“Prince Harry’s visit does not make a difference at all. He only came here because of Beckham. At least Beckham played football with my nephew when he was here a few months ago. But nothing change even then. I have heard much about donations provided from around the world, but it has not reached us.”
Photo: Pratik Rana
“I want the king back. Now the prince of another country came to us to know what we are going through. If we had our own king and a prince, then they would have visited us instead. And our situation would be better.”
Photo: Pratik Rana Magar
“Holi is completely different this year. In spite of the destruction, I have never seen so many people celebrating together. And there are many tourist guests from all over the world, too. That’s why I’m having a good sale of colours this year.”
Photo: Sven Wolters
“I am here today to preserve and celebrate our Hindu religion. The earthquake was God’s decision and we need to accept that. No matter how much we hurt, we should never forget our traditions. It is what we are passing on to our younger generations.”
Photo: Sven Wolters
“I work as a rickshaw driver in Kathmandu because my village in Sindhupalchowk was destroyed during the earthquake. Normally I earn 1000 to 1500 rupees a day. Now it is already noon and I have not earned a single one.
“But it is okay because Holi has brought me immeasurable happiness. It makes me forget for a short time all the destruction here in Basantapur and in my home village.”
Photo: Sven Wolters
“Durbar Square is on my daily route for picking waste. I feel numb seeing these destroyed temples every day. The place where I used to sleep also collapsed during the earthquake. But today I am not fearful and not even hungry. My stomach is filled with happiness, fun and celebration.”
Photo: Sven Wolters
“When I was young, there were no readymade colours and water pistols for Holi. I had to collect them from leaves of different plants. And I built a pipe to shoot water out of bamboo.
“But now I am old and only come here to take pictures for my grandchildren. They need to know about the tradition of their ancestors. And they need to see that despite the destruction, despite the buildings barely supported by a pole which could fall down any second, despite the fear, we are celebrating.”
Photo: Sven Wolters
The ancient city of Bhaktapur, a former capital of Nepal, is home to one of the country’s most famous historic attractions: the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. Nine months after the earthquake, tourism is slowly recovering, but in the historic centre, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the crumbling remains of half-destroyed temples and damaged houses can still be seen. As with all of Nepal’s damaged heritage sites, reconstruction is in a state of limbo, pending funds from the National Reconstruction Authority, the body responsible for distributing earthquake relief funds.
‘Durbar Square’ is the name given to plazas and community gathering spaces outside the old royal palaces of Nepal. They were built by the inhabitants of Kathmandu, the Newaris. The Bhaktapur Durbar Square is well known throughout the valley for its impressive temples and is frequented by tourists and devotees alike. It also acts as a casual meeting place for those who have been living in this historic town for generations. Photo: Namita Rao
Bhaktapur was one of the most badly affected districts by the earthquakes, with nearly 28,000 homes damaged and more than 300 deaths. Across the entire district, more than 2,000 people are still living in displacement sites and in the old city centre, the scattered remains of homes are a reminder that the earthquake did a lot more than just physical damage here. Photo: Ritu Panchal
It is a very common site to see a grid of bamboo poles supporting old, historic monuments in the narrow winding streets of Bhaktapur. However, serious reconstruction work is yet to take place, and the Department of Archaeology says it has not received any budget from the government for this purpose. According to the Post-Disaster Needs Assessment report, the rebuilding of 750 damaged cultural, historical and religious monuments across Nepal will cost an estimated Rs 20.55 billion [£131 million]. Photo: Ritu Panchal
Wooden beams, such as those lining the walls of the National Art Museum, support many of the buildings in Bhaktapur Durbar Square. The museum, which contains ancient paintings and artefacts from Hindu and Buddhist traditions, is scheduled to undergo renovation, like a lot of the other damaged government buildings in the city. Photo: Ritu Panchal
A set of stone lions stand on their own in Bhaktapur’s Durbar Square. It is thought that the temple they used to guard was destroyed by the 1934 earthquake, the worst in Nepal’s history. Nearly a third of the city’s temples and buildings were destroyed in that earthquake, which measured 8.0 in magnitude. Photo: Naomi Mihara
