Even after the allegations Pokhrel went on to receive national awards, while others continued to work without repercussions.
“If you speak up against abusers, you gradually get sidelined from projects,” explained a theatre artist who wished anonymity fearing professional setbacks. “The theatre scene in Nepal is quite small, you just have to make peace with the perpetrators and work with them if you want to sustain yourself.”&nbsp;
In academia there is a history of faculty members sexually harassing students and getting away with it. After Tribhuvan University (TU) lecturer Krishna Bhattachan was accused of harassing women students, the university said it would follow Nepal’s sexual harassment law and set up a reporting mechanism. But nothing happened to the professor, who had already retired. Instead, he counter-accused the students of 'attacking the indigenous people’s movement with baseless allegations' as <a href="https://kathmandupost.com/letters/2019/01/29/bhattachan-responds">he told the Kathmandu Post in 2019</a>. He continues to be featured as a prominent speaker including at TU.
Other faculty members previously accused of sexual harassment include Jagadish Murti Koirala from TU, Bishnu Prasad Acharya from Ratna Rajya Campus, and Bodha Raj Tripathee from Lalitpur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya. A woman staff member from TU also filed a sexual abuse complaint against Dambar Chemjong from TU.
Prominent figures like <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-rise-and-fall-of-nims-purja">mountaineer Nims Purja</a> have been <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/sports/mountaineering-sexual-harassment-abuse-nims-purja.html">accused of sexual assault</a>, and cricketer Sandeep Lamichhane, actor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/celebrity-rape-case-spotlights-nepal-laws">Paul Shah</a>, and former speaker of Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/mahara-arrested">Krishna Bahadur Mahara</a> have been accused of rape, but society-at-large has let off the alleged perpetrators amdist a larger debate about justice for survivors and punishment of perpetrators.&nbsp;
‘Gaushala-26’ is the court name given to the 18-year-old who accused Sandeep Lamichhane, former captain of Nepal’s national cricket team and skipper of Biratnagar Kings in the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/here-comes-the-nepal-premier-league">ongoing Nepal Premier League</a>, of rape. She left the country citing society questioning her character affecting her mental health while Lamichhane got an outpouring of support. In May, the Patan High Court overturned a prior verdict that found Lamichhane guilty of rape and had sentenced him to eight years in prison. During the 23-month legal battle to pursue justice, Gaushala-26 faced threats of gang rape and acid attacks.&nbsp;
Exhausted by the struggle, Gaushala-26 sought to “move to a new world” where she could live free without hiding her identity.
Actress Samragyee Rajya Laxmi Shah in an Instagram video now deleted detailed the harassment she faced from a filmmaker during a movie shoot. She did not name any name but veteran actor Bhuwan KC filed a defamation case against Rana, but the court ruled that the charge lacked sufficient evidence.&nbsp;
Former Kathmandu mayor <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/theytoo">Keshav Sthapit also mocked the #MeToo movement</a>, calling accusations against him by journalists Rashmila Prajapati and Ujjwala Maharjan “a rape of men’s rights”.
Serial Abuse
Back at the Kalapremi Ceramics studio, another former student, 24-year-old Rajiv, says he felt the need to speak out after seeing his female classmates being abused.&nbsp;
“He frequently kissed them on their cheeks,” he told Nepali Times. “Whenever they walked into the studio he flailed his arms like a child asking for a hug. They awkwardly hugged him from the side, but he pulled them closer, held their chin, and kissed their cheeks.”&nbsp;
Rajiv says he also saw Kalapremi pull the women’s bra straps, touch their breasts, and slap their buttocks. The young students would freeze, not knowing how to react, and if they protested, he would say it was “normal in art”. Rajiv, 19 at the time like his classmates, remembers thinking perhaps the well-respected artist was right after all.
Another student, Luna, who took lessons at Kalapremi’s studio from 2020 to 2022 did try to confront the tutor after he made an obscene proposal to her. She recalls: “One day when the other students had left the studio and it was just the two of us, he told me that God had given him special artistic talent and he could transfer those powers to me. But to do that both of us will have to be naked, inside a dark room, and have sex.”
