पुनर्जागरण

बहस र सम्बादहरु हेर
समय बर्बाद भएको छ
बालको खाल निकाल्ने
क्रममा अमुक घन्टाघर
त्रस्त अनि छुब्ध छ

जागरणका नयाँ पालुवाहरू
औंशीको हाँडीघोप्टे बिलुप्तिमा
शनै शनै लुप्त हुँदा छन्
मुक्त भै सकेका बुद्धहरु
एकपटक फेरी रुंदा छन्

शब्दजालको मोहपाशको धुर्त
मायानगरीको पुच्छरमा आगो बाल
अनि " मध्यरात्री फेरी" लगाउ
बिपनामा लुप्त सपनाहरु जगाउ
भिछ्या मनचिन्ते हुनेछ

समयको आवाजप्रति अकर्ण
नबनी ठोस् भएर हेर
चपल बांकिमता उन्मुक्तिको
त्यो कतै तिम्रै शब्दजाल बीच
तिम्रै अत्मबिस्म्रितातालाई
अनि तिमि भित्रकै पार्थिव विचारको
पुनर्जन्म पर्खी रहेछ
पुनर्जागरण पर्खी रहेछ

शहर र सर्पहरु

जंगली दुलो छोडेर सर्पहरु
आजकल शहर पसेका छन्।
चौडा चिल्ला सडकमा घिस्रेर
अमन र शान्ति डसेका छन्।।
सलबलाई रहेका सर्पहरु देखेर
बच्चाहरु स्कुल जान डराउछन्।
जागिरमा गएका सोझा बाउहरु
आजकल सिम्साझै हराउछन्।।
सर्पदंशको क्रम जति बढे पनि
धुर्त न्याउरिमुसाहरु निरिह देखिन्छन्।
बिच्छिहरुको काइते चलमलाई पनि
किन हो किन सुस्तनै देखिन्छन्।।
छाडा सर्पहरुको मैमत्त दाँईले
शहर आकुल ब्याकुल छ।
मानौ युद्धमा पति गुमाएकी
बिधुवा जस्तो शोकाकुल छ।।
सर्प बिच्छी र न्याउरिमुसाहरुको
ब्रम्हजालमा जेलिएर-
यिनीहरुकै आडम्बरी अतिरंजनाको
पेलाइमा पेलिएर-
शहरले आत्मा र बैभव अनि
रौनक र रहरहरु गुमाएको छ।।
निराशा र छुब्धतामा आज
झन्डै आफ्नो परिचय गुमाएको छ।।

Editorial for SONA Souvenir-2008

Architecture as a profession has been making headway in Nepal slowly. The prominence of this headway in the city, especially in Kathamandu Valley, can be conspicuously felt in the form of growing architectural practice, architectural education and increasing demand for better life style. The growing financial sector, corporate culture, multicultural heterogeneity of the towns are offering multitude of possibilities for everyone. In such a situation, architecture as a profession also has found a niche for itself. With so many actors at work for managing emerging dynamic social processes, ironically, the city is growing ugly, unlivable and unimaginable. A case in point is the organized housing activities in the valley, which more often than not, is heralded both by public and private sector, as significant effort towards planned development for the better quality of life in the city. But in contrary, the organized housing largely failed to cater to demand of all income groups to promote homogeneous social living and cultural continuity, failed to create definite urban form, continue architectural legacy and respect fragile environment of the city. It seems that the idea of doing housing is to produce and to consume without any consciousness and sensitivities so that the creators have to identify themselves with neither its successes nor its failures. The dominant motive is to get as much as possible for as little as possible. Such motive is conspicuously prominent in defiance of byelaws, ignorance on public safety measures and unregulated pricing. It is not an easy job to pin-point what went wrong and whom we are to blame for this apathy. Perhaps, city authority can be blamed for its stunted leadership, short-sighted legislation, stifled creativity and piecemeal planning.

The defiant motives of making money at the social, environmental and safety costs have also created an impact on architectural practice. Bluntly put, getting projects has become the changed form of competitive practice and the end result is easy submission to developers profit making objectives. If profit making becomes the basic motive, we are bound to sacrifice values that are important to us; to the community and to the whole of city's environment. It is obvious that submission to mainstream practice without realizing our role in making difference, does promote competitive architectural practice to some degree, but all too often this direction of change is distorted by the profit into the most profitable but least essential directions.

The issue raised in preceding paragraph may not reflect the essence of this souvenir in obvious term but it points towards the need for value based architectural practice; the values architects are proud of while thinking design. This issue of SONA souvenir is thus a snapshot of views of prominent architects, architectural works by practicing architects and students just to remind and refresh how important role architectural community has to contribute to the society. It is a collection of architectural pride of different architects and aspiring students. It perhaps will bring back fresh memories of how we were taught the values of architecture in architectural schools.

