Dwarika's Kathmandu Village Hotel is like no other hotel in the world. It has not been constructed but, has been put together. Every piece of the fascinating edifice is an original object of art that was once a part of some ancient building. The hotel's exqusitely carved doors, windows, pillars and beams have been painstakingly salvaged from all over Kathmandu. They come from centuries-old dwellings that were being razed to make way for modern concrete complexes, or other that were simply falling apart w ith the ravages of time.
The components were collected and lovingly restored, and the damaged portions were recreated by master crafsmen. They were inserted into the hotel building, and gradually the hotel grew. The builders relearned old skill in wood craft. When they found out that the special bricks needed for the traditonal house facade were not available anymore, they manufactured their own. The result of this effort is a museum of the Kathmandu Valley. Dwarika's Kathmandu Village Hotel came out of one man's lifelong quest t o preserve the architectural glory of Kathmandu--the late Dwarika Das Shrestha.
Pretty soon, the collection grew to a sizeable proportion. Moreover, it was also starting to become an expensive pursuit. Building a hotel from this hoard of woodcraft was only logical as it would provide the funds to continue the work and the setting for the preservation and restoration of the artifacts. Dwarika's Kathmandu Village Hotel thus became the fulfillment of a lifelong passion. The world soon noticed. In 1980 , Pacific Asia Travel Association(PATA) awarded Dwarika's with the PATA Excellene Award for a remarkable contribution to heritage c onservation. In 1990, Dwarika's was honored with the Spirit of Enterprise Rolex Award.
This approach makes Dwarika's Village Hotel a unique place in South Asia. Nowhere else is heritage restoration being attempted in a way that rejuvenates it and makes it a part today's living environment.
In the attempt to bring the refined elements of 15th Century art into the 20th Century, Dwarika's is in a constant struggle of self-exploration. Every element, from the design and manufacture of bricks and other civil engineering structures to layout of s pace such as quadrangles and offices, from the lovation of restoration workshops for wood carvers to the training of workers to think and act as in the best possible ways that their forbearers would have five centuries ago, has had to be explored and re-c reated. In this way, Dwarika's represents the larger process of revitalizing a sublime element of a Neoali as well ads a World heritage.
Dwarika Das Shrestha passed away on February 1992; but his work continues. His vision of cultural restoration, based on a strong feel for the beauty of a bygone era but resting on today's sound commercial commansense, guides the work and activities of the establishment he has left behind.
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