I designed this little amigurumi bunny girl to celebrate my friend Cynthia's birthday. So obviously I named this little girl Cynthia.
So any guesses on what Cynthia did on her birthday? She spent it with her best friend Maiya, exploring one of the old palace courtyards at the Patan Durbar Square.
The girls wanted me to take a picture of them at Sundari Chowk, one of the main three courtyards of the palace at Patan (also known as Lalitpur, the city of fine arts), and I dared them to stand between these carved wooden figurines of maidens astride intertwined serpents below the wooden latticed doors. To say that the girls were terrified out of their socks is an understatement. ;)
Maiya then announced a photo next to a wood carving of Ganesh, the elephant-headed god, was in order. She quickly hopped on to the pedestal and dragged a slightly reluctant Cynthia along. I had to beg them to get out of there before they were caught monkeying around by the security guards.
Next, Cynthia, the birthday girl, wanted to see Tusha Hiti, the ancient step-well that is guarded by mythical lions and serpents with jewels on their hoods. Here they are, trying to skirt their way around the scary lion to get a glimpse of the tank. Don’t the girls look scared silly? :D
Built in the 17th century, Tusha Hiti—with three tiers of exquisitely carved stone deities on its retaining walls—is the centerpiece of the Sundari Chowk, one of the main three courtyards of the palace at Patan.
Then we headed to the Bhandarkhal water tank, hailed as an “exquisite example of 17th century water architecture”. Located in the garden behind the palace, this tank was once the main water storage facility for the palace. Much to Cynthia’s dismay, the tank was dry!
In this pic, the girls are standing behind the hind leg of one of the stone lions flanking the Bhandarkhal tank. Overlooking the tank is a meditation pavilion, a feature which fascinated Cynthia. Just as soon as she had started daydreaming about time travelling back to the 17th century when the palace was in its full glory, a very loud and boisterous Maiya announced she was famished and insisted we leave immediately for the nearest eatery. And that, ladies and gentlemen, ended our little Cynthia’s birthday trip to the old palace.
