Daily Archives: August 26, 2006

Nepali Democracy Thanks You Chhaya Devi Parajuli

Posted on August 26, 2006 by | 10 Comments

chhaya devi parajuli
Nepali Congress General Secretary Ram Chandra Poudel covers the body of Chhaya Devi Parajuli by chartare of Nepali Congress. Pic by Bikash Karki

Obituary

The tireless participation of Chhayadevi Parajuli in pro-democracy movements made her one of the most prominent faces of freedom fighting in Nepal. She was old but her enthusiasm was amazingly young. She was courting arrests, clashing with police, chanting slogans denouncing monarchy and waiving flags. She was leading rallies, or at least was in the front of the rallies that were organized by the political parties aiming at restoring democracy in Nepal. When she was not carrying the chartare (four-starred) flag of Nepali Congress, she would put that on her body and chant slogans. She wasn’t just confining herself in rallies organized by Nepali Congress. She was seen on the front of a rally organized by CPN UML in Biratnagar. Continue reading →

→ 10 Comments

Posted in Democracy Wall 2

Teej Ko Lahara Aayo Barilai: Politics In Nepali Women’s Festival

Posted on August 26, 2006 by | 41 Comments

Teej Festival Dancing

Teej songs, detailing dukkhas and sufferings, are being used to create political and social awareness

By Kathryn Hohman

In her 1988 article, feminist author Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak poses the rhetorical question, “can the subaltern speak?” In Nepal they sing. Each year married, unmarried and widowed women travel to their natal homes to take part in a ritual that is growing increasingly controversial. Teej has functioned, not only as an important ritual for Hindu women, but as a site of critical social commentary for dozens of years. It is for this celebration that I came to Nepal. Bearing witness to the changing elements of Teej in this crucial political environment, my mission is simple: to document these expressions in this specific space in time. I am not here as a development worker or a diplomat, as a trekker or a tourist. I am here to absorb this event and put it out into the world when I leave so that other cultures might understand different modes of identity construction and the forums in which it is discussed. Continue reading →

→ 41 Comments

Posted in Nepali Society

Tagged , , , ,