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On the Loss of Cultural Heritage in Quake-Ravaged Nepal

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Fig. 1.
Following the Nepalese earthquakes of April/May 2015, scenes of destruction such as this were replicated throughout the nation.

Photograph James A Giambrone, April 29, 2015.

Notes from the photographer, James Giambrone:

The picture is taken in front of the SW corner of the Laksmi-Narayan Sattal, where the money changers hang out; the broken lion is from the eastern entrance to Kasthamandap and sits in the pile of rubble from the same. The yellow iron bars behind the Lion surround Marutole Ganesh.

When I arrived on the night, reaching the square at around dusk, I was devastated at the destruction. To see only sky and rubble where three magnificent temples and Kasthmandap once stood was too much to bear. I lost it - these were monuments that I grew up with - and started crying. A Newar man came and gave me a hug, it was a nice shared moment.