20 March, Kathmandu:
The news of the Royal arrival far from the oceans had already filled the air with jubilation and excitement in the ancient Patan city of the Kathmandu Valley. Yes, it was the day today (Sunday) the august arrival was made by British Prince Harry to up cheers on everyone- from the locals to foreigners.
It was mid day at the Patan Durbar Square in Lalitpur. The curiosity and excitement of the mass peaked as the clock ticked 12:30pm, and emerged the Prince Harry into the World Heritage.
British Prince Harry, who arrived in Nepal on a five-day official visit on Saturday, chose Patan Durbar Square as the first site where he took stock of the restoration of quake-damaged ancient temples and palace.
The visit, taking place at the request of her Majesty Queen of England, is to mark the bicentenary bilateral relations between Nepal and the UK.
The Royal, fifth in the line to throne, seemed ‘nervous’ initially, recalled Maiya Maharjan, one of the Pancha Kanyas who received Prince Harry with garland and flower. Maiya, along with four other young ladies, was also exuding little bit of nervousness to welcome the British Royal.
“He just greeted with ‘Namaste’ and thanked us and went to Mul Chowk (the main court) in the palace,” shared 25-year-old Maiya who was waiting for the Prince Harry in desperation for two hours.
Dr Rohit Ranjitkar, Director of the Kathmandu Valley Conservation Trust, escorted the visiting Prince to various other Chowks (court) inside the palace and briefed about the historical significance of such open shared areas among the houses.
Outside, many including Anais Bouteyre, a French teenager were anxiously waiting for the Prince to re-emerge in the site so that she could assert her adoration to the Prince. Accompanied by her friends who study political science in Hong Kong along with her, she feels fortunate to have come Nepal at the time her ‘Prince Charming ‘ was coming.
“I like his personality. He is a royal but still chooses to stay close to people,” added Maxim Beysecker, a fellow French teenager who had given up on his launch in quest of a glance of the Prince as he reached the site at around 12:30 pm.
The teenagers apart, the elderly, both- locals or foreigners- were also cheerfully waiting for 31-year-old Prince. Sannani Maharjan, 55, had just heard the stories of the Queen Elizabeth II’s visit to Patan in 1961. The local was elated to see the grandson of the same queen coming to see her locality- more so, when he managed to intermingle with them spontaneously.
Tirtha Maya Khan feels lucky to have seen both the Elizabeth II and Prince Harry. “The queen had come in a buggy and rolled in the buggy” shared Tirtha Maya, who saw the Queen’s grandson got off a British Embassy-owned car and walked through the Square. “The security had kept the Queen aloof back then. This time it is more flexible,” compared Tirtha Maya who saw Prince from near this time.
Angela, an elderly from Austria, was over the moon as the Prince stopped by her to speak during a stroll around the Square after visiting the palace. The Austrian elderly took that occasion to introduce her and the project working on post-earthquake relief operation in Kavrepalanchowk.
A group of girls and boys in school uniform were freaked out as they managed to shake hands with Prince Harry. They reached the site in their school uniform just to secure a glance or handshake with their role model’ Prince Harry
“I have deep admiration for him”, admitted Samriddhi Rayamajhi, a 11th grader from a local boarding school. She confided that anything about Harry takes her fancy. “I like everything and anything about Prince Harry, be it his hairstyle or personality or sporty nature,” explains the teenager who jumped for joy as she secured a handshake. “Oh, I could just touch him,” her school mate chimed in.
The cheers of ‘We adore you Prince Harry’ kept punctuating the air as Prince Harry kept on strolling around Square and the girls exuded extreme joy as Harry, drifting his attention from the briefing on quake-stricken Taleju Temple, responded the cheering crowd with smile.
Moreover, 70-year-old Ram Maharjan was also very elated to see Prince Harry from close quarter.
Although hard of hearing, he said that he could clearly feel the pure joy in the face of locals for the rendezvous with the Royal and for the graceful response of the Prince towards their cheer.
Before making his way to 2,000-year-old Golden Temple in Nagbahal after spending around and hour and half in the Durbar Square, the visiting British Prince managed to stop by the same Panchakanyas who received him during the arrival.
Before seeing them off, as another Panchakanya, Alisha Awale, narrates, the Prince who himself was clad in casual wear, asked the ladies if their dress- Haku Patashi- was a cultural one. When the ladies replied in affirmation, he quipped, “I am so jealous that I can’t wear this dress.” RSS (Rosha Basnet)