Lastly, Society of Nepali Architects (SONA) as an institution can play a lead role in promoting value based architecture that can positively contribute to the society. It can be a collective voice of architects to raise issues and debate on architectural practice. It can be a linking platform for professionals, builders and investors. It is perhaps the time SONA takes its initiative towards creating a rightful niche through a more legally empowered organization, which can defend, develop and create architecture as a distinct field of profession. Helping government realize the need for autonomous "Council of Architecture", at policy level, will have far-reaching positive consequences in terms of promoting value based architecture. It is realized that without the empowerment of decision making which is heard, accepted and executed, the enormous challenge of developing architectural practice as an institution look rather bleak.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008

Sanjaya Uprety
Editor

मुक्तक मन्थन्

जिबन कस्तो कस्तो-
समयले खबरदारि गर्न
कुखुरा बास्नु पर्ने
दुखहरुको पहरेदारि गर्न
हाँसो हाँस्नु पर्ने
००००००००००००००००००
चेतन कस्तो कस्तो-
साहुहरु नासो नलुकाउ
ब्याज को दर घटेको छैन्
लत्रेको शिर अझ नझुकाउ
बिरुद्धमा कोहि जुटेको हैन्
०००००००००००००००००००
भावना कस्तो कस्तो-
अफै भित्र राखु भन्छु
मुटुभित्र कुनै बाँध छैन्
मन भित्रै काटुँ भन्छु
बसमा कुनै साँध छैन्
०००००००००००००००००००
अतिरन्जना कस्तो कस्तो-
आकाशलाई मुठिमा राख्न्नु पर्ने
स्वर्ग पनि चाख्न्नु पर्ने
यो सबको तर बहि खातामा
हिसाब पनि राख्न्नु पर्ने
००००००००००००००००००००

एरावतको सपना

कति कति जानि नजानि सति गए पनि
धेरै धेरै चितामा जबर्जस्ति राखिए पनि
तिमिसगं सांचै कुनै बाद भएको भए
आगतलाई बिगतमा फर्काउने
तिम्रो कुटिल् चालमा अब
तिमिले कोहि सतिहरु पाउनेछैनौ
कथमकदाचित पाएछौ भनेपनि
त्यस्को पछडि कुनै मलामि भेटने छैनौ
ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं
बैज्ञानिक सत्यको उतर आधुनिक कालमा
द्वन्दात्मक आत्मरतिमा रमाउने
तिम्रा खिइएका बाद-सपनाहरु समयसगैं
फगत् एक् भ्रम अनेकौ कल्पना भएकाछन्
सम्हलिएउ ए दम्भि ऐरावतहरु
लेखनु पर्दैन तिम्ले नँया इतिहास
समयमै रोकिएउ मुर्ख कलिदासहरु
अर्थ्याउनु पर्दैन तिम्ले स्वतन्त्रता
ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं ं
समयको बिपरित अभियान छोडेनौ भने
इतिहासले तिमिहरुलाई बख्सने छैन्
बर्तमानले तिमिहरुलाई सहने छैन्
भविश्यले तिमिहरुलाई सम्झने छैन्
पानि पाईला सरि मटियामेट हुनेछौ तब
तिम्रा लागि कोहि शिखन्डि हुन्नन जब
धेरै धेरै कृष्नहरुले सखंनाद गर्नेछन् अब
धेरै अस्ववस्थामाहरु हतोहत:हुनेछन् अब

बा तिम्रो सुस्वास्थको कामना

तिम्रो दुखको खबरले पिडाबोध गरिरहँदा
तिमिले दिएको जिबनले अझै स्वाश फेर्न पाएको छ
संसारिक उहापोहमा हाँसे जस्तो गरे पनि
मेरो चेतनको सुन्यतामा घनघोर आँधि आएको छ

नितान्त् नब ठाँउको कैला भिडहरुमा, तिम्रो पिडा सम्झेर
हृदय पलपलमा बिदिर्न हुने गरेको छ
कैला भिडहरुमा देखिने बृद्ध आखाँहरुको गिलो पर्खाइमा
मेरा आँखाहरुले समुन्द्र तर्ने गरेको छ

जिबनपर्योन्त् तिम्रो आकाशसरि चौडा छाहरिमा ओत लागेर
मृत्युबोध गर्ने अतिरन्जना यध्यपि रहेको छ
खै के भनौ कहिले काहिँ जिबनचक्रको यथार्थलाई चिथोरेर
असत्य सबित गर्ने इच्छा लाग्ने गरेको छ

