The Kathmandu PostSunday, November 12, 20064 EXPRESSION

By GHANSHYAM SHARMA

During this Dashain and Tihar, I got dozensof emails sprinkled with the blessings ofgoddess Durga. I usually thank the

sender, but with some of the more intimatefriends I couldn't help grumbling about issues ofculture, change and individual responsibility.My conversation centered on our love of repeat-ing dead habits and failure to influence theyounger generation with new perspectives.

The first thing we don't do is think 'other-wise.' Sel-roti is our metaphor; we love to goround and round in our thinking. We let biologyand Darwinism gather dust at home, and go to atemple to ask for a grandson. Nepalis becomeprogressive only to turninto a bhakta of somekind of irrationality as weturn forty. Sel roti. Ourdemocracy is also likesel-roti, and so are ourmany social, cultural,political predicaments.

And we love it thatway. We don't bother totell a bitter truth to afriend, and we bother notto tell the truth to our-selves. When the festivalscome, we must rethinkhow much of the dead oldhabits we are repeating.Many things we do inDashain/Tihar are justdead habits, odious if notrotten. Sons-in-lawreceive thick envelopesthat the old father-in-law has to fill through hardwork every year, but they never rethink about it.We practise dead habits, and we don't talk aboutthe ugliness involved in the socio-economicdynamism that Dashain brings about.

We make our wives play the 'buhari' role andremind us of the eternal oppression of women.Just that we don't mind, as we men sit doingwhole lots of nothing for the whole vacation. Wedon't notice how poor Thute Sarki fails to com-plete a smile at us when we meet him on his wayto the landlord, we know the rate of interest forthe money he borrows, and so do the Maoistcadres.

I remember asking a priest in a temple inTamil Nadu why they differed from otherHindus in the way they didn't offer milk andladdu, ghee and acchyata to the gods. He smiledand said, "You'd better give those things to

human being to make prabhu happy!" It hurtsme to remember the image of the priest inPashupatinath pouring hundreds of liters of milkon the unhappy lord's stone heads every day.And we all know where the money goes. I amalso thinking of the Protestant revolution inFrance in the Medieval times. When are wegoing to do anything significant about our cul-ture, except the dead habits?

Many things we keep repeating in the nameof culture are just cats we tie to the pillar becausewe'd seen our father do the same. I am thinkingof the inability of our intellectuals to tell theirchildren that our culture and religion are basi-cally the product and process of social life-sothey must change and fit our needs and situa-tions. They were formulated by men living thou-sands of years ago, with an entirely different

understanding andperspective aboutthe universe and lifeand only certain'timeless' themesare useful.

Many things inour education,administration, pol-itics, and culturallife need just a sec-ond thought. Canwe do it in a moremeaningful way?Stop pouring milkover Pashupatinath.Perhaps, we canlearn from theamazing flexibilityof our grandpar-ents. Here's anexample: when they

didn't have seven real 'pundits,' they let sixBrahmins made of 'kush' stand on the rice on the'taparis.' Can't we mix a spoon of milk on a gagri-full of water and bathe Shivajee? Or if we can beas outrageous as the Tamil priests, we could stopit. Seriously.

Emails and tea talks are important becauseyou can tell a lot of people about dead habits.And, if most of them can't be interested, they'll atleast laugh at you and digest sel roti better. I amthinking of the way a few cranky people's talkhas made history in every generation: Rousseau,Gangalal, Russell, BP, Ibsen, Madan Bhandari.And I am sure that rethinking at the level of teatalk contributes to the making of history.

If you will tell your friend that he has a shredof spinach sticking between his teeth, why won'tyou tell her that her thoughts also need cleaningup?

Our Kumari will be going to schoollike other ordinary girls. Wait, notso soon and of course, not so easily.

The 'landmark' Supreme Court orderwhich came on Wednesday, 1 November2006, to inquire if the tradition of wor-shipping a "living goddess" has led to theexploitation of girls and the violation ofhuman rights, wouldn't delight most of thepeople from her own community.

The tradition of installing a 'living god-dess' had started around 17th century inNepal. Still, the tradition has a large num-ber of supporters. The people from Newaricommunity greatly admire and worshipthe 'goddess'. However, the tradition hasbeen a subject of criticism among the fem-inists and the human rights activists forsome time now.

The 'transitional-period', as our politi-cal leaders put in, has brought so manysocial, cultural and legal issues at the fore-front. All of a sudden, 'old' issues havebecome 'new' and 'challenging' as neverbefore. Yet, finally the 'bare' verdict hasarrived, and what we common Nepali peo-ple feel is a sense of triumph over the 'tra-dition' which has been binding us eventhough we are heading onto the 21st cen-tury.

When we divulge into the issue of'exploitation' of children in the context ofNepal, there is a very disturbing realitythat awaits us. Those street-children,those young conductors, those children'employed' in so many big and smallhotels, shops and offices of Kathmandu,those who have been forced to carry armsin the so-called 'liberation army' of therebels and those who have been a memberof our own families- they are constantlyexploited, and it rarely makes a news-headline in our all-powerful and presti-gious news-media.

