Category: Feature

Nepal is not poor. It is just poorly managed. And to manage it better, Nepalis are finally getting a unique kind of help that comes in the form of ‘social media’. This time we citizens have a powerful ally, an amplifier. It is neutral, it is free and, in fact, it is inexhaustible and virtually indestructible. With its help Nepalis are uniting each other with resources, knowledge and action so together we can build a more prosperous Nepal.

So what is social media, you may ask? Simply it is the use of Internet based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialog on a massive scale. In the old days to communicate with someone you had to go to their very door to get their attention. Now we have reached the point where we communicate from our chair and actually open thousands of doors (virtually) at once! Social media holds thousands of attentions simultaneously. It expands our social circles and can strengthen our real life relationships at a much faster scale.

I believe social media may find ways for us Nepalis to finally help unite our citizenry to emerge out of this current state of chaos and into prosperity. Just over a decade ago there were no mobile phones in Nepal. Now, more than one in three carries one. Six years ago, there were no Facebook users in Nepal. Today, there are nearly twelve Lakh Facebook users inside Nepal.  In the next decade, each Nepali will not only be browsing the Internet but they will be doing so through their mobile phones. We will chat, write, talk, and organise events right from our palm of our hands!

A girl in Humla will answer within seconds a maths question posed by another girl in a village in Ilam. How? From this inter-connectivity. An old farmer in Janakpur will access the weather forecast and receive advice from a Facebook group on how to negotiate seeds for a bargain price with a seed bank in China. The seeds will be parceled to his village within a day or two and he would have never met those people who helped make it possible.

With social media tools like Facebook and Twitter, what you say can be seen, heard, and amplified to anyone around the world. That is a potential audience of millions of people. Your ideas can never be cut off from the rest of mankind. Even government services which now take months to contact and receive a response, will be within reach through your mobile. You will be able to track what progress your public officials are making on making your passports or how they are responding to your complaint about poor health service in your local hospital. You can check your local politician’s history and recheck whether they kept their promise or lied, when elections come around. All information will be online; facts and history will be within your reach and shared with many within seconds.

As with such great power comes a great responsibility. I believe we should harness this power so that Nepalis help Nepalis. Already social media is helping us do that.

Did you see photos of Jamuna, a malnourished child in Rukum recently? People created Facebook groups to support her, contributing hundreds of thousands of rupees. She is now on her way to recovery.

A group of friends started the Shanti school project to raise millions and built schools and libraries in Nepali villages. They remain connected to their donors on Facebook. Social media is helping unite us to help those less fortunate than us.

Maggie Doyne, an American working with orphans in Surkhet, manages to get on YouTube and share a video which immediately touches thousands of hearts. She raised enough funds to unite Nepali orphans together to give them a better future.

A Nepali youth, Sagar Prasain recently started building teams through Facebook to make audio books for the visually impaired.

A youth group, Paschim Paila, is launching a petition online for all to pledge for an epidemic free Nepal. Many of you may remember two years back when many hundreds died from a simple and preventable epidemic in western Nepal. This group wants to ensure it does not happen again.

A remote health clinic in Accham called Nyaaya, share their stories on facebook to notify well wishers and donors living seven continents away of the progress, big or small, they are making each week. Aren’t they uniting the less fortunate Nepalis towards a healthier future?

The unorganised here in Nepal are finally organising into platforms, thanks to social media. If you are tired of Bandhs, join an anti-Bandh Facebook group. Same goes for entrepreneurs, consumer rights protection groups, even bike modification groups. Overwhelmingly, Nepalis are working together for a positive change. Nowadays, previously disinterested ‘Facebook’ youths are gathering in huge numbers through social media to talk about holding politicians accountable, and being responsible citizens themselves.

Here are two campaigns that I am involved in that harness the power of social media. First is a citizen’s movement called ‘Nepal Unites’. Second is a blog called ‘Whynepal.com’. They are two of many examples of how social media and activism together has a potential to create positive changes.

