Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Valley, Kathmandu River, Biological Regionalism: Bagmati The Complexities of Water The Complexities of Water Biological Regionalism: Bagmati River, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Alberto Rey Jason Dilworth The Complexities of Water Biological Regionalism: Bagmati River, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Alberto Rey Jason Dilworth The Complexities of Water Biological Regionalism: Bagmati River, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal Alberto Rey Jason Dilworth This marigold chain was strung around a shrine between Pashupatinath and Guheswori Temples in Kathmandu. Marigolds symbolize trust in the Gods and their power to overcome obstacles and evils. The strong odor also keeps flies from the offerings. www.BagmatiRiverArtProject.com Dedicated to the Nepali People g]kfnL hgtfk|lt ;dlk{t Published by: Canadaway Press Fredonia, New York 14063 © 2016 Alberto Rey Charts and figures taken from the Bagmati River Expedition 2015. Nepal River Conservation Trust & Biosphere Association. Translation from English to Nepali by Prashant Das Project made possible with the support of the Kathmandu Contemporary Art Centre, Kathmandu, Nepal Text and Images unless otherwise noted: Alberto Rey Printed in China Onthemark LLC 75-5660 Kopiko St #C7 – 105 Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 ISBN: 978-0-9979644-0-0 Contents Project background Water, Water, Everywhere, 4 Nor Any Drop to Drink 114 Land of Contradictions Moving forward 18 129 Nepal and Kathmandu Valley Project Timeline 27 150 The Bagmati River in Kathmandu Valley Project Leaders 38 161 Bagmati River Expedition 2015 References 57 165 Detailed View of Four Sites from the Bagmati River Expedition 72 The Bagmati River Art Project could not have happened without the the Siddhartha Gallery in Kathmandu, Nepal. The entire project will then support of a great deal of individuals who envisioned the value of the tour the United States through the support, organization and guidance project when it was nothing more than an optimistic idea for social and of the Burchfield Penney Art Center in Buffalo. environmental change. The Project has grown to include this publica- tion, a documentary video, an interactive website, and public health Jason Dilworth and Alberto Rey would like to thank the following brochures and posters all of which will be included in an exhibition at individuals and organizations for their support: United States: Lisa Beyer Scanlon Ralph Blasting NayanTara Kakshapati Erin Cooper Serina Beauparlant Robert Booth Shikhar Bhattarai Zachary Schneider Richard Alexander Mike Jabot Bibhuti Jha Matthew Dorn Rosemary Lombardo Rhonda Byrne Bandana Pradhan Patrick Courts Patricia Saville Judith M Horowitz Leela Mani Poudel William Mariani James Hurtgen Virginia Horvath Ujala Shrestha Felicia Meila Joel P. Johnson Terry Brown Billy Forbes Janis C Johnson Rebecca White Heidi M Moldenhauer Himalaya Shumsher J.B. Rana Douglas Manly Mary Myers Paul Benson Isabelle Onians Charles Lanzieri William & Holly Cumberland Nick Gunner Abhaya Joshi Andrew Dorn Christopher Keffer Jorge Gracia Smriti Basnet Mirta Rice Lynette M. Bosch Christine Doolittle Sujan G Amatya Wyatt Arthurs Jeffrey T. Innes Shannon Dorsey Erina Tamrakar Jeff Dorn Edward Weidenbach Tom and Mary Gordon Asha Dangol Dan R Talley Jorge Almeida Mike Rechlin Swodesh Shakya Bill and Jill Jedlicka Brett McConnell Sam Mix Saajan Shakya Rob Benigno Jenna Edwards Blair Volpe John L. Carwile Patricia Briggs David Benson Pujan Gandharba Rajendra Suwal Elizabeth C Johnson Jenifer Veazey Amrit Gandhari Shikha Khetan Phillip K Jensen J Diane Martonis Alex Maiola Jeff Davids Brian Schuliger Suzanne Clements Nepal: Smriti Basnet Matt Benson Chris Bishop Sangeeta Thapa Carol Milner Michael Conley Rosemary Lombardo Sujan Chitrakar William Holton Kalil Boghdan Stephen Martonis Sunil Shrestha David Fedak Ann Burns David Johnson Sharad (Anil) Parajuli Fred & Judy Gregory Sandy Smith Cunningham Scott Propeack Pujan Gandharba Stephanie Lewthwaite Rosie Sanden Anthony Bannon Amrit Gandhari Bidhuti Ranjan Jha David Munschauer Heather Gring Deep Narayan Shah Asha Dangol Casey Falco Janeil Rey Ram Devi Tachamo Shah Erina Tamrakar Horst and Elizabeth Weber David Gillette Shristi Vaidya Suresh Man Lakhe Outside of Golden Temple in Patan, one can find temples with floral offerings. floral offerings. Sketch was drawn during the flight to Nepal. Drawing of the airplane’s interior from Alberto’s seat on the way to Doha, Qatar. 