All Nepalis take pride in the fact that the Buddha was born in Nepal, but few may know that Kathmandu Valley has the longest uninterrupted Buddhist tradition. Legend has it that the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka visited the Valley and married his daughter Charumati to a Patan nobility 2,000 years ago. The stupas of Chabahil and Pim Baha date back to that period. Buddhism has been preserved and continuously practiced in Kathmandu Valley since then to this day. Because of Kathmandu Valley’s relative isolation, the monastic tradition survived here while it was destroyed by waves of Muslim invasion in north India. The centres of learning and worship safeguarded Theravada practices, while evolving into the unique Vajrayana traditions that are the characteristic of Newar Buddhism that then travelled north into Tibet, China and up to Japan, assimilating local influences along the way. It was in the Valley’s monastic sites, known as baha, that rituals and tantric practices of Newar Buddhism thrive to this day. Seven of Kathmandu Valley’s temple complexes are in UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites, and Itumbaha is one of five main Newar Buddhist monastic enclaves in Kathmandu. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/itumbahas-living-museum">Itumbaha's living museum</a>, Sahina Shrestha The World Monument Watch has included Itumbaha in its list of most endangered sites. A visit to the square shows why: while the courtyard and temple are intact, it is now surrounded by concrete high-rises of inner city Kathmandu.&nbsp; Itumbaha has existed for at least 800 years, and many of the carved wooden struts and columns, steles and votive structures survived earthquakes, invasions and political upheavals. Indeed, Itumbaha is only one of only three monastic structures in Kathmandu Valley that have preserved their original architecture for so long.&nbsp; The monastery is a part of the community and its rituals and activities are managed by the local sangha made of non-celibate priests, and the leadership in itself has been passed down through the generations.&nbsp; Because of its importance, Itumbaha was selected for urgent protection in 2003, and work started in restoring the collapsed south wing of the courtyard by Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) with support from the German Embassy and the local community. The eastern wing was subsequently restored with support from the World Monument Fund. Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=604">Polishing up the past</a>, Nepali Times The historical and cultural importance of Itumbaha and its meticulous rehabilitation from 2002- 2016 is now documented in a new book launched by KVPT last week: Restoration of Itumbaha. The book has contributions from a star cast of heritage conservationists and architects like Niels Gutschow, Thomas Schrom, Rohit Ranjitkar and contributions by other local and international experts. Alexander von Rospatt of Berkeley has a longish chapter on the monastic traditions of Itumbaha and explains why its intangible heritage is the reason the place is such a culturally vibrant shrine to this day. Gutschow documents in great detail the restoration work, with revealing before and after illustrations. One of the elaborately carved wooden tympanum was stolen in 2003 and has never been found. It was probably sold by art dealers to collectors or museums. Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Legends-of-pragya-paramita,3281">The legends of Pragya Paramita</a>, Shuvechchhya Pradhan As a part of the effort to protect existing artefacts and to spread awareness about heritage theft, a small room in the southwest corner of the courtyard is housing a museum that is being <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/itumbahas-living-museum">upgraded with support from the Rubin Museum</a>. The Itumbaha Initiative did not even try to fight the tidal wave of concrete that engulfed the historic heart of Kathmandu in the past decades. There was no legal way to stop private property owners to go high, and neither was there the political will to implement zoning laws. Gutschow notes: ‘Entering the courtyard one experiences a world of its own, a confined sanctuary with a horizon below the eaves. Rising the eyes only one is aware of the other world, contemporary Kathmandu … (with its) aggressive environment.’ And that is the message of this book: that Kathmandu’s best treasures like Itumbaha are hidden away. Finding them needs work. One has to walk down narrow alleys with cantilevered high-rises that block out the sky, through the fumes, noise and crowds of Asan Tole, to enter the Kayagunani square and from there cross the threshold of the inner courtyard and then the sanctum sanctorum. Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/review/remembering-nepals-lost-and-the-found">Remembering Nepal's lost and the found</a>, Ashish Dhakal Centuries of history speak from the corners, cobble stones are polished by the feet of ages, the bricks are eroded with time, chaityas encrusted with vermilion dot the courtyard.&nbsp; Restoration of Itumbaha is a documentation of the heritage and conservation of this priceless secret jewel of Kathmandu, and the book can serve as a useful guide for first time visitors and frequenters alike.&nbsp; Once is not enough because there is so much history and culture crammed into such a small space. Best to take the book along, sit in the square and let the architectural drawings, pre-restoration images and progress of pilgrims immerse you in Itumbaha's universe.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20230728060712_e361648b29caa0a50bc6b0d014cbaacbcdfe2ddad3cd70133f31fc3b5beb88a8.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20230728060712_e361648b29caa0a50bc6b0d014cbaacbcdfe2ddad3cd70133f31fc3b5beb88a8" data-rendition-name="original" width="3000" height="1500" loading="lazy" alt="Page 9 book details NT"> </figure>  Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/faith-stolen-lost-in-nepal-found-in-america?fbclid=IwAR339kc1dVacPz-FtNvJMdX7wBCk68KWkYD9EYasJsPphlbsQdwG-cfMkSg">Faith Stolen: Lost in Nepal, found in America</a>, Lost Arts of Nepal

