| ashu |
Posted
on 27-May-02 03:16 AM
To learn more about Martin Chautari, please copy and paste this URL:
http://www.nepalnews.com.np/ntimes/feb9-2001/nation.htm#Kathmandu’s premier talk shop
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Martin Chautari is organizing following discussions this week-
Literary Discussion (Tuesday)
28 May 2002/ 14 Jestha 2059
Topic: Krishna Dharawasi's Uttamjung Sijapati Ko Aalu. (Collection of Essays)
Pundit: Janardan Ghimire
Time: 5 pm
Venue: Martin Chautari Premises, Thapathali
Media Discussion (Thursday)
30 May 2002/ 16 Jestha 2059
Topic: Problems of Women in Journalism.
Pundit: Sangita Lama, formerly of Himal Khabar-patrika
Time: 3 pm
Venue: Martin Chautari Premises, Thapathali
Discussions take place every TUESDAY and alternative Thursday at Martin Chautari (phone: 256239/240059) in Thapathali (contact if you need direction).
Participation is open to all.
Unless otherwise noted, discussions will be held in Nepali.
PO Box: 13470 Kathmandu.
Email: chautari@mos.com.np
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| ashu |
Posted
on 28-May-02 12:51 AM
Curious,
Sure.
You and others are more than welcome to join these Tuesday and Thursday discussions at Chautari (Thapa-thali) when you are here in Kathmandu.
Here's an extract from CK Lal's article, as per that link:
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[Discussion t]opics vary. From property rights for women to the lack of trust laws in Nepal, the predicament of people of the tarai, the status of women in Vedic literature, the threats to democracy and the vibrancy of the press—any topic of interest to anyone can be discussed at Chautari.
The procedure is simple. The programme for the month is fixed in advance, and circulated through e-mail, photocopied signs and word-of-mouth. The main speaker—the pundit in Chautari-speak—presents his views in about half-an-hour. After that, anyone with a view can be an expert commentator or an interrogator. This goes on for a couple of hours.
Chautari has no hierarchy. Pratyoush Onta, a convenor, says: “Chautari disagrees with the tradition of an elite speaking from the pulpit to an audience of lesser mortals listening respectfully. It is a forum for dialogue, or even polylogue.”
That, in essence, is the mission statement of sorts—not formally declared, but universally accepted by all those who frequent Chautari. “I am right, you are also right. I may be wrong, so could you. Let us think, listen, speak and re-think and develop a culture of communication.” Simple, challenging, and a helluva lot of fun.
This has been Chautari’s rallying cry since its humble beginning in October 1991 when water-resources engineer Bikash Pandey, Norwegian engineer Odd Hoftun and his Nepal-born political scientist son Martin, initiated a fortnightly discussion forum on “development philosophy”. When Martin died in a plane-crash in July 1992 on his way to Nepal from Oxford where he studied, Hoftun Sr made available some space for the forum to continue. Since April 1995, it has been called Martin Chautari.
Today, Chautari is run by a committed mix of activists, journalists, writers, commentators and students. Though it remains within the world of the word—spoken and written—its members have notched up remarkable successes in social activism.
Recently, it functioned as the focal point of a movement for the emancipation of kamaiyas in western Nepal. Earlier, Chautari members spearheaded the campaign to ban diesel three-wheelers from the Valley, and succeeded where better-funded NGOs and INGOs failed. Chautari is often the first place where non-conformist ideas are expressed and discussed.
After a decade, Chautari is reassessing itself. In an internal document floated for discussion, Ashutosh observes: “Chautari’s flagship programme—mangalbare—is a success and an anomaly.” Agrees Pratyoush Onta: “Even though it is exceedingly successful on its own, Chautari’s failure to replicate itself in Kathmandu and elsewhere in Nepal needs serious attention.” The kind of commitment required to run such a forum is not common anywhere. It is even less so in Nepal where intel-lectuals do not consider themselves learners, but interpreters of divine wisdom.
But Chautari has ignited a change. The ideals of Chautari— tolerance, respect for the other, and the freedom of thought and speech—remain with everyone who comes in contact with it. How many insti-tutions can claim to have initiated a culture and sustained it for over a decade, sticking to its undeclared mission? Success sits lightly on Chautari members.
They laugh it off as the reward of a job well done, and done for its own sake. It is this nonchalance that makes Chautari what it is—a live chat-room. Forget Internet versions. In a country of twenty-three million people, Nepal has about three hundred thousand phone lines, fifty thousand computers, and less than thirty-thousand Internet connections. Chautaris are not just relevant, but important.
The Chautari keeps the Socratic tradition alive in a city that is getting impersonal by the day without fully acquiring the urbanity of a metropolis. That in itself is something to celebrate.
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