We had another busy day, which started with our usual walk to the studio at the Kathmandu Contemporary but this morning we met with the director of the Patan Museum. He showed us a print from the collection depicting the river as it flowed by the holiest Hindu temple located in Kathmandu. We photographed the work created in 1800s for use in our publication. He also showed us parts of an earthquake-damaged sculptural tower that was going to be restored later in the summer by a team from the US. Since there was no electricity again in the city and the museum was dark, he provided a tour of the impressive sacred courtyards on the grounds. He explained the roles of the many Hindu deities represented in the sculptures and carvings. It is a complicated topic and one that will take a good deal more studying to fully understand.
I had some time before our next appointment, so I spent an hour drawing part of Durbar Square outside the Museum.
At 2 pm, we interviewed Dr. Bandana Pradhan who is a public health expert on the effects of the Bagmati River on its residents. Her interview was very informative, and we discussed her toxicity mapping of the river.
At 3pm, as a favor to the musical duo we had recorded earlier in the week, we were scheduled to record more songs, so they could produce a CD of their work. Unfortunately, they cancelled due to a family emergency.
Our next interview arrived early, and we were able to document Sujan Chitrakar, the director of the School of Art and Design at Kathmandu University. His interview was short but very compassionate. Afterwards, we discussed how we could work together with the students to design and publish a brochure and poster that would be used to disseminate public health information about the Bagmati. He was very interested in the project and will be sharing it with his seniors next week. We also talked about working with his fine arts students to create work about the Bagmati to include in the exhibition in November and the touring exhibition back in the States.
We ended the day, having dinner with Dr. Bibhuti Jha, an aquatic biologist from KU, who agreed to provide us images of the snow trout found in the protected area at the headwaters of the Bagmati. The dinner was very enjoyable as was his company. We tried a few more new dishes. Specifically, a potato roll which was a spiraled out potato, layered in spices and fried.