• Ancient scripts give us a record of the beginnings of our country — Punya Prasad Parajuli, Professor, Lumbini Bouddha University

Kathmandu, March 13 “Manuscripts and archives should be made accessible and translated to different languages so that they can be preserved for generations to come,” said  Bhesh Narayan Dahal, director general of Department of Archaeology, referring to the ancient Tibetan script of Pema Kathang,  a biography of the second Buddha Guru Padma Sambhava. Speaking at interaction in the city today, Dahal emphasised that translation and printing copies of ancient archives was necessary for preservation of those documents. “The manuscript of Pema Kathang and the micro film are there only in the Archaeology Department,” Prof Punya Prasad Parajuli, culture expert, Lumbini Bouddha University said. “There are 1,152 catalogues, which are written in Bhote, in the DoA. Among those, script number 659 has only one copy and cannot be found anywhere in the world. Many such documents need attention and preservation because they are rare,” said Parajuli. With the focus back on translation of rare scripts, Parajuli said, “We must step forward and promote our ancient scripts as they talk about the beginnings of our country.”