Himal Press 
KATHMANDU: Nepal is set to receive more than 800 rare items, including 460 highly fragile palm-leaf manuscripts written in Sanskrit and Nepal Bhasha (Newari) in the Bhujimol script, from Germany.
The Embassy of Nepal in Berlin and Heidelberg University signed an agreement to hand over the manuscript at the Centre for Asian and Transcultural Studies (CATS) in Heidelberg last week. Chargé d’Affaires a.i. Sagar Prasad Phuyal and Professor Dr. Axel Michaels signed the agreement for the restitution of a significant collection of historical manuscripts popularly known as the Walter Rindfleisch Collection.
The materials, dating from the 13th to the 20th century, feature royal documents, court records, Sanskrit and Tantric texts, Ayurveda manuscripts, personal notes, travel diaries, and historically important correspondence.
Professor Michaels received the manuscripts from a private German collection on condition that they are safely returned to Nepal. The manuscripts underwent extensive conservation, digitization, and scientific cataloguing under his leadership with support from the Heidelberg University Library before their return to Nepal.
Receiving the manuscripts, Phuyal thanked Professor Michaels and all those involved in the preservation and restitution process. He said the gesture reflects deep respect for Nepal’s cultural heritage and contributes to ongoing efforts to recover and safeguard the country’s historical assets.
