As someone born and raised in Patan, I knew that the city was rich in art, architecture and intangible heritage. But I never realised just how rich, and how little I knew about its hidden treasures until this book. Yala Mhasika/Exploring Lalitpur/Lalitpurko Chinari is published by the Lalitpur Chamber of Commerce &amp; Industry and introduces the city to the world, as well as to its own inhabitants. Lalitpur is popularly known as Patan, probably because of the pastures for livestock in its outskirts. Its original name in Nepal Bhasa is Yala, and is a blend of urban and rural, old and new.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_700fb4c7b27d78813f69347846403c492cd1d54e2f62e4ec097013714c4a2022.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260101120152_700fb4c7b27d78813f69347846403c492cd1d54e2f62e4ec097013714c4a2022" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Patan Dhoka</figcaption> </figure>  Like other kingdoms in the valley of Swoniga, the dense urban cluster of houses, temples, monasteries were situated along the higher ground, while the farmlands were on the slopes leading to the rivers below. This unique townscape combined an urban lifestyle within a distinctly agriculture-based rural setting. The fertile soil, replenished by organic nutrients washed down from the streets above, as well as Kathmandu’s location on the ancient trade route between India and Tibet, provided the Valley’s kingdoms with prosperity – and thus the flourishing of art and culture over centuries. Most of Yala’s residents were farmers, traders, or artisans. Chinese visitors who came to Nepal in the 6th century saw that there were more traders than farmers, and more temples than houses. An entire street is inhabited by the descendants of Lhasa traders. Arniko is supposed to have been born in Yala.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_0fb490355fac9b8252c9abfbf5ef1bbac844b29103744a421eb6ef6dbc77dff7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20260101120152_0fb490355fac9b8252c9abfbf5ef1bbac844b29103744a421eb6ef6dbc77dff7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1332" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Kwonti area which houses five-storey Kumbeshwar temple dedicated to Shiva and Baglamukhi temple dedicated to Dasa Mahavidya shakti peeth.</figcaption> </figure>  Nepal exported goods and even minted coins for Tibet, and had a virtual monopoly of the major trans-Himalayan trade routes. This prosperity was reflected in monuments and shrines like the Kwa Baha Golden Temple. More so than the other three kingdoms of Swoniga, architecture flourished in Yala making it the centre for metal, stone and wood craft. The name Lalitpur means ‘city of fine art’ but with its sense of community, it might as well be a city of fine living. Legend also has it that the name Lalitpur comes from a farmer called Lalit who helped bring the rain god Karunamaya from Assam when the Valley was suffering a prolonged drought. Lalit’s shoulder beam stands to this day in Jhatapol. Disasters, invasion and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/life-in-a-time-of-cholera">epidemics</a> were a recurring theme in Patan.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_b33b1024cb7a46f49fea35ecc9afa2740895907059d7a43c8bd6c463b1be05e7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20260101120152_b33b1024cb7a46f49fea35ecc9afa2740895907059d7a43c8bd6c463b1be05e7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Ajima of Haugal Tole which is the oldest stone scripture in Nepal with the Gaja Laxmi in Chyasal.</figcaption> </figure>  The book was put together by the heritage expert team of Rosha Bajracharya, Sunil Pandey and Anil Chitrakar and provides a socio-economic and political history of Patan – how it was always food surplus, thanks to sustainable farming until recently. Ground and drone images by Photo Venture Nepal in the book give us a rare new perspective on Patan. There is an entire chapter on the chariot festival of Karunamaya (Machhindranath), a community-managed festival with Barahi carpenters assembling the woodwork, vine engineers Yamva weaving rope and rattan for the 25m tall chariot, and Ghaku drivers controlling the speed and brakes as the structure rolls through narrow streets in the annual festival.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_d27b23aeb4548b0b64ab8ed20f40baa331060498c6b5443e2cb999b876c670af.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260101120152_d27b23aeb4548b0b64ab8ed20f40baa331060498c6b5443e2cb999b876c670af" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Te Bahal in Patan which houses Karunamaya six months a year.</figcaption> </figure>  WALKING, WORSHIPPING The book can help in exploring Patan along five routes starting in Patan Dhoka, Pulchok, Shankhamul, Mahaboudha and Lagankhel with maps and details of the baha and bahil, shrines, ponds, open spaces, dhyochenn, courtyards and phalcha along the way. Because of its coffee-table size and heft, however, the guidebook is not practical to carry around. And despite detailed descriptions of the past and present of each site, readers are left wanting to know more about those places. It is proof of Patan’s vast treasures that even this book barely scratches the surface.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_31a597b7dc1bcc9f67b4f6a66b8c1c0e0a9406727389699e6aed9ac6c3c50901.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260101120152_31a597b7dc1bcc9f67b4f6a66b8c1c0e0a9406727389699e6aed9ac6c3c50901" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1332" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Patukodom where visitors can view what remains of the ancient Kirant palace.</figcaption> </figure>  Some of the lesser-known must-visit sites include Patukodom which is all that remains of a palace of the original Kirat inhabitants of Patan. An archaeological dig here would surely unearth hitherto unknown facets of pre-Newa Patan. Then there are the slightly out of the way shrines like Mahabouha, a replica of a temple in Bodhgaya which houses 3,341 terracotta Buddhas with 90 big statues and which took 35 years and four generations to complete.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_ffb657dc254f707dc1755f6f13b1ef67bb7183b6573da9678c54482129fb3878.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20260101120152_ffb657dc254f707dc1755f6f13b1ef67bb7183b6573da9678c54482129fb3878" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Mahaboudha is a replica of a temple in Bodhgaya.</figcaption> </figure>  In a recent Patan by Night heritage walk, we learnt that Pim Bahal was the labour of love of a lakhe demon (now popularised as masked dancer) who had fallen for a local girl, and he dug the pond so she would not have to walk to a faraway spout to collect water. Nearby is the Charumati Chaitya, built by the daughter of Emperor Ashoka when she visited the Valley in the 3rd century BCE to spread Buddhism in Nepal. Interestingly, if Kathmandu is a city of temples, Patan is the centre of monasteries which represent a unique Tantric melding of Buddhist and Hindu forms. Examples are: the Tadham Cuka with relocated Licchavi-era chaityas symbolic of the four major events in Buddha’s life, Ajima of Haugal Tole which is the oldest stone scripture in Nepal with the Gaja Laxmi in Chyasal, and Bignantak Ganesa temple which is a manifestation of Shiva mingled with Vajrayana Buddhism.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_17a500e77f06b9881f684329e41d3482f6f6a639ffb929d8bb44e5af7934c61c.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20260101120152_17a500e77f06b9881f684329e41d3482f6f6a639ffb929d8bb44e5af7934c61c" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Bignantak Ganesa temple.</figcaption> </figure>  &nbsp;Besides spatial descriptions, the book also explains the temporal by curating a detailed cultural calendar of Lalitpur with dates and places of jatra, rituals, devotional dances and festivals that weave the agricultural cycle with the zodiac.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_b8e1cc03653fea85dec84a7abee4fd594c35c6ad553769f37905eb5b38774e08.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260101120152_b8e1cc03653fea85dec84a7abee4fd594c35c6ad553769f37905eb5b38774e08" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Mipwa Lakhe of Patan which create fire in mid aid during performance.</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120152_442e10bff842214e8c7522ebf6e63663599768db73bb57d999deff9de1b59375.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20260101120152_442e10bff842214e8c7522ebf6e63663599768db73bb57d999deff9de1b59375" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1333" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur book review"> <figcaption>Gan pyakhan or Astamatrika dance which is performed in Patan Darbar Squre during Dasain. </figcaption> </figure>  The very last chapter is dedicated to water and nature, what sustains lives and civilisations, and how Lalitpur continues to be the city it is because of the water supply system our ancestors left behind which function still, despite encroachment and pollution. ‘In the history of the world cities have been built, they thrived for some time and then became archaeological sites because they were not able to maintain the quality of air, water, and its soil,’ the authors write. ‘This led these cities to depopulate and ultimately die and are only referred to in history books. Lalitpur is not going to make the same mistake.’ &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260104080132_3f403388d57da82b499d6c489a8f095002bf69f11e515e92fa96fb5ca3af69e9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="20260104080132_3f403388d57da82b499d6c489a8f095002bf69f11e515e92fa96fb5ca3af69e9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Exploring Lalitpur"> </figure>

