Four international names in architecture, Shigeru Ban, Rem Koolhaas, Tadao Ando and Louis Isadore Kahn, all left their mark in Nepal. But despite their best intentions, the ambitious designs fizzled out. Ban, Koolhaas and Ando won Pritzkers, the best known international award for architecture, and Kahn could have won it had the prize been given in his lifetime. But their designs fell short of transforming Nepali architecture and did not help inspire local architects.&nbsp; Why were these four ‘starchitects’ unable to pull off their Nepal projects and enrich the country with exemplary contemporary designs? The failure, especially the violation of Kahn’s design, also raises larger questions about how much contemporary architecture is valued in Nepal.&nbsp; Whereas Sri Lanka had Geoffrey Bawa and Bangladesh had Mazharul Islam, the pioneers of contemporary architecture in Nepal have had far less public appreciation. One wonders if Nepali architecture only refers to the monuments and heritage of the past. Nepal does have examples of outstanding modern architecture such as the &nbsp;पाङ्रे घर ‘Wheel House’ and खुट्टे घर &nbsp;‘House on Legs’ by Shankar Nath Rimal in the 1960s. These are the best examples of how some Nepali designers successfully tailored modern architecture to the Nepali context.&nbsp; Ten years ago, Nepal had three architecture magazines, SPACES, praXis and Business Architecture, but none of these survived. This newspaper has prominently covered contemporary architecture, and the built environment, but these are exceptions in Nepal’s media. There have been a few encouraging signs. The 2024 exhibition Modern Encounters in Architecture in Kathmandu Valley (1945-1985) at the Taragaon Museum had many visitors and its accompanying book is a seminal document.&nbsp; In 2023, the Mountain Architecture Dialogue (MAD) that focused on examples of good-practice sustainable contemporary architecture for the mountainous terrains of Nepal was a packed event with over 300 young architects, engineers, environmentalists and architecture students. <h2>Shigeru Ban</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2024122003128_8bb8dde080c5698c2585966bef27ce4c08e4ee488d3432b2caac98b9de762dfe" data-rendition-name="original" width="990" height="1074" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  Shigeru Ban had already built a name for himself in post-disaster construction when he came to Nepal following the 2015 earthquakes in which 500,000 people lost their homes. The basic design and its 3D-rendered images were reviewed in upbeat articles on DOMUS, Architectural Review, Dezeen, and Arch Daily.&nbsp; But his signature cardboard tubes could not handle the monsoon and the roof structure had to be re-designed with timber. Only two shelters were completed in Sindupalchok, and only one of them still stands at the Hyatt Regency grounds today, as Ban’s souvenir to Nepal.&nbsp; <h2>Rem Koolhaas</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2024122003128_58afec9b57accfa38327af0936648c6eb2f2e11ff18f1af8ca27383dc57dc222" data-rendition-name="original" width="750" height="722" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  The designs of Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas have a specific signature: bold shapes and an intriguing architectural typology that challenges standard building blocks. Some designs even seem to defy gravity, like the CCTV headquarters in Beijing: an angular, continuous geometry of glass and steel.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20241220031216_a18dc8a8d6b97bc6fa9d590036cf374f9dc3709c699fe5c5787304bbd05cb17d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1812" height="1168" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Rem Koolhaas' design for Ullen's School in Khumaltar.</figcaption> </figure>  Koolhaas was commissioned by Belgian billionaire Guy Ullens to design a new building for Ullens School in Khumaltar. The most prominent feature is its vertical glass block staircase. Some interior spaces have lowered windowsills, which provide ample views and daylight. But the school building has gone unremarked in Nepal. <h2>Tadao Ando</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675.png" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="20241220031212_cc16bd6feb8be07a7198285b847a45d2126dc3a479e0cc7370331861fc544675" data-rendition-name="original" width="626" height="628" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> </figure>  Doctors providing aid to victims of the Great Hanshin earthquake in 1995 in Japan requested Tadao Ando, who had donated his Pritzker money to the victims, to also make a design for a hospital in Butwal.&nbsp; Ando’s contribution would be pro-bono and the construction was funded by the Hanshin Earthquake victims and by the popular Japanese newspaper Mainichi, as a tribute to Nepali doctors. The first block that Ando designed for the Siddhartha Children and Women’s Hospital (SCWH) was the out-patient department. He quickly realised that he would not be able to pull off structures with his typical style of smooth-finished, high-quality concrete.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579.png" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20241220031216_73ec0950d52320277ccc81d4a66fa6aa6acb38141e7b7633683e4cf8179dc579" data-rendition-name="original" width="1594" height="958" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Tadao Ando's Siddhartha Children and Women Hospital in Butwal.</figcaption> </figure>  Ando wrote in the online architectural catalog Architectuul, that the two main problems with the project were costs and the availability of local technology. ‘It became a facility that has a slightly different expression from the buildings I have completed so far,’ he wrote. He designed a colonnade for the west façade that would provide shelter from harsh sunlight, and the exposed brick walls were locally manufactured bricks.