Toran stolen 20 years ago returned to Kumari Ghar

BY A STAFF REPORTER,Kathmandu, Nov. 23: A historic toran stolen more than two decades ago from the Kumari Ghar in Basantapur has been reinstated. The artefact was officially reinstalled on Friday following a decision made during the Kathmandu Metropolitan City meeting held on November 17. 

The toran, believed to have been stolen around 1999, was discovered at the Barakat Gallery in the United Kingdom. After being returned to Nepal, it had been kept at the National Museum in Chhauni.

Before reinstalling the artefact, Deputy Mayor Sunita Dangol, Heritage and Tourism Committee Coordinator Ashaman Sangat, Ward No. 23 Chairman and Metropolitan City Legislation Committee Coordinator Macharaja Maharjan, and Kumari House caretaker Gautam Shakya visited the museum to formally receive the toran. They signed and stamped the transfer documents before bringing the toran back. 

According to Section 20 (A) of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1956, the toran was restored to its original place upon recommendations from the local government and the District Administration Office, and then handed over to the concerned Guthis. The semi-circular wooden toran, featuring a ‘Chhepu’ design, dates back to the 17th-18th century. It measures 104.55 cm and was placed above the fifth window from the left on the ground-floor façade of the Kumari Ghar.

Deputy Mayor Dangol said that it marked the beginning of a positive practice of restoring other lost and stolen artefacts and images from various heritage sites. Similarly, coordinator Sangat said that it was a moment of pride, while Chairman Maharjan stated that the ward’s ancient identity was gradually being restored.

According to caretaker Gautam Shakya, the torans were stolen around 1999-98, when thieves loaded them into a taxi during the evening. “Someone saw them being removed and questioned the thieves, who replied that they were taking them for repair,” he added. “All three torans disappeared within three months.” After informing the Department of Archaeology and filing a police report, replicas were created and installed about three years later, each costing around Rs. 80,000.

The toran from Kumari Bahal and a donor statue from Manjushree Naka Mahavihara were formally handed over to the Embassy of Nepal in the UK on March 18, 2022, before being brought back to Nepal and kept at the Chhauni Museum.

The return of such stolen cultural artefacts has been made possible through provisions of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, which prohibits the illicit import, export, and transfer of ownership of cultural property. A total of 145 countries are party to this convention.