(Re)constructing heritage in Bhaktapur, Nepal

Nepal's history is punctuated with a series of devastating earthquakes; the most recent being the Gorkha Earthquake of 2015. In the past five years, post-disaster recovery has been slow and arduous because of Nepal's geo-political landscape, ecology and economy. Nepal's vibrant cultural heritage is central to the process of recovery, not only for its contributions to the tourism industry but also as a matter of national and regional identity. There has been sustained international focus on the Kathmandu Valley UNESCO World Heritage Site, a series of seven ensembles of Hindu and Buddhist religious places and palatial complexes (UNESCO WHC, 2007, 2017). My doctoral research looks at post-disaster reconstruction of the built heritage in the city of Bhaktapur located a few kilometres outside the capital Kathmandu. In this essay, I argue that the physical reconstruction of Bhaktapur's built heritage goes beyond an exercise in modernity and heritage practice. Instead, reconstruction of the built heritage enacts multiple intents and agencies through the deployment of different forms of expertise and labour. I focus on one of the seven ensembles of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage Site"”the Durbar Square"”in Bhaktapur. The square itself is a series of built and open spaces in the centre of the historic core of city, with large palace buildings, tiered temples, shikhara (spire) style temples, water-bodies, platforms and rest-houses. Apart from being the central tourist attraction of the city, the Durbar Square functions as Bhaktapur's civic and administrative core, and is at the heart of everyday commerce, leisure and religious life of most of its residents.