KMC to list in AV files Hanuman Dhoka history

Tika R Pradhan

Kathmandu, June 13:

The Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square Area Conservation Programme being run under the Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) is all set to document the monuments and culture related to the Durbar Square area in an audio-visual format. “We will begin the work within the next two weeks,” said Suraj Shakya, programme manager. The main objective of the documentation is to attract more tourists by showing them the unique cultural activities, monuments and heritage objects through this modern means of communication, Shakya said.

The audio-visual documentation would also help to maintain the historic monuments in and around the area, in case anything goes wrong in the future. “The monuments were also documented in the past, but these documentations were limited only to photographsand broichures.

This time, we are going to keep the records in an audio-visual format,” he said. Shakya also fondly recalled a particular incident wherein which the giant idol of Kal Bhairav was restored

near the Hanuman Dhoka palace with the help of its old photograph. The idol was damaged during the 1933 earthquake. The photographic documentation was done jointly by the Department of Archaeology and the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. Besides the monuments, all cultural activities — including Indra Jatra, Ghode Jatra, Gai Jatra and other festivals — would also be documented,Shakya said. He added that the KMC had already allocated Rs 100,000 for the documentation this year. The project has also collected Rs 17 million as an entry fee from the tourists this year. Last year, it was Rs 22.5 million. The project will also renovate two ‘Nagaras’ — traditional musical instruments —made up of copper and leather, which are

lying at next to the Kal Bhairav idol in the premises of the Hanuman Dhoka Durbar Square.