The loss of the Narayanhiti Palace will deprive the Shahs of a significant symbol of royal power. This palace in the heart of the capital has been the abode of five kings—Prithvi Bir Bikram Shah Dev, Tribhuvan, Mahendra, Birendra and now Gyanendra. It was in this palace that the massacre of Birendra and his family took place in June 2001. The complex was purified under Hindu rites and Tribhuvan Sadan, the site of the gruesome event, was razed as per the astrological suggestion.

“All these palaces now belong to the Government and the people,” said K B Mahara, a Maoist minister and government spokesperson. Besides Narayanhiti, three royal dwellings are located in Kathmandu’s Basantpur, Patan and Bhaktapur and the rest in Nuwakot, Lamjung and Gorkha, the ancestral seat of the Shah dynasty. While Hanuman Dhoka at Basantpur is still used for royal ceremonies, the Gorkha Durbar houses a shrine to the royal family deity and is often visited by the King for pujas.

Four other country houses will soon be taken over too. These include Diyalo bungalow in Chitwan district, built by King Mahendra. “It’s a modest house,” said the caretaker, adding, “would not earn much even if the Government sold it.” Another is Ratnamandir which Mahendra built in Pokhara near the famous Fewa lake. Two more palaces, Nagarjun and Gokarana, are forest resorts that Gyanendra inherited from his maternal side. Gokarna Palace has been given on a 30-year lease for $5 million to L M Subir Brothers to run as a golf and wildlife park.

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