Bombirbikateshwor: A victim of neglect (Dogs guarding temple premises)

ANKIT ADHIKARI & PRAGATI SHAHI

KATHMANDU, AUG 22

The lo ose bricks barely holding the foundation of the century-old temple of Bombirbikateshwor Mahadev at Teku seem to relate with people struggling to adjust themselves in a crammed micro bus plying on the busy roads of Kathmandu.

The cracked walls and the long bushes surrounding the temple premises make the place look like a haunted location very often portrayed in Indian horror movies.
Though very few people visit the temple in the morning hours, Bombirbikateshwor is abandoned during the afternoons.
 

The temple built in 1907 B.S by the then Prime Minister Bom Bahadur Kunwar Rana, the brother of Jung Bahadur Rana, has a unique architecture. It is said that Bom Bahadur built the temple in just nine months when his brother had gone on a trip to England, temporarily handing over the prime ministerial charge to him.

The most amazing architecture of the temple is the rectangular plan with eight doorways. It has a single sanctum with three towers. “The architecture used in this temple is unique as compared with other monuments built during the Rana regime in the country,” said Prakash Darnal, archaeologist of National Archive under the Department of Archaeology (DoA).  
 

Built in an area of around 10 ropanis, the temple is surrounded by two-storey buildings (sattals) on all sides. While most of these sattals (resting places built on an open surface) have started to crack due to loose foundations and old bricks, one of them has already collapsed.
 

After a stone-statue of Kamdev was stolen some two years ago from the temple, the Bombirbikateshwor management has now kept three dogs for security. “We have demanded around three lakh rupees to carry out some repair and maintenance works of the temple, but the Guthi sansthan lacks the fund. We have not done any renovation work till date,” said Ghanshyam Bikram Rana, treasurer of the temple. 
 

“We regularly remove grass scum from the walls and clean the area. However, no proper renovation has been carried out since the past seven years after the DoA renovated the main temple,” he added.
 

Some years ago, the temple also used to be a junction for drug addicts. However, according to Rana, such people have stopped frequenting the place after the management upped the security system by deploying the dogs.
 

According to Darnal, when someone walks from Thapathali to Teku, one can see architecture ranging from the Licchhavi era to the Shah dynasty.
 

Due to lack of proper management by the Guthi Sansthan, the umbrella organisation under the government that looks after historical and cultural monuments in the country, these important monuments are losing their charm.
 

“Historical and cultural monuments are our glory and we should preserve them for our future generations. But negligence on part of the government has threatened the existence these sites,” Darnal said.
 

Saroj Thapaliya, spokesperson of Guthi Sansthan said the Trust is frequently seeking funds to repair the temple.

Published in The Kathmandu Post -- August 23