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GUIDING PHILOSOPHY
In the process of giving new life to
a dying art, Dwarika Das Shrestha began to realize that anything
beautiful of yesteryear was born of a larger context of culture.
This context too had to see a renaissance if the beautiful elements
therein were to function aesthetically.
Dwarika's
Hotel acquired its guiding philosophy with this realization.
The experience of .running a travel agency, which Dwarika Das
started in 1970 as Kathmandu Travel and Tours, had proved to him
that tourism could be used as a means to employ Nepali people and
help finance the restoration of the unique Kathmandu Valley heritage
he held so dear. A small guest house was started on the family
premises with the idea of using rental income to finance the art
collection. As the collection evolved into restoration work, ideas
slowly began to develop in him about the most appropriate use of the
collection. Because the wood carvings were often from long-lasting
teakwood, they were still usable for the original purpose for which
they were artistically created - as doors, windows, pillars, lintels
etc.
But the carved windows could not be put
on any concrete building, they had to be used in old Newari-style
brickwork found in old temples and buildings of Kathmandu Valley.
Such tapered glued bricks, where mortar was not seen from the
outside, were not manufactured anywhere anymore. So he specially had
these bricks manufactured in the outskirts of Kathmandu Valley.
Similarly, to replace missing parts of the woodcarvings, carpenters
had to be re-trained to become ancient carvers. Dwarika Das and his
wood workers also had to re-examine the lore and rituals of ancient
times so that the significance of the carved deities on each strut
or lintel became apparent.
At Dwarika's, attempt is being made to
revive traditional architecture which is disappearing everyday. It
is a revival of the traditional architecture but adapted to the
needs of the modern world without losing its original character. In
trying to encourage and revive the traditional architecture,
Dwarika's has had to replace expensive woodworks with terra-cotta
designed bricks so as to make it affordable by, common-man and
maintain the traditional designs and motives.
In this way, the recreation of the
context from which such beauty evolved led to the evolution of an
institution whose primary objective was the restoration and
preservation of materials, skills and the living heritage of
Kathmandu Valley itself.
The hotel is not simply another commercial
operation, it is mainly the manifestation of an effort to restore
and preserve a culture and a heritage. The late Dwarika Das Shrestha
realized that a massive restoration work without a firm commercial
foundation would eventually not be financially possible. This perception
shaped his decision to give his beloved wood carvings not a dead
museum-like setting but a living environment. In a museum, they
would be fossils of a dead past, whereas at Dwarika's Hotel, art
lovers could not only see the art but live and enjoy within it and
at the same time contribute to its upkeep and maintenance as hotel
guests. This sustainable heritage conservation is the difference
from other heritage restoration projects where the heritage itself
is used to create a funding for its own conservation.
This approach makes Dwarika's Hotel a unique place in South Asia. Nowhere else is heritage
restoration being attempted in a way that rejuvenates it and makes
it a part of today's living environment. Recognizing this highly
original and challenging effort, PATA (Pacific Asia Travel
Association) awarded Dwarika's its first PATA Heritage Award in
1980.
In the attempt to bring the refined
elements of XV century art into the XXI century, Dwarika's is in
a constant struggle of self-exploration. Every element, from the
design and manufacture of bricks, engineering, restoration of
workshops for wood carvers to the training of workers to think and
act as in the best possible ways that their foe bearers
might have
done five centuries ago, has had to be explored and recreated. In
this way, Dwarika's represents the larger process of revitalizing a
sublime element of a Nepali, as well as a world heritage.
Dwarika Das Shrestha passed away on 10
February 1992, but his work continues. His vision of cultural
restoration and revival based on a strong feeling for the beauty of
a bygone era but resting on today's sound commercial common sense,
guides the work and activities of the establishment he has left
behind.
A woodcarving school has been
established within the hotel premises. There are thirty woodcarvers
and carpenters employed in the school's workshop. Some have been
there for twenty years while others move on to different lucrative
jobs after their training and apprenticeship. It is but one example
of an ancient sense of beauty being restored to a living present
based on sound commercialism.
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