A Visit to Lalitpur: Newa Chen

After I arrived here in mid-November, I spent hours trying to figure out where I was from a series of maps and online, how to spell the name of the suburb I was living in (there are at least three variations, perhaps four), and where to begin to make sense of this place.  For somewhat arbitrary reasons, I decided I would pay more attention to things Buddhist, rather than Hindu, to the Newar ethnic group, as they had populated the Kathmandu Valley since historic times with a rich cultural history, and to Newar architecture, one of three traditional styles in the country.

The Kathmandu Valley and its peoples are filled with layer upon layer of complexity and Lalitpur is no exception.  Lalitpur (Sanskrit for City of Fine Arts) is also known as Patan (derivation unknown me) and Yala (Newari after King Yalambar from the second century A.D.), among other names.  For the most popular legend about Lalitpur’s name see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patan,_Lalitpur

Located just across the Bagmati River from Kathmandu, Lalitpur is thought to be among the oldest settled areas in the Kathmandu Valley, so the guide books say.  Eventually (c. 1487) it became one of three strong city-states--the other two being Kathmandu (Kirtipur) and Baktapur. It is surrounded by rivers and built on a flat plain that was part of the large lake that once filled the Valley. Lalitpur has the same helter-skelter collection of buildings as Kathmandu, but perhaps because of its smaller area (about one-third the size of Kathmandu proper) and slightly fewer traffic jams, it feels friendlier to me. Until recently, the majority group in Lalitpur was the Newars who have a long history in Nepal as traders. http://www.btdc.com.np/newari-culture

From where I live, we drive the width of Lalitpur to get to downtown Kathmandu--about 10km; Amjad’s office is located in Lalitpur, and so is the zoo--both about 5km from the house. Although the south-north road to Kathmandu is very familiar, I looked forward to spending more time getting to know other parts of Patan.  (From what I can figure, “Patan” refers to the part of Lalitpur which encompasses the oldest part of the city.) So, in late April, I had my first several-day excursion to spend tourist-time in the old city.

I splurged on accommodations, as I was staying just two nights, and made a great choice in Newa Chen.  http://www.newachen.com/  By this point I had read a bit about traditional Newa homes, had wandered into the courtyards of more than several in Thamel (the old part of Kathmandu, filled with inquisitive tourists who wander everywhere, invited or not!). So I was enthusiastic about the prospect of spending time inside a “real” home. It was, as advertized, a faithful renovation of a 350 year old home with changes needed to make it a guest house. The owners, the Hyaamo family, collaborated with UNESCO, the local tourism organization, and various others committed to preserving the heritage and culture of the Newa people to accomplish the work.  It was truly a pleasure to spend time there.

The U-shaped roof line

Looking down to Patan Durbar

Newa Chen is a U-shaped building on one edge of a central courtyard, a pavilion-type structure in the form of a traditional public rest house, and the family residence at the far end of the courtyard. The photo is taken from the center of the second floor (3^rd floor in American terms) where breakfast is served.

Looking beyond the rest house, the reception area is on the left, an art gallery beyond the posts.

Breakfast was served outside in the rest house





or on the second floor.

There are eight guest rooms each named for an item of significance in Buddhist iconography.  My room was translated as Lotus Blossom.  This is the interior side of the door to the room.

And these locks provided the security on the outside.

The room, long and low, was two-thirds the length of the street-side of the guest house.  It was the first time I'd slept under a mosquito net.  When not in use, it is tucked up on the ceiling. The entryway, bathroom, wardrobe and bench were off to the left.  A sitting area with cushions on the floor and a low table was at the other end of the room opposite the beds.

There were half a dozen niches in the room, each with an interesting object. 

This set of three windows (sometimes five) is typical of Newar art and is a show piece. They are located just under the eaves of the building. The windows are pieced together from prefabricated units of different sizes and shapes. Each window consists of two frames, the inner plain frame and the carved outer frame, held together with wooden ties and wooden nails.

The set of elaborately carved windows above is on a building in Thamel, Kathmandu.

















"...the latticework is made by combining three different battens: a perforated batten, the serrated batten and the key batten. The lattice produced is pressed into the prepared frame and cannot be disassembled without dismantling the entire frame." (p 108, Korn)   I need closer looks to understand how the lattice is made!

The latticework accomplishes its purpose though--to see what is happening beyond the building without being observed from the outside.


Skip the paragraphs below, 
if you are not interested in more information about how traditional homes were generally organized.  Again, it was Korn's book that gave me the information.
     "A deciding factor for the utilization of different rooms in the house is its vertical location.  The size of the house is virtually irrelevant, as is the size of the family or the caste consideration.  Despite variations in the size and external decorations, common principles of space utilization developed between all social groups.
     A central wall...normally divides the ground floor into two narrow rooms, of which the front room usually services as a shop or workshop. [At Newa Chen, this is the art gallery and  no longer open to the street.] The back rooms are storage rooms, or workshops, opening onto the courtyard. [This area became the reception area, including interior stairs at each end.]
     ...
     The actual living space and sleeping areas of the family begins with the first floor. [There were five? guest rooms on this floor, one of them mine.]  Depending on the size of the house, the two rooms created by the central wall are further divided...to form sleeping quarters for family members, or for married sons, who remain in the parental home with their own family. [The house here in Bhaisepati, although modern in design, was built so that the owner's two sons, with their families, could live here comfortably with their parents.] 
     Of the common three-storyed house, the second floor is the main living and family area. [At Newa Chen, the common dining space, a business center, and three? guest rooms are on this floor.] ...
     Both the kitchen and the family shrine are located in the attic space.  Because of their religious significance, strangers and members of lower castes should never enter the kitchens or the precincts of a high cast shrine.  Room divisions seldom occur except for a rudimentary separation of the shrine.  Specially designed tiles and occasionally a dormer window give lighting and ventilation.  As a rule cooking and eating remain communal affairs involving the whole family."

A view of the attic from the top of the stairs at Newa Chen--the shrine at one end, the cooking area at the other.

     "The interior furnishings and decorations are very simple in contrast to the often extravagant facades.  After the clay and tile oven, the most important is the all-purpose straw-mat which serves as a carpet during the day and for sleeping on during night. ... In the morning the bedding of blankets and cotton rugs, is rolled up and stored away.  Clothing and valuables are kept in wall recesses and wooden chests.  A stove as a heating apparatus is unknown, and in its place portable clay bowls of various size are filled with burning charcoal. ... Clay or metal oil lamps...stand in wall recesses....
     Stocks of rice and other grain are stored in wooden chests or clay pots, while potatoes and vegetables are kept in bamboo baskets hanging below the overhanging roof.  Clay and brass pitchers are used as water utensils.  Wood, carried into the town from the hills by porters, is the usual heating fuel although the poorer people burn dried cow dung.
     Water for drinking and washing is collected from private or public wells, or from fountains situated in each sector of the town.
     The "bathroom" is either the courtyard, the roof terrace, the street or the place around the wells and fountains.  The latrine, formerly considered an unclean place, is not located in the house.  Instead, small children use the street or any open place, while men and women seek out segregated public latrines, which are narrow alleys hidden away behind walls."

This look at Newa Chen may seem to have way too many details except for two things:  I'm interested in the particulars of the traditional architecture which will become hazy for me as time passes if I don't write them down; every time I leave the gate at home, I see examples everywhere of the present day equivalents of the traditions above.


Source: The Traditional Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley, Wolfgang Korn, 1976