Luna, who was 18 then, was livid and told him she did not want any of his powers, but she says he laughed at her as if he was joking. She did not tell her family about the incident because she thought no one would believe her.&nbsp;
“They were all in awe of this famous artist and felt I should be grateful that to be learning sculpting from him,” she says. “I was scared to be alone with him in case he talked about sex again. My coping mechanism was to be rude so he wouldn’t try to come close to me.”
Seeing how some classmates were standing up to Kalapremi, Ekta too tried to push back against his advances, but she said he found ways to coerce her. Since Ekta, Rajiv, and Luna could not afford Kalapremi’s Rs30,000 monthly fee for lessons, he had offered them all a stipend to assist him in the studio.
“He had spondylosis and took me to his therapy sessions to learn massage techniques, then he often made me and other students massage him,” says Ekta. Whenever she refused, he would feign pain to make her feel sorry for him. “He would insist that I put my hands under his shirt so that I could massage him better,” she adds.
The art tutor often tried to “seduce sympathy” from Ekta by sharing how he had never been loved as a child and was “sexually frustrated” as an adult.&nbsp;
“At 7PM, he would pour himself Signature whiskey and immediately go off again about how he was sex-starved. I didn’t know how to respond. It took me time to realise alcohol was just an excuse to talk about sex,” Ekta says.
If convicted, Kalapremi could face financial penalty and/or a prison sentence of up to three years according to Section 224 of National Penal (Code) Act 2017.&nbsp;
Data suggests that victims of child sexual abuse on average take nearly 24 years to tell someone about their trauma, and some may never disclose it at all.&nbsp;
“In our culture, children are rarely taught about boundaries. They often react, show anger when adults pinch their cheeks. But adults insist they did it out of love, and force the children to accept it,” says Sita Lama, a psychotherapist at Manka Kura. “And even when someone touches them inappropriately they struggle to identify and verbalise it.”
When perpetrators claim to be “acting out of love”, Lama says survivors are likely to perceive it as something safe, rather than recognising it as abuse.&nbsp;
“It may take years for them to realise they were abused,” she explains. "And even when they become aware, the power imbalance with the abuser and the associated shame often prevents survivors from speaking up."
Other former students from the School of Art at Kathmandu University have also come forward years later, saying Kalapremi sexually abused them. As young adults, they felt his behaviour was off but were uncertain if it was inappropriate, illegal, or they did not know how to respond. After having understood that it was indeed abuse, they say they are speaking out now to protect others.&nbsp;
Amina Singh, a visiting faculty member at Kathmandu University, says there is no clause against sexual abuse in contracts of teachers, and there is no formal grievance handling mechanism for the students.&nbsp;
“So the only way students can to deal with sexual abuse is approach someone they trust,” she says.
Eight other former art students of Lalit Kala Campus and Srijana College of Fine Arts of Tribhuvan University and other private art studios in Kathmandu say they were also sexually abused by their art teachers. Three faculty members interviewed from these institutions said they saw the abuse, but felt it was futile to report it given how powerful the teachers were.
In the absence of a formal system, some longtime women artists warned each other about “problematic” artists. They shared &nbsp;a “heads-up” to be more cautious when collaborating with them, and avoided responding to their calls and texts after work hours.
To ensure art institutions are safe for all, galleries, museums, artist studios, and smaller art spaces need to develop policies on sexual harassment. This would include a code of conduct or studio policies that hold the leadership accountable and outline the principles of professional ethics.&nbsp;
Students and employees should inquire about accountability mechanisms for raising concerns, both formally and informally, advocates say.
Three years after Ekta left the ceramics studio, she learnt that Kalapremi had harassed many other women. Still trying to get a footing in the art industry, she attended a workshop in Kathmandu where women artists discussed ways to stay safe in the art sector.&nbsp;
Since it was a close-knit group Ekta opened up about how she felt violated and realised she was not alone, he had been abusing underprivileged students for years, and this was common knowledge among artists in Nepal.