परिवर्तनका लागि हामी नेपाली एक popularly known as ‘Nepal unites’, is a citizen’s movement working to unite Nepalis for a positive change. As citizens start becoming responsible ourselves, Nepal Unites believes we can also hold our leaders accountable to their actions. Only through this balance of citizen’s responsibility and leader’s accountability, will Nepal become prosperous.

100 days ago this movement didn’t exist. Today it has over 15,000 members who believe in the cause. It uses YouTube videos (viewed more than 70,000 times) to both disseminate information and inspire people with updates of positive events that are happening in Nepal. This is accessed by people in all corners of the world. As the product of a group of citizens who decided to take action rather than complain, it provides a platform for opportunities not yet used and for Nepali citizens who were previously disinterested to become involved.

Today 1200 youths leave every day to work abroad. 7000 women are trafficked to brothels in India every year. We were once prosperous. We built palaces like Patan Durbar Square long before countries like the United States were born. But how did we end up in such a situation where we now have to take aid from them to renovate these monuments?

The answer is simply we Nepalis now have become extremely divided. We no longer trust each other. That is why we Nepalis have to work together to make our leaders accountable. One of the campaigns of Nepal Unites is to get Nepal’s leaders to show their accountability by making our constitution on time. The campaign simultaneously rallies all citizens to unite responsibly and positively to help the leaders actually achieve this.

Nepal Unites is a forum for Nepalis to lead initiatives themselves. Here, anyone can share their ideas, learn from others, organise events, collectively find better solutions to social problems and rally around each other. By this, Nepal Unites hopes to achieve a just society where responsible citizens walk hand in hand with accountable leaders. To start on your own journey to unite Nepalis, try interacting in their website: facebook.com/nepalunites

Another way to spread knowledge and your cause is through internet blogs. Here is another example of my blog whynepal.com which carries a simple yet powerful vision, ‘Nepal doesn’t need to change. We do.’ My intention here is to provoke Nepalis to:

Act instead of talk

To listen instead of chat

To do instead of complain

Started in September 2007, it is a collection of my experiences, ideas and questions plus other inspiring stories of successful Nepali citizens. I use these to provoke readers into going on their own road to becoming an inspiration themselves. This blog originally started as a way to document my experiences in opening an IT business, but the entrepreneurial content soon evolved into a broader conceptualisation of leadership and management. This then evolved into more thought provoking ideas on change, progress and how to manage conflicts in Nepal. I use social media technologies, like Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, youtube and Google to spread my messages across. And the cool part is all these articles here are free for anyone to use anywhere! Knowledge is meant for sharing. The more one shares, the more one gains. I believe in this.

Whynepal.com provokes each reader into becoming a doer and to inspire leaders to be bold enough to take initiative. It is a style of communication that spreads through social media – as soon as an article is published, thousands will know about it, read it, digest it and then chose to share with another thousands of others. It also provides examples of how we can use social media to jump start citizen activism by thinking out of the box.

I hope you will also start using social media to form networks, platforms, groups to further the cause you are interested in. The world can be your close ally. In the end, remember Nepal doesn’t need to change. We do.

On the 30th July, nine Nepalis with an ‘idea worth spreading’ became the first group of speakers in the inaugural TEDxKathmandu conference. As an independently organised TED Talk, TEDxKathmandu placed Nepal among a host of nations bringing a global discourse on Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) to the local fore.  Originating in the US in the 1984, TED talks create a secure space for new, inspirational or innovative ideas to be shared. The collective ‘lessons to be leant’ often transcend time and place. Based on universal themes, talks may be persuasive or courageous, fascinating or informative, beautiful or funny. A good presenter will challenge you to think beyond the norm, thus stimulating debate, provoking ideas and facilitating a new conversation.

The range of speakers at TEDxKathmandu reflects the diversity of social, political and activist cultures that are pertinent in Nepal today.  Speakers included social activists Haushala Thapa and Anil Chitrakar; Mark Zimmerman, a doctor and Executive Director of the Nick Simons Institute; Sunil Babu Pant, Nepal’s first openly gay member of parliament; and Kedar Sharma, a writer, journalist and documentary film maker, to name a few.