तिम्रो असैह्य्य पिडाको अनन्त सुन्यतामा मैले
तिम्रा लागि फुलहरुको स्पर्श देखेको छु
तिम्रो जिबन ध्यानको यो अनन्त गहिराईमा मैले
अथाह अनन्य निर्बिकल्प स्वरुप देखेको छु
तिमिलाई सुभकामना
संजय

In the name of Responsible Architecture

Most people living in urban cities generally keep themselves busy in their day- to- day socio-economic lives without being aware of the built environment where they spend every fraction of a second. This problem has often been very prominent in the cities of developing countries like Nepal. However, we can not really put the blame on the citizen for being unconscious about the haphazard growth of building of shelters, over exploitation of natural resources and tampering of existing architectural heritage and their impact on the total built environment of the Valley.The poor socio-economic condition and the lack of effective government policies have hindered the citizen of Kathmandu Valley to realize their own natural qualities to be aware of these common experiences.

The government's ever-increasing irresponsible interventions and decisions over the fate of many national heritages have contributed to a gradual degradation of urban environment of Kathmandu valley. The recent time has witnessed some of the biggest crime committed over our national properties. We have seen many historical traditional streets, squares and buildings giving away to commercial purposes due to the encroachment by public and government's rash decision-makings.

In this context, the recently introduced implementation plan of a selfstyled architect at Sundhara area has once again proved that the concerned authorities have essentric vision and do not comprehend cultural and architectural significance of our national monuments.The alteration that is taking place in this historical quarter of the city and that too under the pretext of regeneration, completely ignores the basic planning philosophy the structure is based on. The proposal of building restaurant and beer garden in this historical site simply ridicules our cultural ethos. The historical and cultural significance of the square in question does not demand a wall to be built around its heart. The construction of this newly built vertical wall has now segregated the original and the most pleasing pedestrian axis thereby reducing the public interaction, which was the primary concept behind creating such open spaces. The planning could have been more humane had the designer retained and respected its open character and socio- cultural significance.

It's not that we do not want to change all that which has been passed down to us by our forefathers. But responsibility lies in doing it with greater professionalism. However, and we do not want to start all over again. The basic failure of this proposed plan is, it aims at replacing the existing urban identification of the square in terms of its originally conceived function rather than following 'adding to' or 'filling in' approach to modify it to suit for present day need. The proposed implementation plan clearly indicates the lack of design philosophy and the designer's complete failure to understand and perceive the existing urban design of the place in the context of its social and cultural significance and traditional planning philosophy of open spaces.

It is quite ironical that such a crime is being committed and architects have raised no voice. This goes on to show us that we are quite used to this kind of situation and we do not really mind it. It seems that we are either preoccupied in our profit oriented architectural practice or we do not really bother about our architectural heritage which are the souvenirs of our glorious architectural past. It is obvious that profit oriented practice does promote competitive architectural practice to some degree, but all too often this direction of change is distorted by the profit motive into the most profitable but least essential directions.

The majority of architects in Nepal, as it seems, is wholly alienated from their responsibilities. The responsible architectural practice is not only providing the society, through the clients, with the clients, with the buildings and the physical environments it needs but also working towards preserving whatever is already exiting. In our context, it seems that the idea of doing responsible architecture is to produce and to consume without any consciousness and sensitivities so that the creators have to identify themselves with neither its successes nor its failures. The dominant motive is to get as much as possible for as little as possible thus leaving us with no time to be aware of our responsibilities which is beyond building architecture. This is partly the fault of our social upbringing, which teaches us to be engaged more in packaging, advertising and selling than it is being responsible. However, it is not to forget that, if the profit making becomes the basic motive of the architects, we are bound to sacrifice values that are important to us, to our client, to the community and to the whole of city's environment. The biggest problem of Nepalese architects is to end this alienation and to create an ideal environment for practicing responsible architecture. Besides the architect's responsibility of building architecture, we have lot more to contribute to make our city a better living place. We are expected to play a role in creating awareness about the place we live in by raising the collective voice against the crime that result in the degradation of city's environment. Architects, as we are, have to revive our attitudes and should have feel of responsibilities that we are the backbones in making our city beautiful and a better place where we and our future generations can live and breath freely. We should come out of the closet boldly and work towards building the image of the city by creating 'new good architecture' and preserving the existing ones from the hands of those who lack vision, commitment and ethics.

The time has come for Nepalese architects to understand our changing role that is not only building but also being responsible in saving our cities built environment. It has to be understood that the architect, as much as any professional man, owes a duty not only to his clients but also to society. He is not a prostitute, to perform whatever services he is paid for, but a professional and aware man offering disinterested, skilled service and advice. Architects have to remember that worries and anxieties about money too easily drive out creative ideas and social responsibilities, particularly, if the commercial motive of 'making money by making architecture' takes over.
Sanjaya Uprety
10 November,1998