2 |3 Project background While doing research in Kathmandu, I was often asked why an cg';Gwfgsf] qmddf dnfO{ k|fo lsg cfwL ;+;f/ kf/Laf^ Ps cd]l/sL Fredonia artist from the United States would start a project document- snfsf/ Pp^f ;fgf] b]zdf k|b'lift gbLsf] clen]lvs/)f ug{ OR%'s ing a polluted river in a small country on the other side of the eof] eGg] k|Zg ;f]lwg] ul/Psf] lyof] . w]/} k^s of] k|Zg ;f]lwPkl% Barnesboro globe. After giving the question some thought, I looked back at dnfO{ k%f*L kms]{/ cfkm\gf] hLjg Gofn]/ x]g{ dg nfUof] . d]/f] afNos- my life and questioned how I had arrived at this point. I realized fnsf s]xL cg'ejx?n] d]/f] Jofj;foLs hLjgnfO{ cfsf/ lbPsf] x'g'kb{% that some childhood experiences shaped the way my career eGg] dnfO{ cfefif eof] . ;+of]ujz o;sf] ;'?cft To;} a]nf ePsf] evolved. For me it started in the late 1960s to early 70s, which lyof] ha afudtL gbLdf k|b'if)fn] utL ln¤b} lyof], cyf{t ;g\ 1960 sf] is coincidentally around the same time that the Bagmati River’s cGTob]lv 1970 sf] ;'?cftlt/ . cd]/Lsfdf /fhg}lts z/)f kfPkl% xfd|f] pollution picked up speed. After receiving political asylum from kl/jf/ So'jfaf^ klZrld k]lG;nlelgofdf sf]Onf vfgL ePsf] Pp^f ;fgf] Cuba, my family settled in a small, rural, coal-mining town in zx/df a;fO ;¥of]. oxf¤ d]/f lktfn] :yflgo pRr ljBfnodf :Koflgz efiff western Pennsylvania where my father taught Spanish at the k(fpg'x'GYof] eg] d]/L cfdfn] n'uf l;pg] sfd ug'{x'GYof] . x/]s z}lIfs local high school and my mother worked as a seamstress at a ;qsf] cGTodf xfdL dfofdL uP/ cfŸgf] ;+o'Qm kl/jf/sf ;b:ox?;¤u factory. At the end of every school year, we would drive down to u|Lid Ct' latfpg] uYof}{¤ . oxL Tof] &fp¤ lyof] hxf¤ d d]/f] dfdfsf] %f]/f Miami and spend our entire summer with our extended family. It cf]df/;¤u blIf)fL Ÿnf]l/*fsf] udL{ %Ng d]/f] hGd:yn So'afsf] xjfgf is here where my cousin, Omar, and I would escape the hottest zx/ x'¤b} aUg] gx/df kf}*L v]Nb} ;do latfp¤y] . dfofdL zx/ &"nf] months of southern Florida by snorkeling for countless hours kl/jt{gaf^ u'lh|/x¤bf xfdL kfgLd'gLsf] zfGt ;+;f/df /dfO/x]sf lyof}¤ . in the same Gulf Stream that flowed past Havana, Cuba where afNosfnsf] oxL cg'ejn] dleq kfgLd'gLsf] ;+;f/k|lt lh!f;f hufof] . Miami I was born. Although Miami was developing quickly during this dfofdLaf^ kms]{kl% d hf*f] dlxgf cfŸgf] jl/kl/sf ;a} j:t'x?sf] lrq time, we found respite in the quiet image-rich underwater world sf]b}{ / Gofgf] kfgLsf] ;txdfly aUb} u/]sf] sNkgfdf / *nlkmg, zfs{ that was located a few feet from shore. It was these experiences tyf cGo pi)f k|b]lzo df%fsf] hLjgL af/] ;f]Rb} latfp¤y] . that began my curiosity about everything related to water. Upon my return back north, I would spend the cold winters constantly drawing everything around me, dreaming about floating on warm Mexico City Havana tropical currents and reading about the lifecycles of dolphins, sharks and tropical fish. By the time I went to college, I was convinced that I would become a marine biologist but, under the guidance of one of my art professors, I decided to continue with my artistic studies instead. I did not realize that decades later I would be able to combine both fields. In the 1990’s, while teaching drawing and painting at a small college in western New York, I was introduced to fly-fishing and my love for science was rekindled. As I began studying lifecycles of regional fish and the insects that they fed on, I also became intrigued with the connections between the chemistry of the water where they lived and the history of the settlements where streams flowed. It was during this time that I became interested in how science and art worked together in American and European history in the 1800’s. The Hudson River School artists in the United States had docu- mented the spirituality of their new nation’s botany, biology and geology through paint- ings. While in Europe, Alexander von Humboldt and his contemporaries were publishing very popular illustrated scientific volumes about their travels around the world. I began my own travels around the western hemisphere as I fly-fished and documented the landscapes and fish species through drawings, photographs, paintings and videos. On certain occasions I was presented with opportunities through residencies to expand my research on specific regions. I carefully investigated the relationship between water, urban migration, aquatic biology, economics, pollution and art. These investigations were then presented through multimedia installations in galleries and museums. These installations created accessible connections between complicated issues. These series of investigations and installations were titled The Biological Regionalism Series. An installation shot of Biological Regionalism: Scajaquada Creek, Erie County, New York, USA at the Burchfield Penney Art Center, Buffalo, NY. sn]h k'Ubf;Dd d ;d'b|L hLjj}!flgs aGg]df ljZj:t eO;s]sf] lyP¤ t/ Ps hgf snfsf k|fWofkssf] k|]/)ffn] d}n] d]/f] snfsf] cWoognfO{ lg/+t/tf lbg] lg)f{o u/]¤ .