Responding to the theme ‘Innovation, Change and Sustainability,’ speakers were allocated eighteen minutes to present their idea in the most captivating way.  The theme, explains co- event organiser, Nimesh Ghimire, aimed to challenge the dominant national discourse of politics by providing a space for innovators, entrepreneurs and ‘those who think outside the box’. He elaborates that ‘particularly in developing countries like Nepal, when tackling various social and economic problems, we believe that delivery is more effective and efficient when we find ‘new ways’ of doing things’.

TEDxKathmandu can itself be considered one of these ‘new ways’ of doing things. Twenty year old Nimesh, along with his nineteen year old colleague, Shirish Pokharel truly embody the message they are trying to spread; that young people can and will make a difference. Through TEDxKathmandu they explain how ‘we wanted to create a platform whereby the 100 attendees – who themselves have a strong track record of innovation and connection to their communities – could get the inspiration and motivation to continue their works and take it to new next level’.  The pair’s long term outlook is that TEDxKathmandu, as a yearly event, ‘will serve as a hub for someone seeking the inspiration, motivation and confidence to explore ‘new ways of doing things’ in society’. Indeed, with plans already in motion for 2012, TEDxKathmandu is sure to carve its niche as an important site of dialogue and exchange in the years to come.

https://tedxkathmandu.com/

https://www.ted.com/

 

Memorable moments from TEDxKathmandu 2011

Ani Choying Drolma
Change

It is always something special to listen to Ani Choying Drolma perform. Singing from her soul, each performance encapsulates the depth and breadth of Ani’s experiences growing up as a girl in a distinctly patriarchal household and society, and later her encounters with womanhood as a Buddhist nun.  Reflecting heavily on her past, Ani addressed the TEDx audience on the importance of transforming negative experiences into opportunities for empowerment.

Revealing that her own childhood was met with instances of domestic violence which she ‘always felt just wasn’t right,’ Ani developed the courage to say no and resit the strict social hierarchy she was expected to conform.  Embracing nunhood as a form of salvation from married life, Ani found the nunnery to be like a paradise when she entered.  It is here that she met her guru and the ‘best man in the world’ who helped her transform anger and hatred into understanding and giving.

Change starts within. It starts with a change in attitude and a change in how we perceive the world. Delving further into mechanics of change and personal growth, Ani reiterated that spirituality does not necessarily mean giving to a temple or charity. True spirituality is ‘cultivating more and more the goodness we have in ourselves.’  It is about cultivating a thought process and praying for the wellness of people.  ‘It is those things that make me happy,’ she concludes.

 

Salil Subedi
Performance, activism and transformation

Performance actor, Salil Subedi, or Salil Kanikar as he is also known, energetically closed the conference with a captivating narrative of his experience as Nepal’s first didgeridoo player. Self taught fourteen years ago, Salil found succour in this fascinating new instrument, one which was pivotal to his personal quest to regain some control over his life. Today his didgeridoo, Rainbow Snake, is Salil’s main means of expression during his work with underprivileged children across rural Nepal. Bringing his performance to the hills and Terai, Salil says ‘you don’t need to explain anything, just go out and do it. They too will have something to teach.’

In keeping with the didgeridoo’s Aboriginal Australian heritage, Salil uses the instrument for storytelling. Combining music with activism, dance and performance, Salil communicates and presents social issues as an art form. It can also be a form of therapy.  He explained the magic in how a ‘single hollow tube can bring so much joy and meaning to people’¦the simple tube can bring a lot of youth together.’  The environment and animal rights are also issues close to his heart. Asking ‘who speaks for the wildlife?’ Salil imparts that we need to take care of the earth’s rich biodiversity because ‘it took care of us for billions of years.’

His parting words and aptly those of the conference, succinctly reaffirmed the aspiration of TEDxKathmandu to create a new conversation on innovation, change and sustainability. ‘If you reach fixity of thought,’ he probed, ‘it becomes a commodity. We need to live in the twilight zone. All of us are artists- go find your twilight.’

