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Nepal: A Guide to the Art and Architecture of the Kathmandu Valley Michael Hutt with David N. Gellner, Axel Michaels, Greta Rana and Govinda Tandan
Gartmore: Kiscadale, 1994 ISBN 1-870838-76-9
Michael Hutt's volume on the monuments of the Kathmandu Valley is the best guide I have yet encountered. Beginning with a short account of Nepal from the time of Siddhartha to the present day, Hutt introduces the region's dynasties. The explication of religion in Nepal, written with David Gellner, is essential because the gods appear in virtually every creative endeavour. In the section on architecture, the clean structural drawings will be appreciated by tourists attempting to make sense of the various temples as they view them in situ, surrounded by 'antique' dealers and vegetable sellers in the cacophonous streets. The section entitled `Art Forms'...