Renuka Dhakal / Aashish Mishra

Nepalis aren’t exactly known for their museum-going culture. Several of them prefer to spend our free time relaxing at home or parks and open spaces. We would rather go for lunch with our friends than visit a museum and ponder about the days of old.
Stakeholders say that this is also because our museums have not been able to entice people nor have they been able to cross-collaborate with other relevant sectors like art, tourism and entertainment.
Against this backdrop, The Rising Nepal scribes visited the five major museums of the Kathmandu Valley- Narayanhiti Museum, National Museum, Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum, Patan Museum and the National Art Museum- to see what they have to offer, what they lack and how they are getting back on their feet, if at all, after the financially devastating eight-month-long shutdown brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

Narayanhiti Palace Museum Can Become Self-reliant
Unfortunately, Narayanhiti Palace Museum does not reflect the glory of its royal past. Visitors expect a high level of regality from the palace museum, which however fails to deliver, as admitted by the museum’s Executive Director Bhesh Narayan Dahal.
“The main Durbar building, where the most important persons in the country, the former monarchs, once lived and spent their entire lives, leaks. The roof and walls have suffered from extensive water damage. The path around is cracked and the entire complex could do with a paint job,” Dahal said. “Unfortunately, all this costs money. However, the government has yet to provide a needful budget."
The museum operates under a development committee, meaning it has to be self-reliant. But its annual revenue of Rs. 37.5 million is far from being sufficient to maintain this 754 Ropani museum complex. Add to that the woes created by COVID-19 and you get a museum that is struggling to stay afloat.
“We barely have any tourists coming through. The museum, for now, is dependent on Nepali visitors,” Dahal informed. “The good news is that the number of domestic visitors has gone up since the museum opened the Shree Sadan, the private residence of King Birendra, for the public. Sadly, it is still not enough.”
To boost the museum’s income, Dahal has some big plans. He has rented out space within the palace premises to a cafeteria, which will come into operation from June 15. This will bring in a monthly rent of Rs. 242,000. He wishes to rent out the shutters in the Republic Memorial as well.
The Department of Passports office located at the western part of the Narayanhiti Palace complex will soon shift to its building in Tripureshwor. Dahal wants to convert this space into an ethnological museum that would specifically cater to foreigners. The kings that resided in the palace also planted many exotic plants and herbs around the area.
Dahal wants to collaborate with the Department of Plant Resources to identify and tag them and open the area to researchers. He is further thinking about coordinating with the Nepal Army to offer horse carriage rides to the visitors within the museum premises.
He has been trying to start a light and sound programme under the Public-Private Partnership model wherein every evening, there would be musical and cultural programmes at the gate of the museum. He also wants to develop a system to offer virtual tours around the museum for the people who cannot physically come to Kathmandu for an additional fee.
“All these will contribute to the museum’s earnings and make us financially independent but to implement them, we require government support,” Dahal said, confidently stating that if the government invested in his plans, he would make Narayanhiti self-sufficient within the next four years.

National Museum Requires Cross-Industry Collaboration
Considered the pioneer museum of Nepal, National Museum, popularly known as Chhauni Museum, is a storehouse of matchless artefacts and archaeological objects.
Located a short walk south from Swayambhunath, it was opened as a museum to the public by Rana Prime Minister Juddha Sumsher JBR in 1938. Covering 44 ropanis of land, the museum consists of three buildings - the historical building constructed by Bhimshen Thapa, Juddha Ethnic Art Gallery and Buddhist Art Gallery.
For an enthusiast, the museum offers a wide range of articles from ancient weapons to taxidermied birds and animals along with models of the various ethnic groups of Nepal.  Visitors can also see sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist deities that date back to the Lichhavi and Malla periods as well as many historical weapons.
Like everything else in the country, the museum also closed during the lockdown. However, the closure did not mean rest for the museum authorities. “We utilised this time for reconstruction and beautification,” said Museum Chief Jaya Ram Shrestha.
With the COVID-induced restrictions lifted, the museum has since opened and the numbers of visitors have also been steadily increasing. “On Fridays and Saturdays, we get 1,500 to 2,000 visitors,” said Shrestha.  Most, if not all, of the visitors, are Nepalis with the number of foreigners in single digits.
Unlike some other museums of the valley, the National Museum does not function under a development committee and is governed entirely by the federal government. This means that the revenue it generates goes to the government. “Last fiscal year, we generated around Rs. 1.5 million, but this year, we might only raise 25 to 40 per cent of that,” Shrestha estimated.
However, this should not faze anyone, according to Shrestha. “Museums are non-profit. It may or may not generate substantial revenues on its own but it indirectly supports tourism which benefits the larger economy of the country.”
Museums safeguard art, preserve the culture and promote history. But Chief Shrestha is sad that the authorities have not understood the significance of these institutions. “In order to develop a museum culture in Nepal, various sectors such as tourism, arts, culture, and hospitality should be integrated and with the museum. We should reach out for cross-industry collaboration and publicise ourselves to the wider public,” he expressed.
The National Museum has also started offering virtual tours from last month to expand its reach and access.

