Epicentre to Aftermath Edited by Michael Hutt, Mark Liechty, Stefanie Lotter Frontmatter More Information

Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-83405-6 — Epicentre to Aftermath Edited by Michael Hutt, Mark Liechty, Stefanie Lotter Frontmatter More Information

Epicentre to Aftermath

Epicentre to Aftermath makes both empirical and conceptual contributions to the growing body of disaster studies literature by providing an analysis of a disaster aftermath that is steeped in the political and cultural complexities of its social and historical context. Drawing together scholars from a range of disciplines, this book highlights the political, historical, cultural, artistic, emotional, temporal, embodied and material dynamics at play in the earthquake aftermath. Crucially, it shows that the experience and meaning of a disaster are not given or inevitable, but are the outcome of situated human agency. The book suggests a whole new epistemology of disaster consequences and their meanings, and dramatically expands the field of knowledge relevant to understanding disasters and their outcomes.

Michael Hutt is a scholar of Nepali literature and Emeritus Professor of Nepali and Himalayan Studies at SOAS, University of London. He has authored and edited fourteen books and over fifty articles and book chapters on Nepali and Himalayan topics. He co-edited, with Pratyoush Onta, Political Change and Public Culture in Post-1990 Nepal, which was published by the Press in 2017.

Mark Liechty is Professor of Anthropology and History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is a cultural anthropologist by training and has been a student of Nepali and South Asian culture and history for more than three decades. He is the author of influential books on modern Nepal and a oundingf co-editor of the journal Studies in Nepali History and Society.

Stefanie Lotter is Senior Teaching and Research Fellow in the Department of Anthropology and Sociology at SOAS, University of London. She is currently exploring the dynamics of heritage decision making in post-conflict, post-earthquake Nepal.

© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-1-108-83405-6 — Epicentre to Aftermath Edited by Michael Hutt, Mark Liechty, Stefanie Lotter Frontmatter More Information

EPICENTRE TO AFTERMATH

REBUILDING AND REMEMBERING IN THE WAKE OF NEPAL’S EARTHQUAKES

Edited by Michael Hutt Mark Liechty Stefanie Lotter

University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, vic 3207, Australia 314 to 321, 3rd Floor, Plot No.3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence. www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108834056 © Cambridge University Press 2021

This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 2021 Printed in India A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Hutt, Michael (Michael J.), editor. | Liechty, Mark, 1960- editor. | Lotter, Stefanie, editor. Title: Epicentre to aftermath : rebuilding and remembering in the wake of Nepal’s earthquakes / edited by Michael Hutt, Mark Liechty, Stefanie Lotter. Description: Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York, NY : Cambridge University Press, 2021. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021005349 (print) | LCCN 2021005350 (ebook) | ISBN 9781108834056 (hardback) | ISBN 9781108991636 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Earthquake relief--Nepal. | Nepal Earthquake, 2015 (April 25) | Earthquakes--Social aspects--Nepal. | Nepal--Social conditions--21st century. | Nepal--Politics and government--21st century. Classification: LCC HV600 2015.N35 E65 2021 (print) | LCC HV600 2015.N35 (ebook) | DDC 954.96--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005349 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021005350 ISBN 978-1-108-83405-6 Hardback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

CONTENTS

List of Figures ix

List of Abbreviations xv

PART I CONTEXTUALIZING DISASTER

1. Reconstituting Pasts and Futures: Contextual Agency in a Disaster Aftermath 3 Mark Liechty and Michael Hutt

2. Earthquakes in Nepali History 22 John Whelpton

PART II REBUILDING LIVES AND LIVELIHOODS

3. Expertise, Labour, and Mobility in Nepal’s Post-conflict, Post-disaster Reconstruction: Law, Construction, and Finance as Domains of Social Transformation 49 Sara Shneiderman, Dan Hirslund, Jeevan Baniya, Philippe Le Billon, Bina Limbu, Bishnu Pandey, Katharine Rankin, Nabin Rawal, Prakash Chandra Subedi, Manoj Suji, Deepak Thapa, and Cameron Warner

4. Labour and the Humanitarian Present: Thinking through the 2015 Nepal Earthquakes 87 Shyam Kunwar, Elsie Lewison, and Katharine Rankin

vi Contents

5. Disaster, Deceptions, Dislocations: Reflections from an Integrated Settlement Project in Nepal 110 Jeevan Baniya

6. Humanitarian Responses of I/NGOs after the 2015 Earthquakes: Empirical Evidence from Gorkha, Sindhupalchok, and Southern Lalitpur 135 Amrita Gurung and Jeevan Baniya

7. Policies, Politics, and Practices of Landslide Risk Management in Post-earthquake Nepal: Perspectives from Above and Below 151 Katie Oven, Shubheksha Rana, Gopi K. Basyal, Nick Rosser, and Mark Kincey

