Groups of tourists file quickly past the stupas, the sacred pond where Maya Devi bathed before giving birth to Siddhartha Gautam and the Asoka pillar, whose engraving is cited as proof of that birth 2,549 years ago in this village in Nepal’s Terai near the border with India. For so many years Buddha’s message of peace has been disregarded. Yet, nowhere does it seem more pertinent than today’s Nepal, where 12,000 people have died in a decade-long Maoist insurgency.

‘’At a time when the world remains deeply troubled by strife and violence, Lord Buddha’s message of peace, compassion, love and tolerance assumes greater significance,’’ said the monarch recently. On February 1 King Gyanendra fired his appointed prime minister for corruption and failure to control the Maoist rebellion and assumed control of the government, promising to relinquish power in three years. On September 3 the Maoists declared a three-month unilateral ceasefire, which the King has refused to reciprocate. Although strife has spread, Lumbini, has remained untouched. “Not a single incident has occurred here,’’ says archaeologist Basanta Bidari. ‘’Maoists and soldiers come to the same temples but they pray and leave,’’ says a rickshaw driver.

According to a master plan of 1978, Lumbini is divided into three zones, each one square mile in size: Sacred Garden Zone, Monastic Zone and New Lumbini Village. The first includes the main historical sites, the second, monasteries built by countries that support Lumbini’s development and the third will include accommodation, restaurants and other amenities for visitors. But after 27 years, only a handful of monasteries are completed and just 20 per cent of the master plan has been realised. That’s why, after two decades of working at Lumbini and other nearby archaeological sites, Bidari says he’s ‘’very happy’’ at news of this month’s meeting at the UN in New York.

Tourists will play a big role in Lumbini’s future, according to plans. The government has declared 2006 Visit Lumbini Year and has unveiled a 200 km ‘Buddhist Circuit’ that will take visitors to other nearby sites, including the place where Buddha first met his father after attaining enlightenment. The government has allocated 80 million rupees to develop the Lumbini area this year.

According to the Lumbini Development Trust, which manages the site, tourism is growing fast. In 2004, 37,892 people visited Lumbini, compared to 28,053 the previous year (when the visitor’s centre was opened) and 9,036 in 2002. Bidari says, ‘’We need tourists who can spend at least one night’’ instead of just doing a day trip from Buddhist sites in India. ‘’If we had some people who could explain the detailed history we could keep people’s interest all day.’’ According to the Lumbini Development Trust, which manages the site, tourism is growing fast. But Bidari says Lumbini won’t develop for development’s sake and will stay true to the master plan developed by Kenzo Tange.

Nepal is now seeing a slight revival in tourism. Arrivals have grown steadily the past couple of months and bookings for the autumn season are up, say hopeful operators. It is still early to say if this month’s news, including soldiers’ reportedly unprovoked killing of six Maoists in the west and kidnapping of hundreds of teachers will halt that growth. — IPS