Hanumandhoka Durbar Museum Stares At Crises
Located in the core of Kathmandu, Hanumandhoka Museum is at the heart of the city’s culture and history.
Named after the large stone idol of Hanuman at the main entrance, the museum was the royal residence before Narayanhiti. Clinging to this royal past, it focuses on the Shah kings Tribhuvan, Mahendra and Birendra and displays many artefacts related to the monarchy’s customs and traditions in its galleries and courtyards.
However, currently, all its galleries and exhibitions are closed because of the extensive damage caused by the 2015 earthquake. This has meant that many people wishing to visit the museum turn back thinking there is nothing to see.
The good news is the reconstruction on many of the damaged structures is almost complete and from Sunday, it has opened a new ornamental section for people to visit. It has also started offering guided tours to previously closed parts of the palace complex including the Gaddi Baithak.
“As of now, 90 per cent of the work on Block A which is the Rana-era building between the Nine-storeyed Palace and Gaddi Baithak is complete,” Executive Director Sandeep Khanal informed. “Work on the Tribhuvan Smriti Sadan building is also moving forward.”
“Work on the Nine-storeyed Palace, however, has stalled because the Chinese workers who went home because of the COVID-19 pandemic have not returned,” he added.
The museum, with an area of five acres, is a self-sufficient institution functioning under a development committee chaired by the secretary of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation.
To boost income, the museum rents out space to around 40 shops and a few restaurants which collectively generate over Rs. 30 million. This coupled with the Rs. 1.5 million earned from tickets used to take the museum’s annual income to Rs. 60 million. But now, many of the shops have closed permanently because of a lack of tourists and ticket sales have dropped. This has taken its toll on the museum’s earnings.
“We have around Rs. 250 million in reserves. Over Rs. 220 million will be spent on reconstruction and if the sluggish state of income continues, the museum will face a financial crisis in the coming days,” Khanal informed.

Patan Museum Running On Savings
Known as one of the most beautiful museums of Asia and operating from the former Malla royal palace, Patan Museum has long been the central attraction of Patan Durbar Square. On average, it used to attract 480 visitors a day till February of last year. Last month, it only attracted 208. Executive Director Saraswati Singh attributes this dramatic fall to the decline in foreign tourists visiting Patan.
As a self-sustaining museum, Patan Museum depends on its ticket revenue to survive. The decrease in visitors has robbed it of this vital source of income, meaning it is currently operating in the red. “We have been using our savings for now but things are hard,” Singh said. “We do get money from hosting events in our courtyard but they are not enough to sustain the institution.”
To boost visitors, the museum plans to launch an application shortly that would enable people to take a virtual tour of the establishment.

National Art Museum Still Rests On Wooden Support
Located about 13 kilometres east of Kathmandu, the National Art Museum offers a platter of jaw-dropping attractions.
Situated in Bhaktapur, which itself is a time capsule of the days gone by, the museum, unfortunately, is still awaiting renovation. Museum officer Yamuna Maharjan told The Rising Nepal that museum buildings were still resting on wooden supports six years after the earthquake. “Bhaktapur Municipality and UNESCO are discussing how to proceed with the repairs. Hopefully, they will formulate a plan soon,” she said.
The museum was established in 1960 by the Department of Archaeology in the premises of the historic Singha Dhwakha (Lion’s Gate) at the Bhaktapur Durbar Square. It has three buildings, each dedicated to stone sculptures, woodcrafts and metal artefacts.
“However, we have not been able to showcase all of the paintings in our collection because the building they are housed in has tilted because of the quake,” said Maharjan. 
“But the ray of sunshine amidst the clouds is that after the eight-month-long closure, the visitor flow is encouraging.  We get 100 to 200 visitors daily,” Maharjan informed.
Like the National Museum, this museum is also under the authority of the federal government so the revenue goes directly to state coffers. Last fiscal year, it generated Rs.  1,399,360 and this year, from the Nepali month of Mangsir to Falgun, it has collected Rs. 169,410.
“Even though we are under the government, we are one of the least prioritised sectors. The prevalent mentality is that museums are just a collection of old things. People have not understood the true value of museums in Nepal.”

(Dhakal and Mishra are journalists at TRN)