PART III REBUILDING STRUCTURES

8. The Politics of Participatory Disaster Governance in Nepal’s Post-earthquake Reconstruction 179 Nimesh Dhungana

9. Changing Perspectives on International Aid in Nepal since the 2015 Earthquakes 203 Shobhit Shakya

10. Reclaiming Heritage: The Politics and Poetics of Newar Urbanism 226 Sabin Ninglekhu, Patrick Daly, and Pia Hollenbach

11. Kathmandu Durbar Square: Heritage Reconstruction as a Political Process of Negotiating Ownership and Authority 253 Stefanie Lotter

PART IV BUILDING MEMORY

12. Cultural Heritage Display after the 2015 Earthquakes in Nepal: The Architecture Galleries, Patan Museum 281 Katharina Weiler

Contents vii

13. Working on Disaster: Nepali Artists’ Engagement in Post-earthquake Kathmandu Valley 308 Christiane Brosius

14. Gathering Absences and Presences: Memory Work, Photographs, and Affective Recovery in the Langtang Valley 341 Austin Lord and Jennifer Bradley

15. Bhukampa : Nepali Recitations of an Earthquake Aftermath 367 Michael Hutt

References 403

About the Contributors 445

Index 449

FIGURES

2.1 The 1934 earthquake memorial at Bhugol Park, just off New Road (Juddha Sadak) in Kathmandu. It is inscribed with the text of the speech delivered by Juddha Shamsher Rana in 1938 in which he announced that the repayment of housing reconstruction loans would be waived. 31 2.2 Map: intensity of the 21 August 1988 earthquake. 37 3.1 Research sites for our project in Nepal’s Bagmati province. 56 3.2 A private house under construction in Dattatreya Square, Bhaktapur. 61 3.3 Tawa Sattal being reconstructed by a contractor in Bhaktapur. 68 3.4 A newly constructed one-room house in Borang, Dhading district, built with the government’s housing reconstruction grant. 70 3.5 New construction in Kartike Bazaar, Sindhupalchok district. A frame structure stands next to a load-bearing house that has used rocks on the ground floor and bricks on the first. 71 3.6 Two-storeyed multi-roomed stone-masonry house built under the reconstruction programme in the Manje area, Sindhupalchok district. This house was built after the house design manuals were revised. 72 3.7 Porters carrying CGI roofing sheets to Borang, Dhading district. 74 3.8 Women masons in Borang, Dhading district, enrolled in training to build earthquake-resistant houses. 78 3.9 After the earthquake, traditional houses were replaced by concrete frame houses in Kartike Bazaar, Sindhupalchok district. 82 3.10 Ongoing reconstruction of the Vatsala Durga temple in Bhaktapur Durbar Square. 85

x Figures

4.1 Dolakha map. 90 4.2 View of landslide that swept away the access road just short of Lamabagar. 91 4.3 Labourer working on constructing a wall to repair the access road. 91 4.4 View of the labour camp at the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Dam site from above, looking south. 93 4.5 View of the labour camp at the Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Dam site from the side, looking north. 93 4.6 Reconstruction labourers working on a donor-funded initiative to construct a collection centre for a community dairy in Suspa- Kshamawoti, Dolakha. 98 4.7 Reconstruction labourers working on a private home in Suspa- Kshamawoti, Dolakha. 100 4.8 Temporary camp near Swati Bazaar, Kalinchowk Gaunpalika, for infrastructure labourers upgrading the Dolakha–Singati road section after the earthquake. 101 4.9 Labourers from western Nepal upgrading the Makaibari– Deurali–Panighat road near Deurali, Dolakha. 101 5.1 A Majhi woman preparing yeast inside her temporary shelter. 114 5.2 All the houses in the community are of the same size and built of interlocking bricks. Attached to the right is the toilet. 119 5.3 Most Majhis had been using these temporary shelters for both keeping their food grains and accommodation for the five years since the earthquakes. 121 5.4 Every house has a very small and shallow septic tank such as this without any drainage linked to it. 121 5.5 Local Majhis involved in the reconstruction of their community. 129 7.1 Maps showing the location of the sites assessed within the Geohazard Assessment for the 14 most-affected districts as of September 2018 (top) and the buildings at risk of landslides following the 2018 monsoon developed by Durham and NSET (bottom). 162 7.2 Ward 5 in Bhote Kosi Rural Municipality in Sindhupalchok district. The dark grey polygons represent the landslides and the small grey dots the houses. The remote settlements located in the neighbouring watershed, but administratively in ward 5,

