Saturday 18th, early hours of the morning, I wake up to the hassle of fire brigades and ambulances on the road, much hauling of dogs and sirens and people shouting. I start worrying and decide to phone my coordinator first thing in the morning and ask him to take us out of here!
The morning sun broke the sad news: an old disabled man failed to extinguish his candle and his house set on fire, burning down eight other neighbouring houses. No one was hurt, but old Dhulikhel is remarkable for its architectural beauty and these mortar mud residences with every door and window trimmed by spectacular carved wooden frames are lost forever.
We go to the scene and there is much weeping and lament and I feel really sorry for them.
Saturday is laundry day and a pile of clothes is waiting for me on the deck roof. I am not looking forward to the scrubbing under the dwarf size tap of cold water, besides, the greasy soap is as revolting as their loos..........to compensate for such arduous chore, the views are breathtaking.
Rajesh, our coordinator for Dhulikhel, takes us sightseeing. Dhulikhel is a Newar town mountain viewpoint. Anthropologists believe that Newars descend from a clan who ruled the valley since 17th century BC. Remarkably, they’re believed to have invented the pagoda, and it was a Newar architect, Arniko, who lead a Nepali delegation in the thirteenth century to introduce the technique to the Chinese. The pagoda-style of stacked, strut-supported roofs is echoed in the overhanging eaves of Newar houses.