&nbsp; The hospital is characterised by modernist cuboidal massing, but the outer brick façades now appear unintentionally badly weathered by monsoons. The interiors lack both sufficient natural light and natural ventilation. <h2>Louis I Kahn</h2>  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f.png" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2024122003128_612e199d62fb3e72b6b8f6a936b0fa0451d8c0aa3d831c071320bf423ee3d67f" data-rendition-name="original" width="694" height="926" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal NT"> </figure>  American architect Louis I Kahn had experience of projects in South Asia, and several were under construction when he died suddenly in 1974. Amongst these were the National Assembly complex in Dhaka, the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and the Family Planning and Maternal Child Welfare Centre in Kathmandu.&nbsp; Kahn had started the USAID funded project in Nepal by developing a master plan for the government institutional zone in Kathmandu, which included a building for the Health Ministry. The building’s façade in exposed brick has deeply recessed vertical windows for shading.&nbsp; The balancing of accentuated horizontal lines in the brickwork with the verticality of the larger composition is the work of a master. The brick walls rise up into punctured parapet walls at the roof level. These square apertures ‘frame the sky’.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20241220031216_69c2e4972dbe38773e0a3a3f1129485c9c87033ee84cd454e24ae0dc772d05cf" data-rendition-name="original" width="1924" height="1242" loading="lazy" alt="Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal"> <figcaption>Louis Kahn's plan for the Ministry of Health.</figcaption> </figure>  When Kahn died, only the eastern half of the building was finished. The Western part was never built and Nepal’s bureaucrats decided that without paint, the exposed brick façade was not finished. Then in 1995, citing roof leakage and a space crunch, the Health Ministry added a floor.&nbsp; The frames-to-the-sky in the roof parapet were converted into windows and topped off with a sloping roof of corrugated steel sheets, whose only virtue was that it was cost-effective.&nbsp; Kahn’s orthogonal composition, which clean horizontal and vertical lines, was desecrated despite a public outcry and legal challenges from architects and cultural organisations. A version of this article was first published in HIMAL Southasian. Illustrations by Varun S Bapu.

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Forgotten international starchitects in Nepal

<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40e69c7e80680e04a649jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1050"/><figcaption>Photo: KUNDA DIXIT</figcaption></figure>It is easy to be <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disappointed by Lumbini</a>. Scruffy, dusty and unbearably hot this time of year, it looks from the outside like a desolate construction site.More than 1.5 million pilgrims from all over the world will visit Buddha’s nativity site this year, honouring his teachings of compassion and impermanence. This figure is likely to grow as the new <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-buddha-was-born-in-lumbini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gautam Buddha International Airport</a> nearby brings direct flights from Asian cities from next year.Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=26685&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U Thant, Kenzō Tange and Lumbini</a>, Kunda Dixit<a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/birthday-party/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Buddha Jayanti</a>, on Saturday 18 May, is an annual reminder of the decades of <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lumbinis-unholy-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">political neglect and corruption</a> that have prevented Nepal from taking full advantage of its most important pilgrimage site. There are few signs showing the way, visitors have to take long, hot walks, there are few facilities, and  lots of ugly construction along the new highway.But crass <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/proposed-change-to-lumbini-masterplan-threat-to-Sarus,4090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">commercialisation, greed and abandonment of nature</a> are all reminders of why Buddhist philosophy is still relevant today, and why it is necessary to practice and strive for.Despite everything, the plan of the 23-hectare park designed by <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XN1ATxQzaUk" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Japanese architect Kenzō Tange</a> in 1972 is more or less being followed, the open spaces have sal and simal forests, the wetlands in between teem with birdlife. The World Heritage Site has a strong spiritual presence and provides corners of solitude, along with dozens of temples in the monastic zone built by Asian Buddhist countries.Lumbini has been a place of pilgrimage for more than 2,000 years, ever since Emperor Ashoka visited and erected his famous nativity pillar. With Visit Nepal Year 2020 and the airport, Lumbini is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/boom-time-in-central-terai/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">poised to be an international destination</a> like never before.To prepare for it, roads are being upgraded and new hotels are coming up outside the sacred garden area. The Lumbini Museum is being re-imagined, transforming Tange’s vaulted brick cylinders into a world-class example of heritage preservation and display.As in life, in Lumbini you see what you look for. A flower only sees flowers and a thorn sees thorns, as the song goes. There are plenty of signs of neglect and ugliness, but looking deeper we remember what the Buddha himself said: “You only lose what you cling to.”