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Bedrock of Buddhism

The irreplaceable loss of Kathmandu Valley’s historic hitiThe ancient trade route between India and Tibet cut diagonally through Kathmandu’s city core. At its northern edge was the historical gateway to the city through which Newar merchants passed on their way to and from Lhasa.Today a yellow concrete-and-glass commercial block stands on the spot just northwest of Rani Pokhari. The structure was built right on top of Jhanga Hiti, the ancient sunken spout that stood there till 35 years ago. “This was the spot where families bid tearful farewell to the merchants when they left on perilous journeys across the Himalaya to Lhasa. There is no trace of this historic landmark today,” explains tourism expert Gyanendra Ratna Tuladhar. The Tibet trade thrived for centuries until the Chinese annexation in the 1950s.Considered one of the greatest technological achievements of the Kathmandu Valley civilisation, hiti are traditional stone water spouts built inside conduit basins below the ground level, where drinking water flowed non-stop. The water was piped through underground channels made of Gathu Cha, a type of water-tight clay. <figure><img width="640" height="853" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516cc9c7e80680e02c239jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Pic 1. Tindhara Hiti. Photos: Bikram Rai</figcaption></figure><img width="557" height="896" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516cf9c7e80680e02c23ajpeg.jpg" alt="">The sources used to be in a complex network of aquifers, ponds, rivers or natural springs on the outskirts of the valley. This intricate network of water channels helped the valley’s kingdoms to thrive and support urban populations.Today, many of these hiti have dried out due to underground waterways being blocked by rampant construction and other infrastructure. <figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516d19c7e80680e02c23bjpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>When Jhanga Hiti went dry, locals forgot about its historical importance, and when piped water became available it was covered over and converted into prime real estate.A  local football club then laid claim to the land, and eventually obtained permission to build its club house on top of Jhanga Hiti in 1981, permanently burying its glorious history. The lower floors of the building are now rented out to shops, while the football club has offices and a meeting hall on the upper floors.Some 80m to the south is where Bhotahiti was discovered 4m below the surface in 1984 during the construction of an underpass. Water was still flowing from the spout when it was unearthed. The spout dates back to 621 CE and was originally called Vanta Hiti (Eastern Spout).<img style="max-width:100%" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516d49c7e80680e02c23cjpeg.jpg">Bhotahiti was among seven water spouts in the area, and was first buried during the construction of Tundikhel in the 1880s. The underpass construction went ahead, and Bhotahiti was filled over a second time.The lower portions of the basin of Tindhara Hiti at the southern end of Darbar Marg is still moist with ground water today. Local apathy and official neglect have turned the historic waterspout into a wasteland.Engineering student Rohit Nepali studied Kathmandu’s 7th century Gairidhara, 2 km east of Darbar Marg, and says it dried up only a few years ago when large buildings went up in the vicinity.  <figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516d69c7e80680e02c23djpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><figure><img width="640" height="427" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221104141140/636516d99c7e80680e02c23ejpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“We must study and fully understand the physical structures that were built with very little technical resources compared to today, during the Licchavi and the Malla periods, before they all disappear,” Nepali says.Despite many hiti in Kathmandu going dry or filled over, there are still a handful of these historic spouts that provide water to this day to communities in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur.Maru Hiti is one of them, and it lies at the opposite southern end of the ancient trade route that once bisected Old Kathmandu. Crystal clear drinkable water still flows out of its ornate stone spout day and night.Alok  Siddhi Tuladhar  is a culture and heritage documentarian.

Water of the ages

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Water of the ages