The Man who would be Monk

He has an impressive lineage. One of the so-called three diamonds of Nepal, the great litterateur, Paras Mani Pradhan, was his grandfather. His father, Kalu Pradhan, was the first Nepali to become Superintendent of Police of Darjeeling District. Both are no more today and now it is upto Architect Narendra Pradhan to keep the impressive family history going. Will he be able to add another chapter, as illustrious, to his family line?

Time will tell no doubt, but the way he has been making a name for himself in the field of architecture, foretells great things for the near future. Narendra was born on March 15^th 1947, which makes him 57 years of age. In all these years he has attained a wealth of experience in his chosen field of work and today can be said to be especially renowned for his work in building monasteries. Oh yes, Narendra Pradhan has built so many monasteries that he admits, "I have lost count."

He has designed and built monasteries in many cities around the globe: New York, Hamburg, Sydney and Taipei as well as in Himachal Pradesh and Bodhgaya in India besides of course quite a few all over Sikkim. There are no statistics as yet but it is probable that Narendra Pradhan could be one of the world's leaders in designing and building monasteries. To a query about whether he is a Buddhist, Narendra had something interesting to reveal, " Actually we are Shakyas and our origins are in Patan but you know how it was in those days, the minute you crossed Mechi river, you became a Pradhan!" He is of course referring to the well-known fact that there are many in Darjeeling who use the surname of 'Pradhan' although they might not strictly be 'Pradhans' in the real sense.

Narendra Pradhan was born in Darjeeling and went to St. Joseph's School. He passed out in 1962 along with famous classmates like His Majesty the Late King Birendra, ex-minister Keshav Budhathoki and the Bhutanese Regent, the present King's uncle, Paro Penlop. From 1964 to 1969 he studied architecture in Maulana Azad College of Technology in Bhopal from where he received his Bachelor's.

In the beginning Narendra had the opportunity of working with renowned Architect Weise and was involved in the design and construction of the Chauni barracks, the Annapurna Hotel and SOS Children's Home in Sano Thimi. "Weise was a very good teacher," remembers Narendra. " I learnt a lot from him." In 1975 he, along with Rajaram Bhandari, Ashish Giri and Tom Crees established the consulting firm BDA. "I brought in Tom Crees. He was working as an overseer, but he had such talent in freehand drawings and sketches that I knew he would be a good asset." Time has proven Narendra right as Tom Crees has gone on to become a famous name in the field. Narendra himself went to America in 1984 and completed his Master's from the University of Southern California in 1987.

Narendra Pradhan's visiting card describes him as a Chartered Architect. He explains, " One has to be a member of the Council of Architects of India to be a Chartered Architect. I think there are only two or three more besides myself in Nepal." According to him, becoming a member of this prestigious council means that one has to abide by certain codes of conduct as befitting such a noble profession. Narendra Pradhan is also a member of the Indian Institute of Architects and the American Institute of Architects (Los Angeles Chapter). He was also a founding member of the Royal Art Council of Nepal. It would be of interest also to know that in 1977, Narendra had started work on establishing what was to be called the Royal Institute of Nepal Architects. So, what happened? " The first meeting was well attended. The second had fewer attendees and by the third meeting there were hardly any people present!"  Small wonder then that the plan fizzled out in no time at all.

It is not that Narendra Pradhan only makes monasteries. Far from it. Architectural achievments like the Haathiban Resort, the Shangrila Hotel, the Malla Hotel, the Lukla Resort and the International Mountain Museum in Pokhara, are only a few of his outstanding works. It is only in recent years that Narendra has been specializing in monasteries. One cannot really blame him because his fame goes before him and anyone who thinks of building a monastery, first thinks of him.

While remembering some of his projects, he has fond memories of Haathiban Resort that was started in 1987. " The project was initially started by SriRam Mathema and Associates. I was called in only after four columns had already been built," he reminisces. "I had to work around these columns and digging up the bar area was a difficult task. In addition, since there was no road, we had to do with local materials and that is why you will find that we have used mostly quarry stone and mud mortar. And of course, being a forest reservation, no trees could be felled."

Another problem that put Narendra in a dilemma was deciding whether to have the rooms face south (to catch the sun), or to have them face north (because the view was, and is, mind boggling). " We finally decided that it was worth catching a little cold for the magnificent view and so had the rooms face north." Narendra also let us know that he was the one to bring in Desmond Doig to do the landscaping and interior designs of Shangrila Hotel in 1978. He adds, " Of course now I think there is precious little left of the original interiors in Shangrila."

Narendra is much in demand in Sikkim where his wife, Om, is an instructor in a teacher's training institute in Gangtok. Doesn't he find it a bit difficult to live here while his wife is in Gangtok? To this he says half jokingly," The secret of staying young is to live far from your wife, to have young people around you and to think young." No doubt the last two can be agreed to but we hope that the first is only a joke! Narendra's brother Jivan is a retired tea planter; one sister, Chandra runs the Shishu Niketan School while another sister, Rupa, lives in Kalimpong. He has one daughter who is an architect herself.

The Sikkim pavilions designed by Narendra were recipients of the gold medal in the Delhi International Trade Fairs in 1977 and 1981. At the moment he is involved in the Government of Sikkim's plans to build a Bhanubhakta Memorial Cultural Academy that will serve as an academy for research of the Nepali language. "It's a huge project and will be spread over 18 hectares in Kyongsa, Geyzing in west Sikkim," says Narendra. " At first they were thinking of erecting a massive statue as a memorial to Bhanubhakta. I suggested the idea to have an academy instead."

Back in Nepal, Narendra has designed the Nepal Amitabha Buddha Society Project in Sitapaila, of which the main building has been completed. A 165 feet tall statue of Amitabha Buddha will be the high point of the project. Similarly, another big project on which he is busy is the Amitabha Foundation Retreat Center in Kopan that he believes will be finished in three years. The Kathmandu Temple Project in Jyatha is going on at the moment, " It is very traditional and no expense is being spared. A single traditional window can cost above Rs. 2 Lakhs!" 

Besides these, Narendra is also designing the Lumbini Mikasa Hotel in Lumbini that will have 30 rooms in the first phase and 30 more in the next. One project that had to be shelved, and one he was really excited about, was the Gurkha Village Resort in Pokhara, "It would have spread over 300 ropanies and would have had six villages of different ethnic groups, such as Newars, Gurungs, Tharus and so on. Besides, we also had plans to have a 'Hatiya Bazaar' in the resort just like a village 'haat bazaar'.

Outside Nepal, Narendra will soon be starting work on an interesting project, the Amitabha Foundation Meditation Center in Bodhgaya that is designed on what he says is a 'Dharmachakra concept', "From above, the site will look like a prayer wheel". And in Taipei he will be doing the Shien Shah Complex that will have conference facilities for 10000 people. " I haven't as yet worked in Japan," he says. The day is not far off is what an observer might respond with!

Narendra has the highest regard for the works of Architect Dipak Sherchan, and thinks that the architecture of Heritage Plaza is just great. And of course he is all admiration for Tom Crees, "His Springside Resort is fantastic." Narendra also adds, " And oh yes, those Nagpurias in Design Cell are also doing a great job. I like their work"

Narendra himself is of course as great a source of admiration and inspiration for others in the field. His office has four young architects whom he terms associates and whom he encourages to try out new ideas without fear of failure. His advice to new architects and students is that they should use freehand more often and not be too dependent on only computers, "I myself sketch out my concepts using freehand first when approaching a project."

Narendra is also unhappy at the present state of affairs and says wistfully, "I wish I could employ a lot more young architects in my firm, there are so many looking for a job. But what to do, times are bad."