Apekshya Dhungel

Author: Apekshya Dhungel

Childhood – different perspectives

January 17, 2020April 4, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

A normal weekday, two siblings, didi (sister) and bhai (brother), walk hand in hand amidst the crowded, chaotic and somewhat self-centred bunch of denizens. Didi probably around 7-8 years old, bhai seemed a couple of years younger. It was around 8 am and as the crowd of urban area would behave, there was a certain rush in the environment. People all dressed up for work, rushing bikes, kids in uniform and school bags, some opening their shops for business, some fetching water from the stone spouts. Older females with plates (thali) filled with offerings to deities were heading towards the temples. Some young folks in uniforms were drinking tea and complaining about the mundane. Some older lads were also in the corner shop drinking tea, reading newspapers and complaining about the country and the whole system. To my surprise, a lot of tourists with fancy cameras already in action to create memories, some to remember the place, some perhaps to remind themselves how lucky they are not to be living here. There was more your eyes could witness, there were many stories you could hear and tell. But today I want to focus on my didi and bhai couple. Amongst the ruins of temples and houses, yet to be constructed after the 2015 earthquake, patis and shattals (rest houses) with unrestful people, sound of prayer bells and vehicle horns, the white neoclassical palace also under reconstruction, lots of eateries, shops and bargains, there still seemed to exist a time that was still. It seemed that the rush each civilian beared had nothing to do with the calmness and existence of the Basantapur Durbar Square and yet they maintained a sense of harmony. Just like the two little soldiers who found their way into this flamboyant yet modest scenario.

“Public space is the stage upon which the drama of a communal life unfolds.” The book Public Space. (Carr, 1992). https://www.amazon.de/Public-Space-Environment-Behavior-Stephen/dp/0521351480.

This dynamic space I believe has to remain calm on itself, as the stage remains the same, only the plays change.

Ragged loose trousers, a black polka dotted pink top, a bit shorter pale outer with orange collar and linings, a fancy colorful bag and a pair of blue ballerina shoes, didi sure looked she could carry any style with ease. Bhai was a bit arrogant in his outlook wearing a tshirt written ‘It’s all about me!’. Of course to add to the swag didi was carrying an umbrella, black in color and a little crooked.

When I saw them the first time, they were amused looking at the ground. They were near a stone spout in one of the squares of Basantapur in Maru tole. Their journey started from there where I followed them, not stalked! What were they amused of? A small mouse! Didi had her umbrella opened though it was not raining. Didi was excited but not as much as bhai. He wanted to observe the mouse, why it was moving, why it was so small, what was it? perhaps he had a tons of questions in his mind but as a researcher with children I could recognise the curiosity in his eyes. The drive that makes you want to learn naturally without anyone forcing you to do so in a closed room, is the best teacher you could ever have. He was so engaged that didi had to hold his hand and take him away from there as if they were trying to reach somewhere and she was in a rush.

Holding hands they moved forward towards the Maru Ganesh through the narrow passage. To add to its narrowness, on both sides, there were bricks to construct new houses and ruins of old traditional houses. On the right side was the reconstruction site of Kasthamandap, which also collapsed during the 2015 earthquake. It is under reconstruction now using the traditional methods. Now didi closes her umbrella which is apparently not so easy to do. While she tries to get hold of that, bhai grasps the side of his sister’s tshirt as both her hands were busy. They meet a friend there, just exchange smiles and a bit of conversation and continue along their own path. The pulling of the tshirt was a signal that bhai was tired. The metals from the closed umbrella were dancing as the strings had come off. With that on one hand, didi carried her bhai at the back. Then they continued for a while.

Along the way, they came across ground floor grocery shops, shops to buy prayer materials, street vendors who had shops literally on the path they were walking. They were selling local produce like saag (mustard leaves, spinach), spices, fruits and many things. When they were near one of the vendors place, bhai came down from his sister’s back and stopped there. Without a word, the vendor gave him one of the fruits he was selling, he took it and walked along eating it. There was no exchange of words, just the gesture. Looked like this happens everyday. How can you define this human relationship. This is so special. Then they continued and reached the Maru Ganesh. Outside there were devotees with plates full of offerings for the Ganesha. There both didi and bhai got some prasad (sweets offered to God). They also put tika (red colored blessings) on their forehead by themselves. Bhai had some sweets in his mouth, a handful in his pocket. Now they had to cross more ruins, more construction sites with bricks laying all over, wooden planks everywhere.