Ekta says that even after she quit, Kalapremi continued sending her text messages like ‘I am thinking of you’, ‘Why have you stopped speaking with me’, or ‘I am waiting for your call’.&nbsp;
But what really forced her to act was when Ekta found out that he was sending similar texts to her younger sister.&nbsp;
“I’ve had enough,” she told us. “He abused me all these years but I won’t let him abuse my sister.” &nbsp;
Ekta, Rajiv and Luna are not the real names of the students.&nbsp;

‘Art Lover’ accused of sexual abuse

It was 8:15 in the evening of 25 March 1968 when everyone in the village of Batulechaur near Pokhara heard a deafening sound like thunder as a bright flashing object hurtled down to land in a field.&nbsp; That field belonged to Kul Timilsina, and the next morning he retrieved a sheet of metal about 2m by 1m and carried it home with the help of a few others, thinking it would be useful for his buffalo shed.&nbsp; Before he died at age 83 three years ago, Timilsina had told photo archivist Sunil Ulak that the black metal sheet was not rectangular and had rounded corners. There are a few witnesses still alive who have a clear recollection of the object that fell from the sky that night.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024120707128_75cc85aac56b9cc4a77366471f058d7b3eb6868776811b0923845c2d0a61f014" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="601" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>The field in Batulechaur belonging to Kul Timilsina where fragments of a flying object fell from the sky in 1968.</figcaption> </figure>  One of them is Timilsina’s wife Gyanu, who was 22 at the time. She had been at home, and remembers hearing the big bang and the sky becoming very bright. “We saw the thing in the field in the morning,” she told us. “It looked like a lid, a covering of some sort. The way it was stuck in the ground, it must have fallen from the sky. We thought we could use it to dry clothes on, and took it home.”&nbsp; Another witness is Kul Narayan Paudel. “I was only eight then. We ran to the field to see what had fallen. It was a four-sided metal sheet. The elders took it away, and I don't know what happened to it.” &nbsp; Ram Bahadur Baniya, a teacher at the local school, says he had heard the sheet had been brought to the school, and later handed over to the Zonal Commissioner at the time, Nanda Prasad Malla. “But that is all hearsay,” he says.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024120707128_0bf207a12063fb8155b3c8d9a00a94887b126380c9e0627527c84cf5e1101f54" data-rendition-name="original" width="1170" height="610" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Gyanu Timilsina, wife of Kul Timilsina.</figcaption> </figure>  There are two versions of what happened to Kul Timilsina’s metal sheet. One is that an American Peace Corp Volunteer teaching at the nearby Bindyabasini School took it, and another is that it was handed over to the government. Recently declassified Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and US State Department documents from the time say that the US Embassy in Kathmandu tracked down the object two years later and had it shipped back to the US. A telegram from the Department of State and Department of Defense tagged as ‘MOON DUST / Space Fragments’ dated 1 March 1972 stated: ‘1. Restored space fragment will be on board Embassy support flight 115 arriving Kathmandu on or about March 10. Fragment is packed in shipping crate (cargo no. 72-33365) marked in care of DAO.&nbsp; 2. State and Defense representatives examined fragments prior to shipment finding restoration acceptable.’  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241207071212_929d903ee06d41baa4f6040e981cd7c7d7bd75cc9c37c9b617d307fc8538d2df" data-rendition-name="original" width="856" height="568" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> <figcaption>Declassified CIA documents about the investigation into the object sighted in Pokhara. </figcaption> </figure>  The documents show that the US government, military and intelligence agencies investigated this incident thoroughly when it occurred, and have continued to revisit it ever since, as recently as five years ago. What is even more intriguing is that the object that fell in Pokhara was not the only unidentified space object that fell to earth that year. There were similar sightings of objects falling from the sky in Ladakh, Sikkim and Bhutan between 19 February and 25 March 1968.&nbsp; These mysteries were the subject of a CIA investigation in 1968 titled ‘<a href="https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP81R00560R000100070007-8.pdf">Sighting of Unidentified Flying Objects in Ladakh, Nepal, Sikkim and Bhutan</a>’, and the report is part of the recent online declassification of 800,000 top-secret documents from the period.