Sonia Awale

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YALA

For daring to demand democracy, the Rana regime hanged activist Shukra Raj Shastri at midnight on 24 January 1941 by the side of the road at Teku. Across town in Siphal, Dharma Bhakta Mathema was also hanged. Four days later, Dasrath Chand and Gangalal Shrestha were executed by firing squad. These four young revolutionaries were members of the underground Nepal Praja Parishad that led the anti-Rana revolution with plans to assassinate key figures of the dynasty. The four martyrs sacrificed their lives for an unfulfilled cause. Monuments were put up in their honour (Shahid Gate) and their names glorified by the Shah monarchy that itself went on to ban political parties and persecute democracy activists. In 1950, the newly-formed Nepal National Congress launched an armed uprising against Rana rule after King Tribhuvan sought refuge at the Indian embassy to flee from the Rana regime. In 1951, the Ranas, Nepali Congress and King Tribhuvan signed a tripartite agreement that brought an end to 104 years of Rana rule.&nbsp; Thus began contemporary Nepal’s cycles of unfinished revolutions. Some 75 years later, on a sunny September morning, Nepal’s young and hopeful took to the streets demanding an end to the nation’s corrupt polity, envisioning a better democracy. They organised through digital platforms, played songs, danced, and chanted slogans. A few hours later, commandos fired on the protesters, massacring dozens. Over 8 and 9 September 2025, the government was overthrown, constitutional bodies were literally reduced to ashes, and 74 Nepalis were martyred.&nbsp; Nepal’s periodic revolutions have been ignited by anger against rulers, they have begun with great promise, spread with enthusiastic popular support despite rulers trying to crush them — but ultimately they have always fallen short of the expectations of citizens demanding reform. Through decades of dissent, Nepal’s periodic revolutions have remained incomplete, with the nation caught up in a cyclical search for stability.&nbsp; In 1960, king Mahendra staged a coup and overthrew an elected government led by prime minister B P Koirala -- a royal revolution against democracy. Mahendra is reported to have famously said to Koirala: “Nepal is not big enough for the two of us.” For the next 30 years Nepal resembled a one-party state under the absolute monarchy of the Panchayat. Elected leaders languished in jail or exile, political parties were banned, and the press controlled. This was the most frigid period of the Cold War, with Nepal’s neighbours India and China at war. Geopolitics was bound to have an impact. “After the 1816 Sugauli Treaty with British India, external forces magnified internal power struggles as outsiders played divide and rule,” explains editor and political analyst Rajendra Dahal. “Movements did not reach a logical conclusion because domestic politicians were forced to compromise.” Indeed, the departure of the British from India in 1947 meant that the days of the Anglophile Rana regime were numbered. Successive prime ministers sought patronage in Delhi, and the monarchy tried to counterbalance it with a policy of equidistance with China. The neighbours showed a keen strategic interest in Nepal’s domestic politics. “The Panchayat system did not deliver what it promised,” says Santosh Sharma Poudel of Nepal Institute of Policy and Research. “Nepalis suffered administrative and governance failure, politics was centralised in Kathmandu, leaving out the rest of Nepal.” With mainstream political parties and leaders were &nbsp;underground between 1961 till 1990, student activists became proxies for political parties. As pressure for change grew, a student-led pro-democracy movement spread across Nepal in 1979. In response, King Birendra announced a referendum to allow Nepalis to choose between the status quo and a ‘reformed’ Panchayat &nbsp;system.&nbsp; The Panchayat won by a slim margin with questions about the legitimacy of the plebiscite. The reforms never materialised and it would be another decade before street anger boiled over again. As the People’s Movement for democracy spread, king Birendra again relented, unbanning political parties and Nepal became a constitutional monarchy. Inspired by Mao Zedong, a faction of Nepal’s Communists felt that western-style parliamentary democracy was too slow to end a feudalist monarchy. They launched an armed struggle in 1996, and the war lasted ten years (editorial, page 2). “If the democratic government post-1990 had performed better, and brought real reform, the Maoists would not have a reason to launch a revolution,” says Poudel. After nearly a decade of bloodshed that left 17,000 dead and thousands still missing, the Maoists joined forces with the democratic parties that they had been fighting, to pressure king Gyanendra through street protests in 2006 to restore democracy. In 2008, an elected Constituent Assembly abolished the monarchy. &nbsp;Recalls Rajendra Dahal: “The second people’s movement did not aim to abolish the monarchy. In fact, the reinstated parliament even granted equal rights for royal daughters to be crowned queen. But eventually, the monarchy no longer fit the political framework that the parties envisioned.” It took two elections over the next eight years to draft a new Constitution that reflected Nepal’s socio-cultural and geographic diversity and met the demands of the Maoists. The new federal Constitution was finally promulgated in 2015, but failed to satisfy India and the aspirations of the Madhes communities for autonomy. The state’s effort to crush the Madhes movement cost 45 lives. The promise of the new Constitution was squandered over the next decade with rotating leadership of the NC, UML and the Maoists — all of whom had forgotten the sacrifices made in the name of revolution. Cronyism and corruption was the order of the day. And it was this never-ending cycle of political opportunism and malgovernance that brought Nepal’s youth to the streets on 8 September.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260101120128_bc50f6370ff80a6758199ea7ba9f4c214656a9322a8d2ba1c97e6cdfb88f7f62.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20260101120128_bc50f6370ff80a6758199ea7ba9f4c214656a9322a8d2ba1c97e6cdfb88f7f62" data-rendition-name="original" width="3372" height="1371" loading="lazy" alt="timeline"> </figure>  1951 Revolution against the &nbsp;Rana regime 1960 King Mahendra's coup, jails B P Koirala and launches the partyless Panchayat system 1979 Student protests for democracy, King Birendra announces referendum&nbsp; 1980 Continuation of the partyless Panchayat system narrowly wins plebiscite&nbsp; 1990 People’s Movement I 1996 Maoists launch armed struggle&nbsp; 2000 Royal Massacre 2005 King Gyanendra's military-backed coup&nbsp; 2006 Comprehensive Peace Accord and Parliament restored 2008 Monarchy is abolished 2015 Madhes Movement, New Constitution promulgated 2017 First 3-tier election under federal system 2022 Second elections under federal Constitution&nbsp; 2025 GenZ protests BRK ALLIANCE “The socio-political change sought in all these movements never matched the people’s expectations, because the central issue of clean and efficient government never materialised,” says Poudel. The post-September political landscape has injected new personalities and alliances still relatively new to politics, as evidenced by the new electoral partnership of the BRK — Balen Shah, Rabi Lamichhane, and Kulman Ghising (page 1).&nbsp; These leaders are not without flaws, but they have become the effective flag-bearers of the GenZ movement, hoping to represent Nepalis disillusioned by decades of democratic decay. The March election will pit them against the legacy parties. There is already criticism that BRK is behaving just like male-dominated opportunists of old parties. The troika is resembling the triumvirate of Oli, Deuba and Dahal and its culture of patronage and quid-pro-quo power-sharing between alpha males. Will this also be another unfinished revolution? Says political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal: &nbsp;“The kind of destruction that happened after the revolution should have been followed by a ground-breaking shift in Nepal’s political ecosystem, but that did not happen. Today the situation is a lot grimmer because we have players who have learned how to use the democratic facade to sound ‘equitable’ and ‘accountable’. But look closely and you see how the same political chauvinism, cronyism and nepotism still continue.”&nbsp;

Nepal’s incomplete revolutions

After a jam packed 2006, Nepal’s nascent democracy cautiously inched forward under an interim constitution and eight parties going into government. However, there were concerns that the alliance were making no effort to listen to the needs of the Madhesi, Dalit, and indigenuos communities.&nbsp; The Madhesi were in particular incensed, because they felt that the new political system was not being fair to them.&nbsp; “Discriminated against by governments in the past, they saw that they would be denied political representation in proportion to their numbers by the interim constitution too,” wrote Kunda Dixit on the front page of issue #333.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918120928_3e8c06c7e15fe26dbe19e4631275e32504c572d44a93e57dbc7addf8b6379de0.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20250918120928_3e8c06c7e15fe26dbe19e4631275e32504c572d44a93e57dbc7addf8b6379de0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1954" height="1578" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in 2007"> </figure>  Five people had been killed in unrest in Lahan, and there had been violence and looting in Birganj, Biratnagar, and Janakpur.&nbsp; The Maoists found they could not control the genie they let out of the bottle with their ethnic-based politics. The radical Janatantrik Tarai Mukti Morcha (JTMM) had splintered from the Maoists and was demanding n independent Madhes, and there were other groups that were willing to hold talks with the alliance in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Generally, the three main Madhesi demands were a federal state, proportional representation, and re-demarcation of electoral constituencies to take into account population density in the Tarai.&nbsp; “It’s time for the parties to start looking at the tarai as more than just a vote bank, and to seriously begin to redress historical wrongs,” read the editorial in #334. Yet there was speculation that dismissed the violence, as a plot by royalists to subvert CA elections, or Maoists inciting hatred between hill annd plains and pahadis to keep themselves in power.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918120928_67e0ae8b9267a6021fdcb91782e9dd12064a2a0de2d0812759bfb313ca8a587d.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250918120928_67e0ae8b9267a6021fdcb91782e9dd12064a2a0de2d0812759bfb313ca8a587d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1130" height="1806" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in 2007"> </figure>  Beyond the political demands, there also was a deeper feeling of alienation from the Nepali identity that was driving the protests in the plains. “Most importantly what Madhesi people need is acceptance and confidence in them as people of Nepal,” wrote a blogger in the active blog-space of the time. The protests ended in late August, with the government striking a deal with the Mashes Janadhikar Forum leader Upendra Yadav promising to change the country into a federal state with autonomy, and ensured proportional representation of Madhesis in all state organs. Talking to Plain Speaking columnist Prashant Jha, Yadav saw these terms as the “maximum achievement possible under the present situation,” a compromise so that polls could take place.&nbsp; However, Kishore Biswas, public face of the MJF in Kathmandu, saw Yadav as a traitor and his acceptance of the deal as a betrayal.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250918120928_bf8673ebaa7e1c3553e65f8fa419c7a806df9836f1d64305cd0df0b3e8f78272.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20250918120928_bf8673ebaa7e1c3553e65f8fa419c7a806df9836f1d64305cd0df0b3e8f78272" data-rendition-name="original" width="908" height="1122" loading="lazy" alt="Nepal in 2007"> </figure>  The week of the deal, bombs went off in Kathmandu, the first violence since the conflict ended. The attacks were claimed by an unknown group called Tarai Army. Madhesi groups, including the JTMM, denied any connection.&nbsp; In #380, Prashant Jha called 2007 The Year of the Madhes: “From the perspective of the madhes, 2007 has been transformative. Nepal is not the same country anymore. Nepal can never be described as just a country of mountains, even in a tourist brochure. Any party that ignores Madhesi sentiments cannot remain a national entity for long,”