They are now already at the centre where all the area is paved with stone. It looks like a pedestrian prioritised area but practically it was full of vehicles. Of course they were not going very fast as there was no space and also pedestrians would be given more preference in such areas, but their noise and disturbance was felt. Among the vehicles were school vans, motorbikes, four wheel drives, taxis on standby and rickshaws. From this durbar (palace) square we were moving towards the Swetabhairava and reached the square with Pratap Malla’s statue. This square is always so interesting because of the pigeons. There are always a lot of pigeons on the ground, on top of the temple roofs and everywhere. People feed them and chase them and take a lot of photos with them. Apparently my didi was not so much impressed by this. Bhai went inside the pigeon gang and started playing as everyone else was doing. Didi just waited for him.

Bhai I think was around 4 years old. Didi may be around 7-8. It took me by surprise how bhai was interested in everything and didi was not much impressed by anything. She was more taking care of her bhai than enjoying her moments. May be she has done all that and she doesn’t enjoy it anymore, or she is more into taking care of her brother because she was asked to do so by her parents. It could be anything. But I wished she also enjoyed this moment, she also chased the birds once in a while, she also did the same as a kid of her age would do. But she just stood there waiting for her brother to come back so that they could continue their journey. Perhaps she was just being the responsible older sister. Perhaps she enjoys her time when she is free with her friends. After that they crossed the Taleju mandir (temple) and headed towards Makhan tole and disappeared from my sight.

Leaning towards the railings of her balcony, looking across the street view of a house inside a housing complex (a gated community), she could view many other houses same as hers and no one on the street. A car passed once in a while, while she yearned for some excitement. The housing complex was situated on the periphery of the valley, away from the chaos of the city life, well above the valley overlooking the haphazard city. You could view mountain range from here. Built to give almost a traditional look with dachi appa (Newari traditional bricks), the houses seemed to be in harmony with each other. But they lacked the basic concept of Newari architecture, the courtyards and the squares where the communal activities would take place, where children could play together while elderly could pray and share their stories. Also the streets those created opportunities for human interaction were used merely for cars. Perhaps for an eight years old girl, it was the best any parents could give in terms of physical comfort. Her toys inside her house in her playroom were waiting for her to come back. She also had a small private garden in her front yard but no one to play with. She just stays there looking, perhaps waiting for something to happen. Waiting for some stories to be made, so that she could too tell her grandchildren about all the adventures she had when she was a kid. But her life is made too perfect for that.

Denmark

Contrast of bike paths in New York City and…

July 5, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

Big city, big road, yet bigger cars, narrow or no bike lanes. The places you could safely ride bikes were the central park, the Brooklyn’s bridge, Hudson river greenway, east river greenway and may be a few other places, which we couldn’t visit. At least what I am trying to say here is, there are some bike paths and you could see some people riding bikes, but when one talks about the connectedness, its hard to find. In Manhattan area, there is bike lane but it was very rare to see anyone riding bikes in those areas. In the city core area, one struggles to find his/her way in the traffic. Also we took a bike for a day when we wanted to explore central park. This day we realised as was said by one random guy on the street in Harlem, that we “looked pathetic with the bikes” and nobody rides bike around these areas. Believe me, having lived in Germany for a while, where even university professors, people in their 70s-80s ride bikes everywhere, it was a strange thing to encounter. And also when people say that New York City is so vibrant, it’s a people’s city, I found it little hard to digest on couple of encounters we had. And the bikers biking in their bike ways, they weren’t the nicest people, you could get seriously hurt if you come in their way.

Pedestrians out of the way of the bike way!

In Copenhagen, every street, every neighbourhood, any place that you could see or walk, you could see bike lanes. The amount of people cycling there had definitely made the traffic so well managed. And in this city we decided not to rent a bike because it was just too hot and we had to be outside to explore all the time. So we definitely had to spare some energy and water inside our bodies. But the sight was amazing. To see so many bikes passing and crossing everywhere, everything so well managed nobody was suffering.

Elevated bike path along the road of Copenhagen.

The cyclists knew what they were doing, the pedestrians also valued each others path, nothing was going wrong. As this was happening in daily basis, there was a silent rule that was followed by everyone. Cycling was not for leisure, not just a quicker alternative to walking, it was a means of transportation. No wonder it is the most bike friendly city in the world. A whooping 62 percent of the residents ride bikes to work and education with only 9 percent of the population driving. They are doing a lot more than this. You can check out this site. Isn’t that something for cities which are expanding their infrastructures to accommodate more cars.

