Bhaktapur has
long been called the City of Devotees, and has recently emerged
as Nepal’s Cultural Capital. Because of the city’s
medieval architecture, its rich tradition of ancient music,
handicrafts and ritual dance, as well as its present renaissance
of vibrant Newar culture, Bhaktapur has been designated by UNESCO
as a World Heritage Site.
Yet, while everyone knows that
no trip to Nepal is complete without experiencing this enchanting
township, few know that Bhaktapur will become even more
enchanting between October 22-26 when the town celebrates the
Bhaktapur Festival 1997. Organized by the Bhaktapur Municipality,
this five-day gala will be held in eighteen locations spread
across the entire old settlement.
The festival will be celebrated
by Bhaktapur’s residents, cultural groups, and
craft-persons, as well as involve tourist related activities such
as traditional handicrafts, hotels, lodges and restaurants. To
miss this festival is to miss an authentic experience of Nepal.
Come help add one more glowing legend to this legendary city.
Come celebrate Bhaktapur’s LIVING HERITAGE.
Highlights:
- Watch RITUAL DANCES, such
as Mahakali Pyakhan and Bhairav Pyakhan, which will be
staged in the UNESCO World Heritage Site
of Durbar Square as well as Taumadhi and Dattatreya
Squares. These dances will run throughout the Festival
enhanced by and enhancing the majesty of these ancient
and mysterious settings.
- Walk the path of the gods
as you dance to Traditional Musical ENSEMBLES which will
circumambulate the city on Bhaktapur’s ritual
procession route: the Pradaksinapath or Saparu (Gai
Jatra) route.
- Be welcomed by the sounds
of the enormous Nagara Drums, featured in the film The
Little Buddha. Their thunderous beat will continue
during the festival's entire five days filling the
visitor’s heart with the mysteries of
Bhaktapur’s past.
- Learn about Traditional
Newari Handicrafts, such as wood-carving, weaving,
mask-making and thanka painting, at Nasamana Square in
the art and craft exposition. Bhaktapur’s acclaimed
craftsmen will reveal the age-old traditions throughout
the festival.
- Watch Potters demonstrate
their ancient CERAMIC skills at Talako and Sujamari.
These generation-old skills will mesmerize the visitor
and give a glimpse into Bhaktapur’s rich artistic
history.
- Be enthralled by
Bhaktapur’s mysterious and sacred Nau-Baja musical
ENSEMBLES at Wakupati Narayan temple, Sujamari Square and
Til Madhav Narayan temple, Taumadhi. These ensembles
comprised of nine different drums and other subsidiary
instruments bring alive the mysterious of
Bhaktapur’s Newar traditions.
- Browse over 60 stalls
displaying Bhaktapur’s handicrafts and other
industrial products at the INDUSTRIAL AND TRADE FAIR
organized jointly by the Bhaktapur Municipality and the
Bhaktapur Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI). Here
you can purchase, or just browse the best of
Bhaktapur’s locally made handicrafts and arts.
- Feast on Newari delicacies
at the FOOD FESTIVAL located in Bhaktapur’s Durbar
Square. This will please the pickiest gourmets and
hungriest gourmands alike.
- Gaze upon Bhaktapur’s
unique traditions of art and culture in the EXHIBITION OF
PHOTOGRAPHS AND PAINTINGS presented at the Kuthu Bahi, a
famed Buddhist monastery located in the western part of
the city. The exhibition portrays Bhaktapur’s unique
traditions of art and culture.
- Be delighted at a BOOK
EXHIBITION which will feature books on Newar tradition
and culture, as well as texts about traveling, trekking,
mountaineering, religion, meditation, wildlife and other
subjects related to Nepal. Even the choosiest book-worm
will be overjoyed.
- Visit the National Art
Gallery in Durbar Square, as well as the National Wood
Working MUSEUM and Bronze and Brass Museum in Dattatreya
Square. The National Art Gallery features one of the
finest collections of Nepali art in the world. Excellent
pieces of carvings are on display at the National
Woodworking Museum, and the Bronze and Brass Museum
displays varieties of traditional Newari utensils such as
kalash (ritual jars), kitchenware, ritual
butter-fed lamps, water vessels, ink-pots, hookahs,
and spittoons.
- View displays of
traditional Newari Costumes and Ornaments at the new
Municipality Building in Chyamasingh.
- Let your vision soar at
the Kite flying EXHIBITION featured at Lamagal. A huge
collections of Newar traditional multicolored kites, as
well as kites shaped like the temples Nyatapola and
Bhairabnath will fill the sky.
- Discover Bhaktapur by
following the map A WALKING TOUR OF A MEDIEVAL CITY,
which will acquaint visitors with places of religious,
historical and archeological importance.
- Read more about BHAKTAPUR
FESTIVAL 1997, informational articles on Newari tradition
and culture, and other facts needed by travelers, in a
Souvenir Magazine which will be distributed free to
foreign tourists and Nepalese travel and trade
professionals during and after the festival. All the
information needed to visit and enjoy Nepal will lie
between its covers.
Bhaktapur
Festival 1997 Secretariat
Bhaktapur
Muncipality
Layaku (Durbar Square), Bhaktapur, Nepal.
Phone: (977-1) 612721, Fax : 612721, 613206
© 1997 All content copyright
TNC
