Beauty is in the details

Life's been strangely busy, so much that I haven't had time to get properly started on the previous post so I've scrapped it for now. The best way I figured is to get started, and build on that so here it goes, pictures from the historic center of Kathmandu.

Decorative Struts - Building near Tahity

A Typical Temple in the Durbar Square

Garuda Statue
This seems more like a marker strangely out of place. Needs some research.

A home to so many ideas

1950s Detailing? There are lots of similar details in this area

'Bangemuda' Another square, another intrigue.
And its just a part of the ensemble, there's more.

Entrance to 'Chusya Bahal'

One more from a time-gone-by

Sacred places, holy rivers and the public realm

My travels took me to three very special places; it wasn’t the busiest time of the year which meant that it was easier to observe the physical infrastructure in place to cater to the sea of humanity that descends upon those sacred rivers when the time comes every year. Water has always been an integral element in landscape architecture – from Mogul gardens to the gardens of Italian renaissance or the exquisite fountains that liter every nook and corner of Rome; every culture has a unique relationship between architecture and water thereby creating a unique urbanism. In Hindu Architecture,water is an integral part of the religion and a way of life. From time immemorial, sacred rivers and their importance have been reiterated in the sacred Vedas and other religious texts. 

When you put together landscape architecture and Hinduism, you cannot look far beyond the role of water or more specifically rivers – those sacred rivers and the ghats that provide access to them. Almost every major pilgrimage site has a holy river associated with it, and unmistakably a ghat that provides access to it. Ghats are an integral part of the culture where everything from holy bathing, various rituals, offerings to the gods, prayers, meditation, riverside temples, cremation of the dead, offerings for the well being of the departed souls, festivals, melas as well as deity visarjan takes place. In terms of evolution, most of these areas have evolved either by a spontaneous phenomenon over the course of time or more recently through specific design intentions and have become a threshold in terms of cityscapes.

Because of the growing population of our cities, the same activities and practices are placing tremendous stress on our river systems to the extent that they face severe ecological threats. So in that respect, if we are to ensure cultural continuity of any kind, we will need to device architectural solutions to ensure that the regular activities are not polluting the rivers while at the same time retaining the cultural values. It will be crucial to identify the issues associated with each specific place and then develop a mechanism and a plan to counter those problems. For instance, if your site attracts a huge floating population during certain times of the year – you need to take care of issues like way finding during peak hours, proper crowd management, traffic control, crowd control, proper signage, clearly marked entry and exit points as some of the basic criteria that needs to be fulfilled. The greater issues would be the safeguarding the river from any ecological threats.

It’s interesting to note that because of the nature of these ghats, there are only a certain degrees of commercialism that it can cater to lest it offends the same populace that it serves otherwise. But, if a healthy balance can be achieved, then perhaps making the waters commercially viable is another approach to ensure its continuity, perhaps!? Can you see yourself, sipping coffee like in Venice alongside the Grand Canal and observe the Gangaji? Is that too far fetched? But may be long term sustainability lies in merging the traditional with contemporary sensibilities? Okay not Coffee but certainly an icy cold Lassi, for sure!

Haridwar, India

The three Indian towns of Haridwar, Rishikesh and Badrinath provided three very distinct site resulting in unique spaces that were built around them accordingly. Haridwar, the largest and the most obviously organized amongst these three caters to huge numbers during Kumb melas as well as a regular flow of devotees who come to take a plunge in the famed Gangaji at Hari-ki-pauri. That combined with the regular evening aarti makes it an enriching experience. 

River Ganga, Rishikesh

Rishikesh on the other hand felt a lot more subdued while the mighty Ganga seemed the opposite here, visibly cleaner waters that was roaring unlike the calm waters of Haridwar. The place has beautiful ghats, temples and markets – and a large number of dharmashalas that provide housing to thousands of pilgrims every year. Alongside this flux of people, it felt like a lot more people come to Rishikesh for austere meditation – those that seek answers to bigger questions and seek for salvation still can be found meditating around this pious city. 