Thinking about my hometown Kathmandu in this context. Such a small city, where you could reach everywhere by bikes, wouldn’t it have been better to prioritise bike lanes than expanding roads for more cars. Anyways, the traffic congestion will not go unless we have underpasses and overhead bridges. So why not go for some feasible options. And for people who would say the pollution will make it hard to ride bikes, I would say if they have noticed the city during strikes and Dashain & Tihar festivals. Anyway, this is just a thought, I haven’t done any detailed study or research to talk about this any more than I just did. But when I was doing a study with the children of Kathmandu for my project, I found out that not even 1 percent of the students whom I asked were going to school by bike, not even riding bikes as leisure. May be road safety is the concern for the parents.

When I was in Copenhagen, I could feel the city enjoying riding bikes and when I asked someone who was living there if it’s the same during cold and dark winter days, she said it’s the same, they wont stop riding bikes. The paths are cleared off the snow and made bikeable all the time.

Look, a bike parking! Nørreport station, Copenhagen.

In New York City, even in places where bike lanes were integrated with the landscape, for example central park, the convenience level was a bit low. We hired the bikes to stroll around the park and we were not even allowed to enter all the paths that were only meant for “walking”. The bike lanes were with all the traffic lights and strongly disconnected with the park. So most of the time, we had to just move around with our bikes by our side. The bikers were just biking around the park and nobody would dare to cross their paths. So for the tourist it could be a bit overwhelming to go around in the park with bikes, maybe walking would be a better option.

Nonetheless, we really enjoyed our bike rides for the day. The bike paths were very nice to see around the outside areas of the park as well, you could also bike through the east river greenway to have a pleasant view of that side. It depends on what is your motive of riding a bike. There it was definitely not to integrate bikers to the park. At least in touristic spots like Brooklyn bridge, it could have been a little friendlier. The bike lanes did provide a lot of positive impacts. One could have a view of the beautiful scenery around the park as well as have some workout with pleasure. The rules were easy to follow and not misguiding. It is strange how back in the late 80s and 90s, when we were watching TV shows like Seinfeld, they were always complaining about scarce parking spots, grotesque subway lines, and till date they are still facing these problems. May be these are part of the “big city living”.

It was contrasting to see New York City and Copenhagen in their bike friendliness. Of course, we can argue that Copenhagen is small, New York City is way too big to be bikeable. Still there are people who ride bikes half way to work and then take trains too. Its all about how you want to live and make impact in the society. Cities sure are providing a lot of alternatives and provisions when it comes to bikers in Europe. In Copenhagen one could really witness that. Riding bikes is a good exercise if you are looking for a personal benefit too. In the long term one must not even mention that it helps in less carbon emission, friendlier neighbourhood, place attachment due to slower movement and openness than cars, just to name a few.

It cannot be done only by people’s will or by government’s efforts. Government must encourage people with such infrastructures and the public should also be aware and enthusiast towards it. Would you consider riding bikes around your city to go to work or to just travel around?

North America

A hope – 9/11 Memorial

April 17, 2019February 18, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

Peace, serenity, togetherness, bonding, grief but enormous strength. This is how I saw ground zero on my first visit. There is nothing to complain about this complex of monuments that is dedicated to all those lost their lives in 9/11 incident. One of the most unfortunate events of 21^st century remains as a bruise in every living being’s heart connected directly and indirectly to this incident. I knew it made impact on everybody’s life, but now standing at this point, still, made me realise why it made such an impact. That day, humanity was in stake. Every human being with a heart and soul will not accept what happened here that day.

To watch everything on tv and to get live updates, was a tragedy, but to witness and feel this area for the first time in my life was something else. The names of the victims engraved, the falling water which made such a silent sound, the Oculus which looked like it was about to fly, everything so well designed that you feel sad and helpless; and content and strong at the same time.

View of the memorial complex from the liberty tower – south pool and the museum, also some part of the Oculus

The main features of the memorial were the two reflecting pools – north and south, each on the site of the fallen twin towers, the museum and the freedom tower. There is liberty park when you walk further down towards the liberty street after you cross the south pool. The later addition was the oculus – a bird shaped structure. The reflecting pools square in shape, have parapet level boundary where the names of the people who lost their lives are engraved. In the inner walls, water is falling from all sides, then the water flows through a flat surface on this level which falls further down into another square hole, after that one cannot not see where the water goes, it just goes down deep into the hole which looks infinite. Looking at that hole gave me the thrills of sitting in a roller coaster or standing on the edge of a high-rise building.

