On 29 January 2020, the re-inauguration of the Char Narayan Temple in Patan will take place in presence of the Nepalese Minister of Culture and the American Ambassador. The rebuilding of the temple began after the temple was almost completely destroyed in 2015 by an earthquake. The careful reconstruction was jointly organized by Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) and the Department of Archeology (Government of Nepal) and supported by the fundraising initiative SAI HELP NEPAL. The Char Narayana Temple was built in 1566 and is Patan Darbars oldest multi-tiered shrine.

Detailed information and images on the history and reconstruction of the temple are available by the Digital Archive of Nepalese Arts and Monuments (DANAM) here.

The photos show the temple after the earthquake in 2015 and before the reopening in 2020.

The South Asia Institute cordially welcomes Dr. Mukesh Kumar at the Department of Anthropology. Kumar is holder of a Humboldt post-doctoral fellowship from 01.01.2020 to 31.12.2021. He has B.A., M.A., and M.Phil. degrees from Delhi University, and a PhD degree (2019) from the University of Technology Sydney (UTS). His research interests lie at the intersection of history and anthropology; he employs and combines methods of ethnographic fieldwork and archival work to examine the changing forms of religious culture, and the issue of Hindu-Muslim cultural encounter in north India from a longue durée perspective. During his stay, he will work on his project "In Search of an Identity: Religious Conversion and Community Formation in North India".

The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) has approved a four-year funding that will allow for an inter- and transdisciplinary exchange between German and South Asian institutions on the topic of "Urban transformation and placemaking: Fostering Learning from South Asia and Ger­many." The project will be coordinated by Prof. Christiane Brosius (Professor of Visual and Media Anthropology at HCTS) in partnership with universities in Delhi and Kathmandu. Further information is available here.