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Kathmandu Tuesday October 09, 2001 Ashwin 23, 2058.
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A private project to renovate three temples
at Hanumandhoka
By Razen Manandhar
KATHMANDU, Oct 8 - While government bodies are working in a
snail’s pace to preserve the city’s cultural heritage, a non-government
organisation has taken the responsibility to renovate three ancient temples at the
Hanumandhoka Durbar Square.
The Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT), an NGO
working in the field of heritage conservation, has received the permission to renovate the
temples of Jagannath, Indrapur and Narayan and beautify the Durbar Square maintaining its
archaeological importance. KVPT is spending over Rs. 20 million from different national
and international donors.
Among them is the 438-year-old temple of Jagannath, known for
its beautiful struts with erotic carvings. Constructed by King Mahendra Malla in 1563,
this temple is considered to be the oldest structure that remains intact in the area.
Pratap Malla introduced Indian style idols of Jagannath, Subhadra and Balaram in the
eastern doorframe of the inner quadrangle of the temple.
King Pratap Malla constructed the temple of Indrapur in 1650
while the temple of Narayan was added in the late 17th century as mentioned in history
books.
KVPT had to wait for almost 18 months to get permission from
the Department of Archaeology, the prime government body that controls and preserves
historic monuments.
It finally got the permission to renovate three major temples
of the World Heritage Site a month ago but the Trust waited till the Indrajatra to begin
the field works, said Rohit Ranjitkar, an architect of KVPT.
Now that the running around for government permission has
finished, the project has already begun its works. And it will take some four years to
complete the project, according to Ranjitkar.
"We will do our best to maintain their historical values
when we replace the ruined parts with new ones," said Ranjitkar. "Though it will
increase the cost by more than two times, we will let the history live in the
temples."
Ranjitkar said the project would not bring the whole
structures down, as it will only ruin its original beauty.
Most of the temples and buildings of the 12th-century-palace
collapsed during the 1934 earthquake and the then Rana Prime Minister Juddha Shumshere
painstakingly renovated them from the national treasure.
Pictures taken before the earthquake shows that the Narayan
temple collapsed to the foundation whereas only the first floors of other two temples fell
down due to the 8 rector scale earthquake, according to Ranjitkar.
He said the barandah of Indrapur, the third floor of Narayan
temple and the doorsteps of Jagannath temples are different from the pre-earthquake
pictures. "The renovation will try to bring back the shapes of pre-earthquake
monuments by using old pictures," said Ranjitkar.
The trust has spent more than a year in documentation of the
temples of the Hanumandhoka area. "Such detail documents will be useful even to
reconstruct such temples in future and let people understand their value," Ranjitkar
said.
KVPT intends to uplift the archaeological environment of the
Hanumandhoka Durbar Square - from cleaning to raising awareness for the locals and
erecting an information stall either for the tourists or for the locals.
KVPT has the experience of renovating Radhakrishna temple,
Kwalakhu Pati, Patukwa Aganchhen, Lakhe Aganchhen and Kulima Narayan temple in the Patan
area.
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