We entered the site through the Church Street, on the Fulton Street. While walking towards the memorial, along the Church Street, on the left there was Saint Paul Chapel. Leaving it behind we approached the Fulton Street. The first thing we saw was therefore the Oculus. The Oculus designed by architect Santiago Calatrava is one of a kind. It served as a metro station as well as a mall. Though devised a long time back it was constructed a lot later compared to the other structures there. This structure from outside was a bird ready to fly. At first the huge organic structure may seem a bit overwhelming.

Once you are at site and also inside this huge conclave with wings ready to fly, you feel its enormous potential as a structure perfect to be lying along the memorials. It feels like a soul that can rise to eternity. Like I said before this memorial site gives both the feeling of grief and hope. The Oculus plays the part of giving hope. Though conceived as a metro station and a mall, it adds its rightful value to the complex. It looks grand from outside and when you enter the complex, it goes underground two more floors. This gives the feeling that it is grounded and not yet ready to escape. The structure of the Oculus is like the ribs. The hollow parts let the natural light enter the buildings as well as it gives the view of the outside. So, at different spots you see different perspective of the outside. From the central glass, one can see the freedom tower, rising high. The cantilevered stairs on the both sides of the structure help the visitor to admire the beauty of the structure, you come one step closer to the core. The fact that it is so white also adds onto its light structural design which could fly at any moment. This form speaks freedom, it speaks liberation. Freedom to speak and express and to have a life not threatened by some unfortunate incidents. The only way to move forward is to think positive and this does justice to the collective feeling of moving on. As Sadhguru had said ‘do you want to be part of the problem or do you want to be part of the solution’. The choice is yours, I have always felt my try is not enough. When I looked at the Oculus, I felt that ‘there will be someone witnessing what you have done in your life and admiring it from the core’. Feeling that and smiling, I moved on.

Peek a boo from inside the Oculus to the outside

Interplay of different levels inside the Oculus

When I came out of the Oculus from the other side, I started walking towards the first reflecting pool – the north pool, I could see the continuous water fall. When you reach closer to it, the depth of the reflecting pool catches all your attention. It looked like an infinite well so deep inside that you will never reach the core. The sound of the water falling from the concrete into the deep well added to its deep drama. Probably the sorrow the world witnessed that day could be symbolised in such a way only. The names of all the people who lost their lives was engraved there in a marble slab surrounding the pool. A white rose was placed in the name of the person whose birthday fell on the corresponding day. We saw few white roses that day too. The white rose, the sound of the water, all the tourists there respectful of the surrounding added the perfect soul and unity to the place.

Names of the people who lost their lives

The white rose marking the birthday of the person

When I turned back from there, I saw the Oculus again, with all its virtue, shining and rising high. Nothing can break me, and nothing can make us fall if we stand united. It felt like it was giving this message to all the people who were there. I could sit there in silence and hear the silence. I have tried capturing it through my lenses too but like I have said before, words could have bigger impact in some cases. I hope I am able to do justice to the memorial with my words.

We then went to the other reflecting pool – the south pool, had the same feeling, not a slight lesser grief. Stayed there for some time. The whole site of the pools and the museum was supposed to be complex together like an urban park. There was some construction going on there, so we could not see the exact design of it from the outside. After that we headed to the liberty park. This was across the street from the memorial complex and from here you could have a view of the pools and other parts of the memorial. This park was also a fine example of a landscape design. With very urbanistic approach, there were seating, at different levels that came up and merged to the ground. There was on display an art piece ‘The Sphere’ sculptured by a german artist Fritz Koenig. Rightfully known as Koenig’s sphere, this sculpture shares its own story as the only existing artwork from the 9/11 attack. There is also a documentary about it called ‘Koenigs kugel’ in german. We climbed the liberty park from the west end and when we walked across, on the east end was the Saint Nicholas Greek orthodox church. Leaving them all behind we camouflaged into the concrete jungle of Manhattan one more time.

There were seven buildings there before the 2001 incident. Now they are planning to make 5 more with one freedom tower already erected. This time, we could not go inside the museum as the queue was huge and we did not have time. Next time, I will try to visit inside, though I know I will be sad, though I know I might cry but I am sure, it will make me stronger and braver to tackle life as it comes.

Colorful installation next to the Oculus – leaving a positive note

Nepal

Panauti and its Existing Heritage

March 4, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

There is something about the air in Panauti that makes you calmer, makes you want to sit by the edge of the river near the temple and lets you breathe in the fresh air that you almost miss every second in Kathmandu. I went there just recently and it is a pity that I missed this experience until this stage of my life. I went there, sat by the river, walked on the temple square and listened to the old man who spoke continuously about his old tales. He did not care if anyone listened to him or not, he himself found his stories interesting. So did I.

