This unique work offers the reader a poetic depiction of the abyssal Himalayan city of Kathmandu: the mythical sword-shaped sacred city of divine origin set among the shining mountains of the Himalayas; the open-air mandala studded by golden-roofed temples; the cradle and melting pot of millenary civilisation and spiritual tradition; the mesmerising destination for generations of flower children and "dharma bums"; Asia's present-day dirty, derelict and broken mirror...Kathmandu. A visionary katabasis, this book, enriched by a wide selection of artistic B&W photos, leads the reader through the mazes of this remote location, simultaneously a real venue, a sacred land and an inviolate recess of the soul: sharp shadows and piercing shouts mingle with bursts of overwhelming light and tremendous beauty.

Author Biography

Martino Nicoletti (PhD in Anthropology; Phd in Art), writer, multimedia artist and ethnologist has been engaged for over twenty years in visual anthropology and visual arts in southern and south-eastern Asia. The author of numerous books on the religions of the Himalayas, photographic, travel and literary volumes edited in different languages, for Memisis International, he has recently published the book Kathmandu, Lessons of Darkness, a poetical and photographic portrayal of this abyssal Himalayan metropolis.