Kathmandu, July 11 -- As distinctive as the hiti system is, it is equally complex. In 'Hiti Pranali', Padmasundar Joshi argues that, rather than simply referring to it as a 'hiti', the term used during the Licchavi period was 'Hiti Pranali'. He says that adding Pranali captures the entire system of Hitis, rather than just reducing it to a spout. It is because they are not isolated structures but crucial elements of Nepal's water system that once was the lifeline to numerous settlements.

Many years ago, accessing water was an arduous task in itself. Hitis existed to solve that problem. Similarly, without these carved stone spouts, people would have been confined to living along riverbanks, as in most civilisations around the world. It use...