Prompt: To design a flag for my birth city under which people can march in times of crisis
Kathmandu
Kathmandu is the capital city of Nepal. It is one of the 3 cities in the valley of Kathmandu. Kathmandu has been described as the city of temples in the history. It is not true anymore due to the rapid urbanization, but there used to be more temple than houses. Temples are a significant part of Kathmandu's culture.
The city at a glance
Thumbail Sketches:
I was picking out the elements from the cultural sites in the city that I could possibly use in my flag design.
Cultural similarity within the 3 cities in the valley of Kathmandu
Silhouette of the major temples around the valley of Kathmandu. Kathmandu city lies in the valley of Kathmandu with 2 other cities: Bhaktapur and Lalitpur.
Versions:
I played around with the color to figure out what works the best
I used colors red and yellow in my design to represent the religious tolerance between the two major religions of hinduism and buddhism in the city. Red is the scared color of Hinduism whereas yellow to represent buddhism.
Chosen design:
The gradiant in this design with the silhouette made it look like dusk so I chose this design
I used the shapes of the temples, the bell and the mountain range in my flag. The silhouette on the left hand side represents all the smaller temples scattered around the city. The silhouette in the middle is a spherical stupa. There are two spherical stupas both of great importance in the city. One of them is Swayambhunath stupa on the top of a hill surrounded by both hindu and buddhist temples representing tolerance. The hill was the only land visible when Kathmandu valley was still a lake. The other one is Boudhanath Stupa; the biggest spherical stupa in Nepal which is said to be the gateway from Tibet to Kathmandu. The prayer flag hanging from the top of the stupa represents great power to defeat evil. The one on the right is a Taleju temple in the heart of the city which opens only once a year for the public. The bell represents a bidding to the people of the city to stand together in time of crisis. In ancient times, the bell used to be rung by the Royal Messenger outside the palace to give information to the public. On clear days we can see the Himalayan range from the valley. I put them in a circle to represent hills surrounding the valley from all sides.