The right path

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBmGxGmpg8E&amp;feature=youtu.beWhen the Burmese Buddhist Secretary-General of the United Nations, U Thant, visited Nepal in 1967 he flew to Lumbini for a pilgrimage and said: “This is the most important day of my life.” Then, he wept. Many years later, he said he was touched by the visit to the sacred site, and even his grandson Thant Myint-U tells us in an interview (below) that his grandfather was ‘incredibly moved’ in Lumbini. U Thant might have been spiritually stirred to be at the birthplace of the Buddha, but he was also distressed by the condition of the desolate and featureless spot near the Nepal-India border.Read also: <a style="background-color: #ffffff; font-size: 15px; letter-spacing: 0.01em;" href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/?p=26672&amp;preview=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The right path</a> <figure><img width="1000" height="1278" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121140/636a40fe9c7e80680e04a651jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>Photo: MIKU DIXIT</figcaption></figure>Back in Kathmandu, he met King Mahendra and discussed restoring Lumbini’s sanctity. And on return to New York, U Thant set up a UN committee to turn the nativity site into an international centre for peace. Both UNDP and UNESCO got involved and the Japanese architect famous for designing the <a href="http://hpmmuseum.jp/?lang=eng" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum</a>, <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XN1GBxQzaUk">Kenzō Tange,</a> was hired to draw up a master plan. Tange visited Lumbini, and his firm submitted the design in 1978.The project to preserve Lumbini and landscape the sacred garden and surrounding park was to have been finished by 1985, but <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=9848#.XNkefOUza70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Tange died in 2005</a> without seeing the completion of his master plan. The choice of Kenzō Tange for the design was influenced by his stature in post-war Japan. While he was part of the ‘Metabolist’ movement of Japanese architects, his work did not incorporate any obviously traditional Japanese, or even Asian, elements. Neither was he a devout Buddhist. Metabolists sought to experiment with structures that were inspired by biological processes of growth and aggregation. <figure><img width="1400" height="502" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41009c7e80680e04a652jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>In fact, Tange joined architecture school after seeing the work of the Swiss-French architect and urban planner Le Corbusier, and he admired the functionality of Soviet architecture of the 1930s. This penchant for raw, concrete mega-structures that shunned decorative elements earned Kenzō Tange a place in the ‘brutalist’ school of mid-20th century architectural modernism. Tange’s monumental master plan for Lumbini governed by its north-south axis (above) of a canal that bisects the site, and is straddled by a series of amphitheatres and vast spaces for public meetings. The museum anchors the north, while the concentric circles of the sanctum sanctorum: the sacred garden surrounding the Mayadevi Temple is situated at the south end. The plan includes a monastic zone, a library and Lumbini Village for visitors. The eastern monastic zone was set aside for Theravada Buddhism, while the western zone is for Mahayana Buddhism. The master plan is still being broadly followed, but the masonry structures are falling apart due to poor maintenance, and not all the temples in the monastic zone conform to the overall harmony and scale the architect had in mind.  <figure><img width="1400" height="1398" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41039c7e80680e04a653jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Lumbini did not develop into a major Buddhist pilgrimage destination like Bodh Gaya, Sarnath or Kushinagar, mainly because it was discovered to be the Buddha’s birthplace relatively late — in the early 20th century. It suffered <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/the-buddha-was-born-in-lumbini/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">neglect</a> due to its remoteness and because Nepal was closed to foreigners till the 1950s. Even after U Thant’s visit, the Buddha’s birthplace was never accorded the priority it deserved by rulers in Kathmandu who wanted to have it both ways: push Nepal’s identity as the world’s only Hindu kingdom while simultaneously using Lumbini as a symbol of nationalism. The fact that Lumbini is today surrounded mainly by Muslim villages has also diminished local interest. <figure><img width="1400" height="1045" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41079c7e80680e04a654jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>After U Thant’s death in 1974, the UN’s focus and fund-raising for the project also waned. Although Nepal’s royal family attended numerous meetings of the International Committee for the Development of Lumbini, and gave patronage to the Lumbini Development Trust, the master plan languished. After 1990, corruption, poor governance and conflict took their toll.The government’s <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lumbinis-unholy-mess/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">weak commitment</a> to Lumbini and lack of transparency meant that over the years, vested interest groups tried to cash in on Lumbini’s fame. Those with resources and geopolitical clout got away with unregulated construction in the monastic zone.One murky affair was an initiative in 2012 by the Asia-Pacific Exchange Cooperation Foundation (APECF), which claimed it would invest $3 billion in Lumbini. The foundation got the backing of Pushpa Kamal Dahal, but soon became <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/2012/03/12/wrong-visit-at-the-wrong-time/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">embroiled in controversy</a> because it planned to scrap Tange’s master plan. APECF’s scheme is now on hold.  