2007

The cost of preserving Nepal’s past

Nepali Times was born at the dawn of the new millennium. It started publishing online in May 2000 before the #1 print edition in the week of 19-25 July 2000. But a month before that, there was a <a href="https://himalaya.socanth.cam.ac.uk/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_000.pdf">practice #0</a> which had a Publisher’s Note titled ‘The Freedom To Be Fair’ on page 1. Here is an excerpt:&nbsp; ‘It was a journalist who once said that journalists are people without any ideas, but with an ability to express them. These are cynical times, and it is people in media who are most cynical about the media. For too long journalists have taken objectivity as our main mantra, forgetting fairness.&nbsp; Objectivity is not having to make up your mind about anything, fairness is hearing all sides. Globally, and within countries society’s balance of justice is heavily skewed by the weight of the powerful. Objectivity perpetuates this status quo, fairness tries to set things right. We at Nepali Times and other publications of the Himalmedia group are committed to professionalism and high-quality journalism … upholding the freedom to be fair.’ These were heady times for Nepal’s mainstream press during the constitutional monarchy days. One had to use dialup through a modem and phone line to access the Internet. Nepal Telecom had just started its GSM mobile service, and we all proudly carried around Nokia 3310s with tiny LCD displays.&nbsp; It would be six years before Twitter started. YouTube was launched in 2005 after its former PayPal founders were caught up in the Asian Tsunami in Thailand, and found there was no platform for sharing videos. It would be another eight years before algorithms began pushing cat videos to users.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250801110848_996e922379073386e7b137498f8f5b6979fe839d808669bc732d33b60827ba4e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20250801110848_996e922379073386e7b137498f8f5b6979fe839d808669bc732d33b60827ba4e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Nepali Times 2000"> <figcaption>Nepali Times #1 19-25 July 2000</figcaption> </figure>  The masthead of the <a href="https://d1i1jdw69xsqx0.cloudfront.net/digitalhimalaya/collections/journals/nepalitimes/pdf/Nepali_Times_001.pdf">#1 print edition of Nepali Times of 19-25 July 2000</a> carried the ambitious ‘Nepal’s Top Newspaper’. The Editorial titled ‘A Sign of the Times’ said in part: ‘Newspapers do more than hold the mirror to society. They are the mirror. Journalism is called history in a hurry. It is also culture, sociology, anthropology, philology, and philosophy in a hurry. Nepali Times will aspire to be a true reflection of our times…’ Indian graphic designer Rustam Vania was invited to Kathmandu in April 2000 and designed a newspaper with a fresh, modern look. His rendition of the masthead and the page template has not changed in 25 years, though much has changed in Nepal, even while a lot has remained the same. Reports and op-eds about air pollution, hydropower exports, investment, political back-stabbing from two decades ago are as relevant today as they were then. Most of the protagonists are the same people, just a little greyer and chubbier. In the first of his many thoughtful columns ‘State of the State’, C K Lal lamented the cynicism in Nepali society: ‘Nepal’s nabobs of negativism hold forth in their nay-saying nooks. Cynicism is at least a reflection of exaggerated self-worth. Despair is much worse, it is a state of having lost all hope.’ Sounds familiar?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250731110744_c270d9b78096edfeec71984033aae895e376a347b5cd1ba77362c8a8038b9856.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20250731110744_c270d9b78096edfeec71984033aae895e376a347b5cd1ba77362c8a8038b9856" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Rewind: 2000"> <figcaption>Nepali Times #7 30 August - 5 September 2000</figcaption> </figure>  Water resources expert Dipak Gyawali argued in a commentary that it made more sense for private power producers to build reservoir projects not for export, but to make up for the dry season power shortfall. A debate even more prescient today. Manjushree Thapa's &nbsp;Nepaliterature column profiled Nepali writers with translated excerpts. The paper serialised chapters from Desmond Doig’s book In the Kingdom of the Gods. The Backside satire column featured ‘Under My Hat’ and ‘The Ass’. Nepali Times even carried a weekly horoscope, cigarette and alcohol advertisements.&nbsp; Journalism is indeed history in a hurry. Those who do not learn from it are doomed to repeat it. Browse the past 25 years of Nepali Times through the online archive on HTML and the ePaper through<a href="https://www.archivenepal.org/nepalitimes"> Archive Nepal</a>.

