Trongsawatchtower’s makeover into museum
19 June, 2008 - For centuries it served as a watchtower protecting Trongsa dzong, the cradle of Bhutanese monarchy. Come September and its transformation into a place of worship and museum of the rich historic and religious heritage will be completed. Standing on a steep hill above the Trongsa–Bumthang highway, the ‘tower of Trongsa’ consists of three massive circular towers in a triangular arrangement. The central tower is five-storeys high and is flanked by a southern and northern wing, which are four storeys each. It also has two stand alone towers. The north wing, the south wing and one of the two stand alone towers were renovated, but the central tower and one stand alone tower had to be rebuilt. Almost 90 percent of the work has been completed, according to the project director, Trongsa dzongda Lungten Dorji.The main tower (utse) and the northern wing will be used as the museum exclusively on the history of monarchy and of Trongsa dzong. “Historical artifacts related to the monarchs and the royal family will be showcased in the museum,” the dzongda said. The southern wing has been converted into residential quarters for the monks, hermits and caretakers, and the two temples of the legendary hero, Gesar of Ling, and lhakhang of bodhisattva Manjushri have been renovated to be used as integrated parts of the museum. Pema Kunzang, 61, a monk who lived as a lhakhang caretaker in the Ta dzong since 1997, told Kuensel that the old Ta dzong was on the verge of collapse. He has already applied for space in the new hermit’s quarters to practice meditation. A special feature of, the towers would be the media room where a video presentation of approximately 10 minutes will be projected on a screen measuring 2.5 m by 2 m on the religious practice at the monastery and the history of Trongsa Dzong, according the project manager, Tshering Namgyal. Work on the Ta dzong started on July 1, 2005, and was scheduled to be completed this month but rescheduled to September because of unforeseen delays in the reconstruction work on the main tower. “Initially the utse was just planned for renovation but, when we brought down some parts for renovation, whole sections collapsed, so we had to do complete reconstruction,” said project engineer, Namgay Dorji. About 75 local carpenters, masons and labourers worked on the reconstruction on the Ta dzong using about 700 truckloads of mud, brought from Taktse and Tashidingkha area 15 kms away from Trongsa town, 2,240 tractor loads of stones from Zongkhaloom, about 10 kms away, and 65,400 cft of timber from Chumey and Chokor gewogs of Bumthang. Namgay Dorji told Kuensel that it was difficult to meet the consultant’s plans “because we’re carrying out work in the old existing monument”. “If it’s a new construction, it would be easier to follow the drawings and instructions, but it’s difficult while renovating,” he said. Safety for labourers was also a challenge as there were no safety precautions for them. Some Trongsa residents said that, though the Ta dzong needed to be restored, the drupchu (holy water), housed in the Ta dzong, to cure za (paralysis) had dried. “The drupchu flows after sunset but since iron poles and cement were used there, it dried up,” said an old resident of Trongsa, who chose anonymity. Kuensel found that the site of the drupchu, which falls on the ground floor of the south wing, is being used as a toilet and washing area. The restoration was carried out with a funding of Nu 74 million from the Austrian development agency, and Nu 18 million from the royal government. Four foreign experts, including the structural engineer, the museum curator, an architect and the project coordinator, are involved in the renovation. There are short-term experts supporting the project in art conservation and also producing media programmes. According to the Austrian project coordinator, Thomas Schrom, who is in Trongsa, the main challenge in Bhutan is the lack of qualified project supervisors and construction experts and a huge shortage of skilled labourers. The project did not have a single Bhutanese architect, which according to the coordinator, would have played an important role in the renovation. However, the remaining challenge, Mr Schrom said, is to install all the necessary equipment for the museum. Mr Schrom said tha though the project received almost all the objects to be installed in the museum, there are a few items they are yet to receive. The renovated Ta dzong will be inaugurated in September as part of the centenary celebration of the monarchy in Bhutan. Source: Kuensel