On Saturday, 18 May President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Prime Minister K P Oli, other government ministers and ambassadors of Buddhist countries in the region will be in Lumbini to give new impetus to developing the Buddhist circuit in Nepal as an <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/page/Nepal-attracting-spiritual-visitors-by-2024" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international pilgrimage and tourism</a> destination.The time is ripe, as the new <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/lumbini-international-airport-keys-development,1427" target="_blank" rel="noopener">international airport</a> nearby (called Gautam Buddha International Airport) will be in operation by next year, allowing direct flights from Asian cities, the road linking Lumbini to the Indian border and the East-West Highway is being upgraded, new hotels are coming up and Kenzō Tange’s modular barrel vaulted structures are being revamped into a world-class museum of Buddhism (see below).Despite <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/lumbini-is-not-a-buddhist-disneyland/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">all the setbacks</a> over the decades, Tange’s vast park is now visible on Google Earth and from planes flying at 35,000ft westbound from Kathmandu. The vegetation has grown back, <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/proposed-change-to-lumbini-masterplan-threat-to-Sarus,4090" target="_blank" rel="noopener">the cranes</a> are nesting again in the Sacred Garden, and despite noisy picnickers taking selfies on weekends, the site has retained its <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=1500#.XNkeMuUza70" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spiritual significance</a>.The Lumbini Development Trust is now led by the energetic 33-year-old monk, Venerable Metteyya Sakyaputta, who is committed to following Kenzō Tange’s master plan. He told Nepali Times recently: “We have an obligation to preserve Lumbini’s environment and its tranquility for future generations, and this is only possible if everyone joins the effort.”  <h2>Lumbini could be a magnet”: Thant Myint-U</h2> <figure><img width="1000" height="1258" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a410a9c7e80680e04a655jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>“ Thant Myint-U is the grandson of former United Nations Secretary-General U Thant, was an adviser to the president of Burma, and is the author of The River of Lost Footsteps: A Personal History of Burma. He is in Nepal this week for the Buddha Jayanti celebration in Lumbini, and spoke to Nepali Times about his recollections of his grandfather, and the future development of Lumbini.Nepali Times: What are some of your earliest memories of your grandfather? Thant Myint-U: I was eight years old when he died in 1974.  We lived together in New York, and so I remember him well: coming home from work in his black Cadillac in a dark overcoat and fedora, puffing on Burmese cigars in his study, his desk piled with books and papers, a photo of Mahatma Gandhi at his spinning wheel behind him, swimming with me in our pool at home, relaxing in a Burmese longyi, enjoying my grandmother’s curries or reading the latest news in the New York Times.NT: What was the reason behind his determination to get the UN involved in preserving Lumbini? In those days, the biggest conflict was of course the Cold War and the ideological conflict between communism and capitalist democracy.  My grandfather believed that religion could be an ally in the cause of peace. In 1965, Pope Paul came to New York at his invitation, the first Pontiff ever to set foot in the new world, and spoke to a special meeting of the UN General Assembly, calling for an end to war. It was not long after that he came to Nepal and visited Lumbini. He was incredibly moved, saying it was one of “the most important days in my life”. I think it was only then that he had this particular vision, as a Buddhist but also as the UN Secretary-General, not only to preserve Lumbini but to connect the development of Lumbini as a global centre, representing values of tolerance and non-violence, with the broader cause of world peace.   NT: You yourself have spent some time in Nepal. What would be some suggestions about how to preserve the sanctity of Lumbini. Yes, I have very fond memories of my year in Kathmandu in 2008. I was not however able to travel to Lumbini, and so have no particular insights on what should be done. I would however say that, as is the case for any of the world’s greatest places, any development should weigh carefully the interests of local people, to ensure they benefit too.  NT: Many people from Burma travel to Buddhist sites in India on pilgrimage. What should be done to attract more of them to the Buddhist circuit in Nepal? I think the most important thing at this point is simply transport. There are no direct flights from Yangon to Kathmandu, which is really a shame. Our two countries, with so much in the way of shared culture, history and even political experience, can benefit immensely from greater contact. I am sure Lumbini could become a magnet, but I hope the Burmese would then take the opportunity to explore Nepal more generally. <figure><img width="640" height="531" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a410c9c7e80680e04a656jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure><h2>Reimagining and renovating The Lumbini Museum</h2> <figure><img width="1000" height="1333" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41109c7e80680e04a657jpeg.jpg" alt=""><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>Near the sal tree under which Queen Maya, the consort of King Suddhodana, gave birth to Gautam Buddha, a well-conceived museum dedicated to inspiring people the world over with the Buddha’s life and teachings is being restored.The state-of-the-art museum will set a new standard for how heritage and art are preserved and promoted in Nepal, transforming Lumbini into a major spiritual and cultural centre to share with the world the Buddha’s teachings of compassion, openness and truth.Located inside the Sacred Garden Area, <a href="http://www.lumbinimuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lumbini Museum</a> is an integral part of the architectural landscape and cultural experience of the Buddha’s birthplace.For decades, the cylindrical modules of the museum building designed by Pritzker Prize-winning Japanese architect Kenzō Tange as part of his ambitious master plan languished in neglect.Now, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/lumbinimuseum" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Lumbini Museum</a> has brought together a pool of talent from within Nepal and beyond to re-imagine, renovate and expand the centre as a true cultural and spiritual oasis within Lumbini. The museum has a rich history rooted in the vision of the Buddha’s nativity site as a universal centre for peace, and the new phase of development will further the original vision of the master plan and the museum. Besides the spiritual value of the Buddha’s birthplace, the modernist heritage of Tange’s refurbished structures will be an additional attraction for international visitors. <img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41129c7e80680e04a658jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1400" height="1211"><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221108121144/636a41159c7e80680e04a659jpeg.jpg" alt="" width="783" height="850">“When we travel to Lumbini we hope to find peace, solace and serenity as part of the Buddha’s teachings, so the re-imagination of the Lumbini Museum is going to be a very special milestone,” says Vice Chair Ven Metteyya Sakyaputta of the Lumbini Development Trust (LDT).In addition to being the birthplace of the Buddha, the Greater Lumbini Area has more than 200 historical sites including Kapilvastu (the ancient capital of the Sakya Kingdom where Prince Siddhārtha lived until age 29), Devdaha (his maternal hometown) and Ramagrama (the only stupa still containing corporal relics of the Buddha).