heritage — Blog — Jo Teasdale FRPS

Bhaktapur is a small Newar town in the Kathmandu Valley where the past meets the present. It is known as the cultural capital of Nepal, and its streets and squares are teeming with vendors selling and creating the most intricately designed woodwork, pottery and bronze singing bowls. It is also the setting for Bertolucci’s acclaimed film The Little Buddha. This heritage town attracts not only tourists but wedded couples having their official photographs taken against the beautiful backdrops.

Although temples and castles are generally not our thing, this town is remarkable in its sheer scale and beauty. This is a UNESCO heritage site. The temples have been rebuilt since the 2015 earthquake - funded by UNESCO.

Following the 2015 earthquake the surrounding old town has been rebuilt by the residents without any financial aid.

Bhaktapur is famous for the rows of grey clay pots that bask in the sun to dry.

There are two pottery squares in Bhaktapur, with a communal kiln for the potters to fire their work.

Anyone who knows me even a little bit knows my affinity for paper. Nepalese Lokta paper frequently features in my art work so it comes as no surprise that I tracked down a paper-making factory ‘coincidently’ hidden away in the back streets of Bhaktapur.

The Peacock Shop, named after the nearby Peacock Window symbolising good luck and prosperity, is a monument to the work of Mr. Prajapati who is saving much of the Newar Heritage and rebuilding earthquake damaged buildings. His premises comprises of the paper-making factory, printing and book creations and also on the top floor is the owner's collection of carvings and furniture, some of it many years old which he has saved from being lost or destroyed.

Mr. Prajapati’s son, Suyog has published a handmade book describing culture and Hindu-Buddist imagery. It has been handprinted in 6 languages. It was beautiful to see the actual old letter-press machine, the layout of the pages and the plates used to print the book.

The Lokta grows wild at an altitude of 6500ft or above in the Himalayas.

The Lokta bark is cooked, washed and beaten into pulp before it is dyed and then spread out on the mesh frames to dry out in the sun. Some papers have flowers and leaves added.

The paper is then pressed to the desired thickness and texture and cut to the required size.

Mr Prajapati has also designed a house for a potter. It is made entirely of terracotta and glows a beautiful orange in the sunlight.

The Dharka Topi - a hat worn by Nepalese men is part of their national identity.

As the sun begins to fade we leave a glowing Bhaktaphur. We throughly enjoyed our visit to this artists hub and my bundle of Lokta paper will be carefully packed and taken home, eventually.

Hello Nepal. Well this feels different!

Outside of temples and a starting spot for mountain trekking, I was going to Kathmandu without any real knowledge of the area. Immediately upon arrival from India, it felt different. Calmer, quieter and less chaotic.

Surrounded by incredible scenery, Kathmandu has a unique and interesting character to it when walking around the city. There’s a ruggedness to it. Many of the streets are dirt roads, the buildings aren’t in the best shape and the architecture and temples all over the city give it its own identity. There’s a mix of Nepalese culture and modernity throughout the city, while feeling you are still far away from a more developed urban life. Since the country has become government run, buildings higher than 2 storeys are now permitted. A new building era has begun.

Roads are unpredictable, Power-cuts randomly happen, it’s all part of the experience. Everybody is smiling. But before we explore Kathmandu any further we took a jeep ride out of the city.

As we made our way out of the city, brick factories and rural developments give way to rice fields on the way to the hillside village of Panauti.

Panauti is still regarded as one of the oldest towns in Nepal. It offers a poignant look at the passage of time. The crowded bus-stop in the sprawling mess of the new town gives way to small brick streets leading through a once prosperous, trading medieval city with a relatively small temple at its centre accompanied by an antiquated yet charming museum. The main visitors here, it appears, are a multitude of pigeons.

With the exception of a few motor vehicles there seems to be little evidence of modernity. Washing is done in the river, cement is made by hand, wool is hand-spun and wood is hand-carved.

Earthquakes and age have taken their toll on the village but some building renovations are underway. The tiny, lopsided doorways, hand-carved wooden structures and wonky, subsided brickwork provide a historical backdrop to the day to day chores of everyday life.