March 30, 2023
On march 15th we celebrated the re-opening of the museum. It was a grand day! The weather cleared and under a sparkling sky we celebrated with wonderful friends, cultural fans, local supporters, and museum and district dignitaries. Thanks to museum director, Dr. Govinda Nepali, PhD for the expert coordination and local friends for the delicious fare. It’s wonderful to be welcoming visitors to the museum once again.
December 23rd, 2022
As we celebrate the winter solstice and return of the light, we are delighted to announce the completion of the re-installation of the permanent exhibits on the main floor of Living Traditions Museum.
Here is a message from our founder:
“Himalayan wishes for love, environmental, and heartful warmth at this significant yet cold
time of year. Here in the region of the world where major cultures come together, we
celebrate the spirit of purposeful living.
Specifically, we are celebrating locally the revitalization of Living Traditions Museum,
imagined and established 10 years ago with the Department of Archaeology. They offered an
MOU for creating a museum in a Patan family’s lineage quarters in the protective buildings
surrounding the primary temples of Vishnu Narayan, dating from 643, another of Shiva and a
Chinna Masta shrine. This sattal remains vibrantly active, with priests of the three temples
performing their daily rituals. It continues indeed as significant place.
As we recover from the earthquake of 2015 which destroyed much of the sattal including our
museum, and COVID which reduced foreign visitors, Living Traditions Museum is once more alive
and well, envigorated by the appointment of a new director, Govinda Nepali, a most capable
cultural expert from Jumla in northwestern Nepal. Govinda recently received his PhD in
Culture from Tribhuvan University, has written 12 books, and created a Karnali region
museum of his own near Bhaktapur. We have been working together for the last months to
reestablish the museum and re-enliven the exhibits of the traditional arts of the various ethnic
groups of Nepal.
During this process of reinstallation of the exhibition, I have relived the times when I traveled
by foot throughout the Himalayas, visiting and living in the villages. One of the areas I became
most involved with is the Tibetan Buddhist village near Simikot in Humla district. The
grandmother of Torpa village impressed me as she tended the yaks and goats on the steep
slopes around her village. Now she is 99 years old and still traipsing lightly on steep slopes
around Namo Bodha with her daughter and granddaughter. Some of her family’s treasures, included in our exhibition, represent Tibetan Buddhist culture of Nepal, with photos nearby
communicating something of the rich cultural life of ceremonial dances, weddings and
pilgrimages. A nearby case includes some of the typical household objects specific to their
homes.
I write in detail about this one section of the exhibition in order to reveal how personal the
collection and photographs are.”
Please check here for the announcement of an opening celebration early in the new year.
May 28th, 2022.
Wow! Its been two years! COVID definitely threw “a spanner in the works” just as we were working on reinstalling the museum exhibitions. We are now hoping to be open in the fall. Although our building is fully restored, there are other nearby buildings that need to be finished in order for us to be able to fully occupy the museum.
May 16th, 2020.
The museum building is now completely restored and we are working on the re-installation of the exhibitions. And now, another setback: the corona virus! Meanwhile here is a peek at the progress.
Currently we have a sale on the book by museum founder Judith Conant Chase. The Beauty of Purposeful Living is available for $65 until the next full moon! https://living-traditions.square.site/
December 24th, 2019
The restoration and replacing of the collection has taken a little longer than expected. We are close and hope to open in January, 2020. Meanwhile learn about old Nepal and its exquisite craftsmanship in the book The Beauty of Purposeful Living available at https://living-traditions.square.site/
November 4th, 2019
Finally the building restoration is complete. Now Suresh Shrestha and I will reinstall the permanent collection. We aim to complete this during the last week of November. A painting of the Kathmandu Valley during the Lichhavi period is a new addition. Opening the first week in December.
September 18th, 2019
Good morning from the Nepal hills
In the autumn of 1974 I began from Istanbul the journey that has brought me to a life in Nepal. Gradually, I traveled on buses and trains to Delhi and immediately flew to Kathmandu. As the plane landed, I looked out the window at the vibrant airport scene of cows and fields of ripening rice and realized quite clearly that “this is the place”.