“Lumbini is a very special place where you see all the vehicles come together — Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana — in a big Buddhist spiritual junction ... and at long last a dedicated Buddhist Museum is happening,” says Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche of Bhutan.The structure is currently being restored and refurbished by Asia’s leading architect, <a href="https://www.krisyaoartech.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Kris Yao</a>, and the redesigned museum will re-open in late 2020. Conservation and evaluation of display possibilities for priceless archaeological artefacts from the Greater Lumbini Area dating back 2,500 years are underway, with Thai interpretive planner <a href="https://www.thailandtatler.com/people/paravi-wongchirachai" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Albert Paravi Wongchirachai</a> curating, designing and fabricating a world-class gallery space.Says monk and writer <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/business/Altrusim-to-solve-global-challenges,1039" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Matthieu Ricard,</a> “In our troubled world facing human and environmental challenges, the wisdom of Buddha Shakyamuni’s compassionate heritage is more relevant than ever. The Lumbini Museum will offer a unique and inspiring insight on the Buddha’s teachings, a most precious legacy that Nepal can be proud of.”Contemporary fine art, audio-visual shows, dioramas and interactive exhibits will enhance storytelling for a truly modern and powerful experience of the Buddha’s life and message.The Lumbini Museum team is busy fundraising, curating art and mobilising national and international donors, partners, experts and visionaries.Says The Lumbini Museum Director Sumnima Udas: “It is not often that one is given an opportunity to participate in such a momentous undertaking that can have a transformative impact on the identity of Nepal and its people. The Lumbini Museum is not a project, this is our common mission.” <a href="http://www.lumbinimuseum.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">www.lumbinimuseum.org</a>Lumbini over Time2,645 years agoThe birth of Siddhartha Gautama in a sal grove in Lumbini while his mother is enroute to Devdaha2,575 years agoThe Buddha dies at the age of 803rd Century BCE Emperor Ashoka visits Lumbini to commemorate the nativity site with a stone pillar 5th Century BCE Chinese monks Faxian and Xuanzang visit Lumbini and find it in ruins1312 King of Jumla, Ripu Malla, carves graffiti with his name on Ashoka’s pillar   1896 Ashoka’s pillar is rediscovered by General Khadga Shamshere, Governor of Tansen, and German archaeologist Anton Fuhrer1899Indian archaeologist Purna Chandra Mukherji finds the eroded nativity sculpture1932-39Archaeological excavations by General Keshar Shamsher reveal ancient monasteries and temples1956King Mahendra visits Lumbini1959UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld visits Lumbini during trip to Nepal 1967UN Secretary-General U Thant visits Lumbini, and pledges to develop it as an international peace centre 1972 Kenzō Tange is commissioned to create a master plan, which is completed in 19781995Department of Archaeology excavates the marker stone at exact spot where the Buddha was born 1997  UNESCO declares Lumbini a World Heritage Site2003Mayadevi Temple opens to the public for the first time on Buddha Jayanti

Kunda Dixit

U Thant, Kenzō Tange and the Buddha's birthplace

Jazz as healing music

Already trying to balance youth demands with legal provisions in the Constitution, Prime Minister Sushila Karki’s interim government faced yet another challenge over Dasain: a receding monsoon dumped unseasonal rain unleashing floods and landslides that killed at least 60, mostly in eastern Nepal.&nbsp; The government was rated positively for its early warning and the ‘visibility’ of its disaster response, with many comparing it to the inaction of the NC-UML coalition during last year’s floods.&nbsp; Government agencies and police proactively closed off hazardous sections of highways as Kathmandu was marooned from the rest of the country in the peak holiday season. Stranded passengers were taken care of, with police, army and local governments in Ilam coordinating rescue and relief efforts. Many of the problems were structural and inherited from decades of neglect and corruption in highway contracts. Shoddy bridges and encroachment of settlements along river banks have increased risk from more frequent extreme weather caused by climate breakdown. With Dasain over Tihar around the corner and the worst of the disaster behind, the Karki administration is trying to balance the separate demands of GenZ movers and shakers who installed her in office with constitutional provisions. It has not helped that the badly-mauled political parties are spoiling for a fight, and the three top leaders show little signs of stepping down. “Nepal’s movement did not happen in a democratic vacuum, so this government walks a very fine line in political legitimacy," says Bidushi Dhungel of the National Democratic Institute in Nepal. "In this fragile space, whatever the work done — or not done— by the interim government within its limited mandate, it may open up avenues for further dissent from old and new actors. They are &nbsp;caught between a rock and a hard place.” Civil society activists issued a statement on Wednesday calling on the main political parties to heed the writing on the wall and reform themselves. Signed by professor Krishna Khanal and former ambassador Keshab Mathema, the statement said: 'The main leaders of the main parties should say sorry, and voluntarily resign ... they must respect public sentiments and work to reform and transform their parties to be more accountable to the public, or risk being irrelevant.'&nbsp; Complicating matters further are the sometimes contradictory demands of various GenZ factions on punishing those responsible for the carnage and rampage of 8-9 September, Constitution and elections. Karki faces calls to immediately detain former PM KP Oli and Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak for their involvement in the massacre outside Parliament. Under pressure from GenZ delegates, Home Minister Om Aryal fired off a letter to the police to arrest Oli and Lekhak. But later at a confrontational midnight meeting at the prime minister’s residence in Baluwatar, all four security chiefs advised Karki that arresting the UML and NC ex-ministers could unleash violent confrontation on the streets. The interim government is in a bind. It has formed a committee headed by Gauri Bahadur Karki to investigate the killings last month as well as the arson and vandalism that followed. The question is: should it wait for the committee to submit its report before punishing perpetrators, or let police arrest those who can easily be identified in social media posts setting fire to Singha Darbar, the Supreme Court and other sites.