2000

25 years of journalism

Through the intricate lattice window on the western facade of the palace must have been from where the Malla kings of Patan looked down at the square below.&nbsp; Today, visitors to Patan Museum can sit at the exact corner and see the same square which, several centuries later, remains largely unchanged. Except for the tourists and devotees at Krishna Mandir and other temples.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_31791a3a564ecaf85ad9e9ee52488bff034a5336f6561a0df2cb6d8e740cacea.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20240329060316_31791a3a564ecaf85ad9e9ee52488bff034a5336f6561a0df2cb6d8e740cacea" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> <figcaption>Keshav Narayan Chok. All photos: SUMAN NEPALI(Photo: suman)</figcaption> </figure>  Inside is the best-designed museum in Nepal, the work of <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Back-to-Basics-in-Bhaktapur,1377">Götz Hagmüller</a> and his team of architects, who had made Bhaktapur his home and who died in February. Hagmüller did not just restore the old palace, but also designed the museum interior and curated the exhibits. But most importantly, the team ensured that the museum would have an independent governing body that would use revenue from fees and events for the museum’s upkeep. This has given the museum a rare longevity for an institution in Nepal. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-s-legacy-is-goetz-hagmueller-s-legacy">Kathmandu’s legacy is Götz Hagmüller’s legacy</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_460c6ade80ae4064d3f761de57b7a004f9b755645db3185366754b1d2ffe82e4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20240329060316_460c6ade80ae4064d3f761de57b7a004f9b755645db3185366754b1d2ffe82e4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> </figure>  The result is more than one of Kathmandu’s most popular destinations for visitors, but a museum that serves an educational function for Nepali students, supplementing what they learn in social studies and history classes in school. The carefully curated bronze, stone and wooden figures span Nepal’s religious faiths, historical periods and geographical zones, providing a striking experience of exploration and learning. Hagmüller led the restoration project of the Keshav Narayan Chok and the dilapidated palace structure, preserving the traditional architecture of the palace while modernising it to suit modern museum necessities. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/learning-from-nepals-past-to-rebuild-its-future/" target="_blank">Learning from Nepal's past to rebuilt its future</a>, Prakriti Kandel  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_bfc89739080a1339c9db8a83c7bc332aea37893f6cd9cb506b1a369ac9a68d00.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20240329060316_bfc89739080a1339c9db8a83c7bc332aea37893f6cd9cb506b1a369ac9a68d00" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> </figure>  At a time when technology has taken over, and patience to learn through real experiences has decreased, Patan Museum is a space for young students and visitors to learn about Nepal’s glorious past, its culture, and observe intricate Nepali craftsmanship. “Patan Museum is a place of learning regarding two major aspects: heritage and art, specifically relating to Hinduism and Buddhism,” explains Suresh Man Lakhe of Patan Museum. “Students may learn about Buddha’s life in their textbooks, but the museum supplements that learning by letting them visualise his legacy.” &nbsp; Only 200 of the Museum’s expansive collection of 1,100 objects are currently on view, and they are spread across eight themed galleries. Images range from major gods of the Hindu pantheon such as Vishnu, Shiva and Ganesh to benign or fierce representations of Bodhisattvas.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/preserving-patan-post-earthquake">Preserving Patan post-earthquake</a>, Claire Burket  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_40b0b223afe15566e200ac14f69a527eacc736b040f5b5d982930aa601c51b41.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240329060316_40b0b223afe15566e200ac14f69a527eacc736b040f5b5d982930aa601c51b41" data-rendition-name="original" width="1000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> <figcaption>Dipankara Buddha</figcaption> </figure>  The section on Buddhist chaityas has clear explanatory notes about the significance of their design. No student will look at Swayambhu or Boudha after learning why the spire and cupola look the way they do. Indeed, all the exhibits have bilingual captions with comprehensive backgrounds about the myths and symbols present in the art pieces and their approximate age. This helps answer frequently asked questions from students such as the reason behind the multiple heads and hands of deities, the symbolic ornaments of Shiva and Vishnu, and the significance of the stupa design.&nbsp; The composition, medium, symbols, and expressions of bronze gilt copper repoussé are explained in detail, including the craftsmanship of the lost wax process. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/bedrock-of-buddhism">Bedrock of Buddhism</a>, Kunda Dixit  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_8e1bcf9bace65f4b7ba2c8b05cf92337b1f54d12776ebc0841bd179b56faf7a9.jpg" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="20240329060316_8e1bcf9bace65f4b7ba2c8b05cf92337b1f54d12776ebc0841bd179b56faf7a9" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> <figcaption>Students can learn in detail the process of creating a repoussé mask at the Patan Museum.</figcaption> </figure>  Gallery B has explanations of Ganesh in a military avatar, ablaze with a flaming backdrop, and another of the elephantine god with six heads and six arms. He rests on snakes in one sculpture and is part of an oil lamp in another. There are nuanced variations in the depiction of Ganesh’s eyes and trunks in each of the objects. "Patan Museum, and indeed the whole Darbar Square, is a living heritage where our students learn history through the architecture, art, culture, and festivals,” says Rekha Pandey, a social studies teacher and educator at Rato Bangala Foundation. “It is ideal learning as the museum exhibits provide a multi-sensory experience that cannot be found in textbooks or lectures.” Museum staff are planning interactive worksheets and cards as learning devices with colourful and interactive worksheets ‘Let’s Discover Patan Darbar’ that allow students to navigate the historic square.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/itumbahas-living-museum">Itumbaha's living museum</a>, Sahina Shrestha  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_1d6a101fa7f8c593070171abbf2866b73497ac3a10f5660bb716f1aa85da9aa6.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="20240329060316_1d6a101fa7f8c593070171abbf2866b73497ac3a10f5660bb716f1aa85da9aa6" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> <figcaption>A 12th-century limestone sculpture of Uma-Maheswar depicting Shiva’s family on Mount Kailash.</figcaption> </figure>  Lakhe says the museum can expand its instructional function with a separate education department. “With additional resources devoted to education, we can focus on creating much more learning opportunities for students,” he adds. &nbsp; There is a story behind every exhibit at the Museum. Gallery B, for example, hosts a 12th-century limestone sculpture of Uma-Maheswar depicting Shiva’s divine family on Mount Kailash. This statue was stolen in 1982 and then returned by a museum in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/how-did-a-nepali-ritual-altar-end-up-in-berlin">Berlin</a> in 1990. Another piece shows Vishnu carried by the Sunbird, a copper alloy sculpture dating back to the 17th century, adorned with metallic Garuda wings. Students can learn in detail the process of creating a repoussé mask, from an initial pencil design to the feeling of the hammer hitting the bronze sheet. Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/remembering-nepals-lost-and-the-found">Remembering Nepal's lost and the found</a>, Ashish Dhakal  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240329060316_4431f200938cef4be6b390dbde827c0973d85c2ab36dcc1669e6b9dc92319f3e.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="20240329060316_4431f200938cef4be6b390dbde827c0973d85c2ab36dcc1669e6b9dc92319f3e" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="A portal into Patan’s past and present Page 6-7 #1025 NT"> <figcaption>Tusha Hiti where King Siddhi Narsingh Malla used to pray and meditate in the 1640s.</figcaption> </figure>  Patan Museum provides an open-air experience, it is not limited to a building but has access to multiple courtyards including the Mul Chok and Sundari Chok with the exquisite Tusha Hiti step well, and the Bhandarkhal Tank. One of the treasures of the Patan Museum is Tusha Hiti step well where King Siddhi Narsingh Malla used to pray and meditate in the 1640s overlooking a gilded copper spout depicting a Garuda and Laxmi Narayan, and embellished by over 50 carved stone deities in thrones of carved foliage. Visitors can retrace the steps of past royals and their court treading the same stone steps that have been polished by the passage of feet and time.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/patan-heritage-in-fantasy-fiction">Patan heritage in fantasy fiction</a>, Trishagni Sakya