&nbsp; &nbsp;Although unidentified flying objects (UFOs) have a connotation now of being alien craft, it could be pieces of satellite, missile, rocket or even aircraft. The CIA report documents six sightings in 1968 and quotes local sources as describing all of them having similar characteristics: bright blue or red streaks in the sky accompanied by loud sounds like lightning and thunder and objects falling to the ground. Aside from the metallic object that was found in Batlechaur, there were other items also found nearby in Tallakot, Tureypasal, Armalakot and Maidan. Whatever the object was, it seems to have disintegrated even before it hit the ground.&nbsp; The CIA report records the first sighting on 19 February 1968 in various parts of Sikkim and Olangchung Gola and Ghunsa in eastern Nepal. The light was said to be ‘long and thin’ and giving out ‘green and red light’. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241207071212_c3c825027d966a2aedc846970390eebe063957503c7eacc8e01e0517843f9bbb" data-rendition-name="original" width="892" height="596" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara "> </figure>  Two days later on 21 February, a soundless blue object was seen traveling fast across the sky above Thimphu in Bhutan. Then on 4 March there were multiple daytime sightings or white streaks in the sky at Chang La Pass, Fukche and Koyul in Ladakh. There were more sightings in Ladakh on the very day fragments fell near Pokhara on 25 March 1968.&nbsp; After the sightings in Pokhara, rumours started flying in Kathmandu that these were aliens trying to land on Earth, it could be Russian or Chinese spy planes or satellites, and some even say it as a sign from heaven that the end of the world was near. This was at the height of the Cold War. The Russians and Americans were testing their thermonuclear devices as well as intercontinental ballistic missile delivery systems. The Washington-Beijing rapprochement had not yet happened, and China was making quick progress testing atomic bombs. Within two years after its first atomic test, in 1966 China exploded its first hydrogen bomb at the Lop Nur site in Xinjiang, 3,000km to the north from Nepal. After neary six decades, what is still intriguing is that all the sightings within a few months of each other in 1968 were along the Himalayan arc bordering Tibet: from Bhutan, Sikkim Nepal, to Ladakh. The US military intelligence seems to have concluded that this was not a coincidence and there were frequent research trips to the site in Pokhara by American officials in the months after the incident. With the help of the Royal Nepal Army, the region north of Pokhara was thoroughly searched.&nbsp; A confidential memo dated 25 June 1968 by Jerry C Trippy to a ‘Mr Farley’ mentions that the US Air Force’s Foreign Technology Division had decided that the debris could be important because it may be related to a Chinese missile test or a Soviet ‘Vehicle Venik’ rocket.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20241207071216_feb5425692dc36b20187de4e4fcc2ce9fd12b6d9e1b8724398e50bcdbf9032fe" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  On 28 August 1968 the US Embassy in Kathmandu sent a letter to Washington DC saying that the object could be of Soviet origin, possibly from when the rocket carrying the ‘Kosmos 208’ satellite re-entered the atmosphere. But why were the fragments falling to earth several weeks apart, and in the same region? No one knows where the metal sheet that Kul Timilsina recovered is now. It was definitely packed in a crate and taken to the US, and although it is rumoured that it was returned that is not very likely. Archivist Sunil Ulak heard from the Timilsina family that CIA officials had returned to the site five years ago. &nbsp; Interest in UFOs peaked in the US in the 1950s, with the Cold War space race and tests of atomic weapons and delivery rockets. CIA and scientists were being sent to investigate sightings, both publicly and privately. Could the Pokhara fragments as well as the sightings in Ladakh and Bhutan actually be alien craft falling to earth? The renewal in interest in space travel in large part due to Elon Musk’s SpaceX, UFOs and sightings are again subjects of public interest.&nbsp; Even 57 years later, even if there was definitive proof about whether the Batlechaur fragment was from a Chinese missile or a soviet rocket, it has not been made public in documents declassified so far. We may never know.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241207071216_b6938795f40731e7657fd6dcbb3cf460a326186a15eb11d4f832f602201ff598" data-rendition-name="original" width="642" height="320" loading="lazy" alt="UFO over Pokhara"> </figure>  Sunil Ulak speculates if the debris actually came from an American aircraft, perhaps on an intel mission upon China. “Which could explain why they were so thorough in collecting the fragments in Pokhara,” he says. But that still does not explain the multiple sightings weeks apart in 1968.