The first impression that one gets when walking in Thamel Bazaar and other places around it, is the narrow roads and alleys. Some were paved with bricks and cobble stones. What actually attracted me was the orientation of the streets. There were some streets with an east-west orientation. You don’t find many streets with this particular orientation anywhere in the world. Just for the initiated, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. Streets with this particular orientation are considered hazardous to traffic.

I believe that at the time when these roads were planned, it was planned for horses and horse drawn carriages. The east-west orientation must have something to do with the Hindu or Buddhist religious believes.

However, as photographers, it is a delight. Subjects will be backlighted in the mornings and evenings. This situation adds depth and mystery to the images. I have seen a lot of paintings by Nepalese Artist exploiting the backlighting effects and the narrow roads and alleys.

A juxtaposition of different modes of transportation