A portal into Patan’s past and present

News of the consecration of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya swept India last week, and also sent ripples across the border here in Janakpur where Lord Ram’s consort Sita was born.&nbsp; The inauguration of the shrine by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/janakpur-to-janakpur">Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi</a> was controversial because the temple was built on the space where the 16th century Babri Masjid once stood, and which was razed by a Hindu mob in 1992. But last week’s temple inauguration was celebrated in Janakpur as well because it is the birthplace of Sita, 500km away from Ayodhya. Indeed, the Janaki Temple dedicated to Sita here is itself a holy site for Hindus from Nepal, India and across the world. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_ed08353ab53dbe6e85ee0721239f2aef9554b19f91faa012e20d67d5eec699b2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024020216020_ed08353ab53dbe6e85ee0721239f2aef9554b19f91faa012e20d67d5eec699b2" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>The inner sanctum of Janaki Mandir, which houses deities from the Ramayana.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_094e274b164e8c728550a747876845c4592d9ca7fb00a1ef77905115af2868ce.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2024020216020_094e274b164e8c728550a747876845c4592d9ca7fb00a1ef77905115af2868ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Idols of Janak, Sunaina, Ram and Sita at Janaki Mandir that is dedicated to Lord Ram's consort.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_518c843b985d3651ea106b390f22d7a55aa099f9594a256065acf19ddd163aa7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2024020216020_518c843b985d3651ea106b390f22d7a55aa099f9594a256065acf19ddd163aa7" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>A pilgrim on his way inside the temple to offer prayers. SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>  Janakpur is the capital of Madhes Province and the erstwhile seat of the Mithila Kingdom once ruled by King Janak, the father of Sita who features in the Hindu epic, Ramayana.&nbsp; The city near the Indian border is often overshadowed by Pashupati in Kathmandu and more popular pilgrimage sites in India, but has its own unique and rich cultural heritage and historical significance. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020301024_2aa535a25e86055fbb36428480aff6b0ecbca54489b271e2eec56cfbe8461040.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2024020301024_2aa535a25e86055fbb36428480aff6b0ecbca54489b271e2eec56cfbe8461040" data-rendition-name="original" width="830" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita-Ram corridor NT"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_df6ca98da633ab978ea7a11dbf4d5178d32da522290cbd732834da072dca6163.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024020216020_df6ca98da633ab978ea7a11dbf4d5178d32da522290cbd732834da072dca6163" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Less imposing than Janaki Mandir, the temple dedicated to Lord Ram dates back at least to 1782.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>  Besides the Janaki Temple few know that Janakpur also has its own Ram Mandir, as well as numerous historic ponds and ashram that have now been meticulously restored. All this makes Janakpur an epicentre of faith and spiritualism in Nepal’s southern plains. The Janaki Temple was built as recently as 1910 by Queen Brishbhanu of Tikamgarh in India, and imitates the Mughal architecture prevalent at the time. But this structure was built over the ruins of previous temples, including one erected by Sur Kishor Das, a sadhu from India who came here in the 17th century and established a temple dedicated to Sita, also revered as a goddess.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_0260b84896a419fa025672a9ed19109790efb2da44a64482db74fb6b6881a5d3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2024020216020_0260b84896a419fa025672a9ed19109790efb2da44a64482db74fb6b6881a5d3" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>People carry a stack of clothes at Janakpur Railway Station.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_1a22545086bb358edf6a01484c23446060cf302b5bf15b017a3c171a5e55e958.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2024020216020_1a22545086bb358edf6a01484c23446060cf302b5bf15b017a3c171a5e55e958" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Sadhus from India travel to Janakpur via the Jayanagar-Janakpur Railway.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_aa837888a5b22b08c552eb3d6ac25b6a72ec1eff0e8ddeee63ce7e8847a489ae.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2024020216020_aa837888a5b22b08c552eb3d6ac25b6a72ec1eff0e8ddeee63ce7e8847a489ae" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>People wash clothes in the Angaraj Sar near Janaki Temple.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>  Sita herself is believed to have had an immaculate conception and born from a furrow in the earth. She was later adopted by King Janak and is now a prominent figure in Hinduism because of her role in the Ramayana in which she was abducted by Ravana and spirited away to Lanka, only to be rescued by Lord Ram’s monkey army led by the intrepid Hanuman. Just like Lord Buddha, who was also <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/buddha-s-birthday-in-his-birthplace">born in what is now Nepal</a>, Sita has been recognised as a national luminary of Nepal. Today, Janakpur where Ram and Sita were married is celebrated as the symbol of divine love, virtue, and loyalty. The temple is also frequented by newlyweds to make offerings for a happy marriage.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_94a654fea8a32e30c14159b14228042e650aad374cbc3e2ebae98c3e3a903268.jpg" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2024020216020_94a654fea8a32e30c14159b14228042e650aad374cbc3e2ebae98c3e3a903268" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Sadhus smoke inside the premises of Ram Mandir.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_5191d485847a6efc7f325cd9b392916af0630b4e5c022ac0e4e0e792bd6d00a5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2024020216020_5191d485847a6efc7f325cd9b392916af0630b4e5c022ac0e4e0e792bd6d00a5" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>A vendor in front of Janaki Temple sells tika powder and other materials used to perform puja.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_f491c60c89113c6be846f55db861c5f20b677eccc3dd3cfc06d6f5db2a888447.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="2024020216020_f491c60c89113c6be846f55db861c5f20b677eccc3dd3cfc06d6f5db2a888447" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>A vendor sells puja paraphernalia in Dashrath Sagar.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>  Just half a kilometre away from Janaki Mandir is the temple dedicated to Lord Ram built by Chaturbhuj Giri in the 17th century, and later rebuilt by Gen Amar Singh Thapa in 1782. The temple houses an idol of Ram, including those of Panchayan, Lakshminarayan, Vishnu Dashavatar, and Surya residing on a seven-horse chariot. Legend has it that there were once more than 52 ashrams and 72 sacred ponds in Janakpur, some of which are still intact. The holy sites are visited by many <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/a-thousand-sadhus-and-a-hanuman">sadhus</a> in saffron robes who represent the city’s roots in Vaishnavism.&nbsp; Mornings and evenings, Janakpur is alive with bhajan chants. Each day begins with the singing of Ramacharitramanas, and the sunset prayers at the Ganga Sagar pond in the evening is a spectacle for tourists and pilgrims alike exuding a unique feeling of harmony and devotion.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_58d1926f3a73957d796ad29f634eb09c5e1a375175afad0902f367b6b36655e0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_14" data-image-id="2024020216020_58d1926f3a73957d796ad29f634eb09c5e1a375175afad0902f367b6b36655e0" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Saffron-clad women sing devotional songs at Ram Mandir.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_8dde569b14c3fe720c356289281fe323c3e8744983166606cb6a557a0df8b28a.jpg" data-media-id="editor_15" data-image-id="2024020216020_8dde569b14c3fe720c356289281fe323c3e8744983166606cb6a557a0df8b28a" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>Hindu hymns are heard all day long in all parts of Janakpur.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024020216020_a3f5b996949fb5b95e6e175141c6495194088167aca97cbc6359f32ae21cf5ec.jpg" data-media-id="editor_16" data-image-id="2024020216020_a3f5b996949fb5b95e6e175141c6495194088167aca97cbc6359f32ae21cf5ec" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1335" loading="lazy" alt="Janakpur Sita Ram corridor NT"> <figcaption>The Ganga Aarati is held every evening at Ganga Sagar.SWORUP IMAGES</figcaption> </figure>  Intricate and exquisite <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/vibrant-mithila-art-thrives-in-nepal">Mithila art</a> adorn walls and buildings throughout the city. The origin of this art form can be traced back to the wedding of Ram and Sita, and has since become a visual expression of local lifestyle and culture. Initially, it was practiced as a way of life and the paintings and clay reliefs created by women were confined to homes, but over the years has gained immense popularity worldwide. Janakpur’s identity as the home of Sita, and its growth as the capital of Madhes can be the catalyst for <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/the-geopolitics-of-pilgrimage">boosting religious tourism in Nepal</a>, and bring in both domestic and Indian pilgrims to the city. Janakpur already has a railway (Nepal’s only) connecting it to the Indian border that will soon be extended to Bardibas on the East-West Highway. There are a dozen daily flights to Kathmandu, and a flight to Ayodhya and other Indian cities are also planned. Janakpur is already a stopover for Indian pilgrims going to Pashupati in Kathmandu at Shivaratri and on to Muktinath, the two other important Hindu sites.&nbsp;

The Sita-Ram corridor

History is not always fair to the protagonists who find themselves caught up in it. The history of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/diary-of-a-nepali-soldier-in-france">Gurkha soldiers</a> is no exception. Brave khukuri-swinging soldiers in combat khakis and hats marching off to battle have been an iconic part of Nepal’s past. Forgotten on the pages of history, however, are their sarong-clad wives in Nepal or abroad, their struggles and their contribution. Lately, there has been an effort to correct this with welcome attempts to document the experience of Gurkha wives. Suzana Thapa Shris’s recent exhibition Gurkha Women: An Echo in the Story helped filled this gap by retelling the stories from the perspective of the wives of soldiers.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231207101232_c2517596a438db1f00d1643815a6c13815cec7d491509e897d9bed8879c5bbd4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="20231207101232_c2517596a438db1f00d1643815a6c13815cec7d491509e897d9bed8879c5bbd4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1125" loading="lazy" alt="Gurkha women 2"> </figure>  “When Gurkha soldiers were fighting wars, it was their women who single-handedly led the households, they were the silent heroes,” explains 29-year-old Thapa Shris. “With limited money and resources, they raised families and boys who grew up to be lahure themselves. Their contribution is immense.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/beginning-of-the-end-of-the-gorkha-empire">Beginning of the end of the Gorkha Empire</a>, Alisha Sijapati After her first exhibition Bharseli Gurkhas: From Stories to Portraits which looked into the lives of Gurkha soldiers from her ancestral village of Bharse of Gulmi district, Thapa Shris felt that she also needed to put the spotlight on the wives.&nbsp; Coming from a Gurkha household herself, where her grandfather was in the Indian Army, Thapa Shris was introduced to her family’s praetorian past from a very young age. She grew up with her grandparents in Butwal, listening to the lore both from the battles as well as the home front.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231207101232_bcce9d8fe47dc7c8ede1cd1f7a6f70e1877f4f9788865cb703f9504a6e205ab2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20231207101232_bcce9d8fe47dc7c8ede1cd1f7a6f70e1877f4f9788865cb703f9504a6e205ab2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="Gurkha women 4"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231207101232_185f09e6839ab5130514dc86ade39257b97b6095f4a8a300f7c7439832624997.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20231207101232_185f09e6839ab5130514dc86ade39257b97b6095f4a8a300f7c7439832624997" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="967" loading="lazy" alt="Gurkha women 3"> </figure>  Her father Bom Bahadur Thapa, a horticulturist by profession and a writer, wrote a book Bharseli Gorkhagatha ra Serofero about his ancestors. And when Thapa Shris started her project, the father-daughter duo interviewed some 50 women in their 70s and above from Baglung, Gorkha, Gulmi, Kaski, Palpa, Rupandehi, and Sunsari. They were all wives of Nepali soldiers who had served in the UK, India, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/the-malayan-rainforest-and-its-rare-flower">Singapore and Malaya</a> (now Malaysia). “The exhibition took shape as we were looking into who these women were, their life stories and their contribution to Gurkha history,” she adds. “Their identity and contribution has been the main objective of this exhibition.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/lest-we-forget">Lest we forget</a>, David Seddon Thapa Shris never formally learnt art, but her raw talent for portraits is there for everyone to see. Also on display at the Nepal Art Council from 25-28 November were sketches, archival pictures, visual footage of interviews, and installation art with traditional music in the background. But the highlight of the event were evocative testimonies with their respective portraits depicting two kinds of women: those left behind in Nepal and those in foreign lands where their husbands were deployed. Most struggled to make ends meet, and that too in a new place where they did not speak the local language. <div class="embed-block"><div><div style="left: 0; width: 100%; height: 0; position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%;"><iframe src="//cdn.iframe.ly/api/iframe?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fembed%2FGAUPq7EK_vk%3Fsi%3DNtp3w8G4XbM_OSZy&key=87ca3314a9fa775b5c3a7726100694b0" style="top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; border: 0;" allowfullscreen scrolling="no" allow="accelerometer *; clipboard-write *; encrypted-media *; gyroscope *; picture-in-picture *; web-share *;"></iframe></div></div></div> “We automatically assume that Gurkha soldiers are well-off and their lives easy but that is not always the case,” explains Bom Bahadur. “There was no immediate means of communication or any channel to wire money. It was these brave women who made their way.”&nbsp; While archival footage helped the audience peek into their lives in foreign lands, an installation art of a classic Nepali knitted bag filled with envelopes depicted how in those days letters were the only medium of contact between spouses. One section was dedicated to hand photography intended to show the resilience and the kind of lives these women led. All the portraits here had wrinkled hands of the women resting on their patterned lungi.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20231207101232_a97971b33334ae0e9ffca90c7feeb83e07c17af8a67753e99b6f29aab65035bd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20231207101232_a97971b33334ae0e9ffca90c7feeb83e07c17af8a67753e99b6f29aab65035bd" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="953" loading="lazy" alt="gurkha women 5"> </figure>  The exhibition also featured traditional dresses and jewellery of the Gurkha women as well as wooden utensils used by these indigenous communities in the past. Lungi, gold beruwa bangles and traditional gold asarfi rings synonymous with Lahureni were also heavily featured. “The gold came much later after the wartime,” adds Suzana.&nbsp; “One thing all the bojus said was that they were happy that they at least got to wear gold.” The father-daughter duo is now planning to transcribe all the testimonies and turn them into a book. Says Bom Bahadur: “I am glad our Gurkha women are highlighted. The fact that my daughter is working on it makes me even prouder.” &nbsp;