It is said that so many NGOs, INGOs,the government and so many other peoplelike the human rights activist and philan-thropists have invested so much time and'money' to help these destitute, helplessand illiterate children, but what you seemakes you feel like those were just falserumors. What surprises this author mostis the 'bliss of ignorance' our concernedofficials do possess.

There is a clear 'direction' as not toemploy children under a 'pre-defined' age-bar on even the KMC-certificates that ishung in almost all the shops and enterpris-es in the valley. In the so-called 'hearts' of

the Kathmandu valley, you will find manychildren, under the age of 10/12, workingas 'domestic-assistants' in homes, hotelsand vendors. It would be no surprise if wehappen to hear a minister or two 'employ-ing' them in their own properties.

But the tradition of Kumari is not asso-ciated so much with 'exploitation'. It ismore associated with the people's 'expec-

tations'. A 'living-goddess' is expected tobehave like one. A personal journey 'fromgoddess to mortal' is not one she is pre-pared for. Some people might say that we,Bahuns and Chhhetris, Magars or the peo-ple belonging to Madhesi communitymight not be able to apprehend so manythings about Newari culture and tradition.These people would say that the 'tradition'can't be 'judged' from an outsider's per-spective. However, what everybody shouldbe able to apprehend is the feeling of seg-regation, of failure to socialize and of themounting difficultly which every retiredKumaris have gone through.

This author has been fortunate toaccompany the Kumari to the Taleju tem-ple a few years back on kalratri, the eightday of the Dashain festival. It was thenthat I had observed the rituals so minute-ly. In fact, what I found so fascinating havenever ceased to bemuse yet. I bow down tothe 'goddess' as an ordinary person, and Ifind myself unable to dismiss her as ahuman being like all of us. I think that thisis the main problem with the tradition initself. With so many 'hindrances', so manysecrets and complexities of the tradition,an outsider like me and so many peoplefrom within the Newar community wouldfind it hard to say if the tradition is about'exploiting the girls' or not. The need for

the reconsideration of few aspects of thetradition is a 'just' call of the hour. Whatworries most of the people is the negativeeffects, if there are any, of the 'forced'installation of a child into a 'symbol' of apowerful goddess alongside the violationsof her basic or minimum rights as a childand human being. Nobody has said thatthis tradition should be discontinued, theyare willing to see the reforms that wouldbenefit the child and the whole society initself.

A minimum of Rs.6000 pension thata retired Kumari gets after her reversioncan't be an adequate 'compensation' ofher 'imprisonment' and loss of normalchildhood. Of course, there are difficul-ties and hardships that ex-Kumaris gothrough in day to day living, but we havefor long turned a blind eye to suchaccounts. There are many beautiful andpositive aspects of the Kumari tradition,however, the faithful followers of the'goddess' should also seriously considerthe negative aspects of the tradition. Forthis, first and foremost, the ex-Kumarisshould come out and help to aware peo-ple about the different aspects of the tra-dition themselves.

The former Kumaris should tell us, ifthey really think that they were exploited inthe name of a glorious tradition. The ex-Kumaris can only tell us if there is suchurgency to reform or 'modernize' the insti-tution or not. They surely know more aboutthe tradition and the whole experience ofbeing transformed from an ordinary childto the post of Kumari and back to being anormal human being. Our retired 'goddess-es' must come out, and speak for the causeof the 'divinity' themselves.

To sum it up, the Supreme Court ordershould be taken in a positive light, andthose who called it a 'landmark decision'have rightly said so. The Kumari-traditionshould never be discontinued, but theinstitution should possess the courage tomove along the redefining times of thetwenty-first century. People are in nomood to stop worshipping the 'living-god-dess' but there is a need to reform andreconsider the whole custom. We haveexpressed a desire to benefit the child, forher better future. The 'goddess' will surelybless us for all our concerns and initiativesto ensure the child a normal childhoodand a better life. May, Goddess Kumaribless us all, especially the child she haschosen to be.

Thinking new

Nepali Theatre as a see it - ByDr Abhi Subedi Publishers - Arrohan, GurukulPrice - NRS 225,Edition - First, Pages- 237

ISBN: 99946-998-9-x

All the world's a stage; And allthe men and women merelyplayers", said William

Shakespeare in the pastoral comedyAs You Like It. This cannot be lesstrue in case of Dr Abhi Subedi,except that he loves to play differentroles in life with a same sense ofmastery and perfection. With thepublication of Nepali Theatre as ISee It, the poet-cum-artcritic-cum-playwright has added a new perspec-tive to the study of Nepali theatricalheritage.

The book, says Dr Subedi, is anoutcome of his personal efforts toperceive the structural forms of theperformative culture of Nepal and itsinfluence on Nepali theatre. Neatlydivided into nine sections, the bookcommences with an overview of the

performance culture. The history ofperformance culture in Nepal datesback to time immemorial, to thetime of the Lichavvi and Malla kingswhen the Kathmandu city waslargely inhabited by the Newars.There is no term to describe the tra-dition of performance culture, eventhough it was manifest in both tan-gible -- and intangible -- artistic andcultural forms. These formschanged into newer forms as theypassed from one generation toanother. Dr Subedi's quest as anartist was to study the differentforms of performance tradition andthe way they were metamorphosedinto newer forms.

