Visiting the old section of Pokhara, Nepal

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Visiting the old section of Pokhara, Nepal, after watching the sun rise over the Himalayan mountains, we got to vendors selling spices and shoes on the sidewalk. We also watched some of the local Hindu people at a small shrine in the middle of the intersection of somne streets performing their daily pujas (prayers) and decorating statues of a Hindu deity. It occurred to me that the flowers and fruits and oils and candles that are offered to statues of Hindu deities are very similar to the flower garlands and oil that we received as guests arriving in the better hotels in India.

The older buildings in the old part of Pohkara are gradually being torn down and replaced with newer, sort of unimaginative Soviet-style buildings. Our guide said it's very difficult to get the local people in the old part of town to see any value of historic preservation. They want something new. I remember that my friend Elisa C., who has worked at the National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States, once told me that it's important for historic sites to have a purpose (e.g., be a tourist attraction, be an entertainment venue) beyond mere preservation to endure. At least SOME of the old wooden carvings are preserved in our hotel. I guess that's what an example of what she's talking about.

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