Cement Washed by Bidhata KC

In this series, I explore how the touch of modernization will slowly replace traditional practices and might even lead to the disappearance of some of these practices. If the walls of Mustang (place in northern Nepal start to get covered in cement walls instead of stone and mud walls, which is the identity of the place and is famous for, will Mustang still remain the same? I was surprised by how modernization had colonized traditional practices, all the way to Mustang. This is not just a single incident but other social and cultural components have made me realize how newer practices seep inside traditional practices. I explore more of this through my portrayal of Machhindranath and gentrification of my own neighborhood in Satdobato, where traditional houses are replaced with tall cemented, glassed rectangular towers.

Our values, practices and traditions move forward with time and its inevitable, but does moving forward mean not preserving the values upon which the newer ones were based?