An
old woman sits serenely upon the steps of a local temple, her
countenance almost regal, a young boy peeks out the window of an
elaborate brick building at something unseen and only imagined,
vendors display colorful collages of food and wares, and in the
distance horizontal stripes of muted blue form a magnificent abstract
canvas of the majestic Himalayas overlooking the city. It is another
day in Bhaktapur, an ancient city in the east corner
of the Kathmandu Valley, just eight miles from Nepal's capital city
of Kathmandu and a designated World Heritage Site. Bhaktapur, in
sanskrit “city of devotees,” has long been a destination for both
tourists and religious pilgrims who flock to its many religious
landmarks and palace courtyards.
Provincetown
photographer Jeff Lovinger spent a week there in early April of 2015.
He wandered the narrow lanes of delicate brick buildings interwoven
with wooden shutters and balconies photographing elaborate temples,
terra cotta monuments and the colorful carnival of everyday life. He
witnessed “Bisket Jatra,” the
Nepalese New Year celebration in which chariots are pulled
through the streets and ultimately a tug of war over them determines,
ironically, who will be blessed with good fortune in the coming year.
And then he returned to Provincetown.
Exactly ten
days later a massive 7.9 magnitude earthquake, whose epicenter was
just 30 miles from Bhaktapur, would take the lives of roughly 2,000
people and injure some 5,000 more in this Eastern region of Nepal.
Jeff, now back home, developed his photos- their beauty suddenly all
the more powerful and poignant as they presaged an unspeakable
disaster . He promised himself he would share them and the proceeds
from their sale to help those he had just left behind.
A benefit
for the Nepal earthquake survivors will be held on August 7 from 7-9
pm at the Lovinger Gallery, 427 Commercial Street. Photos from the
trip will be on display with 50% of all proceeds from their sale
going to several organizations assisting the survivors of the
earthquake. For further information, contact Lovinger Gallery at
508-487-3733/www.lovingerimages.com. --Patricia Zur
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