The Soviets had a penchant for declaring their cities "Hero Cities" in tribute to their resilience in the face of the mighty German Wehrmacht bearing down on them with all its might. Stalingrad, Leningrad and Kiev come to mind as cities that determined not to surrender. If there is one "Hero City" in Nepal, then it must be the legendary town of Kirtipur.
The town has been famous in Nepalese history as the citadel that fought the invading Gorkha army of King Prithivi Narayan Shah bravely - three heroic times. Kirtipur surrendered only after exacting a heavy price on the forces of the king, including the death of his favorite general Kalu Pandey in the first assault. In the second assault the king's brother Surpratap was struck by an arrow in his eyes thus blinding him. It was only at the third attempt did the king conquer Kirtipur in 1767 A.D. opening up the route into the valley. Some historical accounts including the accounts of the Italian Capuchin priests proselytizing in the Kathmandu valley since 1714 A.D. under the tutelage of the ruling Malla kings say that the furious king ordered the mutilation of lips and noses of all adult male inhabitants in demonic revenge. As the Capuchins were packed off to India under suspicion of their collaboration with the British Raj to help the Malla kingdoms counter the Gorkhali invasion, these accounts need to be further scrutinized by historians as not just fabrication of the Christian order to paint the Gorkhalis as barbarians.
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| Spot where General Kalu Pandey fell |
Located on the way to the famous temple of Dakshinkali in the southern corner of Kathmandu Valley, Kirtipur is perched on a hill strategically overlooking Kathmandu and Patan. The town has not been getting the recognition as a major tourist site it firmly deserves. During my recent visit to Kirtipur I was looking for a modest German bakery started by a Non-governmental Organization called Nepalhilfe (Nepal Relief) to teach the locals a new trade. Kirtipur Bakery has now grown to become an ambitious bakery-cum-cafe in another more strategic location. The "Heritage Walk" started by the local community is enchanting as it traverses through the ancient town along cobbled streets lined by quaint old houses built in Newari style a century ago. The temple dedicated to Bhairab, the avatar Lord Shiva manifests to annihilate evil, is another big attraction. Known as Bagh Bhairab, or Tiger Bhairab to further enchance his ferocity, the deity must have intermingled with the local population to battle the Gorkhalis. The temple was consecrated by Jagatpal Barma in B.S. 1572 (1516 A.D.). Another interesting temple is the Uma-Maheshwor Temple. Local lore has it that until very recently coinciding with the end of monarchy in Nepal, the priests were always baffled by the fact that someone had beaten them in offering milk to the stone statue no matter how early they opened the door for their morning prayers.
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| Earlier location of school inside Bagh Bhairab Temple premises |
I was especially enamoured by the local school known as Kirtipur Middle School. My family's association with the school dates back to 1952 A.D. when my father became the patron and the school was inaugurated as the Kiran Madhyamik Vidyalaya. Its earlier location was right behind the Bagh Bahirab Temple where a converted shed (sattal in Nepali), built by Kathmandu's traders by the name of Munshi for religious ceremonies, stood. Says Tikaraj Maharjan, the school's first head master now retired,"I took over the school in 1961 A.D. when it needed serious renovation and invited General Kiran to help him with the task as the school was named after him." Help came in the shape of a personal donation of Rs. 400.00 from my father and soon after a huge contribution of Rs. 22,000.00 from the Indian Ambassador. The school was rebuilt and its name was changed to Kirtipur Madhyamik Vidhyalaya in 2025 B.S. (1969 A.D.). The school remained in its original location behind the temple until 2047 B.S. (1991 A.D.) when the locals decided that it impeded the views of the valley and so it was moved to its present location.
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| School at its present location |
I found another connection with my family there. After the great earthquake of 1934 A.D. Maharajah Juddha Shumsher had imported fire engines and installed them in Kathmandu, Patan and Bhaktapur. Three large iron faucets located in Kirtipur acted both as water faucets and as fire hydrants to supply water to the fire engines in case of an emergency. He named them after his mother Juhar Kumari, the name in brass plates is still extant on the faucets after all these many years. I look at the Hero City with a different pair of eyes now.
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| Iron faucet with name of Maharajah Juddha's mother Juhar Kumari Devi |
Recently I had the good fortune of getting together with my History Lessons Nepal friends and contributors to Kirtipur for a spirited get-together at the SaSa: Twa Newar Restaurant that showcases Newar architecture and cuisine. Kirtipur has come a long way since the reunification of Nepal.
Oh I am enjoying your posts. Thanks for nice history reads. Some thoughts instead....
ReplyDelete1. They declared Leningrad a hero city because the Soviets were victorious despite the 2 years blockade whereas Kirtipur lost to Gorkhalis.
2. There is uncertainty of origins of Juddha's mother - Juhar Kumari Devi. Being a descendant yourself, maybe you can throw some light about her origins.
Munshi mentioned here weren't just traders or any random clan. Munshis refer to the "Man Singh Pradhans" who have an illustrious history very parallel to the Ranas themselves in many ways. They are descendants of Kalyan Singh, grandson of the Maharaja of Mewar, of Rathore house who was invited by King Shiva Simha Malla (Siddhi Nar Singh Malla's father) to marry his daughter Rupabati. It was a tradition of Malla kings to get Rajput wives, or marry their daughters off to foreign kingdoms. Their descendants would be known as "Six Pradhan" Kajis who ruled Patan under their fist, even killing kings, taking out their eye, replacing them at their whim. Prithvi Narayan Shah knew of the 6 Pradhan Kajis' prowess and killed all but one of them who managed to save his life and sought refuge here in Bagh Bhairav temple where he donated his belongings. His sons and nephews who survived the dynastic change from Newar Thakur Malla to Parbatiya Thakuri Shah went in exile to Banares. Two generations later, it was Bhimsen Thapa on his tour of Banares with King Rajendra came to know about this old noble Newar family who not only knew the land measurement knowledge of Kathmandu (something new to the Gorkhalis), but also could speak in Urdu and Farsi (the court language of Mughal India then). They were then brought back to Nepal and started being employed in the 'Munshi khana' akin to the Foreign Ministry that looked matters of India as well as Tibet. In the 200 years since their employment in the Munshi khana, this one family monopolized this entity as their Sirdars, Mir Subbas, Kajis and Bada Kajis. Many from their family have also become Bada Hakims, and later as Minister, and Secretaries. Marichi Man Singh Pradhan was one of only two non-Shah/Rana and army generals who received 'top salam' and he reached the level of Bada Kaji. He was also the personal secretary to Chandra Shumsher.
ReplyDeleteThese Pradhans thought of themselves as Thakuri by caste (albeit not Khas Thakuri but as Rajputs) despite being part and parcel of the Newar culture. Their marriage customs, traditions, food habits all were modeled around Ranas. They were first Newars where groom goes on the janti himself on a horse and bring back his wife's doli (something disallowed for Newars), they were the only Newars to do full kanyadan wedding rituals, and have multiple wives at once. Their houses had multiple-courtyards with large spacious baithaks. As direct access to the Maharaj, they played their cards well, which is why the Rana maharajas also showered them with hundreds if not thousands of bighas of birth in the Terai. This is why other Newars often called them as "Newar Ranajis". As part of the old Malla nobility as well as members of their royalty (Mallas used to marry with their daughters and they were known as 'bhanja-khalak'), their history as a powerful house from late medieval Malla to contemporary (as late as King Mahendra) in power is something that requires further exploration.
Thank you for the detailed explanation on the munshi name and the people behind it.
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