Inspired by Nepalese, UK architect rebuilds ancient temple

Gyan Bahadur Bhadal, Hindu priest of Changu Narayan, stands in front of his house. [Photo/Agencies]

British architect John Sanday, who led the World Monuments Fund restoration of Cambodia's Angkor Wat－the largest religious monument in the world－fell in love with the place decades ago. After the earthquake, he came up the Changu path with trepidation.

"I was very emotional walking into this place. The whole of the courtyard was littered with rubble. I thought: 'Come on, John, you've got to pull yourself together,'" he recalls. But then Sanday noticed wooden supports exposed by the missing brick.

He saw what looked like a bedrock foundation.

And he decided that of the 600 historical temples, monuments and palaces damaged by the earthquake in Nepal, this one would be his project.

"Sure, it's peanuts, a little temple, so why is it so special?" says Sanday.

"The detail. The grace. It's one of the few World Heritage Sites that hasn't been completely destroyed by development."

But what really drew him to step in as technical adviser were the people of this village.

Among tourists and pilgrims, Changu Narayan's residents pray there at dusk, kneel at the deities, bow to the gods and offer alms to the priests who stand duty at the door.