Spaces_is 9

PROFILE§
“ONE REASON COULD BE THAT WE HAVE TRIED TO INCLUDE TOO
WIDE AN AREA WHEN ZONING HERITAGE SITES. LONG TIME
RESIDENTS LIVING WITHIN THE ZONES CANNOT BE EXPECTED TO
ADHERE TO STANDARDS WHICH WILL KEEP THEM APACE FROM
MODERN DEVELOPMENT.”
pointing towards the region where God
Shiva resides, at least as seen from the place
where the Shastra was written, and
pertaining to abundant flow of water. This
direction of course cannot be said to be
commonly true for other parts of the
world. Or that it is in line with other
societies’ beliefs.”
As an academic who also teaches in affiliate
colleges besides the Institute of
Engineering in Pulchowk, the professor
admits that when such topics come up, he
has a difficult time clarifying matters. “Well,
you see, the main point is that one cannot
explain much when things are not all that
clearly stated. And more so, when the
interpretations marketed by the priesthood
tends to make one confused.” No doubt
the professor is right in saying so because
the Shastras are after all quite mystifying
and full of obscure philosophy.
Nevertheless, Professor Tiwari is quite
unambiguous on most other matters.
About the reason for the IOE being
ranked by AIT (Bangkok) as one of the
top three engineering colleges in South
Asia, the professor credits it to the fact
that IOE has a long history, and its faculty
have been well trained abroad. Besides this,
and because of its reputation, IOE has
always attracted the brightest in the
country.
“You must remember that in the 70’s and
the 80’s engineering was considered to be
a prime vocation and so IOE received
many bright minds. Our admission ratio
was, and still is, one out of ten applicants,
so you can imagine that the college had
some of the best students in the country.
In addition, many of them went on to do
their masters abroad and when they came
back, taught here, bringing with them new
ideas and novel thoughts. This is one of
the main reasons for IOE’s success. And
since success breeds success, IOE gained
such a reputation that the brightest
continue to flock here.”
WRITER, PRESERVER, & HISTORIAN
It is obvious that the professor must be an
exceptionally erudite teacher. It is also true
that he is an extremely knowledgeable one.
Some idea of this can be discerned from
the fact that he has written three books
titled respectively, ‘Tiered Temples of
Nepal’, ‘Ancient Settlements of
Kathmandu Valley’ and the famous ‘The
Brick and the Bull’. “I wish the publishing
houses would have given more importance
to marketing my books,” laments the
writer. “I would be happy if at least my
books had been made available in major
libraries worldwide.” Right now he is in
the final stages of completing a 300-page
tome to be called, ‘Temples of Nepal’.
“Most experts think that Nepalese culture
originated with the Licchavi period,” he
says. “This book tries to tell you that there
is something before the Licchavi period
because there are such characters in
Nepalese architecture which is not there
in Licchavi vocabulary. The Licchavi was
not the beginning but mixed with
something so strong that even the Indo–
Gangetic culture could not supercede it.”
It is apparent that the professor must be
really adept on information regarding
traditional architecture, history and
heritage. “Well, you could say that,” he
concedes modestly. “As a Consultant for
the Department of Archaeology I have
been part of the Maya Devi Temple and
55 Window Palace Conservation Teams in
Lumbini and Kathmandu respectively.”
But again, like in many other things, the
professor has his own unique views on the
subject of conservation as well.
SPACES MAR-APR 2006 61