“Legend has it that the Bodhisattva Manjushree drained the lake that once filled the Kathmandu valley and made it habitable. It now boasts a 2000 year old urban civilisation. Dynasties rose to power one after the other, only to be lost in the march of time''.

This insightful excerpt is from Nepal – a country that has fascinated me with their wonderful heritage, architecture, culture and hospitable people. After visiting Kathmandu in 2012, I wrote an article about Kathmandu's heritage sights and the recent dreadful tragedy in Nepal has deeply affected many like myself not just for the inconsolable loss of life but also the loss of history and culture.

When my husband and I first felt the tremors of the earthquake on the 25th of April, it took us a few minutes to understand that the origin of the quake was in Nepal. But as soon as I knew, my first thoughts were about my friends in Nepal. I eventually managed to place a call to Kathmandu and was informed that although all my friends were alive and safe, they were having to suffer through truly adverse conditions. While the initial panic has subsided, both at a local and international level, the death toll has soared past 7000 and thousands more continue to live without proper food, shelter and medical services. Rescue workers are extending themselves above and beyond their calls of duty to help those in affected areas and thankfully, some stories of hope, resilience and sheer miracle have emerged to inspire them to keep moving forward.

At this time point in time, communication channels with Nepal are still strained and I am yet to find out if all my Nepalese interior design students are alive and well with their families. As members of the international community, we can only hope that the humble and hospitable people of Nepal find the strength and courage to recover from this loss and that their beautiful country is able to rebuild itself as soon as it is able.

After the earthquake many heritage sites, structures of architectural importance, sculptures, cultural institutes, temples, historical government buildings, residences, offices, schools and villages have suffered significant damage. Examples include Durbar Square in Kathmandu where rescue workers are clearing the rubble brick by brick in the hope that they can one day be used to rebuild some of the sites. 

I have wonderful memories at Lalitpur, Basantpur, Durbar Square, Bhaktapur and many other places, all of which are UNESCO World Heritage sites. When I was in Nepal, I remember being intrigued to learn that the Patan Museum, once a palace that housed members of the Pala dynasty, was heavily damaged in the 1934 earthquake. It took 15 years of financial and technical and financial support from the Austrian government to restore this wonderful museum. While it is hard to comment on it without having seen the original site, one can say with impunity that the remodelled 'new' premises are also exceptionally beautiful. Set in the world's most beautiful squares, it was conceived not only to display a collection of artefacts as a showcase for the cultural legacy of Nepal but also to splendour of the Mala period itself. 

As the world lends itself to the support of the Nepalese people in their time of calamity, we can but hope that difficult as the process may be, similar restoration efforts will be undertaken to reinstate other places of historical and cultural significance in and around Kathmandu.

By Nazneen Haque Mimi
Interior Consultant
JOURNEYMAN
E-mail: journeyman.interiors@gmail.com
Photo Credit: Journeyman Archive