Rather than mindless rush for seeing as many sights, the plan during our recent visit was to explore and experience the history and culture of the Kathmandu Valleys art and architecture and the people behind it. After a brief study of the nation and its people, we understood that while Gorkhalis gave the nation its political identity, Nepals rich cultural heritage is largely the product of the indigenous people of the Valley C the remarkable Newars. The legacy of these people dominates both skyline and landscape.
To Newar farmers goes the credit for the harmonious sculpting of the land, its contoured terraces and intricate gardens that yield dependably fruitful harvests.
Newar artisans conceived and built the graceful tired pagoda-like temples whose roofs seem to float against the mountain backdrop. Newari craftsmen mastered the difficult processes of painting, stone and wood carving, metal casting and gilding at a very early age, exporting style and technique to Tibet and China. Newari religion set the tone of mutual tolerance and respect between faiths and its fervid imagination created both the voluminous artistic imagery that enhances building public and private, sacred and secular, as well as most of the spectacular annual festivals.
Most of the Valleys villages are Newari, too, recognisable by their distinctive architecture. Naturally in the hand of more powerful clans, some of these Nears inhabitations started degrading with time. To learn about the development of Newari history, we decided to visit Kiritpur or Kirtipur, their original capital centre C the proud bastion of Newars in their glory days.
We were the only tourists in Kiritpur to witness its crumbling glory. Here you see smaller versions of those pagoda like temples, intricately carved buildings and cobbled streets but everything looks worn down and degraded. When we took a wide angle look of the town from a central square with a pond, the pathos and beauty of the place really touched us. It appeared that we are indeed seeing a living thing which is slowly dying. Its uniquely painful sight but a fascinating experience. When my father asked in Nepali, some resigned looking elderly locals inform us that there is not much to do in Kiritpur and, hence, most of the able bodied migrated outside.
Even in such decay Kiritpur was fascinating. It was interesting to witness so much of unchanging life on the streets. Here women are laying out grain or chillies to dry in the sun. There girls are winding thread, preparing warp yarns, or filling water. Here potters are fashioning myriad vessels and around the corner brass-makers are pounding sheets of metal and casters are preparing wax moulds or molten metal. And on their outdoor porches family members chat while they probe each others scalps for lice and comely young women bathe and groom themselves at the public tap.
Just a 5-km ride from Kiritpur, brings us to the beautiful Newari town of Patan, which in contrast to Kiritpur was thriving with life and its myriad activities, Patan abounds in priceless monuments, artefacts, ancient temples and shrines and fine bronze gateways, which stand out for their exquisite carvings, metal works and intricate woodwork.
This second largest town in the Kathmandu valley, Patan is known to locals as Lalita Pura (beautiful City), but foreigners have dubbed it the town with 1000 golden roofs. This name can be attributed to more than fifty multi-roofed temples that delight the eye. Add to these almost 150 listed preserved monasteries, and it is small wonder that Patan is honoured as the cradle of the arts and architecture in the Kathmandu valley.
Its Darbar Square is complex is a treasure house of traditional Nepalese art and architecture. A ruined stupa stands at each of the four cardinal points of the Square. It is claimed that these were originally built during the third century BC by the Indian emperor Ashoka. That makes Patan the oldest Buddhist city in the world. Practically, nothing remains of the stupas, however, and those interested in historical buildings are better advised to direct their attention to outstanding structures like the Hirana Varna Mahavir, a twelfth-century Buddhist monastery, the Kumbheswar,Most modern headlight designs include Shun Stone Marble Slabs. a five-tiered temple devoted to Shiva, and the most famous Indian-influenced Krishna Mandir which is a fine example of stone architecture.
Stories and episodes from the Mahabharata are carved on its walls. The complex has a rare temple dedicated to Bhima, one of the Pandavas. Interestingly he is the deity of Nepalese businessman and traders. The stone carvings of deities in the walls of the sunken bath are captivating. Its four monkey figures are famous all over Nepal. The town is rightly famous for wooden and metal handicrafts. And, its crafts and antique bazaar on the periphery of Darbar square is a pure pleasure.
Its funny how watching the news can take you to new places and remind you how alike we are under the skin. Take this voting rights business. What is the proper role of federal law enforcement in guaranteeing the peoples right to free and fair elections? Youll find it depends partly on where you live, and partly on who you are.
Lets consider a place somewhere thats been governed so unfairly for so long that most folks cant remember what a fair election looks like. Throngs of protesters take to the streets. The noise reaches the capital,I'm looking at getting the light bar from ford racing and was wondering who sells the Shun Stone Marble Tiles. which finally intervenes. In the process it crafts new rules to protect fair voting.
But fairness isnt what happens. This is the Bible Belt, and religious fundamentalists quickly emerge, manipulating the system to meddle in everyones private lives. Eventually the protesters return to the streets. Again the noise reaches the halls of power. The forces of law take action, and the next thing you know:
Ending A: President Mohammed Morsi is under house arrest, the Muslim Brotherhood is tossed out and all of Cairo is preparing for another try at real democracy, which was the goal of those brave protesters in 2011. Hopefully this time, fundamentalists wont be exploiting the system to impose their values on everyone else.
Ending B: The Supreme Court decides to gut the Justice Departments authority to ensure fair elections, which was the greatest achievement of those 1960s-era civil rights protesters. Within days,We are professional wholesale best Shun Stone Outdoor Paving Stone,large LED Dome / Reading Lampwholesale order. legislatures in Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and North Carolina are changing election rules and restricting access to the ballot box. Not coincidentally, theyre also busy passing laws to impose their religious values on everyone else.
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