 

Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati
Interpreting history through photographs

‘History is never only history of, it is always history for.’  – Levi Strauss

History and the interpretation of history are powerful tools.  With historical recounts often shaping a nations psyche, the construction of past events often serves a contemporary agenda. Why do leaders evoke images of the nations past hero, and neglect to recall the struggles of the everyday?  Why is history written from the perspective of the victors, while the rest of society- the women, the children and the minorities- are systematically excluded?  Is it truly possible to suspend one’s preconceived notion of a historical narrative and view the world from a decentred position?

Yes.  According to Nayantara, this is all possible when we believe that history begins at home.  Over the centuries Nepali history has been a history of kingdoms, where Gorkha or Rana rule dominates the discourse. But the nation’s collective history must stretch far beyond that. As Nayantara proposes, memories are your history. They become the nation’s history when told together; A collective memory.  The Nepal Memory Project, an event run by Photo Circle, is Nayantara’s attempt to contextualise, redefine and reshape Nepal’s history from the perspective of the people. The stories from each photograph become a part of a larger narrative that builds a socio-cultural pictorial of old Nepal.

Postmodernists are relativists. They argue that there is no such thing as an objective truth as historical practice his inherently shaped by context and bias.  A distorted historical construct is thus meaningless when truth and accuracy remain in the hands of the dominant culture.  The Nepali Memory Project endeavours to construct a more accurate and enduring history of real Nepal; one that is removed from the dominant culture and is shaped by the people. After all, ‘we are all historians’.

See https://www.photocircle.com.np/ for more information about the Nepali Memory Project and also their upcoming event Rewind, Recapture and Rewrite.

 

Prabhas Pokharel
Innovation- Half Inside Half Outside

I was thoroughly impressed when Prabhas Pokharel, an activist for social development, opened his presentation with this not so threatening but otherwise exciting proposition: innovation and change come from being both within and outside of a system. The system of course refers to that intangible but all powerful entity that you know needs to be modified but you just don’t know where  or how to start. So you don’t. Or you endeavour to challenge the system only to find that it is too big and too established to even be slightly rocked.

So the solution, Prabhas probes, is to play their game. You become a part of the system. In this way one will have the contextual knowledge necessary to identify sites of change, while simultaneously having the fresh and innovative perspective of an outsider.  The leverage, thus, from those inside and outside is that they have the potential to bring about change within a constrained system.  This potential lies in their ability to talk in an open and systemic manner and to decentre themselves from a perceived reality to readily embrace the different actually they are confronted with.

When applied to a Nepali context, there is great potential in reaching across borders to stimulate discussion and source innovative ideas from across the globe. Recognising this potential, Prabhas helps to lead ‘Nepal ko Yuva’ an organising bridging Nepali youth at home and abroad. Pariwartan (change) is one of their most recent projects that seeks to ‘promote the spirit of social and political entrepreneurship within youth’.

Ending just as he begun with something to get you thinking, Prabhas concluded that if the sun and the moon, which rarely see each other, can co-exist on the Nepali flag, then Nepalis should be able to build bridges across boundaries to find innovative solutions to contemporary problems. By being half inside and half outside of a system, people will have the knowledge and competency to initiate change.

https://nepalkoyuwa.org/

Kahi nabhayeko Jatra Patan Durbar Square ma!

Every year when Nepalis return home after attending the biggest literary festival in South Asia, The Jaipur Literature Festival, people bring with them the hope, one that is mostly tinted with nostalgia— of Nepal having a festival to boast of its own.  The wait, is seems, has come to an end as Nepal gears up for the inaugural ‘Kathmandu Literary Jatra’. Inspired by its Indian counterpart that has already hosted the likes of Salman Rushdie, Orhan Pamuk and Ian McEwan among other high profile names in English literature today, the Kathmandu Literary Jatra is going down a similar path with writers and publishers like Namita Gokhale, Mohammad Hanif and Tarun Tejpal in line to attend the country’s first literary jatra of such an international stature.

The three-day Literary Jatra (September 16-18) or litjatra as it has come to be known will be held at Patan Durbar Square and the surrounding area. Some of the writers who will be speaking in the event are  Alecia Mckenzie, Alka Saraogi, Buddhi Sagar, Deepak Adhikari, Deepak Thapa, Devendra Bhattarai, Indran Amrithanayagam, Kanak Mani Dixit, Karna Sakya, Kesang Tseten, Kiran Krishna Shrestha, Kunda Dixit, Manjul, Mohammad Hanif, Momila Joshi, Namita Gokhale, Narayan Wagle, Nayanjot Lahiri, Patrick French, Poorna Man Vaidya and Pratyoush Onta.