One Saturday morning and we decided to head towards the south-east of Kathmandu, roughly 36 km. it took us 1 hour and 15 minutes to reach there in our private motorbike. The last 30 minutes was a bumpy ride due to road construction but it is temporary. If you wish to get a public vehicle you can see this link.

Religiously this place has a great value. One of the old residents of the community (Machhenarayan Shrestha) explained that there are more temples here than in Kashi of India so it makes this place religiously important but according to ancient myths if one cannot see mountain (Kailash) view from the holy place it has lesser value. The northern hills which block the view of the mountains still provide the panoramic view towards the town and it also contains herbaceous trees.

One more religiously important factor is the merging of three rivers (Triveni). This is considered to be most auspicious for a pilgrimage. Though one can see two rivers very easily, the third one is hidden. According to myth, Lord Shiva made Ganga flow through this place invisibly so that it became sacred.

Panauti is predominantly a Newari town like most of the towns around Kathmandu and it also celebrates festivals every year like those of Kathmandu with some more unique ones like Panauti Jatra. The chariots of gods and goddesses are taken around the town through the defined alleys. This is one of the most interesting parts of Newari festivals (Jatra). The veins of the street played a major role in defining the town’s form and circulation pattern. These routes and their axes are still identifiable today. The smaller veins lead one towards the bigger street and courtyards and finally towards the central or main open space dominated mostly by temples and palaces, in case of Panauti, by temples.

Co-existing private and religious space, a typical example of Newari town.

I started with the ghat (edge of a holy river which is used by devotees for taking bath and prayers as well as for cremation) on the northern part of the town. When I was there, I saw three different cremation spots separated for 3 different castes. On the other side of the river, women were washing their clothes and carpets as it had abundant water directed from Khokana. There on the square, one could witness the history with some of the oldest and unique temples. The small Ram Sita temple was claimed to be the oldest by one of the local residents. A sattal (two stories open rest house) on the west has unique paintings that tell stories of different eras of different Hindu gods. These artistic elements need serious preservation as the paintings are fading away and the building is also at a very critical stage.

Newar communities have been known for communal living with common open spaces for interaction and social functions. Due to rapid urbanisation, these activities have been lessened in these small towns. So was the case for Panauti. Basically, their major profession was agriculture but many youths nowadays have chosen other professions in the cities and hence, the vibrant open spaces during the day are almost empty with few old people drying their grains and smoking hukkas (shisha) in the house front. Amazingly there are many sattals and patis (one storey open resthouse), but mostly they are empty during the day, hopefully, they are occupied during weekends and evenings. Westernisation is the major event that is taking place in our societies and merging all cultures together. This is very important for growth and equality. But we must not forget that each culture has its own identity and uniqueness and that should not be homogenised otherwise we will not have any stories to share to our next generation like the man was doing sitting in the sattal of Ram Mandir.

Temple complex with religious paintings on the wall.

Moving towards the old entrance of the town is dominated by the big temple square which proudly houses the Indreshwar Temple. It is one of the largest pagoda style temples in Nepal, which dates back to 1294 CE. It is also the oldest surviving Newar-style temples in Nepal. When you enter the huge square through its narrow gate, you see the extravagance. To see a temple in a small town like Panauti which is taller than Nyatapola of Bhaktapur was an experience in itself. The courtyard is surrounded by other temples and a museum.

With many festivals, sattals and streets and courtyards, this town still reflects the vibrancy of old Newari towns. Though it’s an agricultural town, like any other Newari town, arts and artefacts present here to add more intricacy to its uniqueness. Like in any other historical towns in the Kathmandu Valley, Panauti is also at its peak for preservation. As long as the spirit is there, we can still save existence.

Europe

A Visit to Neuschwanstein Castle – Schwangau, Germany

March 4, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

Yellow, white, silver grey and blue

Take me again to this wonderful journey with you

I would suggest people visit here in the weekdays if they have time and if they do not want to stay in queue to get inside the crazy castle. The location is amazing. I am not quite amazed by the castle itself, but the way it is standing there gives it its boost. As they say, it’s not what you wear it’s how you wear it. This building also has its own attitude which goes perfectly with its location.

The new addition to the history is the Museum of the Bavarian kings. What an amazing design it is. You cannot tell from outside but each and every space created inside amazes you with its brilliance in space design and execution. The broad glasses with a view towards the lake, the small peak boos to look inside the displays, the elegant stairways that lead you to the main exhibit, each element is complimenting the other.

