Miki Henderson

Old Town Bhaktapur

A sound design for a traditional Hiti washing well in in the Nepalese town of Bhaktapur. This proposal honours and explores the culture, spirituality and history of the town and country.

Located about 13km from the capital city of Kathmandu in Nepal, a small city named Bhaktapur is the stimulus for this sound design concept. Also known as the ‘city of temples’ or the ‘living museum’, Bhaktapur is densely built with an array of temples, shrines, dance platforms, ponds, waterspouts, all intertwined with alleys and city squares.

For the sound design concept, I would like to explore the spirituality, culture and history of Bhaktapur through the use of water. The city has an array of structures that serve as places of worship, but I would like to specifically engage with the ‘hiti’and the role of water in the lives of the people in Bhaktapur.

The idea to this sound design is to draw a connection between the cascading platforms of the hiti and the evolution of Bhaktapur represented through the sound of water. With each platform of the hiti representing an era of Bhaktapur through audio signalling, it is an interactive timeline of the historical, cultural, and spiritual moments in Bhaktapur.