&nbsp; Indeed, US military aircraft were at that time flying frequent night-time missions from air force bases in India to supply weapons to Khampa guerrilla camps in Nepal located north of Pokhara in Mustang. It could very well be that the Chinese shot down one such aircraft. The other sightings could have been contrails of US spy planes, or Chinese anti-aircraft missiles.&nbsp; There were quite a few developments regarding UFOs in 2024. In a US congressional hearing in July, former intelligence officer David Grusch claimed that the government had long been involved in a program to investigate and retrieve non-human craft crashes, and then try to reverse engineer them. However Grusch did not show any evidence.&nbsp; The UAP Disclosure Act of 2024 was signed into law by Joe Biden in December 2023. It plans to oversee the public disclosure of UFO information. However, there is a clause in it that prevents disclosure if it would cause threats to military defense, intelligence operations or foreign relations.&nbsp; It is unlikely that the declassified documents about sightings in the Himalayan will cause any real surprise about definite evidence of alien life even if it was found. It seems humanity will continue, at least for now, to wonder about curious lights in the sky and whether there is anybody out there.&nbsp;

UFO over Pokhara

Four international names in architecture, Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Louis Isadore Kahn, all left their mark in Nepal. But despite their best intentions, the ambitious designs fizzled out. Ban, Koolhaas and Ando won Pritzkers, the best known international award for architecture, and Kahn could have won it had the prize been given in his lifetime. But their designs fell short of transforming Nepali architecture and did not help inspire local architects.&nbsp; Why were these four ‘starchitects’ unable to pull off their Nepal projects and enrich the country with exemplary contemporary designs? The failure, especially the violation of Kahn’s design, also raises larger questions about how much contemporary architecture is valued in Nepal.&nbsp; Whereas Sri Lanka had Geoffrey Bawa and Bangladesh had Mazharul Islam, the pioneers of contemporary architecture in Nepal have had far less public appreciation. One wonders if Nepali architecture only refers to the monuments and heritage of the past. Nepal does have examples of outstanding modern architecture such as the &nbsp;पाङ्रे घर ‘Wheel House’ and खुट्टे घर &nbsp;‘House on Legs’ by Shankar Nath Rimal in the 1960s. These are the best examples of how some Nepali designers successfully tailored modern architecture to the Nepali context.&nbsp; Ten years ago, Nepal had three architecture magazines, SPACES, praXis and Business Architecture, but none of these survived. This newspaper has prominently covered contemporary architecture, and the built environment, but these are exceptions in Nepal’s media. There have been a few encouraging signs. The 2024 exhibition Modern Encounters in Architecture in Kathmandu Valley (1945-1985) at the Taragaon Museum had many visitors and its accompanying book is a seminal document.&nbsp; In 2023, the Mountain Architecture Dialogue (MAD) that focused on examples of good-practice sustainable contemporary architecture for the mountainous terrains of Nepal was a packed event with over 300 young architects, engineers, environmentalists and architecture students. <h2>Shigeru Ban</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  Shigeru Ban had already built a name for himself in post-disaster construction when he came to Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes in which 500,000 people lost their homes. The basic design and its 3D-rendered images were reviewed in upbeat articles on DOMUS, Architectural Review, Dezeen, and Arch Daily.&nbsp; But his signature cardboard tubes could not handle the monsoon and the roof structure had to be re-designed with timber. Only two shelters were completed in Sindupalchok, and only one of them still stands at the Hyatt Regency grounds today, as Ban’s souvenir to Nepal.&nbsp; <h2>Rem Koolhaas</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="722" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  The designs of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas have a specific signature: bold shapes and an intriguing architectural typology that challenges standard building blocks. Some designs even seem to defy gravity, like the CCTV headquarters in Beijing: an angular, continuous geometry of glass and steel.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1168" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Rem Koolhaas' design for Ullen's School in Khumaltar.