Importance of Our Art and Architecture

Our nation is worldly known as "the country of heritage sites". We have so many national heritages in our country which have been the source of attraction of many foreigners these days. Our unique art, craft, and architecture are famous all over the globe. Ancient temples, stupas, monuments, buildings, rest houses, taps, and gardens are the main assets of national heritage sites. Kathmandu Durbar Square, Bhaktapur Durbar Square, Patan Durbar Square, Gorkha Durbar, Changu Narayan Temple, Janaki Temple, Bouddhnath Monastery and Swayambhunath Stupa are the few to name in our heritage sites. Our country is very rich in such ancient treasure.

These ancient art and architectures have the long history. They are the place of historical and cultural importance. They represent livelihood of people, tradition, culture, civilization, and originality. They symbolize the craftsmanship of our ancestors and how people used to make the art and architecture in early days. We have a diverse background in our society and each unique group of people in society have the unique crafts to show their ancestor and represent their culture. These arts are the portrait to give the essence of living civilization. They are the identity of the act and valour of our society at some time in past. In fact, they have a great role to play in order to introduce Nepal and Nepali people.

Kathmandu is the city of temple and Nepal is the garden of diverse culture. Our country is so unique and has been the source of attraction for thousands of people. Every year, nearly 5 lakhs tourist come to visit our country in order to see this beauty of art and crafts. This has obviously benefit to increase national economy and also help to popularize the presence and essence of them in modern civilization. Therefore, there is the great importance of art and architecture for our nation.

Art and craft have been so attached to our lifestyles. In every part of our country , we can see various temples, monuments, monasteries, stupas and many more. They are the objects to make us proud. We feel so lucky to be rich in such city of heritages. National and International visitors come across the country to see the wonders of craftsmanship. They clicked their pictures with them and post in their social portfolio like Facebook and Twitter. The whole world has come to know about our historical and cultural buildings through such social media. People of the different society and various newspaper make the subject of gossip of our heritages. It makes our unique identity. This identity helps our country to stay united. Hence, art and architecture have the greater role in building our nationality.

While discussing the essence of art, we should not forget about Araniko who had presented the model of Nepali craftsmanship in China. His pagoda-style buildings are still here to illustrate how beautiful was his work. He was very interested in crafts and wood decoration. Due to his strong devotion and hard work, he got the chance to showcase his talent in a foreign land. He grabbed his opportunity and made the remarkable buildings in Nepal and China. His works influenced many people all over the planet. Many educational institutes have included his style in their curriculum.

Moreover, our art embodies our religious feeling as well as glorious cultural traits. We should protect and repair them time to time. some of the basic ways to protect of heritage sites are listed below:

• We should make the surrounding of our temple, stupa, monasteries, church, gurudhurra, etc neat and clean.
• Disposing of household garbage and scraps near to heritage area should be strictly prohibited.
• We should plant trees around such place and maintain greenery all over.
• We should not let our pet dog and other animals in such place as they may ruin the beauty of sites.
• Regular inspection should be done to confirm that every precious stones and craft are safe and well protected.
• We should split and drop water here and there.
• Noise should be avoided.
• Local people should be active and make some club to look after the maintenance of these historical sites.

It's the duty and responsibility of every citizen to protect and preserve this natural and manmade heritage. We must strictly avoid the concept that it is the responsibility of the state or the government to protect and repair them. In many cases, our monuments have lost their important parts. Some are stolen and some are ruined due to natural causes. We lack the knowledge that it's us to get benefited from those heritage sites. After knowing that they are our own property and they make us proud, it will be very foolish to avoid their protection. So, with full awareness and collective effort, we can protect our arts and architecture.