While Nepali readers and writers are excited about the possibility of hearing and learning from international writers, the organisers defiantly assert that the organisation of the jatra has the sole purpose of promoting the works of Nepali writers rather than glamorising international writers. Furthermore, the jatra will give international exposure to Nepali writers. This will help encourage Nepali writers by giving them the idea that they have the potential for an international breakthrough, said Subani Singh, Festival Director. ‘It will be a better platform for the Nepali writers to showcase their works both in Nepali and English.’

Ujwal Prasain, the Kathmandu Post journalist who has contributed to the development of the sessions to showcase the works of Nepali writers, acknowledges the effort of the organisers to particularly support and promote Nepali writers. Prasain, who is himself an avid reader and promoter of Nepali literature, has been writing about Nepali literature in an attempt to help people cultivate an interest in it. ‘The kind and quality of works that are available today proves that we have both the literary mass and the writers whose works deserve international appeal,’ he said.

However, as optimistic as it can get, it needs to be brought into light, especially when the literary fest is just a month away, that there are sections of writers and publishers whose professional lives have been nothing short of one hurdle after another. ‘It is even much tougher when a publisher is a woman,’ lamented Archana Thapa who is the founder and editor of Akshar Creations. Launched last year, Akshar Creations’s first publication Telling a Tale, edited by Thapa, is a collection of personal stories of over 30 Nepali women. In three ways, Thapa said, she has been dominated; first as being a woman, second as a beginner publisher, and third as someone whose choice of books to publish differs from the mainstream.  Telling a Tale brings to light personal stories of women, and this is something which has ‘not been done before’, and that is where ‘I suffer convincing the reader’. In addition, the publishers have financial burdens to take care of. Fine Print is a publishing house which has over 20 books to its credit including the critically acclaimed books of Buddhisagar’s Karnali Blues and John Wood’s Microsoftdekhi Bahundadasamma. The latter has the highest sale figures of 18,000 copies while the former 13,000. But, the figures do not really compensate for the cost of publication that are often done in India informed, Niraj Bhari, one of the founders of the Fine Print.

The litjatra can offer many lessons, confirmed Thapa. The range of programs from workshops, readings and panel discussions will surely help build proximity between national and international writers, publishers, journalists and academics. ‘Nepalis can learn lessons from them with everything related to publishing,’ she said. Thapa is mostly interested in and believes others would similarly take interest in ‘knowing how publishers select the works of new writers’, and the process of ‘bringing out a new book and brand new writer to the readers.’

Devendra Bhattarai who is the author of the critically acclaimed book ‘Registan Diaries’ is also renowned for his indelible efforts to pen the stories of hardships and sentiments of Nepali migrant workers in the Middle East. It was while he was serving his tenure as a Kantipur National Daily journalist based in Qatar that he came in direct contact with thousands of Nepali migrant workers who were insignificant to the dry desert and whose hardships were oblivious to all those that may care. One thing that pulled Bhattarai towards the Nepalis were their human sentiments and feelings ‘that is often heart rending and poignant’. Bhattarai protests that these issues are seldom represented in Nepali literature. ‘The only thing that continues to dominate the headlines in the papers is remittance, and hardly there is anything that would tell people about their personal lives, their hardships and emotions of being so far away from home and their loved ones,’ he explained. This is what compelled him to write in a way that has never been written in Nepali about migrant workers. The product is a book that has touched thousands of hearts.

As a speaker for the Jatra, he is planning to read a section of his book ‘Registan Diaries’ and relate what he saw and experienced being with the many migrant workers in the Middle East. He cites that it is important for people to explore soft lines of emotions in order to understand the hardships that Nepalis working abroad in difficult and dirty environments often suffer. This will enable readers to better understand the socio-political and economic structures of our society. ‘There are larger implications to how they suffer in the desert, to the extent that some either lose their hope or their lives,’ he said, highlighting the need for the representation and reflections of these stories , which are often full of human interest, poignancy and pain. He agrees the last and the most popular book related to these themes to have emerged in Nepali literature was Muna Madan, by the great Nepali author and poet Late Laxmi Prasad Devkota. ‘That was just that,’ he said, ‘we need more of these issues in our literature so that we can depict reality and still make people aware about the situation of Nepalis living elsewhere.’