Laxman Jhula with the thirteen storey temple in the background
Rishikesh, India

Typical street market in Rishikesh

Badrinath, on the other hand was a world of its own, nestled amidst the beautiful Garhwal Himalayas, you feel no restraint in the flow of the mighty Alaknanda nor surprises in the presence of the hot springs which let people absolve their sins which they otherwise would not be able to do in the mighty but icy Alaknanda.

Irrespective of where each site is or the number of people it caters to every year – there seemed to be certain basic elements which were common to every place. They are –

•          waters of the holy rivers,
•         ghats that provide access to them,
•         platforms for performing various religious rituals,
•        provisions for bathing – men and women separately and preferably a changing room if possible,
•          temples,
•         presence of various kinds of trees which are considered holy and part of different religious functions and rituals,
•         areas for quiet contemplative meditation,
•         ghats for cremation although direct cremation alongside rivers is actively being discouraged in several places because of the pollution it creates (both air and water), so perhaps – an electric crematorium will be a norm in the days to come.
• the lost soul in search of a truth or simply a spiritual aspirant in search of his spiritual guru.

Banks of River Ganga w/ Geeta Bhavan in the background
Rishikesh

In addition to the  sacred, the more earthly requirements these places fulfill are in successfully providing - 

•         Dharmashalas and hotels so people can choose the appropriate accommodation according to their economic standing,
•          places that serve clean and healthy vegetarian food,
•         a local market that provides all the essentials necessary,
•        and last but not the least easy means of transportation to and from these places

A word of caution about high altitude sickness, be sure to acquire basic knowledge about what exactly altitude sickness refers to and what to do in the event of one. Most importantly, always make a list of contacts who provide emergency services both via ground and air-lifts (mostly choppers). 

Sacred river confluences and beautiful Garhwal

It was the most unexpected trip of my life - traveling across Kumaon and Garhwal, India - the beautiful Silwalik range through some of the most revered Hindu sacred places culminating at the valley where the temple of Lord Badrinath exists at an altitude of 11,204 ft. The town lies in the between the Nar and Narayan mountain ranges and in the shadow of Nilkantha peak (6,560 m). Badrinath was re-established as a major pilgrimage site by Adi-Sankaracharya in the ninth century. This is one of the four major pilgrimage sites widely revered by Hindus across the world - Badrinath, Dwarka, Jaganath Puri and Rameshwaran. But it is also a wonderful place if you love adventure sports namely rafting and hiking. So it's not just a place for those seeking eternal salvation!

The landscape is truly breathtaking and as you travel higher up even blissfully peaceful, the roads are treacherous and risky. To be honest, risky would be a gross understatement, it was outright dangerous with all those landslides that seemed to crop up at every alternate turn.  The drive from Haridwar through Rishikesh to Badrinath normally takes around 8-10 hours (~301 km north of Rishikesh) given there are no hitches in the roads otherwise it may even take a few days, its not bad per say except you never know when or where the next road will be washed away.

All the way you travel through winding roads that run alongside the revered rivers Ganga and Alaknanda that rumble along majestically. There are five sacred river confluences along this route from Rishikesh to Badrinath. River Alaknanda first meets with the sacred Saraswathi river just before the town of Mana then meets Dhauliganga at Vishnu Prayag, the next river confluence is Nand Prayag where the River Nandakini meets the main river Alaknanda, Karn Prayag follows next with the river Pindar meeting Alaknanda river at this confluence. The fourth confluence is formed by the merging of river Mandakini with river Alaknanda at Rudra Prayag. The final Prayag in this series of five is the revered Dev Prayag where rivers Alaknanda and Bhagirathi come together - beyond this confluence the river comes to be known as river Ganga. The importance of this particular Prayag is considered equal to the Prayag at Allahbad where the mighty rivers Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswathi meet. 

Early morning, start of a beautiful journey

The term 'Prayag' in Hindu tradition signifies the confluence of two or more rivers where ablutions before worship, religious rites called the Shraddha (the last rites) for the departed as well as the worship of the river as a manifestation of God takes place. 

