Spaces_is 9

TRANSITIONAL HICCUPS
A QUESTION OF
PRIORITIES
Text: Uday Sunder Shrestha. Images: Courtesy: Shyam S.L. Kakshapati
Tansen, often referred to as Palpa, is one
of the few towns outside Kathmandu that
bears a rich legacy of traditional art and
architecture. Situated on the southern slope
of a hill at an elevation of about 1350
metres, Tansen overlooks the Madi Valley
and the terai, and on clear days, offers a
magnificent view of the Himalayas from
Dhaulagiri in the west to Gaurishankar in
the northeast. Although this quiet and
pollution free town is 300 kilometres west
from Kathmandu, its character and
architecture seem strongly influenced by
Newari migrants from the Kathmandu
Valley with Newari style houses, cobbled
streets, Rana (neo-classical) style buildings,
pagoda temples, shrines and stupas. As
history has it, when Muslims invaded India
during the 15th century, many kings and
clans fled to the northern Himalayan
region, some of whom conquered the local
kings and established their own states. The
former Sen Dynasty of Palpa, founded by
Rudra Sen, has its roots in those days, and
under the reign of his son Mukunda Sen
(1518-1553), the kingdom of Palpa, with
Tansen as its capital, spread as far as
modern India to the south and
Kathmandu to the east. Mukunda Sen even
invaded Kathmandu but was unsuccessful.
In the late eighteenth century, Palpa
TANSEN DURBAR
Built in 1927 AD by General Pratap
Shamsher J B Rana, the durbar with its
neo-classical touches, was an imposing
palace in the heart of the town. Once the
seat of the Rana governors, the Durbar
was the district secretariat of Palpa district
before it was burnt down recently on
January 31, 2006. It was a four-storied
building with sixty-three rooms, two
meeting halls and two towers at the two
front corners.
SHITALPATI & THE BAGGI DHOKA
The Shitalpati built by Khadga Shamsher
was of octagonal shape and was a
popular meeting place for the locals.
Adjacent to the Shitalpati was the Baggi
Dhoka, reflecting the style of the Mughals
from India and was said to be the biggest
gate in Nepal.
74 MAR-APR 2006 SPACES