Much of my time and experiences since then are presented in the book, my response to such a complex and powerful and beautiful world.
I am delighted to let you know that The Beauty of Purposeful Living book is now published by Serindia Publications. In the U.S. it is available at https://living-traditions.square.site/ In Nepal it will soon be available at local bookstores or, if you desire a signed copy, at my home office at Everything Organic Nursery in Patalekhet, Kavre. (See www.everythingorganicnursery.org for info).
“The Beauty of Purposeful Living” can be purchased in the USA at https://living-traditions.square.site/
July 10th, 2019
May 29th, 2019 The interior of the museum is now being rebuilt. The display cases are being installed.
May 27th, 2019 The long awaited book, “The Beauty of Purposeful Living”, will soon be released. Join Judith on an incredible journey through the diverse regions and cultures of Nepal while appreciating “Living Traditions” expressed in the beauty of everyday objects.
The book can be ordered from https://living-traditions.square.site/ or at bookstores in Kathmandu.
November 27th, 2018
Views of the museum with exterior almost complete.
November 15, 2018
Finally, the new roof of jingati tiles is almost completed. We are anticipating the re-opening of the museum in March, 2019.
September 28th, 2017
Building continues on the second level.
August 30th, 2017
How exciting to see the progress! Windows are being installed on the second level and the whole building is taking shape once more! Check out our fundraising campaign and help to rebuild the museum! https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/restoration-of-living-traditions-museum-nepal
July 17,2017
The walls are rising!
July 10, 2017
On-going reconstruction: replacing timber (Phalek) on the first floor.
June 4, 2017
"Yesterday I went to Changu to see the latest progress. The windows of both front and back side of ground floor are already set within the wall. See photo below. Since they did not find some of pieces for the LTM office rooms, they are making replacement pieces now."
Ramesh
May 22, 2017
Exciting progress: the foundation is complete and building of the east, west and south walls has started.
May 5th, 2017
I went to Living Traditions Museum site yesterday with Sraddha Basnet who is studying the art and practice of making and applying lime plaster. John Sanday’s staff is just beginning the process of mixing lime with brick dust to form one of plaster. Yesterday, Nutsey Dongol met us there. His experience and practice of making lime plaster is quite different. He restored a gutthi building in central Kathmandu city in a totally tradition way of using bricks and mortar. I invited him to participate. This combination of practices led to a lively discussion. We will continue next Tuesday with John Sanday and his engineer Shekhar Dongol. Sraddha is able to chemically test the results of both methods and compare. Here are a few photos of yesterday’s meeting.
Judith Chase
Left to right: Facade of museum, doors intact; carving replacement members; Shraddha Basnet, Purna Maharjan, Nutsey Dongol, Ramesh Dawadi and Judith Chase discuss lime plaster; Staff of JSA and LTM contemplating spare parts with Goetz Hagemueller
April 21st, 2017
For the last month, Living Traditions Museum has been working together with the Dept of Archaeology and John Sanday Associates to begin restoration of Amatya Sattal, the building that housed our museum. John Sanday Associates is responsible for all of the construction. LTM is responsible for supervising their activities. Ramesh Dawadi, LTM's chairman of the board of directors, is LTM's monitor, going their Saturdays to review the week's work. Here is his report and some photos for last week.
"The workers checked every corner of Amatya Sattal and found that the northern, eastern and western foundations are in good condition but the southern part foundation is not good so they started to renovate from that side. They have already finished digging the foundation." See the photos below to left.
"One window of LTM kitchen side room and one door of LTM office side are missing: they are searching for it. All other wooden parts are ready on the ground floor." See photos to right.
Living Traditions Museum collapsed during the 2015 earthquake which devastated much of Nepal. The collection was undamaged and is currently stored safely. Reconstruction is just beginning.