Figures xi

can be seen in the centre-bottom of the map. The settlements here are approximately three days’ walk from the main road in the northwest. 163 10.1 Heritage home, as envisioned by Shelter Program, UN-Habitat. 236 10.2 A puja held to mark the reconstruction of the Rato Machhindranath temple. 241 10.3 Row of houses at the main Bungamati ‘Bus Stand’. None of these adheres strictly to the heritage by-law. 242 10.4 An advertisement that marks the opening of ‘Bungamati Home Stay’. 250 11.1 Gaddi Baithak during its reconstruction, with a prominent US flag attached. 256 11.2 One of several Chinese and English language signs at Hanuman Dhoka. 257 11.3 Gaddi Baithak: before the renovation. 258 11.4 Gaddi Baithak: after the renovation. 259 11.5 The entrance to Hanuman Dhoka Palace with scaffolding after the 2015 earthquake. 262 11.6 Wood stored at the office of the Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee. 268 11.7 Activists at the Campaign to Rebuild Kasthamandap using creative techniques to explore the potential uses of a restored heritage site. 271 11.8 The initial protection of Kasthamandap in June 2017. 273 12.1 Patan Durbar Square: aerial view looking north, showing the architectural ensemble before the 2015 earthquake destroyed and damaged major temples and parts of the palace (right) with its three courtyards—Keshav Narayan Chok (back), Mul Chok (centre), and Sundari Chok (front). 282 12.2 Keshav Narayan Chok: the Patan Museum’s courtyard in its use as the interim repository of thousands of salvaged timber fragments from the Patan Durbar Square, immediately after the earthquake of 25 April 2015. 284 12.3 East Wing, Sundari Chok: the early 18th century east wing, of which only the ground floor arcade withstood the 2015 earthquake damage, after rebuilding was completed in late 2016; behind the façade, the ‘Grey Box’ breaks with the norms of Newar interior space. 288

xii Figures

12.4 Manimandapa room, Mul Chok: exhibition space dedicated to the conservation of the two ‘Pavilions of Jewels’ (Manimandapa) that collapsed on 25 April 2015, with poster documenting the repair of the South Manimandapa’s twelve timber columns, illustrated descriptive panel, original full-scale draft of a replicated column by Bijay Basukala, and selection of fragments of the South Manimandapa’s wooden building elements beyond repair (left to right). 290 12.5 Storeroom, Patan Royal Palace garden: monochrome picture of a shelf loaded with hundreds of timber beams with stylized ends (New. d h a l ı˜ k v a ) in the shape of a Newar mythical animal’s face (New. ku˜suru), exhibit in the Architecture Galleries. 296 12.6 ‘Grey Box’, Sundari Chok: the east wing’s interior, transformed into a two-storeyed gallery; the ahistorical vertical space showcases architectural drawings. 298 12.7 Assemblage, Sundari Chok: the curators’ selection of 90 arms originating from the figurative roof struts of the Harishankara temple transforms the fragments into artwork; the assemblage bridges the gap between the rebuilt temple site and the respective exhibits, keeping both parts in their earthquake damaged state. 301 12.8 Multimedia installation, Mul Chok: ‘Store room’ with video ‘Close up: A set of resonating carving chisels’, single channel HD video with sound, 07:45 min, by Britt Hatzius. 302 12.9 Image of Harishankara, stone, c. 1706: Harishankara (centre), a manifestation of Vishnu (Hari), proper left, and Shiva (Shankara), proper right; on 25 April 2015 the god who dwelled inside the respective temple broke into two pieces—Parvati’s head (left), Vishnu’s mace, Garuda’s hands (bottom, left) and a part of the aureole broke off. 303 13.1 ‘We Will Rise Again’: ink drawing depicting the post- earthquake scenario in Kathmandu by Sanjeev Maharjan, part of a trilogy, Kathmandu, 2015. 312 13.2 Barber shop in Kathmandu on 20 May 2015, illustrating the reopening of shops after the April 2015 earthquake. 313 13.3 Flower vendor among the rubble, Basantapur, Kathmandu, 9 May 2015. 314 13.4 Children in a post-earthquake shelter, Basantapur, Kathmandu, 9 May 2015. 314

