The interest which it is believed the countries of the Indian Borderland possess for a considerable portion of the reading community is the reason for the presentation of this venture. Information of any nature regarding a territory about which the recent literature is scanty may not be unacceptable, while impressions obtained first-hand of a region somewhat off the beaten track have a claim to be placed on record. Especially does this apply to the little-known State of Nepal, where the Wonderful natural scenery and the creative genius of man have combined to make a powerful appeal to all lovers of the picturesque and of the imaginative in art. It is trusted that some of the observations here produced—particularly those relating to the remarkably artistic character of the Ne Wars may fulfil the purpose for which they are intended.
This character of the original inhabitant of Nepalgunj is, like many other attractive qualities of the Oriental, now undergoing a marked transition, and the art craftsman of to-day lives in a world different from that of his forbears of the last generation. The brief photographic survey included in these pages is an attempt to preserve some of the main features of the latter’s art, now falling rapidly into decay, and may in the near future serve in its pictorial capacity as a form of reference. A short personal acquaintance with the buildings in the Valley Area of Nepal speedily revealed one fact which could not be overlooked.
The grim portals of Tibet--difficult as they were to open before—are now more hermetically sealed than they have been for centuries, and my only hopes lay in an investigation of these conditions as maintained in the neighbouring of Nepal Country.