If you care to hike about an hour from Badrinath, you will also witness the rare sight of the mighty river Saraswathi as it emerges briefly only to sink into a crevice deep into earth. A little further below lies the town of Mana where India's last tea shop exists close to the Chinese border. In fact, Badrinath is not the only sacred place here, at the altitude of 15,200 ft is the sacred HemKund Sahib, a pilgrimage center for Sikhs in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. In between all this, I heard quite a few things about one site in particular known as the Valley of the Flowers renowned for its meadows of alpine flowers - a near mystical place with equally mystical prowess. 

The lower town, Badrinath and River Alaknanda

No matter how you travel, when you reach the valley of Lord Badrinath, you feel vindicated by the bliss, peace and the energy of the place. They say, this is the only place from where the roads to heaven exist, for it was through these valleys and gorges that the mighty Pandavs strode towards heaven; the little town of Badrinath with the majestic Alaknanda river felt like nothing less.

Monuments just around the corner

Tudikhel - the last 'green' standing?

Scalar Comparision of this core of Kathmandu with Central Park, NYC

At the center of Kathmandu stands a lonely patch of green with an almost forlorn, deserted look to it - Tudikhel. Probably one of the last remaining public green spaces in the city, its value is immense.But its like one of those things, in the midst of constant changes even while its locked in a strange permanence of sorts and always fighting a battle,a search for its identity. What is Tudikhel to the people of the city - if its more than just an open space, why haven't any steps been taken to organize this chunk of land into a green oasis in the middle of a truly concrete jungle? At one point of time, it stretched from Tripureshwor to Bhotahiti capped by Pratap Malla's marvelous sixteenth century pond(Rani Pokhari); it's been fragmented to Ratna park, Khula Manch, Sainik Manch, Tudikhel today. 

It was used for relief & rescue works, temporary camping sites following the devastating earthquake of 1934. Irrespective of its present condition, if you think about it, this stretch from Tripureshwor to Rani Pokhari all the way to the Garden of Dreams has tremendous potential to be developed as a major urban space which may even be a catalyst for the revitalization of the entire area. This spine can eventually be linked to the river and ultimately to the existing monuments scattered throughout the  Bagmati river bank and other development plans - mainly focussing on re-integrating the river to the city as well as creating more usuable pubic space, which would no doubt go a long way into salvalging the image of this city. The Guest House at the banks of the River Bagmati has its own significant history and its immediate area can be used to open up the city to its rivers and through it to an invaluable past - one that links right back to the start.

Pedestrian connection between Khula Manch (Public Stand) & Sainik Manch (Army Stand)

Garden of Dreams next to the Kaisher Mahal as the northern edge and a gate-way to Thamel cab be the Northern bookend of this urban spine. Given the relatively small size of this ground, you wouldn't think, it would take a lot to work out a proper development plan.

Tudikhel from the top of CTC Mall
Looking NE

View of the Army Parade area next to stands
Looking SW

Looking at the overwhelming rate of increased construction work in this city, its surprising that this has remained unscathed to the extent that it has over the years but the answer lies in the mysteries that surrounds almost every nook and corner of this valley. Yes, like many other things in Kathmandu, this place is very much associated with various myths and legends, which perhaps goes a long way to explain why this still exists.Of those myths and legends, the most famous is that of the demon Tundi from which the ground gets its name. In the story, the demon had spread terror and panic among the town’s inhabitants. The demon was eventually killed and buried, and horses were let loose over its grave to avert its resurrection. This is the origin of the annual Ghode Jatra or the horse festival, which still takes place in the month of March. The Tudikhel accommodates the grave of another demon, known as Gurumapa, who according to the legend also spread terror in the area. Legend says that it is the Gurumapa who does not allow three bricks to stand on one upon another at Tudikhel, and therefore, to this day, the land has remained free of any considerable building construction. The Tudikhel has also been used as a Parade Ground by the army from at least as early as the mid 1830s. 

At the South-West Corner of Tundhikhel

And then there are the Nameless Horsemen (unless you are a student of history, a plaque here would be useful), who stand as testimony of a time long gone. Irrespective of the past, the artistic value of these marvels in stone cannot be denied. Here are are two of those statues you can find near Shahid Gate.