&nbsp; GenZ’s Sudan Gurung faction has gone beyond its original demand to submit an 8-point ultimatum that includes the sacking of the Chief Justice and officials of the anti-corruption bureau.&nbsp; The Prime Minister is caught in the crossfire between managing the expectations of a movement that appointed her, and working within the framework of her interim government’s mandate and Constitution. But it is not just the government that faces challenges. The lack of clear consensus among youth factions and their outspoken collectives is surfacing.&nbsp; &nbsp;“This has been a leaderless and decentralised movement, and the traditional variables typically seen in a political revolt seem missing here," notes political scientist Sucheta Pyakuryal. “There is no organised structure, nor any ideological pull factor, therefore a big question is how much bargaining power does a movement like this have, and how sustainable will it be.” GenZ leaders seem to be in two main camps. Demands like the one for a directly elected prime minister, and the constitutional processes that can make for such an outcome, have emerged as a major point dividing the movement.&nbsp; Nepalis both within and outside the youth movement are watching Hami Nepal’s Sudan Gurung closely — especially after his recent interview with Al-Jazeera during which he expressed his interest to run for Prime Minister and seemed to not accept a win by political parties in the March elections.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="20251009201044_fcba7e92bb9a8812fd0ad4e9770d6f4d4189972de5229f91e9a832a26e388901" data-rendition-name="original" width="2916" height="1000" loading="lazy" alt="One month on NT"> <figcaption>GROUND ZERO: The destroyed centre of Nepal's government with Singha Darbar (in green scaffolding), the Attorney General's Office, Supreme Court, and in the distance, Parliament building. Also seen are the nearly finished new Parliament Complex and the new Supreme Court buildings. Drone shot taken on Thursday morning. Photo: SUMAN NEPALI</figcaption> </figure>  Gurung’s participation in the NDRRMA’s disaster management meeting and manner of his interaction with officials at the event was met with both bouquets and brickbats. Interestingly, some of the criticism was youth activists themselves. &nbsp;“There's a lot of self-involvement and self-importance that seems to be guiding a fragmented young leadership, as opposed to constructively engaging in how to concretise reforms,” says Dhungel. “There seems to be very little stocktaking of what's happened in the past, and what's happened in other countries to try identify where lapses could be before they occur."&nbsp; In the absence of unified positions and level-headed leadership, the youth who spearheaded post-protest negotiations, as well as the GenZ movement in general, risk losing public goodwill already dented by the destruction of state property on 9 September. This also leaves an opening for political parties which are on the defensive and licking their wounds to capitalise on youth discord.&nbsp; Says Pyakuryal: “Post revolution, the political landscape becomes extremely unpredictable and therefore there is a risk of co-optation from several Machiavellian political actors including political parties, monarchists, as well as other forces, and that is concerning.” The immediate and visible transformation that Nepal’s youth expect will not manifest right away, and while there is a need for long-term political planning, the caretaker government must also undertake measures that have a palpable impact on the daily life of citizens. &nbsp;&nbsp; “While youth frustrations must be addressed urgently, statecraft isn’t just about fulfilling short-term goals,”says Pyakuryal. &nbsp; Many, including the youth themselves, now see the need for GenZ to have a more united stance and to move beyond making demands that the interim government cannot fulfil and start mobilising for elections — even by forming its own party.&nbsp; A strong showing in elections can enable them to enact the changes they want to strengthen Nepal’s democracy, and make future governments more accountable.&nbsp; This week, the Election Commission announced 16 November as the deadline to register new parties for the 5 March polls.&nbsp; Youth representatives have said that they want to be active participants in the political process, particularly in national-level politics. The Constitution defines ‘youth’ as being between the ages of 16-40. In the 2022 elections, the Election Commission stated that over 41% of locally-elected representatives were from ages 21-40 years.&nbsp; If young Nepalis are to contest the election outside the banner of mainstream parties, this leaves electoral aspirants little more than a month to decide whether to form a loose coalition with existing parties, a separate political party, or to contest elections independently. “This is first of a kind movement, where political language is digital, not ideological, where organising is done through online platforms and where there is no one leader spearheading the movement,”says Pyakuryal. “I don’t know if ‘anti-corruption’ or ‘political reform’ have a strong enough ideological pull to band people together in the long run.” Indeed, the RSP was formed only four months before the 2022 elections and cashed in on anti-incumbent and anti-corruption sentiments of voters — mainly driven by social media. But controversy and strife within their party means it has largely lost its public trust.&nbsp; Nepal’s September Uprising and its aftermath have shown that a majority of young people are entirely disillusioned with establishment parties and politicians, even using ‘ex-political parties’ as a phrase of reference. Any new young political figures that emerge from this movement and this election will have to work with mainstream parties in a multiparty democracy.&nbsp; &nbsp;“The reality of politics is that change is not possible without engaging with existing political institutions and actors,” says Dhungel. “To say that they do not want to engage, negotiate, or identify allies or proactively seek out input from at least the reform-minded individuals within each of those outfits is political naivety, and may lead to a lack of institutionalised reform.” However, Dhungel notes that the youth leadership would have more agency if they are clear not just on what they want to change, but about whether they are interested in active politics or civic engagement. “The window of opportunity that is fast closing is to really negotiate hard and push for internal reforms within political parties and across the electoral system,” she adds. Pyakurel also adds: “GenZ are smart and politically mature, I hope they see these loopholes. I am optimistic about the direction they take.”

