statues

Inside it are rooms filled with statues of Nepal's sacred gods and goddesses.

In the past five years, he has hired half a dozen craftsmen to create replicas of these statues, each taking between three months and a year to finish.

In Nepal, such statues reside in temples all across the country and are regarded as part of the country's "living culture", rather than mere showpieces, says Sanjay Adhikari, the secretary of the Nepal Heritage Recovery Campaign.

It is also common for followers to touch these statues for blessings - meaning they are also rarely guarded - leaving them wide open for thieves.

"If you think about Ireland then, the Kerry babies were in '84, the moving statues was in '85, there was no abortion and no divorce and maybe not even contraception so it was a completely different landscape," he said.