Figures xiii

13.5 Hanuman Dhoka, Kathmandu Durbar Square. 315 13.6 Death ritual in the artist’s courtyard, 12 May 2015. 316 13.7 ‘Things are getting normal in my neighbourhood’, 8 May 2015. 316 13.8 Man collecting objects from the rubble of a collapsed house, Bhaktapur, 22 May 2015. 317 13.9 Impression of houses that survived the earthquake, 15 May 2015. 320 13.10 Wall installation ‘Stories from Thulo Byasi’, by Sanjeev Maharjan, part of the Camp.Hub exhibition in Thulo Byasi, Bhaktapur, September 2015. 326 13.11 Detail of the wall installation ‘Stories from Thulo Byasi’, by Sanjeev Maharjan, part of the Camp.Hub exhibition in Thulo Byasi, Bhaktapur, September 2015. 326 13.12 Wall showing the map of the Camp.Hub sites, Thulo Byasi, Bhaktapur, September 2015. 328 13.13 Camp.Hub site, September 2015. 329 13.14 Exhibition wall from ‘Weaving the Story of My Heart’, collaborative project by Sheelasha Rajbhandari, 2015. 334 13.15 Sheelasha Rajbhandari, co-director and curator of Camp.Hub, with women who participated in the community-based project ‘Weaving the Story of My Heart’, September 2015. 335 13.16a Installation of Sheelasha Rajbhandari’s community-based project from Camp.Hub, at Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus, Denmark, September 2016. 338 13.16b Stories from Thulo Byasi: wall reconstruction at the exhibition ‘Parallel Realities’ in Moesgaard Museum, Aarhus, Denmark, September 2016. 338 13.17 Hitman Gurung, ‘We Are in War without Enemies’ (2016), from the series ‘This Is My Home, My Land and My Country.…’ Stippling drawing on printed canvas, acrylic on canvas, 239 × 360 cm, 4 panels. Collection of Prem Prabhat Gurung. 339 14.1 Photographs of Langtang village before and after the avalanche of 25 April 2015. 343 14.2 The authors together with some of their Langtangpa collaborators and co-curators—left to right: Norcho Lama, Temba Lama, Ngawang Dorje Chusang, Austin Lord, Tsering Lama, Gyalpo Lama, and Jennifer Bradley—at the opening of

xiv Figures

a multimedia exhibition organized and collectively curated by the Langtang Memory Project (Kathmandu, October 2018). 345 14.3 Langtangpas gathered in Kathmandu 49 days after the earthquake for a ghewa ceremony, marking the end of traditional funerary rites practised in Langtang. 354 14.4 Friends in Langtang telling stories while handling a series of old photographs that we helped collect and return to the community. 360 14.5 Tsering Lama (centre), our co-curator and co-filmmaker, sitting with two Langtangpa women during the Dukpa Tse Shi festival in July 2018. 364 15.1 The earthquake special issue ofMadhuparka. 370 15.2 The earthquake special issue ofShabda Sanyojan. 371 15.3 The earthquake special issue ofShabdankur . 371 15.4 The earthquake special issue ofDayitwa . 372 15.5 The earthquake special issue of Kaushiki. 372 15.6 The earthquake special issue ofSahabhagita . 373 15.7 The first post-earthquake issue of Shivapuri Sandesh. 373 15.8 The earthquake special issue ofSamakalin Sahitya. 400

ABBREVIATIONS

ADA Architects Design Associates ADWAN Association for Dalit Women’s Advancement of Nepal AJWS American Jewish World Service CBO community-based organization CCA climate change adaptation CDO Chief District Office CEO Chief Executive Officer CGI corrugated galvanized iron CPN-UML Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist–Leninist CRK Campaign to Rebuild Kasthamandap CSO civil society organization CTEVT Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training DDC District Development Committee DoA Department of Archaeology DPNN Disaster Preparedness Network Nepal DUDBC Department of Urban Development and Building Construction ENPHO Environment and Public Health Organization EPF Employees Provident Fund ESA European Space Agency GDP gross domestic product HRRI Himalayan Risk Research Institute HRRP Housing Recovery and Reconstruction Platform

xvi Abbreviations

ICDO integrated community development organization ICOMOS International Council on Monuments and Sites INGO international non-governmental organization IOM International Organization for Migration IOR India Office Records JICA Japan International Cooperation Agency KII key informant interview KMC Kathmandu Metropolitan City KRC Kasthamandap Reconstruction Committee KVPT Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust LPG liquefied petroleum gas LWF Lutheran World Federation MOHA Ministry of Home Affairs NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEPAN Nepal Participatory Action Network NFP National Forestry Plan NGO non-governmental organization NIP National Integrity Policy NMKP Nepal Majdoor Kisan Party NPC National Planning Commission NPR Nepali rupee NRA National Reconstruction Authority NSET National Society for Earthquake Technology–Nepal NWPO Nepal Workers and Peasant Organisation PA participation agreement PDNA Post-disaster Needs Assessment PDRF Post-disaster Recovery Framework PwDs persons with disability RC reinforced concrete RPP Rastriya Prajatantra Party RSDC Rural Self-reliance Development Centre

Abbreviations xvii

SAARC South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SDC Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation SOAS School of Oriental and African Studies SSB Social Science Baha UBC University of British Columbia UCPN-M Unified Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNOPS United Nations Office for Project Services USGS United States Geological Survey UTKHPL Upper Tamakoshi Hydropower Limited VDC Village Development Committee WASH water, sanitation, and hygiene WCF Ward Citizen Forum WFP World Food Programme WHR Women for Human Rights Nepal