Pinki Sris Rana

Retelling Gurkha history

When Balaram Chitrakar was only 10, he started helping his father in a photo studio in inner city Kathmandu to develop photos in darkroom. By age 12, Chitrakar was already a bonafide photographer. By the time he finished high school in 1959, his father had handed him the keys to the studio. He attended Trichandra College during the day and developed film by night. “Perhaps because photography had become my passion it did not matter that I worked all night,” says Chitrakar, now 82. In 1967, as he finished his BSc exam Chitrakar joined the Department of Archeology’s Bir Library. But during the first few months, all he was made to do was keep written records of the documents. He realised that library users, mostly foreign researchers, had access to original texts and documents of historical importance, as a result of which they had become torn and damaged.&nbsp; So Chitrakar proposed to the Director of the Archeology Department to make duplicate copies of documents so the originals were preserved. The department accepted it and set aside Rs800 for him to buy a camera.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023092511090_e3d69f83f919105d3885e9a8b62ced12ba56051e38cd5b69d1f52eaa14fe2ace.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2023092511090_e3d69f83f919105d3885e9a8b62ced12ba56051e38cd5b69d1f52eaa14fe2ace" data-rendition-name="original" width="6000" height="4000" loading="lazy" alt="Microfilm archiving in Nepal"> </figure>  Chitrakar then began to make photocopies of documents, the first time this was done. Impressed with his work, the Department of Archaeology sent him to India to be trained in microfilming.&nbsp; “Microfilms had not been introduced in Nepal at the time, so I used my curiosity and made an effort during training to figure out how the practice could be brought into application back home,” Chitrakar recalls. When he returned in 1969, the Bir Library was incorporated into the Department of Archaeology’s National Archives. The Nepal government had also agreed with their German counterparts to make microfilms of Nepal’s archival documents, one copy of which would be with Nepal and the other sent to Germany.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023092511094_422339effd991229237231a70c2213de5d6ae2ac09850c98d32d5a88204ab209.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2023092511094_422339effd991229237231a70c2213de5d6ae2ac09850c98d32d5a88204ab209" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1981" loading="lazy" alt="Microfilming in Nepal"> <figcaption>Balarama Chitrakar with German representative Bernhard Kolver (third from right).(Photo: suman)</figcaption> </figure>  German state-of-the-art equipment, including cameras and dark rooms were used to microfilm 29,000 documents during the first phase of the five-year project. The team worked every day for five years, microfilming many old books and paintings that Patan and Bhaktapur wanted preserved.&nbsp; In 1972, King Birendra personally took an interest in Chitrakar’s work and helped him with preserving the archives. The work continued for 25 years during which 182,000 manuscripts, inscriptions, copper plates, and other objects of archaeological significance were microfilmed. <div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yv8Fc2WDHPA?si=im2dd1KXGr69Af6D" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div> Chitrakar travelled to Helambu, Langtang, Pokhara, Manakamana, Janakpur and elsewhere to preserve more archival religious documents. &nbsp; He even went to microfilm archives in Dhaka.&nbsp; By 1993 Chitrakar found there was a storage unit of microfilms but it was not temperature and humidity controlled. With his help, the Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya in Patan also began microfilming its archives.&nbsp; After 30 years, Chitrakar retired in 2001, and some of the documents he archived are 1,700 years old. But since then, the fragile microfilms themselves need to be preserved with digitisation.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2023092511094_d660a59924507009b148c5e7a11828447a267f94cde841261b54d9e6220e93a2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2023092511094_d660a59924507009b148c5e7a11828447a267f94cde841261b54d9e6220e93a2" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="2000" loading="lazy" alt="Microfilming in Nepal"> <figcaption>Balram Chitrakar in Lumbini stydying microfiliming. </figcaption> </figure>  The microfilms Chitrakar had so painstakingly preserved are beginning to deteriorate due to ‘Vinegar Syndrome’— a chemical reaction that decays the emulsion in film. &nbsp; Microfilms have a lifespan of 100 years, but in Nepal they have begun to deteriorate in half that time. The National Archive has more than 200,000 positives and negatives of ancient texts and documents, out of which 500 are already damaged beyond repair. The Department of Archaeology submitted the Microfilm Reel Preservation Action Plan to the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation in 2014 but the Ministry has not done much.&nbsp; Nepal stands to lose its archive of archaeological objects, and 82-year-old Chitrakar stands to lose his life’s work and legacy. He preserved historical documents by microfilming them which themselves now need to be preserved. “The fact that these microfilms are in a state of decay means that my entire life’s work will have gone to waste,” says Chitrakar wearily. “And what will we have left if we fail to conserve these microfilms?” &nbsp;

Memories of an archivist

A day after Rabi Lamichhane and Balen Shah <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/old-vs-new-in-nepal-in-2026-z6l4fgrd">came together to form an electoral alliance</a>, Kulman Ghising has also joined forces with the two leaders, merging his Ujyalo Nepal Party with the RSP.&nbsp; Following last-minute negotiations before Monday’s midnight deadline for parties to file their list of candidates for the Proportional Representation (PR) seats, Lamichhane and Ujyalo Nepal chair Anup Kumar Upadhyay signed a seven-point agreement to unify the two parties, with Balen Shah as witness.&nbsp; Per the deal, Ghising will be the vice-chair of the RSP, joining DP Aryal and Swarnim Wagle as the party’s seconds-in-command. The earlier agreement between Lamichhane and Shah retained Lamichhane as RSP chief, and promised Shah prime ministership if the party wins a majority in Parliament in March.&nbsp; Ghising’s team reportedly has a 17% share on the list of PR candidates filed by the RSP at the Election Commission. Balen has also fielded his own picks, and together the party has the likes of cricketer Gyandenra Malla, actress Reema Biswokarma, rights activist Mohna Ansari, climate activist Tashi Lhazom, and singer Prakash Saput as PR candidates. Ghising had held multiple rounds of talks with the RSP chair and the Kathmandu Mayor to discuss possible collaborations, but had failed to reach a power-sharing agreement. On Monday, Ghising had met with Lamichhane heeding a last-ditch effort from GenZ leaders, in particular Sudan Gurung, as they tried for the final time to get the interim Minister on board with Lamichhane and Shah before the PR list submission deadline.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025123004128_99e23ae7b6a042e71d271e3e74f7527086a7bb55779e6781bc9e7b711c8303e7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025123004128_99e23ae7b6a042e71d271e3e74f7527086a7bb55779e6781bc9e7b711c8303e7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1595" height="1087" loading="lazy" alt="Sudan Kulman Balen"> <figcaption>Photo: SUDAN GURUNG / FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025123004128_d9f530704ab4c6e27eebf51f8e9fb55fed1d4281c99d089d06455cc7448bfda7.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025123004128_d9f530704ab4c6e27eebf51f8e9fb55fed1d4281c99d089d06455cc7448bfda7" data-rendition-name="original" width="1026" height="1084" loading="lazy" alt="Balen and Sudan NT"> <figcaption>Photo: BALEN SHAH / FACEBOOK</figcaption> </figure>  The three are now set to make a formidable team to challenge mainstream parties at the polls. News of this alliance has been welcome to Nepalis who are looking for any alternatives to break the stronghold of the Oli-Deuba-Dahal trio over Nepali politics in recent history.&nbsp; But they will also carry each other’s baggage.&nbsp; Lamichhane, who was jailed for defrauding cooperatives depositors last year, was welcomed back as RSP party chair with open arms after he was released on bail last week. And while he has maintained his base of loyal supporters, he was subject to widespread criticism after he walked out of detention amid the jailbreak during the September protests, prompting his eventual voluntary return to prison.&nbsp; His party’s silencing and expulsion of critics within the RSP has also drawn direct comparison with the leadership structure of Nepal’s mainstream parties. Prominent leaders like Sumana Shrestha have left the party over disagreements with leadership.&nbsp; Meanwhile, Balen’s impassioned campaign resonated with Nepalis disillusioned with establishment leaders during the 2022 election and made him mayor of Kathmandu. The mayor’s direct, no-holds-barred style of communication and commentary has attained him much support beyond his constituency.&nbsp; But his unyielding, often unempathetic leadership style and policies— like his dismissal of street vendors and informal businesses during his drive to free up Kathmandu’s footpaths— have also earned him detractors. His recent outburst on social media in November that included expletives against both of Nepal’s neighbours and the US, as well as Nepal’s three main parties and the RSP was also widely criticised.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251230041212_fc2088daf32bac93541ebf25ca07725d75a721ae83440749ac8fa09d8fe308f2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20251230041212_fc2088daf32bac93541ebf25ca07725d75a721ae83440749ac8fa09d8fe308f2" data-rendition-name="original" width="890" height="1255" loading="lazy" alt="Agreement NT"> <figcaption>The seven-point agreement between RSP and Ujyalo Nepal Party.</figcaption> </figure>  Ghising, credited with ending Nepal’s prolonged load-shedding during his tenure as the chief of Nepal Electricity Authority, has a reputation of getting the job done. His public goodwill earned him a seat on Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s interim Cabinet following the youth protest.&nbsp; But he has also been under scrutiny for funds misappropriation as well as controversial power purchase agreements during his tenure as NEA chief. Ghising had foregone the leadership position at his Ujyalo party, preferring to play the role of patron until closer to the election date, but was nonetheless criticised for his political and electoral aspirations while being a member of the transitional government. It now remains to be seen if and when Ghising will step away from his position in the interim Cabinet and begin campaigning with his new partners.&nbsp; As it stands, the involvement of prominent GenZ figures in bringing together Ghising, Shah, and Lamichhane has established youth leaders as major players in Nepal’s post-September political landscape. These leaders will have significant pull with young and first-time voters. But not all young leaders are impressed with this new triumvirate. Some have pointed out that the unity between these three leaders is no different from the political opportunism and quid-pro-quo power-sharing culture established and followed by Nepal’s mainstream leadership for the last three decades which culminated into the GenZ movement of September.