The Jatra will be attended by writers, academics and journalists and thus is expected to brew a good amalgamation of discussions, readings and issues where people can engage themselves in the discourse of Nepal after it was freed from the Rana Oligarchy in 1951. Since then Nepal has been a vibrant country with discourses of inclusiveness, rights and democracy. It was also the time when the country’s literature scene really developed and engaged a wider scope of readership as well as publishing books. ‘In a way it is also a way of recollecting the literature vis a vis the political development of Nepal,’ said Prasain.

Adding to the discourse is also Sanjeev Uprety. Uprety has authored the famous, ‘Ghanchakkar’ which was also made into a play. Ghanchakkar was of a huge political and social importance in the context of Nepal as it depicted the scenes after the Royal Takeover of February 1, 2005. Uprety’s second book ‘Sidhantakaa Kura’ will be read, and he will speak on the recollective period of literature, in addition to the socio-political aspects of Nepali literature. ‘The Jatra will be an important platform for writers as there will also be international writers sharing the same platform. Ideas and knowledge can be shared and exchanged between the countries,’ he said.

The Jatra will altogether host 30 national writers and poets including those who have been writing in their mother tongues and 10 international writers. ‘It will be a good platform as people will open up to the fact that there are people who have been writing in their own languages other than in English and Nepali,’ said Singh. Prasain further added that including the works that have been written in native languages and bringing them to a bigger audience through the Jatra is an important realisation Nepalis can have. ‘Our culture and languages need to be preserved and showcased as much as there are works that have been written in Nepali and English.’

The Kathmandu Literary Jatra will not just promote works of Nepali writers but it will also highlight the importance of music and art. There will be reading sessions during the daytime and musical performances in the evening which will help garner a larger section of people; not just those interested in taking part in discussions but those who would also like to listen to local music, sipping tea in the lap of Patan Durbar Square; Similarly the addition of art will add much needed zeal and zest. Something that Nepalis have been looking forward to since they heard that the jatra is being held.

Somewhere in the eastern region of Nepal is a hillside strewn with graves of local ancestry. Despite being once revered as a sacred space of worship, many of the graves on Thumki Hill have been recently disturbed by farming activities. But at the start of the year, a set of architects came to the village and now, six months later, came up with a building that not only reflects the sacred nature of the hilltop, but also the potential of architecture in art, ecology and spiritual portrayals.

‘Modern architecture is in search of mythology,’ shares Travis Price, the founder of Spirit of Place, the organization that built the monumental piece at Thumki Hill. In partnership with the Culture and Sacred Spaces graduate program at the Catholic University of America, every semester the group works on a construction that is built in a different cultural setting with the involvement of local people. The main theme of the construction is to use the culture, beliefs and understandings of belonging into an architectural design that essentially encapsulates the ‘spirit of place’.

Back in January Travis, along with Program Director Kathleen Lane, spent time in Namje Thumki talking with and learning from the Sharman teachers. The experience and information gained was then relayed to the graduate architecture students back in America who individually processed, analysed and played with the ideas before sharing them together as a group. Students tried to come up with what they felt would be appropriate portraits of the beliefs and ideas of the place. ‘Many times ideas overlap each other or have characters in common.  We then merge together all these ideas, work some more on it and come up with a final outcome,’ says Travis. At the beginning of June, at the end of the semester, the students came to the village and, in collaboration with the villagers, spent nine days building what can now be called not just an architectural landmark, but also a memorial to those before us.

Although an architect by profession, and one with more than common accomplishments, Travis is also a philosopher and an environmentalist. Unlike many architects of the day, he seeks the worth of his creations in the messages they portray.  Instead of only attempting to modernise, he infuses the modern with traditional ideas. Reflecting on the influence of ecology Travis says ‘looking at natural patterns is enough to drive and inspire. The first step is to see nature from a different perspective. This brings geometry and natural shapes together.’Stone blocks sourced locally were the chief construction material for the monument at Thumki Hill.