</figcaption> </figure>  Koolhaas was commissioned by Belgian billionaire Guy Ullens to design a new building for Ullens School in Khumaltar. The most prominent feature is its vertical glass block staircase. Some interior spaces have lowered windowsills, which provide ample views and daylight. But the school building has gone unremarked in Nepal. <h2>Tadao Ando</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675" data-rendition-name="original" width="626" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> </figure>  Doctors providing aid to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 in Japan requested Tadao Ando, who had donated his Pritzker money to the victims, to also make a design for a hospital in Butwal.&nbsp; Ando’s contribution would be pro-bono and the construction was funded by the Hanshin Earthquake victims and by the popular Japanese newspaper Mainichi, as a tribute to Nepali doctors. The first block that Ando designed for the Siddhartha Children and Women’s Hospital (SCWH) was the out-patient department. He quickly realised that he would not be able to pull off structures with his typical style of smooth-finished, high-quality concrete.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579" data-rendition-name="original" width="1594" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Tadao Ando's Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital in Butwal.</figcaption> </figure>  Ando wrote in the online architectural catalog Architectuul, that the two main problems with the project were costs and the availability of local technology. ‘It became a facility that has a slightly different expression from the buildings I have completed so far,’ he wrote. He designed a colonnade for the west façade that would provide shelter from harsh sunlight, and the exposed brick walls were locally manufactured bricks.&nbsp; The hospital is characterised by modernist cuboidal massing, but the outer brick façades now appear unintentionally badly weathered by monsoons. The interiors lack both sufficient natural light and natural ventilation. <h2>Louis I Kahn</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  American architect Louis I Kahn had experience of projects in South Asia, and several were under construction when he died suddenly in 1974. Amongst these were the National Assembly complex in Dhaka, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and the Family Planning and Maternal Child Welfare Centre in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Kahn had started the USAID funded project in Nepal by developing a master plan for the government institutional zone in Kathmandu, which included a building for the Health Ministry. The building’s façade in exposed brick has deeply recessed vertical windows for shading.&nbsp; The balancing of accentuated horizontal lines in the brickwork with the verticality of the larger composition is the work of a master. The brick walls rise up into punctured parapet walls at the roof level. These square apertures ‘frame the sky’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1924" height="1242" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Louis Kahn's plan for the Ministry of Health.</figcaption> </figure>  When Kahn died, only the eastern half of the building was finished. The Western part was never built and Nepal’s bureaucrats decided that without paint, the exposed brick façade was not finished. Then in 1995, citing roof leakage and a space crunch, the Health Ministry added a floor.&nbsp; The frames-to-the-sky in the roof parapet were converted into windows and topped off with a sloping roof of corrugated steel sheets, whose only virtue was that it was cost-effective.&nbsp; Kahn’s orthogonal composition, which clean horizontal and vertical lines, was desecrated despite a public outcry and legal challenges from architects and cultural organisations. A version of this article was first published in HIMAL Southasian. Illustrations by Varun S Bapu.

Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal

If you were raised in Nepal, you must have picked up its unique set of vocabulary: आन्दोलन, चक्का जाम, बन्द, राँके जुलुस, आफ्नो मान्छे, हाम्रो दल, कर्फु and many more words connoting political protest.
We became familiar with the acrid smell of burning tyres, and eyes smarting from tear gas. And yet, everyone speaks of another revolution in the making. Not by desire, but by suffocation.
We heard speeches about नयाँ नेपाल, but the New Nepal never arrived. The governance system changed, but it did not reflect on people’s lives — except for those close to centres of power. The state is still unreachable and is not bothered about <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/matter-of-life-and-debt">victims of loan sharks</a>, cooperative scams and other injustices.
Politicians continue to speak in sound bites, but fail to deliver. They have mastered the game of pointing fingers towards an external enemy and convincing people that they are never at fault. The political narrative is so disconnected from the actual analysis of the problem that suffocation doesn’t go away after every revolution.
