Bhaktapur's cultural heritage defaced

In the outskirts of the Bhaktapur Durbar Square is the ancient pond called Siddha Pokhari. Premier Bhimsen Thapa had it filled with different species of fish. He also installed a scripture tablet by this once-well-maintained pond.

Today, some inscriptions on this tablet have been defaced. Along with Thapa’s tablet, there are two other tablets, but their history is unknown.[break] If the engravings were shifted to the National Museum of Bhaktapur, they would have retained full information of the pond’s history, Purushottam Lochan Shrestha, local resident and a Bhaktapur expert, told The Week.

Shrestha added that there are numerous inscriptions around Bhaktapur, as in the Dattatraya Temple and Sukul Dhoka. Besides these tablets, there are numerous intricate artworks, some on the gigantic monuments and some scattered in the heritage site that need immediate attention and study.

Pointing out at the 148 tiny images carved below the elaborately designed windows of the Pachpanna Jhyaley (55-window) Durbar which recently underwent renovation, Shrestha informed that there has been no research on these images of musicians and singers.

Nearby stands Lu-Dhoka, or the Golden Gate, the main entrance to the courtyard of the Taleju Temple, and is widely known for its magnificent metalwork with the tiniest of details.

“Of the several figures engraved on the Golden Gate, the small images of Bhairab (Lord Shiva) and Mahakali (Goddess Parvati) are damaged from constant touching by worshippers,” a worried Shrestha said.

Commenting on the weathered artwork, Mohan Shrestha, an engineer with the Monument Maintenance Durbar Caretaker Office (MMDCO) in Bhaktapur said, “It’s the joint responsibility of the MMDCO and Bhaktapur Municipality for the security and preservation of the monuments.”

He added, “The gate needs gilding and it requires a heavy budget, which MMDCO lacks. For funds, the Municipality is stronger because besides the allocated budget from the government, it also collects entrance fees from tourists.”

However, Krishna Gopal Prajapati, head of the heritage section in the municipality, said, “The foremost responsibility to look after the monuments is of MMDCO.”

“To clean the gold-plated gate requires chemical expertise, so we’ve written to the chemical lab of the Department of Archeology in Lalitpur for timely maintenance of the gate,” claimed Shrestha.

Past the Golden Gate stretches a string of chowks (courtyards). In the second, Bhairav Chowk, stands a statue believed to be of a royal member; its nose is broken.

According to Shrestha, the damage is recent.

Moving on to Eta (Kumari) Chowk within the palace complex, the bullet holes of the Gorkhali soldiers during Prithvi Narayan Shah’s attack on Bhaktapur are still evident on the idols of Goddesses Saraswati and Laxmi.

And there are several other idols in the Chowk covered with verdigris. Clearly, negligence is visible.

The murals of yoginis and scenes from the epic Ramayana which cover a large part of the Kumari Chowk’s walls are now barely visible. Rain and shine have played foul here, and visitors have scribbled their names. Nobody is paying attention.

According to MMDCO head Aruna Nakarmi, the murals were last cleaned some six years back.

“Because cameras aren’t allowed inside the Kumari Chowk, we haven’t been able to record the paintings to treat them,” she told The Week.

Adjacent to Kumari Chowk is Nag Chowk which houses the famous Lu-Hiti (golden sprout with a small pond.) The golden sprout has deteriorated and holes have appeared and verdigris covers its intricate details.

Along with the golden spout, the waterspout next to the Pachpanna Jhyaley Durbar has dried up and is in pitiful condition. Human excreta, lack of cleanliness and grass have blighted the area.

Recalling his teen years in Bhaktapur, Purushottam Lochan Shrestha informed that a statue of a bird was affixed to the figure of the serpent here.

With the disappearance of the bird, several other images and idols are also missing from place, according to him. This suggests that not enough has been done to provide security for the national heritage.

For instance, most idols of gods and goddesses that once encircled the biggest Shiva Linga of Nepal on the Hanuman Ghat of Bhaktapur have disappeared.

The recent theft took place about a year ago, Shrestha added.

Commenting on the safety of the monuments, Ambika Dhaubhadel, municipality administration head, said, “We mobilized cultural security personnel before the peace process, but no more.”

Back at Hanuman Ghat, cement replicas have now taken the place of the original idols, but they are no match for what have been lost.

“They lack symmetry,” said 74-year-old culturist Tejeshwor Babu

Gongah, pointing to one of limbs of a new statue, which is slightly bigger than the other. “The negligence is noticeable, and this is due to lack of records of the original monuments.”

When inquired about the records of the original statues, both the heritage section and MMDCO failed to produce one.

While respective authorities don’t deny that it is their duty for the security and preservation of Bhaktapur, the culture of blame game prevails, which has only hindered the conservation of the heritage sites, and what remain of the different periods of Nepal’s history continue to deteriorate.

Bhaktapur, the classical and still-unspoilt city northeast of Kathmandu, stands as an epitome of a bygone era acting like a time capsule, reminding one and all of the premier craftsmanship of the Newar nation and the Kathmandu Valley civilization back then. But negligence and routine buck-passing continue to bedevil this ancient city, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site – no less!

ALL PHOTOS BY DEEPAK TOLANGE