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India and Nepal 2022
The iconic Secretariat building is usually open to the public for just a few hours on one day a year. It is being restored as a potential site for arts and cultural events. The colonial buildings were the centre of the British imperial power and the magnificent architecture has been decaying for decades. It was also the place where Burma's leader Aung San was murdered back on 1948. The German Goethe Institute has organised a modern art display by world famous artist Wolfgang Laib. Jane and I attend the opening of the exhibition and of the building and see the artist at work. His work is entitled 'Where the land meets the sea' and is full of symbolism and spirituality. Along the road outside, there are very many book stalls - an encouraging sign of the growing openness in society here. We meet the author of a newly published book about the military clampdown following the funeral of UN Secretary U Thant back in the 70s. There were arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of monks, students and local people during that time. He sent his photographic negatives overseas at the time and only just recently has he been able to gain permission to publish. This is still such a complex place to understand. On the one hand, we can speak freely to the author but on the other, we are forbidden from taking photos of the secretariat grounds and the fresh air around them.
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