Nepali artists painstakingly restore ‘irreplaceable’ murals in Buddhist monasteries
Last year’s earthquake caused layers of plaster to separate and crack into pieces at the Jampa Lhakhang, where shards of 500-year-old frescos still litter the floor
Deep in the heart of a medieval monastery in Nepal’s remote Upper Mustang region, the battle to restore sacred murals and preserve traditional Tibetan Buddhist culture is in full swing.
Tsewang Jigme is among the artists toiling to safeguard the unique cultural heritage of this former Buddhist kingdom high on the Tibetan plateau, which escaped the ravages of the Cultural Revolution in neighbouring China.
“These murals are irreplaceable ... I feel nervous every time I touch them, I know I need to work very carefully so as not to do any harm to them,” the 32-year-old painter said.
Upper Mustang only opened to outsiders in 1992 and its murals, scriptures and cave paintings provide a rare window into early Buddhism.
These murals are irreplaceable ... I feel nervous every time I touch them
The region’s Lo Gekar monastery was established by the founder of Tibetan Buddhism and predates the oldest temple complex built in Tibet, which was severely damaged in the 1960s during the Cultural Revolution. But wind and rain eroded the mud walls of monuments and rotted wooden ceiling beams, while smoke from ceremonial butter lamps turned luminous frescos black.