The Valley’s relentless growth

Asked what they envision when prompted with the idea of 'Kathmandu', the Valley's leading urban planners and scholars respond in a variety of ways. Despite the differences in their conceptions of the Kathmandu Valley and the five municipalities that comprise it, none refer to a great deal of open or public space. And yet, it is just such spaces that help describe Kathmandu's past, while providing insight into its present and indicating future trends.

Three of the Valley's most famous open urban spaces surround the respective palaces of the Malla dynasty, which ruled between the 12th and 18th centuries: the Durbar Squares of the Valley's three main municipalities – Kathmandu (Yen) proper, Lalitpur (Yala, Patan) and Bhaktapur (Khwopa, Bhatgaon). Each of these squares is a cluster of temples, a palace, courtyards and raised dabali platforms. At dusk, one is free to climb the stairs on one of the temples in Patan Durbar Square, to sit and look out at the full performance of life below. Young children run about, while their older counterparts play slightly more structured games of catch, tag and hide-and-seek. Around the square, sales of cloth, vegetables, paper, spices and medicine take place; we could well be in Malla times, or the Licchavi period prior to that, or the Shah/Rana period following. If one concentrates, perhaps the children playing below are those of the palace attendants; the woman calling out to another is a member of the royal family, beckoning a member of her entourage. Behind a latticework window high up on the Taleju temple, you can observe a light and some movement. The king is doing puja to his protector deity.