Children play on the stone animals guarding the entrance to the Siddhi Laxmi temple, a 17th-century structure that escaped the earthquake relatively unscathed. Photo: Naomi Mihara
Bhaktapur is famous for its traditional pottery industry, and is home to two ‘pottery squares’ where rows of clay pots can be seen drying in the sun. The potters are particularly busy during the Tihar festival of lights, one of the biggest festivals in Nepal, making diyekos [earthen lamps] which are then filled with oil and lit outside each household. In Hinduism, fire is an important symbol of cleansing and purification and its light dispels gloom and darkness. Photo: Ritu Panchal
Several of Bhaktapur’s main temples, including the five-storey Nyatapola, Nepal’s tallest temple, suffered remarkably little damage. The Nyatapola temple has now survived four major earthquakes because of the traditional earthquake-resistant design elements that went into building it. Photo: Ritu Panchal
The remains of the Fasidega temple. This temple was built as a homage to Lord Shiva, but the monument at the top of the steps was destroyed by the 1934 earthquake. The replacement, built in white using modern motifs, stood out conspicuously amid the traditional design of the other temples of Bhaktapur before its destruction in the 2015 earthquake. Photo: Naomi Mihara
Right at the centre of Bhaktapur Durbar Square lies a 15th-century palace, sections of which collapsed in the recent quake. The interior has remained closed since the 1934 earthquake. The courtyard surrounding it still lies in ruins and the uncleared debris from the broken down buildings has now become a part of the temple complex. Photo: Namita Rao
After the quake, Nepal’s tourism industry was deeply affected. As soon as travellers and tourists started to regain their confidence to backpack through this Himalayan region, the fuel crisis caused by the border blockade infiltrated all aspects of life in Nepal. However, according to recent figures released by the Bhaktapur Municipality Tourism Service Centre, tourism is on the rise again, with more than 10,000 visitors from mid-October to mid-November 2015. Photo: Namita Rao
“If you go to my village now, Gerkhu, in Nuwakot district, people act as if it is somehow a normal situation. They have managed to live in congested temporary shelters, by reusing material taken out from collapsed buildings. They have started playing cards and going to the tea-shops to discuss politics. This is why I say Nepali society is different from other societies in the world.
“I could say that my society is a society of resilience. They can, and have to, cope with any difficult situation they face. Since there is an absence of government in rural areas, people have to manage their day-to-day life on their own even during and after every crisis. While doing so, they generally rely on their own limited resources and skills.
“Villagers were able to cope on their own with the post-earthquake rebuilding because most of the houses were made with locally available materials and skills. Villagers just took the zinc sheet roofs from the collapsed houses, and reused them as temporary shelters. Even if the zinc was not reusable, and they had to buy it, this was not very difficult or costly, as villagers could go to the market and spend just 12,000 to 15,000 rupees. Most of the wood used in the old house could be reused. That would not be the case if they had modern houses. If it was a concrete house, it would be very difficult for villagers to cope with the situation.
“However, the media and politicians pose the idea to the villagers that they need to have concrete buildings. But how, if you are building a house on top of a hill with no road access? You have to carry sand, cement, steel, glass and what not. This sort of house costs at least a couple of million Nepalese rupees. But the villagers are getting a government grant of NPR 200,000 [approximately £1,265]. That is why the only option remaining for villagers is to go for modified traditional houses, which allow them to mobilise most of the money at the village level, to hire local labourers, masons and carpenters, and to buy local construction material like clay, uncooked bricks, stones, raw timber. This will not only ensure sustainable reconstruction but also revive the rural economy of Nepal by creating more jobs at a local level.”
Photo: Patrick Ward
“Waiting for others to help us with our wants and desires will only hold us back. My family and me are ready to work hard to secure our future. We are ready to sweat to overcome the pain of this disaster.”
Photo: Unnat Sapkota
