Very recently, I went to the Shah Dynasty museum in Basantapur. I have lived in this city for twenty three years now (all my life, in other words), and this was the first time I had been there. There are people who find museums fun and edifying; and there are people who find them boring. As far as Basantapur's museum is concerned, I have one word that describes it: pompous. As I walked through the museum, I heard voices echoing in my head. This is what the voices said:

Look, mere commoner, and be amazed. This is why you and your loved ones work hard all day and pay your taxes – so that we can live like THIS.

It did not take long for me to realize that this was the collective voice of royalty. One picture drew my attention: that of one of the Shah kings (I did not bother to remember which one, because they are all the same to me – not just Shah kings, but royalty in general) with his hunting rifle atop a dead tiger. As I drew closer, the picture spoke to me:

There you are again, puny commoner. Look how I have so courageously managed to trap and kill this beautiful, defenseless animal with the help of so many of my servants. What have you ever done with your life? I spit on your existence. My ancestors have ruled yours, and my descendants will rule yours. There is no escape. There is no escape!!

Through all the idiocy and hypocrisy spewing out of the walls of the museum, I managed to get to Prithvi Narayan Shah's nau-tale durbar (nine-storied palace). I climbed up the nine flights of stairs to reach the attic. This was where I found relief that was long overdue. A mild breeze hit my face as I looked out of one of the windows. I looked down to see the Basantapur courtyard way below. I looked up again and looked around at the amazing view of the city I grew up in. The breeze got a little more intense and I enjoyed the moment even more. How could I have been an aspiring writer, I thought, and never been to this place? A day spent in this attic would act as the ultimate muse.

I salute whoever arranged the museum route: first, irritate us with your pompous artifacts and pictures; and then end it all with moments of bliss in that heavenly attic. Way to go.

from: www.everestuncensored.org

great narration and sarcasm. i like your writing style.

Oops the writer is "heretic".

I did not write that.
Please follow the link.

Thanks for the link Shirish. I have yet to unravel the magnificence of the museum.

Although a beautiful piece of writing, the contents kinda threw me off. I had been one of those illiterate (when it came to history anyways) students who visited the basantapur museum when I was escorting my cousins who had always lived abroad. When I entered there, unlike the writer's feelings, I had nothing but respect for our rulers, and my heart swelled with pride. Tribhuwan's hand watch with saraswati symbol on it, the old pen he used to create amazing poetry with...the bicycle he used to ride - I gasped for breath - suddenly- i wanted to learn more n more....Similar were my feelings when I visited the Patan Revisited museums.

Why should we look back at the past with such vehement pessimism? During the rule of Shah Dynasty (atleast until Late King Birendra) - people were HAPPY...I think the writer is simply trying to play with people's current distorted image of "rulers n leaders", and create a overly dramatic "story" out of it...

By the way, about the attic - the one in Patan, the 'bardali' that overlooks the 'inner chowk' is scary (i'm afraid of heights), but the view is awesome :)

A king comes, along comes a tyrant: The people fear, the people hate.
People grow old, and much like any othe generation, the next generation hates less and the third(once the first is all gone) doesn't hate. They donlt care.
By then the tyrant is gone, the tyrant's son is in place.
A new king comes, along comes an avataar: The people's grandchildren love, the people's grandchildren celebrate. Some of those grandchildren turn into historians.
And the cycle repeats....
We're just spectators. The king is the beautiful decor high above the stadium. History is the real player. And we don't even get to watch it live even at the cost of our own lives.