Kulman follows Balen to RSP

From stone spouts to cast-iron mains, Nepal’s water system and its struggle to provide safe water tells a larger story of power, disease, dependency — and lessons for the future. From 1823 to 1891, the Nepali state made just two notable interventions in Kathmandu’s drinking water system. The first was when Prime Minister Bhimsen Thapa commissioned a stone pout (hiti) to tap groundwater within the valley’s traditional supply system. The second came nearly 70 years later with Nepal’s first industrial-era water system, the Bir Water Works in 1891 under Prime Minister Bir Shumsher Rana. Linking these two milestones was the spectre of cholera. From the 19th century on there were seven global cholera pandemics. <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264410X19309995#bb0325" target="_blank">Originating in Asia</a>, the disease reached Europe and the Americas, the Vibrio cholera bacillus breeding in poor sanitation wherever it found it. The first wave erupted in 1817, followed by others in 1829, 1852, 1863, 1881, 1889 and, finally, in 1961, the seventh pandemic which still lingers on. London, the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution, was repeatedly stricken. In Britain ‘miasma’ foul air was blamed. &nbsp;In Nepal, cholera was seen as divine damnation. By the late 19th century, as Nepal’s relationship with Britain deepened, the Bir Water Works was inaugurated in 1891 as a defence against cholera. Whether cholera also shaped Bhimsen Thapa’s decision in 1823 is less clear. Contemporary records note the commissioning of Sundhara, but do not refer to the cholera epidemic raging at the time. The silence itself is telling: Nepal’s elites were ruling in the shadow of the disease. Bhimsen Thapa first resided in Thapathali Palace, which was built in 1802 by Nain Singh Thapa, father of Mathabarsingh Thapa, who would briefly become prime minister in the 1840s. In 1806, Bhimsen Thapa moved to Bagh Durbar, a new complex on the western edge of Tundikhel. Historians are vague about the water supply in the residences of the nobility, but wells and water hauled from rivers, ponds, canals, and other sources were likely the primary sources. A small hiti north of Bagh Durbar, near today’s Sun Dhara, may have supplied the palace. In 1823, Bhimsen Thapa had it enlarged, making it the last and largest state-built hiti in Kathmandu. Even as Bhimsen Thapa was involved in palace intrigues and border conflicts, Britain was engineering pipelines. By the late 18th century, Sir Thomas Simpson had invented the bell-and-spigot joint, making long-distance pipes viable. Fluid dynamics, dealing with pumps, pipes, and filters, was becoming a foundational discipline. In Kathmandu, the scourge continued. Cholera struck Kathmandu repeatedly, in 1862, 1867, 1872, 1874 and 1875. The 1872 epidemic, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-in-the-time-of-cholera" target="_blank">according to historian Tom Robertson</a>, claimed between 200 and 250 lives a day. On average, cholera killed between 1,200 and 1,500 people annually in Kathmandu Valley, an enormous toll for its small population. The summer of 1885 was especially calamitous: a cholera epidemic ravaged Kathmandu and its periphery from the beginning of June until late August. The disease even breached the royal palace, reportedly killing 23 people, mostly young girls. Records show that 909 people received treatment at the British Residency dispensary, and estimates suggest that as many as 10,000 people perished in a city of 50,000. In November that year, Bir Shumsher seized power in a coup. He inherited not only a premiership but a Valley ridden with disease. Cholera was endemic, and it was accompanied by typhoid, smallpox, goitre, syphilis, and chronic dyspepsia. The The British Residency dispensary at Lainchaur was inadequate. “In a poor country like ours, wealth means health,” Bir Shumsher remarked, an unusually pragmatic admission that epidemics were not divine punishment but structural afflictions of urban life. He soon pledged to expand health care. In 1889, he opened Bir Hospital and staffed it with Indian doctors to treat cholera, typhoid, smallpox, and other prevalent illnesses. PIPED WATER Bir Shumsher also recognised the need for safe drinking water. Between 1866 and 1872, he had served as Nepal’s ambassador in Calcutta, and he must have seen water mains already in operation there, and a filtration plant inaugurated in 1870. Madras had installed such a system as early as 1800, Bombay constructed the Vihar and Tulsi reservoirs in the mid-19th century. In Kathmandu British Residency personalities such as George Gimlette must have urged Bir’s government to quicken the construction of the hospital and water system, yet the archival traces of such exchanges still await historical scrutiny. By the late 19th century, the British had developed a technological ecosystem for water supply, intakes, pipes, fittings, reservoirs, and trained engineers. Bir Shumsher appealed to the British Government in India for engineering assistance. A British engineer named Mr Feigneur surveyed Kathmandu to prepare maps, and estimated the volume of water that could be brought from the Rudramati River. In 1889, a more experienced engineer, Lockhart Matthew Sinclair arrived. He was a Scotsman educated at Wellington College and the Royal Indian Engineering College, with prior experience in constructing waterworks in Jubbulpore and the Viceregal Palace in Shimla. Appointed State Engineer of Nepal (1889–1892), Sinclair reviewed Feigneur’s plans, updated them, and chose the Bishnumati River as the source of the city’s drinking water. Sinclair’s design included a reservoir at Panipokhari, at 1,330m elevation and 30m above &nbsp;Tundikhel, thereby enabling gravity-fed distribution in pipes. With a capacity of 7,327 cubic metres, the reservoir could store nine days of supply.&nbsp; The system was designed to serve about 70,000 residents through both private connections and public standpipes. The reservoir was a single-compartment tank with an arched brick roof covered in earth and turf. Its brick walls were bonded with lime mortar and aggregate, and its floor was dressed with fly stone. Work on the valley’s water supply began in 1888, three years after Bir Shumsher seized power. The following year, Bir Hospital and the Bir Water Works took shape. The project involved some 40km of imported cast-iron pipes, weighing 1.866 million kg and inscribed with the marks of Scottish foundries ‘Ally and McLean’ and ‘Glasgow’. Construction required 620,000 man-days of labour and cost over Rs600,000. Transport costs inflated prices: <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-the-four-cities-of-the-valley/" target="_blank">a load of cement</a> costing Rs10 in Calcutta was worth Rs33 by the time it reached Kathmandu. Bir Water Works was inaugurated in September 1891, six years after the cholera epidemic. Water flowed out of 131 taps, including eight in Lainchaur, six in the royal palace, eleven in the prime minister’s palace, sixteen around Tundikhel, thirteen in Thapathali, seven in Thamel, and two in Naxal. The system’s designation, the term ‘works’ , echoes the Chelsea, Calcutta, and Glasgow Water Works, underlining its industrial pedigree. Water was also supplied to Phora Durbar, Bir Shumsher’s palace of music and dance whose fountains sprayed rose-scented water in a display of opulence. The <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-" target="_blank">Bir Dhara Works</a> was more than an engineering scheme: it was Nepal’s first modern public-health intervention. Safer drinking water curbed waterborne disease, and the number of cholera outbreaks declined, but were not eliminated.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260103020144_d5c22de54c0eaab680a166c5a7482839fdc09b60679109021d0504252a810254.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20260103020144_d5c22de54c0eaab680a166c5a7482839fdc09b60679109021d0504252a810254" data-rendition-name="original" width="865" height="535" loading="lazy" alt="Cholera and drinking water in Kathmandu"> </figure>   <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260103020144_a46075b6d759585df56a2bb8e5a07d85de7d9a69406165c32784fe30012c9971.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260103020144_a46075b6d759585df56a2bb8e5a07d85de7d9a69406165c32784fe30012c9971" data-rendition-name="original" width="2791" height="3859" loading="lazy" alt="Cholera and drinking water in Kathmandu"> </figure>  “Now we have water to fight cholera, and I believe cholera will no longer prevail. After four years of piped water, the benefits have been greater than expected,” Bir Shumsher said in a proclamation. Despite this, the prevalence of poor sanitation, open defecation, cramped housing, and malnutrition meant that typhoid, smallpox, and dyspepsia remained endemic. The Bir Dhara system marked Kathmandu’s transition from reliance on wells, rivers, springs, and hiti to piped water, operating for several decades and laying the foundation for the expansion of drinking water services across the country in the late twentieth century. <a href="https://commons-nepal.com/the-first-kaldhara-in-the-four-cities-of-the-valley/" target="_blank">Extensions followed in Patan</a> under Chandra Shumsher, and Bhim Shumsher later added the Tri Bhim Dhara. Piped water systems were subsequently constructed in towns such as Kirtipur, Bhaktapur, Dhankuta, Pokhara, Dhulikhel, and Jajarkot which itself saw a deadly cholera outbreak in 2009.&nbsp; CHOLERA METAPHOR In 1933, Nepal’s first water bureaucracy, the Pani Goswara, was established, formalising state involvement in urban water supply. Yet even till the late 20th century, households continue to rely on a mix of sources, including public water networks, private vendors, rooftop storage tanks, borewells, wells, hiti, and household filtration. The lack of reliable water supply places disproportionate financial, physical, and psychological burdens on low-income households, underscoring how decades of infrastructure expansion have not translated into universal, reliable service. during challenges in governance, investment priorities, and regulation. Bir Shumsher also attempted to introduce <a href="https://www.ukaalo.com/news/cholera-in-kathmandu-1958/" target="_blank">basic hygiene measures</a>, such as pit latrines with squatting slabs. However, there is no record of these facilities being built in his palaces, later built palaces, or elsewhere. Sanitation conditions remained poor for both the elite and the general population. Open defecation or the use of crude pit latrines without proper waste disposal was common. With no drainage or sewer systems, human waste accumulated near homes, contributing to the spread of waterborne diseases. In 2019, Nepal declared itself ‘open defecation free’, a policy milestone, but this achievement masks the persistence of deeper problems. Urban areas generate some 867 million litres of wastewater daily, yet only 7% of it is treated before being discharged. Sewage flows untreated into rivers and streams, spreading cholera, typhoid, dysentery, and other diseases, particularly among children and vulnerable communities. Safe disposal of faecal sludge continues to be a major struggle for many communities and local governments. Besides Jajarkot, Godavari in Kathmandu Valley had a localised outbreak in 2024. This year, Birganj was struck by a cholera outbreak caused by a lethal combination of unreliable water supply, groundwater overpumping, poor drainage and hygiene, and unsafe waste disposal. And Nepal’s peacekeepers deployed after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 were blamed for spreading cholera that ultimately killed 30,000 people in the Caribbean nation. The Bir Water Works was more than a reservoir and pipes. It was Nepal’s first brush with modernity, mediated through engineering and haunted by cholera. More than 134 years on, cholera remains a threat and a reminder of Nepal’s challenges in water and sanitation governance. The issue is not merely ensuring access to safe water but also building public trust that quality essential services can be delivered equitably, sustainably, and with resilience. Ajaya Dixit is a Kathmandu-based researcher exploring Nepal’s water history since the mid-eighteenth century to inform ethical water and river management in a changing climate.