At the North-West corner of Tudikhel beyond Shahid Gate

(Street Level View)

At the South-East corner of Tudikhel beyond Shahid Gate next to Bhadrakali Temple

At the North-East corner of Tudikhel next to old bus park

Historical pictures show how the Tudikhel was a place of refuge and home to many of the old city residents following the 1934 earthquake. My grandfather who was then an eleven year old boy has narrated his own experiences of surviving that day. I didn't think I'd live to speak of another harrowing day and months that followed. As the valley was repeatedly hit by aftershocks, residents whose homes had either been damaged or those people who felt unsafe to go back to the narrow lanes of the old city, lived in make-shift tents at Tudikhel for months following the 2015 earthquake. It reiterates the importance of this piece of land, and why we have to fight tooth and nail to preserve it, for the future.

Temporary tents provided an immediate respite
(July 2015)

Tudikhel as a place of refuge
(July 2015)

Tudikhel as a place of refuge
(July 2015)

Carved public spaces - Piazza S. Ignazio

Piazza di Sant' Ignazio

A few minutes from the much simpler Piazza di Pietra and just around the corner from the Piazza di Pantheon lays the Piazza S. Ignazio composed of an interesting interplay of complex ovoid forms through the arrangement and configuration of the surrounding buildings. It almost feels theatrical if you look at how each building(solid) is almost carved out to work together and create the urban space(void). The piazza is composed of five residential buildings and tracing the transformation of this space through the Nolli map  to its present form - you almost get the sense that it's been meticulously carved out of the existing medieval fabric. Just like the shape of the surrounding buildings, the decorative effects of the buildings are an integral element in the overall design. The entire process lasted from 1727-35. Filippo Raguzzini was the architect .

This does not appear to be a crowd favorite of all the piazzas in Rome but if you spare more than a cursory glance, you will undoubtedly notice and appreciate how everything ultimately comes together here. Besides the architecture, urban elements - there is one more thing you can get here a plenty - lots of good...make that great places for a scoop of gelato around here, there is never a dull moment when you walk on those cobbled streets!

A case of two Piazza Colonnas

When in Rome, there is no way you can miss Piazza Colonna(center of the Rione of Colonna) which not only sits right opposite the Galleria Colonna across Via del Corso but also next to Piazza Parlimento that houses the Italian Parliament on its other side. It's named after the marble column of Marcus Aurelius which has stood there since 193 CE. The bronze statue of St.Paul that crowns the column was placed there in 1589 during the time of Pope Sixtus V. Much like other popular piazzas in Rome, Piazza Colonna also contains a fountain on its eastern edge parallel to Via del Corso - designed by Giacomo della Porta who also worked with Michelangelo on St. Peter's Basilica. The piazza also contains the church of  Santi Bartolomeo ed Alessandro dei Bergamaschi.

The column of Marcus Aurelius with the galleria in the background, Rome

The fountain at Piazza Colonna

It was by sheer chance that we ended up in this small town called Orte about 60 kms north of Rome on a pleasant Italian spring day. I remember running around the small town which is literally perched up on a high cliff, looking for a cup of coffee- the cappuccino never disappoints you anywhere in Italy and it was no different here. But what we did stumble upon was another Piazza Colonna, with a miniature column of its own. Now that was a surprise!

Piazza Colonna, Orte

Church, Orte

Tiber from the city

Newer part of the city

Water spouts at the heart of the public realm

You only have to wander a little outside, the UNESCO enlisted core areas, and if you are game enough to tackle, the dirt, a sea of people, the usually crazy motorinis (scootys) and traffic madness that follows it everywhere, and yes - those pesky street hawkers trying to sell you the best beads and the funkiest laughing Buddha you've ever seen - you are in for a treat! There is a lot to discover and encounter at every nook and corner. One such marvel is the ancient water conduits or dhungedharas of the city. While their numbers have reduced drastically over the years, their relevance and importance is clearly visible at those places where they still function. Public spaces of any city is invariably shaped by a host of factors - including various socio-cultural elements, which ultimately give shape to those unique places that are true to the culture that they belong to and therefore thrive in. Nepali dhungedharas are typologically similar to the step-well of India, and are usually constructed in a series of terraces of diminishing size (reverse of a typical pagoda temple). Typically the water spout at the lowest level is accessed via a stairway that leads to the stone paved (or brick in some cases) floor or the conduit basin. The number of water spouts may vary from one, three, five or more(very rare).