If you are in Munich, take a one-day Bayern ticket, Neuschwanstein castle is within the Bayern area. It takes 2 hours in total to reach the train station (Fuessen) near to the castle. You can get a direct train or you have to change once in between. After you reach the last train station, you will be guided to take a shuttle bus which will take you to the castle, a ticket for the bus is included in your Bayern ticket. So, within two hours of travel from Munich train station, you will reach the beautiful sight of the castle and lake. Once you reach the last bus stop you see the hills and the two castles standing there admiring each other’s beauty.

I went there in February and it was snowing. When we started walking towards the Alpsee Strasse where you can buy the tickets to go inside the castles and the Bavarian king’s museum, the yellow castle (Hohenschau) from distance looked promising. The way it was standing on the snow appeared magnificent. From the Alpensee, the main castle (Neuschwanstein) was camouflaged with the snow in the higher hills. When we reached near, I was a bit disappointed because of the crowd. Their faces looked as if they were standing in the queue to win a battle. Then I remembered some of my Bavarian friends, who said they had never visited the castle.

Too much touristification of any place fades out its actual beauty.

The colours still exist in my mind’s image: white, yellow, silver grey and blue. Once we bought the ticket after standing more than half an hour in the queue, we decided to eat something before we started walking up. When we walked further up from the Alpensee strasse, we could only find one Bavarian restaurant with typical Bavarian menu and typical Bavarian price. We decided not to eat there as it had lesser options for vegetarian food, then we went to an Italian restaurant nearby. After lunch, when we were moving ahead, this spectacular sight I could not take my eyes off, the Alpensee (Lake), which lies beautifully between the two castles and surrounding by the Alps. The still water, little bit of shining sun, snow white and the greyish background, mesmerised all my senses and made me believe heaven lies here.

As we had bought tickets to go inside the castle and the museum, we first went inside the museum as it was next to the lake. Lavish, detailed and well integrated, this was my first impression of the museum. We entered through fancy door, put our stuff in the locker, hung our coats in the dressing and started climbing up. Climbing up the wide dark staircase first did not excite me. But then when I climbed the first few steps I could view the main hall of the museum appearing to me from small view to the larger perspective. Then I could feel that this design would fill me with beautiful surprises and I was not disappointed at all. Sad that it was not allowed to take any pictures inside but the picturesque view of the lake from the main hall passage with wide glass opening is still captured in my mind.

The decision to go inside the castle was not so great. Too much ornamentation and unnecessary detailing as demanded by the king has made the interiors suffocating. This is not a place where people would like to sit for a long time and definitely not alone. The irony is that the then king (King Ludwig II) had built the castle as a hideout from the public and seven weeks after his death, it was opened to the public. Now it is one of the most visited castles all over Europe with around 6000 visitors per day in summer. (Source: http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/palace/index.htm)

Nevertheless, I would suggest you to view the castles from outside because their beauty is because of their position in the Alps and their majestic forms portrayed by artist. You can really witness why Walt Disney magic kingdom was inspired from it. But if you also are interested in my kind of architecture with functions and elegance intertwined to create beautiful spaces, I would suggest you to visit inside the new museum. Major beauty on that day was the weather which threw the colours to make the castles look amazing, the lake froze the time and made the heaven and earth stand still with water, hill, snow and the blue sky.

The cool weather and my bright red sweater was a perfect combo!

Nepal

Labim Mall – A Modern Addition to Patan

March 4, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

The intricate details in the buildings with its form and the materials always excites me as an architect. I must say the new addition to the LABIM complex is far more than exciting. It is a beautiful building with well thought material and colour use. It is a good design with the playfulness of forms with multiple entrances, alleys for seating outside and the balance of indoor and outdoor. The only thing that hit me was the insufficiency of greenery. One example would be: If real trees were planted in the alleys, the dwellers would get the natural fresh air from them, instead of the ‘metal trees’ that are being planted at the moment.

Nepal

Boundary, Chaos and the Standing Strong – Ashoka Stupa

March 4, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

Simplicity has great value. I feel comfortable going to places which do not stand out but lets you blend in with them at your own comfort. One such place in my city Patan, also known as Lalitpur is Pulchowk Stupa. It is one of the four Ashoka Stupas of Patan (oldest city in Kathmandu Valley), which marked the ancient boundaries of the city. At the time these Stupas were built in Patan (250 BC), the city was flourishing with Buddhism. Today still, we can see a unique blend of Hinduism and Buddhism in this city which cannot be experienced elsewhere in the world.