Life in a time of cholera

Koreana Coffee Guff begins with a scene where Narayan Wagle, the editor-turned-farmer, appears in reverse cameo, as a character in a novel. He has just landed at Incheon in the dead of winter.&nbsp; The opening premise reminds one of Tolstoy’s saying about how stories begin either when someone goes on a journey, or when a stranger comes to town. ‘The winds of each city are its original inheritance, shaped by its local language, its specific topography and the buffets of the airborne wings of birds and airplanes,’ Wagle writes.&nbsp; The author is both on a journey and a stranger to the town. The word ‘stranger’ might need to be redefined here, as he has visited Korea several times before. But if every journey is new, then he is a stranger of sorts — stranger to the people he meets for the first time in the book, stranger to the reader who will encounter him for the first time like I did in high school reading the English translation of his 2005 Madan Puraskar winning novel Palpasa Cafe.&nbsp; Koreana is non-fiction, and was first published in 2017 in Nepali, and recently rendered into English by Prawin Adhikari, who specialises in translating Nepali works into English in such a way that they do not read like translations at all.&nbsp; Even so, I turned to a few chapters from the original text, curious to see how ideas have morphed. Take Wagle’s journey to Ansan Mountain. It is the same mountain, but something different happens in the two languages. The inexplicable feeling is that the translation has to conquer the mountain itself. At its best, the book gives the reader a peek into Wagle’s mind, his internal monologues, his writing ideas, his thoughts on the people around him, his deep yearning and respect for nature, his exploration of Seoul and Korea, where he is attending the Asian Literary Creative Writing Workshop in 2017.&nbsp; BACK TO THE LAND ‘All cities appear the same everywhere,’ he writes of Seoul, speaking of how ‘development’ has masked the original charm of a city rebuilt after war. In recent years, Wagle has moved on from being the editor of Kantipur, to activism, and has now returned to his ancestral land in Tanahu to farm.&nbsp; Clues to this metamorphosis can be detected in this book, which was written nearly ten years ago and before his transition. Wagle used to write a column called Coffee Guff, and the book carries that conversational style.&nbsp; But not all monologues land. Thoughts rooted in a specific time and space like the hike to Ansan where the author reflects on buildings, birds, and trees feel connected with a context and background. Then there are those that bring in a new metaphor, a new reflection, a new connection in almost each new sentence which make it difficult to follow the author’s stream of consciousness.&nbsp; Halfway into the book, we finally meet the writers who have come from different parts of Asia for the workshop. Not speaking a common language, the writers have to rely on interpreters and Google, which turns their exchanges into quirky moments of laughter.&nbsp; Writers are an important part of the book, the lens through which Wagle invites us to see the world. Poets Manjul from Nepal and Shiva Ryu from Korea make guest appearances. Through two Korean writers who share the surname Kim, we get a glimpse into Korean history and society, and how writing is intertwined with politics.&nbsp; This Korea is different from the Kpop idols and skincare routine that has dominated recent imagination of the divided peninsular nation. Wagle writes, ‘Literature attempts to unite, politics impedes it. They are being continuously thwarted by the conflicts ongoing in the nation’s politics.’&nbsp; One of the Kims is Kim Min-jung (김민정), author of The World’s Most Expensive Novel, that explores what it means to be a writer in Korea.&nbsp; Reading Koreana feels like a hike through a jungle. If one is able to move past the tangled and stretched monologues, the book can hold moments of awe and wonder. But there is always a desire for a clearer trail to follow. &nbsp;&nbsp; Narayan Wagle’s characteristic witticism is there aplenty, his observations are astute. Writers exploring their craft and readers curious of what is churning inside Wagle’s mind will find treats -- sometimes well-crafted, other times to be searched between the lines. &nbsp; Alfa M Shakya is a writer, researcher, and podcaster. She runs and hosts ‘How’d You Create That?’, an art podcast about the creative process.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251230071252_5503c9fb08d62adb328d8f817b353604429559d3d9c6542edf3663c3f8c554e5.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251230071252_5503c9fb08d62adb328d8f817b353604429559d3d9c6542edf3663c3f8c554e5" data-rendition-name="original" width="1136" height="702" loading="lazy" alt="Korean coffee guff English translation review"> </figure>

history

YALA

Nepal’s incomplete revolutions

2007

The cost of preserving Nepal’s past

2000

25 years of journalism

A portal into Patan’s past and present

The Sita-Ram corridor

Retelling Gurkha history

Memories of an archivist

Kulman follows Balen to RSP

Life in a time of cholera

Coffee guff from Korea

YALA