No genuine effort has been made to deliver at all, which is why there is a palpable sense of disillusionment in the air forcing us to seek another revolution, even if Nepal may not be able to afford it.
How has the current system successfully held power, even if the public is deeply frustrated? How is it that for three decades we continue to be led by the same faces, who have time and again, proved to us that they may be great politicians but not national leaders?
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/improving-internet-governance-in-nepal">My experience at the epicentre of politics</a> has led me to identify three cultures that have enabled political parties to keep a tight hold on power: acceptance, silence and dependency.
We accept things the way they are. We use fatalistic phrases like “नेपालमा यस्तै हो” or “नेपालको कानुन दैब जानुन”. While this resilience enables us to rise back up from devastating calamities, it is also a reason for our compliance with the status quo.
Despite so many ‘revolutions’ that have led to significant reforms, these phrases keep getting reinforced, to the point that the upcoming generations have made it their lingo.&nbsp;
This acceptance is not a symbol of law-abiding citizens, but citizens living in fear of those in power, unable to ask the whys and why-nots.
Innovation suffocates in this culture of acceptance of the status quo. This is manifested in remarks like “but we don’t have any laws for this,” or “we don’t have the capacity to implement this”. An innovator or entrepreneur therefore has to spend that energy to become a political lobbyist, often educating and convincing the bureaucracy.&nbsp;
Remember when locally assembled <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/designed-and-made-in-nepal">Yatri motorbikes</a>, despite having willing customers, had to suffer to secure license numbers because of a lack of regulations? Instead of creating new laws, the government kept chanting the “We will promote Nepal-made goods” mantra, leaving entrepreneurs in a labyrinth of bureaucracy. The weight of acceptance of the law lies heavily on innovators. Fatalism is a tactic used by those in power to generate mass fear in society.
When we accept, we become silent. This is a pervasive phenomenon. We are trained to keep quiet, lest we ruffle feathers, burn bridges, or not get the help we need in future. We know, yet we don’t speak.
Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/bureaucratic-hurdles-in-researching-nepals-bureaucracy">Bureaucratic hurdles in researching Nepal's bureaucracy</a>, Daniel W Edwards
Here is one example: the 2021 census shows that the number of baby boys born for every 100 baby girls is 112. This is a clear indication of female foeticide because of boy preference in society.
Despite such horrifying realities, there is finger-pointing within the government between the Ministry of Health and Population with the Ministry of Home Affairs. At the citizen level, we know those who are involved in killing girls. Yet, we don’t speak up. The Nepal Medical Council reports state that despite this gender imbalance at birth, there is no indication of any action.
But why would anyone speak against one's own fraternity, no matter how vile the act is?
When we accept and keep quiet, we become dependent on those who yield power. From getting our government procedure completed on time to getting transfers, to accessing any of our legally protected rights as well, we are forced to depend on our networks of चिनेको मान्छे people we know by blood, village, relations, political affiliation.
The culture of dependency has been the established way in Nepal. If you drive a two-wheeler or four-wheeler, and you get into a small accident, you will be asked to sort it yourself, dialing up the most powerful person you know. It becomes a competition of who knows who.
Recently I was told that there were calls from the Ministry of Health and Population and another from the Prime Minister's Office for just one medical position in a private hospital. Each was pushing its own candidate. Guess which candidate got the position.&nbsp;
The dependency of people is not on the laws or the state, it is with people in power, a reliance on the network of somebody who knows somebody, including those not officially in power.
These cultures are deeply ingrained in our heads, and in society. Collectively they form a vicious circle that helps those in power to retain power. This is not the society we want to live in.
Then, what do we do as a collective to break away from this? How do we break away from the cultures of acceptance and silence that have created this dependency? What can we do to ensure that our children do not have to learn the jargon of आन्दोलन before they learn about the state?
These are the cultures political parties need to shed rather than use them to perpetuate their power. This is what <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/an-alternative-to-alternative-politics-in-nepal">alternative politics</a> needs to be about.
Sumana Shrestha is a member of Parliament’s Education, Health and Information Technology parliamentary committee and represents the Rastriya Swatantara Party.

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