At one time, this Stupa was marking the boundary of Patan. Today it stands along the confused infrastructure of streets and buildings, dominated yet screening its own existence.

I pass through it many times, uncountable. It is on my way to work, my way to my relative’s house and many other locations. But yesterday I went there as a visitor and not a passer-by. I went there to see and look around just as I do when I go to other cities as tourists. Here began my architecture journey again to share with you. From the border of Kathmandu and Lalitpur, after crossing the Bagmati bridge of Thapathali, this place is at walking distance, you just have to keep on walking the main street but one can easily find public transport if you cannot walk around 15 minutes from Kopundole, the border of Kathmandu and Lalitpur.

Always visit a city as a residence, not as a tourist. Then only you can tell if it is an interesting city or not. I discovered this when I went to Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina for two weeks this year in March. The city looked nice and promising at the start. But when I visited each new place and explored its history for the many days I stayed there, I was mesmerized by its beauty. So, whenever you go to visit a city, try to explore it a little more than just seeing the monuments and tasting the speciality of that place. You will witness a whole new perspective.

The form of stupa gives a passer-by a feeling of contentment. The very form of Stupa symbolizes five elements earth, water, fire, wind and space, which is represented by its cubic base, dome-shaped mound, triangular conus, calyx and the top flame respectively. But unlike the big Stupas of Kathmandu valley namely Bouddhanath and Swayambhu (which are also in UNESCO world heritage), this small mound of earth covered with bricks and then overgrown grass does not give a feeling of extravagance. When you look at it from far, it is almost surrounded by buildings taller than it and overhead bridge. On its diagonal is a newly constructed modern building complex and opposite to it towards the street is municipality office of Lalitpur. These structures though functional and logical in their own space somehow make the physical form of Stupa not so dominant. But what is it that makes this structure stand out?

The first answer to it would be the religious belief of the worshipers and devotees. This brings positive energy to the people passing by it. As I approached its few steps at the entrance for circumambulation of the dome, I realised the inner peacefulness. In spite of the disturbance from the street, surrounding houses and parking spaces around it, once you step on its premises, it lets you enjoy its simplicity and when you look at it from bottom up, you see the five elements in its form taking you to the stage of the void. Looking at it from very close from bottom up shows the form of the dome to be converging and taking one to the stage of void through the central point where the dome converges into the conical conus and then to the nothingness and void which touches the sky. The prayer wheels which you rotate as you make a round around the dome are a precious delight. There is also a place to light candle below it all around which is normally lit in the evening. The combination of these two elements, the bells and the light standing below it gives an intricate detail to the form of a dome. And to my surprise, all the dominating structure around it did not exist and were out of view once I was inside its narrow alley to pass around it. Trees also made a huge impact in making it separate from the surroundings blocking the view of the cityscape. The beautiful sight was few children playing around the corner in the small streets near the stupa making the place livelier.

This beauty I visited yesterday, was in its full-fledged form as the air around it was also clean due less vehicle movement because of a strike. The sky appeared bluer giving its form more shape. This is one of the very few open spaces we have in our city. It is providing some space for its dwellers to breathe, to feel peace and to feel proud of the long history it carries with it. I used to come here more often when I had time. I am so happy that I decided to go there yesterday, it made me realise what I was missing, a feeling of peacefulness and bliss. More such places in your neighbourhood give you more opportunity to socialise and understand the city’s culture and activities.

Explore the areas in your neighbourhood and share with me. Try to find out about its history and today’s ambience. I am sure you will find more aspects to cover the reasons for existence.

Austria

Bridge, Grass and the Sunset – One Fine Day…

March 4, 2019April 2, 2020
by Apekshya Dhungel

Can you tell if a design is good or bad just by looking at a building or seeing a mesmerizing bridge from a distance? If yes then I would believe that you are the God of architecture. But for my understanding, the design is something with intention a bit more than just aesthetics. Form and composition, colour and texture might add up to what makes architecture but without fulfiling its function, it is not worth. A bridge is already a fascinating sight as long as it rightfully makes the users pass from one edge to the other. The structural details needed for it already gives it a beauty that no other ornament can fulfil. However the cases of railings of most famous bridges in the world, they get different kinds of lock, love locks, luck locks, birthday locks and what not. Do these add beauty to the existing structure or just additional uncalculated dead load? Let’s not worry about it now. Let’s just talk about the existence and beauty of such bridges.

