Page 45 - Cornice_Grade 6

Visit to Patan Museum

This trip to the patan museum was arranged by

our teachers. The main purpose of this trip was
to learn the history and culture of the Patan area.

The first slot of this trip was arranged for grade VI
A only and grade VI B was going in the second
slot. We had 30 students divided into three groups
and were accompanied by three teachers to manage
our movement.

Before we entered the museum we saw two
lions that were guarding each side of the door.

The reason the two lions were guarding each
side of the door was because the lions were
the guardians of the palace and had a goal
not to let any evil in. When we entered, we
saw many inscriptions and artifacts. This

museum looked very traditional because

of all the Newari architecture there . There
was also another pair of guardians
protecting the Ganesh temple,

inside the museum. The
guardian looked like a lion
and baboon mixed into one
creature that was fearlessly
protecting the temple.

Before it was a museum, it was a
palace belonging to the Malla dynasty who ruled Patan. The last

Malla king was Ranjit Malla. He ruled from 1722 to 1769. The government converted the palace

to a museum with the help of the Austrian government. The name of the architect who directed

the renovation of patan museum is Gotz hagmuller. It took about 15 years to renovate. The
golden doors opened to the public in 1997.

The tour of the museum was exciting, fun filling, and amazing. There in the museum we saw
many things like ancient sculptures of God, ancient slabs that were written in sanskrit, the
legendary throne, the patan rulers, the Mallas and so much more. There were 17 stone slabs

in total. Sixteen stone slabs were written in Sanskrit and the rest were written in Nepali. Our
teachers told us that most of these artifacts were stolen and brought back so I think the sculptures
are of abundant archaeological value.

When we were walking back from the museum, I saw two people bathing in the open with ice
cold water, a woman drying clothes for her and her child and a homeless person begging for

money. There I realized how lucky we are to live this luxurious life and how we shouldn’t take

it for granted. This trip was productive and prolific. I learned about the kings who ruled Patan,

along with their history and culture.
by Kutastha Rajgopal Shrestha

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