URL: http://www.rediff.com/news/2001/aug/14hill.htm
Date: 14 August 2001

Baldev S Chauhan in Shimla Art lovers are seeking heritage status for a
village in Himachal Pradesh's Kullu Valley that is an archaeological
treasure-trove, but is beginning to lose its carved wooden structures to
concrete buildings. Nirmand, situated some 200 km from Shimla, is home to
some of the finest and oldest specimens of hill architecture in India. But
the relics are starting to disappear due to neglect and tampering by the very
villagers whose ancestors helped preserve the rich heritage for so long. The
old wooden houses with slate roofs are being replaced by modern concrete
structures, which appear ugly and incongruous in the hill terrain. Art
historians warn that unless immediate steps are taken to protect them, many
more such monuments could be lost forever. Considered one of the oldest
villages in the western Himalayas, Nirmand has been a seat of Vedic learning,
given its antiquity and large Brahmin population. The village has copper
plates with inscriptions dating back to the 6th century AD. Nirmand's broad,
winding and cobbled pathways, the exquisitely carved wooden houses with
typically small doors and projecting verandas, the slanting slated roofs and
the prominent courtyards with piles of grain left to dry in the sun
immediately transport one to ancient times. But some locals, in their effort
to renovate and rebuild the old houses, are ending up irreparably damaging
them. Art lovers call it "pious vandalism". On closer scrutiny, the damage to
Nirmand's character begins to show. Some cobbled courtyards have been
uprooted and replaced by chips or concrete floors. And slate on the roofs is
giving way to tin. A bird's eye-view from atop a nearby ridge reveals the
extent of the damage done to this ancient village by its inhabitants in the
name of modernisation. The sprawling village has seven ancient temples. The
majestic Mahadev temple, considered one of the finest specimens of wood
architecture in the region, was the first victim of "pious vandalism". "To
art lovers, this monument sent a wave of nostalgia until it was renovated and
changed into an ugly structure by a revenue official thinking he was doing a
perfect job of it," said a regular visitor to Nirmand. The Ambika temple has
also been messed up. The modern practice of painting wooden houses is also
contributing to the damage. While the traditional polish made with apricot
and linseed oil was safe and preserved the wood, the chemical paints have
toxic effects. Some structures have simply been abandoned and a few are lying
in ruins. The fortress-like Parshuram temple is in a dilapidated state. Its
recent history is a sad one, with the main idol of the deity stolen a few
years ago. "In the last 10 years many of these houses have been demolished.
Increasingly the trend is to go for concrete structures," said Paras Ram, who
at 98 is the eldest resident of the village. O C Handa, an art historian,
told Indo-Asian News Service that the only way to save Nirmand from further
damage would be to immediately declare it a heritage village like it has been
done for Bharmaur in Chamba district. Other art lovers have called for a law
to protect the relics. Indo-Asian News Service