One month on

7:30pm Tuesday, 9 September.&nbsp; I was driving my daughter back from a relative’s house in Baneswar where she had taken refuge after a curfew was declared the previous day while she was in school. She was riding pillion on the back of my moped. We drove past Parliament <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/nepal-s-8-september-massacre">where 19 people had been killed by police </a>the previous day. We passed Thapathali, where the Kantipur highrise was on fire. The sky had gone dark, and the stinging smoke made it hard to breathe. A gas cylinder exploded, and the crowd dispersed briefly. The blast provided a moment to escape the raging mob. By myself I may not have been so scared, but my daughter’s safety made me more afraid. I had never been this frightened in my journalism career, even while covering the Maoist insurgency 20 years ago. At the Tripureswor intersection there were more angry crowds. The further we got from the epicentre of the GenZ demonstration, the more elderly the protesters looked. Many were muscular gentlemen with tattooed arms. Prime Minister K P Oli had just <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/kathmandu-burns-despite-pm-resignation">resigned</a>, but the crowd was still chanting “के पी चोर, देश छोड”. Soon, we were surrounded by an enraged mob. &nbsp;My survival instinct took over, and I started shouting “के पी चोर” and my plucky daughter screamed from behind “देश छोड”. Father and daughter waved at the &nbsp;protesters, and gave them a thumbs up. &nbsp;We finally got home, scared and smelling of burning rubber and smoke.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031028_c5c04095cdb6f0b24cdc2cc60bf627f49c15e0cf9b509ad149df35a2e73e1d3f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20251007031028_c5c04095cdb6f0b24cdc2cc60bf627f49c15e0cf9b509ad149df35a2e73e1d3f" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September"> <figcaption>A building in Baneswar was damaged by protesters. </figcaption> </figure>  ARSON AND LOOTING I was born in the remote mountains of western Nepal in Rukum, the district that was the stronghold of the Maoist guerrillas after they launched an armed struggle in 1996. I moved to Kathmandu for higher studies, and as a student witnessed the popular uprising of 2006 against Gyanendra’s absolute monarchy. I have covered violence and chaos. I have been caught in the crossfire between the rebels and state security. I covered the violent <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-historic-youth-dissensus">street protests</a> of the 2006 People’s Movement that ended the war, the Madhes movement and the Indian blockade of 2015.&nbsp; But never was I more scared than during the 30-minute drive home through the city with my daughter at the back of my moped.&nbsp; Last month’s protests were initially led by youth groups which had loosely banded together as GenZ to protest corruption and impunity. On 8 September, I drove to the Mandala in my trusty moped to cover the rally, some protesters were in school uniform. There was singing and chanting. Just before noon, a slightly older group of protesters peeled off from the sit-in in front of Everest Hotel, broke through the half-hearted police cordon and moved towards the intersection outside Parliament. Most of the original young demonstrators remained at the sit-in, while the grownup protesters who were clearly not a part of the GenZ, started to break the perimeter wall of the Parliament complex. The young protesters looked a bit confused about what to do next as they also neared the Parliament gates. Violence was not a part of their plan, and the infiltration had begun in earnest. A group of organised older rioters broke through the western wall, even as police were concentrated along the main south gate. These agitators seemed focused on a single mission: to burn down the Parliament building, and they went about it purposefully.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031032_1fcd474774c8e110e833485cf54a7e63e8c8388ec78c2b4d3ae6e830c203c183.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="20251007031032_1fcd474774c8e110e833485cf54a7e63e8c8388ec78c2b4d3ae6e830c203c183" data-rendition-name="original" width="1280" height="960" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September NT"> <figcaption>Blood seen in Baneswar.</figcaption> </figure>  Too late, the police used water cannons to disperse those by the south gate. I went closer, my press card dangling from my neck. A tear gas canister whizzed past my head. I was not able to see clearly, and backed away to safety. The police opened fire at point blank range, killing 19 protesters. Hundreds of injured were carried to the nearby Civil Hospital. There are many video clips on social media of task force police kneeling, taking aim with SLR rifles and shooting, they show protesters being hit and falling. The riot police fled, and the Armed Police Force and Nepal Army soldiers came out, but remained close to the trucks that had transported them to the intersection. Seeing that the security forces were not stopping them, the crowd then went on an arson rampage — it became a free-for-all as government buildings were set on fire one after another. Most of the arsonists were not GenZ, they were in the mid-30s, and I heard many shouting slogans for the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/why-the-monarchy-still-sways-nepal-s-republic"> restoration of the monarchy</a>. Others were there simply to vandalise and loot. After having chased the police away from the Parliament building, they posted pictures and videos, having the run of the premises, instigating new arrivals to continue with the arson, and also brandishing looted automatic weapons. A curfew was declared, but this did not stop the rampage throughout that evening and into the night. Unable to return home, I spent the night in a friend’s office, and returned to the Parliament area the next morning. The black asphalt was dyed red with blood. Shoes, slippers and pieces of clothing littered the street. The next day, 9 September the much-feared and expected revenge attacks ignited. There was hope that the Army would be able to protect government buildings and provide public security, but the arson, vandalism and looting went unchecked — even when the seats of government were set on fire. The military did make an appearance, but only after 10pm to enforce the curfew, but by then the mob had already gone home.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20251007031032_578cfa7c9e56f6ffcf1ca9b148e114a87b5332268cf97720584b70906823c074.jpg" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="20251007031032_578cfa7c9e56f6ffcf1ca9b148e114a87b5332268cf97720584b70906823c074" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="1600" loading="lazy" alt="Reporter's diary of 8-9 September NT"> <figcaption>A protester receiving treatment at Civil Hospital.</figcaption> </figure>  That was the moment I asked myself: Where have the students gone? Has the GenZ movement been hijacked? I could not see any of the GenZ-ers anywhere on 9 September. It was around midday of 9 September that millennials, including from groups like Hami Nepal came forward to the media, claiming to speak for the GenZ. They claimed to have led the protests. Others claiming to be GenZ said they were for the restoration of the monarchy, but they did not look the age.&nbsp; Mobs were out of control, burning down the prime minister’s office, the Supreme Court, the CIAA and the official and private residences of ministers. Within 27 hours Nepal became a country without a government, and leaders without homes. Important official documents went up in flames with the buildings that housed them. PM Oli resigned, too late to save the day. The Army occupied itself airlifting ministers from their official residences. Former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and his wife foreign minister Arzu Rana Deuba were dragged out, beaten up and their home set on fire. They were rescued and taken to an army base. It became hard to tell over the next few days if the Army was providing them security, or keeping them incommunicado in detention. The Army was negotiating with GenZ as well as pro-monarchists at its headquarters, but moved the talks to President Ram Chandra Paudel’s office on 11 September.&nbsp; Former chief justice Sushila Karki was nominated interim head of government by GenZ delegates voting on Discord, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/march-to-5-march">mandated to hold elections</a> on 5 March.&nbsp; Will that happen? Things are too fluid at the moment. And my mind is still reeling from the fear and panic of that moped ride with my daughter through rampaging mobs. Did all that really happen in front of my eyes, or was it just a nightmare?&nbsp; Bhadra Sharma is a reporter for The New York Times based in Kathmandu.