Still, ‘architecture needs ecological balance but it also needs a story,’ explains Travis. ‘As architects we have to find a metaphor to shape the space.’   Questions that architects should be thinking about pertain to culture, antiquity, and ancestry and how to interpret these through a modern lens. ‘Even as deconstructionists,’ he continues, ‘if you can embrace change and embrace the environment, you can create a new modernism.’  And the whole effort behind Spirit of Place is to preserve aspects of culture.  After all, ‘the most important thing is storytelling and memory being eradicated. It is almost as scary as the loss of the ecosphere.’

The Monument

The Spirit of Place monument at Thumki Hill captures how the villages evoke their ancestors. The seven metre squared landmark comprises of eighteen walls for the eighteen students that were part of the team. Each of the walls is made of stones which look like tombstones standing towards the sky. The corridors lead to a centerpiece which is a rectangular hole, representative of a grave, dug deep into the earth and topped with glass. People ‘approach it with a sense of mystery and walk down each passage way to a different infinity,’ Travis reflects.  Many villagers experiencing the monument for the first time ‘look in and then look up at the sky’ as if remembering their ancestors. The project has local ownership owing to their involvement at each of the stages. The ultimate monument is a product of collective action and collective decisions.

The community is mostly a Magar locality. The religious heads, Sharmans, are immensely trusted and consulted. The team ‘held a series of meetings with the Sharmans to help understand the sacred traditions and rituals of the Magar people.’ And just as the fusion between modernism and traditionalism, there is collaboration between the locals and the foreigners. The transfer of skills is neither top to down, nor east to west. With many of the architecture students inexperienced in construction the local stone masons’ demonstrated all steps from how to make and pour concrete, to placing the stones and building a wall. The relationship with the community livens itself beyond that of the 9 day project. Other ideas were shared and stories exchanged about insulation and solar heating.

 

Kathmandu: The urban problem

For an emerging city Kathmandu is still packed with the sacred, yet the architecture does not often reflect the culture. The growth is great and necessary but it creates new headaches. The public space needs drastic attention.  The identity of the residents needs to be reflected by the surrounding environment. Architects, as represents of the people, should look at reclaiming the public space, roads and places. Unplanned urbanization is beyond control.  ‘People need to take a rough stand,’ Travis urges at a conference to architecture students in Kathmandu. ‘The city will look and function better if we can redesign the streets and cityscape and slowly reroute it.’

One of the main problems for Nepalese architects is to infuse the modern with the ancient components that make Kathmandu. In a city where high-rise buildings are competing with temples and structures from the last centuries and beyond, it is necessary to keep ones eye on the depth of the history. The emerging architecture is poisoning the old. When awful new buildings surround the old without any consideration, it is evident that the spirit of the old is lost. This means architects will have to take up responsibility and be accountable for the cities they create- a daunting but otherwise inspiring task. After all, they will not just be imitating the past but, from now, looking to innovate the future.

The innovation needed in the futuristic beautification of Kathmandu is in many ways inspirable from the construction at Thumki Hill. The knowledge gained from the locals and their culture was fused into the design. This process, where the user inputs ideas and collaborates from the outset, means the monument will be far more immersed in the villagers. The idea of a shrine like place for respecting the ancestors came much more in harmony to the villagers than something they had no say over. Such should be the case with architecture. Architecture is not a competition; it is a conflux of thought. And the thoughts must be justifiably derived from what the user and designer both have to say.

Spirit of Place- Spirit of Design is a one of a kind institute that brings together a symbiotic mixture of humanities and architecture. The program has shown a side of design and construction not commonly seen: the non-commercial one. Shaped very much like the architecture of the ecosphere movement from the 1970s, what the institute hopes to teach is that as much as the ecosphere needs to be conserved, the ethno-sphere also needs to be preserved. And, as the brain behind all major constructions, architects have a pivotal role to play in this preservation process.

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