Have you ever gone to the middle of a pedestrian bridge over a huge river in the evening and seen the sunset just below the horizon right in front of your eyes? Well, I have and I must say it is a spectacular sight.

It was February and suddenly we decided to go to Salzburg one weekend from Munich. The sudden decision was not bad at all because it is very easy to travel around Europe from one place to another, the connections are excellent. From Munich to Salzburg was just 3 hours in the train and the three of us reached the beautiful sight of Salzburg.

It was one fine day, was definitely not summer, because we had our winter jackets on but luckily we found a sunny day in starting of February, not very usual during that time. First we decided to visit the castle (Hohensalzburg castle), on top of the hill. The view of the city from up above was amazing. But one more view towards the south, down the hill, was even more spectacular. What was it? Simply a grass lawn, very huge with two diagonal paths crossing each other. One small hut somewhere near that crossing and some, very few bicycles passing through it. Then I was thinking, if I belonged to this city, I would travel this path in my bike every day, on purpose or even without any purpose. It looked that promising. After that we visited a garden (Mirabell Palace garden), which was supposed to be one of the best tourist spot in Salzburg. But I was not so much impressed with it. It was a well maintained garden with seasonal planting which made it dull during the season we went and few ordered seats were there which did not give a welcoming feel at all.

Then we decided to move towards the bridge (Makartsteg Bridge) over the Salzach river as it was our last destination for the day. We had already went passed it during the day when we went from Hohensalzburg castle to Mirabel palace. And we decided that we will visit it again before we leave. Beautiful, mesmerizing and it had to be evening. Luckily we decided to stroll around the river in the evening. This spectacular view was only possible when the sun is just about to say goodbye for the day. Once I started walking in solitude, it gave me peace from inside. The warm breeze in the evening gave the fragrance of existence of a history which made this place at this moment extremely special. As the name suggests it was named after a 19th century painter Hans Makart who was born and raised in Salzburg. More than that, it is now ornamented with modern tradition of locks in the railings. This gave the bridge a new perspective. The positive energy of locked bonding through the metals proved the existence of love and faith people have. And the continuous sound of Mozart, which was playing all over the city and could be heard even from the bridge, took it a step further. When I was standing in the middle of that bridge, it gave me happy feeling of smiles and trust but it also made me wonder, how something which is out of intention in design can have influence of this level that people who are using certain space and elements have the capability to change its aesthetics and change its architecture. This is the strength of the combination of architecture and people.

Makartsteg Bridge over the Salzach River in Salzburg, Austria

Monumetalisation of architecture is no more a fancy. Today’s architecture is more people focused. People want to decide what they want and not be told what they should want. If something is out of their own will they will respect it more. Hence architecture should speak people’s mind, architects must be able to translate the ideas into architectural being, which they can experience.

This pedestrian bridge rebuilt in 2000 is one of them. This simple form of architecture doesn’t dominate the existence of its surroundings. The spectacular view of the Alps from the bridge and also through the bridge mesmerizes your senses with the blend of manmade and nature in harmony both complimenting each other. The low curve of the bridge gives frame to the Southern Alps and the Alps giving the bridge a picture perfect background. And when you start walking in this pedestrian bridge you see the curves getting curvier and the colourful locks delighting your way through. This is where people decide to stand, look around stroll and take photos to capture the beauty. As you walk through the bridge the curves start getting curve less, the lines appear straighter and the locks in the railings start appearing more distinct, each one with this specific character rather than a colourful mass which appeared when we looked at it from a distance. The bank of the river made its smooth transition from concrete to grass to stones and water. This tempting view from the bridge makes you want to go and lay down on the grass or lean down from the stones to reach the fresh water. Unfortunately, I had no time to go down there and rest as we had to take a train soon. But I promised myself I will visit again for that pleasure of laying on the grass.

It was surprising to discover that the tradition of attaching locks onto the bridges started in 2008 following the custom traced in 2006 novel ‘I want you’ by Frederico Mocia. And now we can see this tradition in many almost all the bridges in touristic areas. Influence of certain things can drive people crazy. I believe architects must enhance the positive influence into the daily lives of people so that communities and societies can become better altogether.

For me I will visit Salzburg again, just to sit in the bank of Salzach river, just to walk on the Makartsteg bridge, to feel the bridge and to watch the setting sun, to discover love and life one more time and to understand pleasant moments are to be felt not created. This time this day, the setting sun said goodbye to me. Of course, it also said see you soon, hopefully I will see you soon!