KVPT’s Patan Darbar Earthquake Response Campaign - Work to Date - September 2016

Tirtha Ram Shilpakar replicating a
beehive pattern (Nev. hāchẽ).
Some Notes on the Woodcarvers and
Carpenters Working on the Rebuilding and
Reconstruction of the Temples and Mandapas
at Patan Darbār Square
Patan, 5 April 2016
Tirtha Ram Shilpakar (“Kancha”),
woodcarver and carpenter, age 38
Tirtha Ram Shilpakar lives in the quarter of Tekha
Pukhu, Bhaktapur, with his wife, son and daughter. He
started working as a carver fifteen years ago and at some
point specialized in carpentry. He learned carpentry and
carving skills at Surendra Joshi’s workshop in Bhakatpur.
In the late 1980s, Surendra Joshi was involved in
the restoration project for Chyaslin Mandap in Bhaktapur.
Tirtha Ram’s elder brother, Ganga Prasad Shilpakar,
works as carver, too. His father Janak Lal Shilpakar
was also a wood carver and together with him, he has
been working with Bijaya Basukala for a long time.
Hari Prasad Shilpakar, completing
the first of two columns of
Harishankara Temple that have
to be replaced in the course of the
building’s reconstruction. As he
carves the beehive pattern (Nev.
hāchẽ) one of the originals that survived
the earthquake lies in front of
the new column and serves as the
model for replication.
Hari Prasad Shilpakar, woodcarver, age 41
Hari Prasad Shilpakar lives in Nãsaḥmanā, Bhaktapur,
together with his family. He learned carving at Dattatreya
Wood Carving Institute. Having started carving
at the age of twelve, he has been skilled in carving for almost
30 years. He has been working in the Patan workshop
since December 2015. At the time of the interview
he had just finished carving one of the two main outer
columns of Harishankar Temple that have to be fully
replaced as the originals are heavily damaged. Carving
the column took him one and a half months.
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