When the Yetkha Bahal
was chosen for conservation by the UNESC and LVPT, little did the conservations
know of the challenges that lay ahead.
Razen Manandhar
Kathmandu is beautiful not just because of the seven
monument zones that have been recognized by the government as well as United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). But besides
these too there are innumerable temples, stupas, monasteries and other
heritages that are equally elegant and have cultural significance.
A notable example is Yetkha Bahal. Located at the core of
old Kathmandu, is about a five minute-walk from the Hanumandhoka Durbar Square.
If you walk from Maju Dewal of Hanumandhoka to Naradevi, a small lane on your
left will take you to a open quadrangle.
The courtyard
it is big quadrangle – bigger than a football ground – with
a giant while Buddhist stupa at the centre. Around 80 residential buildings,
sporadically reconstructed, surround the brick-paved square. Originally, such
quadrangles are meant to be shrines or monasteries. There must have been a
temple like construction, called Dyo-chhen, and the rest of the surrounding
two-floor buildings used to be classrooms, meditation halls or dormitory for
the celibate monks.
There are around three dozen such monasteries, categorized
as 'Bahals' or Bahils', in Kathmandu alone but none of them today has monks
studying Buddhism. By 18th century, the Bajracharyas and Shakyas,
"the masters of thunderbolt" and "venerable ones", who are
said to be the rightful residents, forgot the essence of what they were. They got rid of monkhood and so, their
titles, these days, have become mere surnames. They not only started claiming
the shrine as their own property, but also have dismantled the fabric of monastery
and replaced them with new constructions, throwing all the elaborate pieces
away.
100-year-old-picture shows that a homogeneous row of
two-story buildings, all with slopped, tied roofs, stood there at Yetkha Bahal.
But most of the buildings today are no more than 40 feet tall – all made of
concrete with contrasting colours and designs.
The Dyo-chhen
Just opposite the entrance, across the stupa, there lies an
old three-storied building – Dyo-chhen, or the "home of the god".
There is an idol of Akshyabhya Buddha on the ground floor and the upper floor
contains a secret chamber where only the initiated Bajracharya priests can
worship. Only a few are aware today that
it is the only reminder of the original feature of the courtyard. This is a
piece of architecture that has few comparisons in the whole Kathmandu Valley.
"It is unique from every angle. You can say that it is
a jewel of the Newar civilization that flourished in the Kathmandu Valley from
the fifth century," says Dr. Rohit Ranjitkar, an architect and expert of
the valley monuments, Kathmandu Valley Conservation Trust (KVPT).
It's "torana" and struts are something you cannot
find elsewhere in the valley. Experts claim that parts of the original building
could be seven to eight hundred years old. The undated "torana" has a
motif similar to those of cave art of India. Similarly, the struts with images
of Yakshinis are also equally antique. Only in Itumbahal, Okubahal and the
temple of Indreshwor (Panauti) possess such struts. The gloomy sanctum of the
ground floor contains a small and ordinary looking idol, recently installed
after the original one was stolen decades back.
The Dyo-chhen originally belonged to a guthi (trust) of the
Tamrakars, the traditional coppersmiths. It was intact till 1968, as shows a
picture taken around that time. In around 1980, the guthi members, instead of
carrying on the legacy, hired on Bajracharya (priest) who performed daily
rituals at the shrine daily and in return, got to live in the temple. Time
passed, and the priest was found with an crafted land ownership certificate.
Still, he never took pain to conserve the monument. So much so, they did not
repair the shrine when the five-faced window fell to the ground in 1985. And
the dilapidated condition did not bother the Tamrakars either.
Conservation
After over four years, the restoration of Yetkha Bahal
Dyo-chhen has been completed. It was a project jointly carried out by the KVPT,
an NGO working in the restoration sector for the past one decade, and the UNESCO.
According to the project officials, the venture cost around
2.7 million for restoration. For this the Sumitomo Foundation provided $ 23,000
while KVPT collected a fun of Rs. 12,500 from various sources. The project began
in April 2002 though the paperwork and preparation began as early as 1998.
Challenges
It is a success story, if we look at it superficially. But
one wonders that the 'guthi' members not only refused to help but also kept
hindering the process. The officials from UNESCO and KVPT selected the
Dyo-chhen looking at the beauty and antiquity of the monument. But they were
unaware of the problems that lay behind the beautifully carved doors. Before
the project ended, the technicians expressed: "It was a mistake. A bad
choice, indeed."
The trust members did not disclose the ownership problem earlier,
but as everything was ready, the fake owner refused to have the monument resorted.
Finally, the project had to decide that it would buy back the monument for the
restoration's sake. Still, the guthi members provided only less than half of
the total amount to buy building for themselves, while KVPT and Katmandu
Metropolitan City jointly provided the rest of the amount.
The owner just turned their back on the project and after it
was completed some weeks ago, the owners went to the project office and
demanded modern electric fittings be provided and the walls be painted, etc,
which are against the norms of conservation. In addition, some even asked that
a party be organized for the guthi members and the neighbours, and refused to
take the key of the moment until their demands were fulfilled.
This is a ridiculous incident in the history of foreign
assistance for conservation. Due to similar attitude of Nepali owners, either
private or the government, donors have shows little interest in providing
financial assistance to us.
Undoubtedly, the sole responsibility of restoring the
monument falls on the shoulders of the locals who are proud of their heritage.
It the government is found indifferent in this regard, the locals should come
forward as most of them belong to well-to-do families.
There are hundreds of monuments awaiting conservation but
there is little hope from the owners that they would conserve their legacy. Is
the Yetkha Bahal conservation project putting a full stop on future
possibilities of foreign donation for conservation programmes in collaboration
with the local owners?