A place transcends beyond the geographical boundaries, comprising various social, political, and spiritual activities of the people inhabiting it. For instance, Bhaktapur refers to the spatial context as much as it implies the people who have developed multiple sets of values for themselves. The ways of life, festivals, narratives (both mythical and historical), and folklore serve as the repository of knowledge about the place. This study approaches the actors who write Bhaktapur in literary writings by applying contextual readings in Nepal. I have included Abhi Subedi’s Dream of Peach Blossom (2002) and Bruised Evening (2011) since both the works reread the myths of Bhaktapur and interpret the city in a new light. Similarly, Krishna Dharabasi’s Tudal (2009) delves into the erotic imagery of woodcarving in Bhaktapur to explore its spiritual dimension. Yogesh Raj’s Ranahar (2018) and Devi Chandra Shrestha’s Bhaktapurma Gorkhali Hamala (2019) reread the historical reality of about a hundred and fifty years ago in the present context. Tejeshwor Babu Gwongah’s Charako Gudajhai Mero Janmasthal, Bhaktapur (2015) is a collection of poems in which the poet emotionally attaches himself to his native place and weaves a narrative of his place in the contemporary light. Also, Rupesh Shrestha’s Ghintang Ghisi Twak (2018) anthologizes poems written on the uneven shades of the quotidian life at present by critiquing them through the lens of a Newar festival, Gaijatra. Writing Bhaktapur has emerged as one of the interesting questions in literature in Nepal as it serves as a complex intellectual space comprising opposite values in one place. The place has drawn the attention of all modern intellectuals from inside and the Newar culture. The readings of the selected plays, fiction, and poetic works reveal that writing Bhaktapur depends on the interpretation of its myths and history in contemporary Nepali literature.

Keywords: Critique, Myth, History, Newar, Bhaktapur Studies, City Studies