Although a narrative of DrSubedi's own journey as a play-wright, the book combines histori-cal narratives with autobiographicalelements. Chapter- Two, Three,Four and Five deals more with his-

tory of Nepali theatre while Chapter-6 onward is autobiographical. DrSubedi begins with a generaloverview of the heritage of Nepalitheatre that has been largely shapedby performance tradition. He makesextensive use of the term NepalMandala, which incorporates theart, architecture, dramaturgy,music, dance and performance cul-ture of the historic cities ofKathmandu, Bhaktapur andLalitpur. For Dr Subedi, one uniquefeature of the Nepal Mandala is thatall forms of art that exist here projecta strong sense of performance. Theplaywright sees dynamism not onlyin the songs and dances accompany-ing street festivals, but also in thestone sculptures surrounding theancient Chagunarayan temple,paintings, murals and many sucharchitectural designs.

Dr Subedi's approach to the his-tory of Nepali theatre is scientificand systematic - he first states hishypothesis, then goes on assimilat-ing facts and data, tracks down his-

torical narratives, incorporates find-ings of foreign and domestic schol-ars, and finally sets his conclusion.He begins his theatrical journeyright from the medieval ages; studiesthe influence of Parsi theatre andtheatricians such as Keshar Man

Tuladhar, Master Ratnadas Prakash,Hari Prasad Rimal and BekhNarayan Maharjan; and then allots awhole chapter for revolutionarydramatist Bal Krishna Sama and hiscontributions in bringing theatrefrom the courtyards of the Ranarulers to the public. In Chapter-5, hediscusses the influence of natural-ism, realism and surrealism inNepali theatre and experimentalplays written by writers such asBhim Nidhi Tiwari, Satya Mohan

Joshi and Madhav Ghimere. One thing remarkable about Dr

Subedi is that he knows how to jux-tapose subtle comments while talk-ing about lighter issues in a leisurelymood. For instance, in the sub-unitStreet March as Power of

Performance of Chapter-2, he istalking about the heritage of traveland the carnivalesque mode ofdemonstration during the Newarstreet performance. Out of blue, hebrings in King Prithivi Narayan Shahand explains how things changedafter he rode the chariot that wasmeant for King Jaya Prakash Mallawho fled after his kingdom wasinvaded by a Shah king from thehouse of Gorkhas. Dr Subedi contin-ues with his subtle comments as heexplains how the streets ofKathmandu are being less used forritualistic celebration and more forbroader political demonstrationsthese days!

That is not to say that he isagainst political demonstrations,however. In the same unit, he nos-talgically remembers the 1990 revolution and the way streetsbecame a stage for a political showthat heralded democracy. Dr Subedi's description is sure toremind us of the recent April upris-ing that paved the way for the for-mation of a new democratic state.Talking of streets, Dr Subedi hasdevoted an entire chapter to studythe relation of theatre and streets.He deals with the theme of traveland street elsewhere as well. InChapter-2, for instance, there is aseparate sub-section called Heritageof Street, where the playwright discusses how the two tropes "jour-

ney" and "street" have shaped thetradition of Nepali theatre. He haselaborately described how peopleacted dramas on streets, infusingthem with dances and songs. Says DrSubedi, "On streets gods travel inpalanquins carried by followers;kings traveled on chariots, firstRolls-Royce cars that came on peo-ple's backs to Kathmandu ran onstreets here raising clouds of dust…the Rana chiefs riding horses anddrawing swords stand by the sides ofthe streets as though they were con-stantly peering down at the passersby."

The playwright has beautifullydeciphered the relation of travel andarchitectural space in the sub-sec-tion Rituals of Travel andArchitectural Space of Chapter-2.According to Dr Subedi, the streetmarches in ancient Newari festivalssuch as Gaijatra and Indrajatrawere to pass "in front of houses thathad windows open to streets." Here,the open windows served as a stagefrom where the spectators couldview the street performance. Atother times, the stage included royalcourtyards such as the square atHanumandhoka designed to accom-modate a huge audience, or raisedplatforms (dabalis) constructed invast open spaces for public con-sumption of plays.

In a nutshell, Dr Subedi's new book on theatre is a good readfor Westerners as well as Easternersand domestic lovers of theatre.When I first got hold of the book, I was highly impressed by the color-ful jacket, the smooth foliage, and the beautiful arrangement of photos.However, Dr Subedi needs to devotea few quiet hours to correct some of the minor typos when the next edition of the volume comesout.

Reviewed by Monica Regmimonica@kantipur.com.np

Nepali theatre and performance culture

Kumari: The arresting goddess

The street marches

in ancient Newari

festivals such as

Gaijatra and

Indrajatra were

designed to pass

"in front of houses

that had windows

open to streets."

Here, the open win-

dows served as a

stage from where

the spectators

could view the

street performance.

By SALIK SHAH

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