Reporter's diary of 8-9 September

The annual United Nations General Assembly is always an occasion for taking stock of the state of the world. But this year, on the 80th anniversary of the UN’s founding, it was also an occasion to take stock of the organisation itself.
By any measure, the UN’s situation is dire. While Russian aggression against Ukraine and mounting tensions between the United States and China cannot be blamed on the UN, they do highlight a fundamental problem. The UN Security Council – where China, Russia, and the US each wield a veto – is locked in a permanent confrontation over one issue or another, blocking the rest of the organisation from moving forward on almost anything.
Consider the situation in the Middle East, where the UN has played a central role in conflict resolution and peacemaking ever since the State of Israel was established (under a UN resolution). Numerous UN peacekeeping operations in the region have helped to alleviate tensions, and massive humanitarian efforts, primarily aimed at Palestinian refugee communities, have saved countless lives. While the UN has not forged a lasting peace, it has certainly helped prevent some wars and shorten others.
In recent years, however, the UN has increasingly been sidelined. The so-called Quartet – the UN, the US, the European Union, and Russia – is now a distant memory, and numerous UN operations have come under direct attack, primarily by Israel. The Israeli government not only questions the humanitarian efforts of UNRWA (the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) but now also blocks the organisation’s work whenever it can.
Before Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel, the UN was essential to keeping the situation in Gaza relatively stable. Though it couldn’t overcome divisions among the Palestinians, especially after Hamas assumed power in Gaza in 2006, it could, and did, help provide the basic means of survival for the enclave’s two million people. But now Israel has questioned or attacked virtually every aspect of the UN’s work on this issue, and it could not have done so without America’s tacit support. US President Donald Trump, in particular, has proved willing to accept virtually everything that Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s extremist government does.
Meanwhile, the UN has struggled to mobilise an effective response in South Sudan, a semi-failed state, and in Sudan, where a devastating civil war is entering its third year. Similarly, from the Katanga secession in 1960-63 to the recent peace operations in northeastern Congo, Central Africa continues to preoccupy UN peacekeepers and mediators.
Around the world, there is no shortage of crises that demand UN engagement – from Gaza and Sudan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, and Afghanistan, to name just a few. But with the larger powers fixated on their confrontations with one another, and with the Trump administration withdrawing not only active support but also funding, the outlook for the UN appears grim.
The US provides 25% of UN funding, but it has <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/united-nations-must-adapt-or-die-by-adekeye-adebajo-2025-09" target="_blank">stopped</a> sending its contributions. It also traditionally accounts for an even larger share of voluntary financing for humanitarian operations, but these funds, too, have been cut. Making matters worse, China, the UN’s second-largest contributor, is also behind on its payments.
With its financial situation growing desperate, UN Secretary-General <a href="https://www.project-syndicate.org/columnist/antonio-guterres" target="_blank">António Guterres</a> warns that staff across the organisation will need to be cut by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/18/united-nations-un-2026-budget-job-losses-us-funding-cuts" target="_blank">one-fifth</a>. Morale is said to be low, as is the prospect of a change for the better. With his recent address to the General Assembly, Trump made clear that he has nothing but contempt for the organisation. The only role he seems able to see for it is to help him get a Nobel Peace Prize. The Trump administration’s forthcoming review of America’s multilateral commitments is almost certain to deliver more bad news.
Does the UN have any future? While the demand for it is as great as ever, its ability to deliver has obviously been diminished. There is no way for it to survive without scaling back its ambitions and abilities; precisely how it goes about this will be a central issue over the next few years.
With Guterres’s tenure ending in 2026, the process of selecting his successor will also have to feature a debate about ensuring the UN’s long-term survival. Moving the headquarters out of the US is a natural step, owing not only to the withdrawal of US funding and the need for cost savings, but also to the US refusal to grant visas to those attending UN gatherings (as it did with the Palestinian leadership this year).
Yes, a UN that is no longer headquartered in New York would be different in many ways. But relocation also may be the only way for it to survive. Dag Hammarskjöld, the UN’s second secretary-general, famously <a href="https://ask.un.org/faq/14623" target="_blank">remarked</a> that the body was not created to deliver Heaven, but rather to spare us from Hell. That task remains as important as ever. But for things to stay the same, everything must change. © Project Syndicate
Carl Bildt is a former prime minister and foreign minister of Sweden.