荔枝美少女

Dharahara Tower

圖片左邊這個建築聽說在1933年大地震時已經毀壞

右邊這個才是我們目前看到的在尼泊爾加德滿都市中心最高的塔

The British had already invaded India when Prithivi Narayan Shah finally conquered Kathmandu Valley in 1768. With the reign of the Shah dynasty, Nepal entered an era where establishing and protecting an identity became important as its boundaries expanded rapidly—from Teesta river in the east to Sutlej in the west. Shah and his protégées, Bahadur Shah, Rana Bahadur Shah, Amar Singh Thapa, Bhimsen Thapa and others managed to save the lap of the Himalaya and the people from being ruled by the British but compromises had to be made.

War is a costly affair and conquering small kingdoms to fight against British forces took its toll. The state treasury was spent on the army. Even in such times, the powerful had money enough to commission the most extravagant architectural structures in Kathmandu . The first Dharahara built by Bhimsen Thapa at the height of his power in 1824 AD was such an example. This tower was not the one we see today in Sundhara.

Bhimsen Thapa, the first prime minister of modern-day Nepal , was the son of Kaji Amar Singh Thapa. Born in 1775 AD, Bhimsen devoted his life to Nepal albeit not without shrewd politics that brought his kith and kin to power. In 1824 AD, prime minister, commander-in-chief of the army, and the then most powerful personality of Nepal , Bhimsen Thapa commissioned an 11-storey tower to be built in front of his palace Baag Durbar, near Sundhara. The 'Baag' here was derived from the Urdu word for garden. The tower was built entirely of bricks and was the tallest structure in Kathmandu . It was used to sound the bugle to the soldiers living in the barracks around the prime minister's palace. Though historians speculate the exact purpose of the tower, many believe that it could have been built to exaggerate the might of the Nepali army for the benefit of British observers.

A year later, Queen Lalit Tripura Sundari, daughter of Bhimsen Thapa's brother Kaji Nayan Singh Thapa, ordered a similar structure to be built alongside the first tower. Queen Lalit reigned as regent to Rajendra Bikram Shah. The second tower was nine stories high. However, both towers would not last long.

In the earthquake of 1833, Bhimsen's tower was severely damaged but still managed to survive. However a hundred years later in 1933 AD, another devastating quake brought both the towers down. While Bhimsen's tower was completely obliterated, two storeys of the second tower remained. This was renovated by the Rana prime minister Juddha Shumsher in 1934, which is the structure we know today as Dharahara. Sadly, the site where Bhimsen's tower stood is now a parking lot.

請參考  ttp://citykathmandu.blogspot.com/2007/07/dharara-twin-tower-of-kathmandu.html