Location of traditional water conduits(sunken) in Kathmandu's historic core

Some of them no longer exist

Maruhiti, 2013

Dhungedhara at Bhimsensthan, 2013

TBD @ Bhimsenthan, 2013

Kohiti, Jaisideval - Kathmandu, 2013

Chi-baha at Kohiti , 2013

Pati(Public Resthouse) at Kohiti, 2013

Once an essential part of the water supply system of Kathmandu's historic core, it still serves the population today but like much of the history of this place, is inevitably intertwined with various myths and legends. Of the lot identified, some of these marvels have already been lost to the perils of modernization, encroachment or lack of proper care while some remain in memories of those people who knew the city much more intimately than any one of us can do today. A few are on the verge of being lost, some have been relegated to the confines of the National Museum at Chauni while others still defy rationale(Kohiti - more on that in another post). This looks at some of those Dhungedharas (water conduits) scattered throughout the historic core of Kathmandu city and what forms an integral element of the public realm of the city, its history and therefore intrinsically with everyday life. Speaking of which, it is no coincidence that we find most of these dhungedharas next to either an important temple or to a public rest house (dharmashala), truly making it an essential urban element.

Based on available inscriptions, water conduits of Kathmandu are believed to date back to the Lichhavi period (ca. 300-869 AD) and were an integral element of water supply to the ancient city. Inevitably, located within a chowk or bazaar adorned with temples and public rest-houses, the importance of these elements to the public realm cannot be stressed more. Primarily constructed using stone, water is brought to the dhara or hiti or spout through an underground channel lined with specially made ceramic tiles usually connected to a pond or rajkulo (water supply source). Ground water and canals are also usually considered as alternate sources of water. Usually, the most ornate element in a dhungedhara (water conduit) is the spout itself, which is normally a cantilevered spout made of stone or metals, bearing the form of the mythological creature Makara. One of the earliest written references to the construction of water spouts inside the valley, is the mention of a fountain at Hadigaon by Mandeva's grandson in 550 AD. The oldest surviving water fountain however is the Mangahiti at Patan Durbar Square which dates back to 570 AD. In contrast, the last of its kind to have been constructed in the valley is the fountain at Sundhara, which coincidentally also happens to be the largest one - and was constructed in 1829 AD. Of the two, Sundhara has been rendered useless by time, negligence and nearby construction. Bhotahity no longer exists because it was brought down during the construction of the subway.

While looking for information on the exact number of Hitis (stone spouts) I came across an article recently that had been published in the Himalayan Times earlier in the year (2011-02-05) titled, Stone spouts at the mercy of ruthless urbanization plans, according to which there were 165 water stone spouts in  Kathmandu, 61 in Lalitpur, 87 in Bhaktapur, 65 in Madhyapur Thimi and 11 in Kirtipur of which 34 in Kathmandu, 7 in Lalitpur, 3 in Madhyapur Thimi and one each in Bhaktapur and Kirtipur have already disappeared. It went to say that out of those existing numbers, 34 in Kathmandu, 18 in Bhaktapur, nine in Mahdyapur Thimi and seven in Lalitpur are under threat. Interestingly, 35 in Bhaktapur, six in Kathmandu and two in Madhyapur Thimi have been brought under the city supply line. I need to verify these numbers from a different source. Irrespective of the actual numbers, these changes not only show a change in cultural patterns but also reflect a change in the use and nature of public spaces and therefore a transition of the city from what it was to something else, whether that's a good thing or not is certainly debatable.

Sundhara in 2013, Kathmandu

Public space around Sundhara 

Sundhara  - c 1829 AD

Plan of Sundhara (28.3 x 28.9 sq. m)
Kathmandu

The oldest Hiti - Mangahiti, Patan

Ganabahal Dhara from street level
(Jan. 2017)

Ganabahal Dhara now runs dry
Water used to flow about 20 years ago
(Jan. 2017)

Dhara is in a typical sunken pit with Buddhist and Hindu
elements of worship (Ganesha statue, Chibaha etc.)
(Jan. 2017)