Theatre for Social Change in Kathmandu, Nepal
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School of Oriental and African Studies University of London REHEARSING FOR LIFE: THEATRE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE IN KATHMANDU, NEPAL Monica Mottin Doctor in Philosophy Social Anthropology 2009-10 ProQuest Number: 10673177 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a com plete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10673177 Published by ProQuest LLC(2017). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Monica Mottin 2 Acknowledgements Infinite gratitude goes to all the artists and activists whose collaboration made this research possible. This research could be carried out thanks to a grant from the CRF (University of London). I wish to thank my supervisors Prof. David Mosse and Prof. Michael Hutt for their inspirational ideas and support during the challenges of the fieldwork and writing up, and my family, for their patience and love. 3 Abstract The objective is this research is to examine the production and performance of theatrical activities aiming at bringing about social change in both development and political intervention. My investigation began with Aarohan Theatre Group, a Kathmandu-based professional company and subsequently extended to Maoist cultural troupes. I have taken a critical perspective considering theatre as a mode of socio-cultural practice embedded in the wider socio-political reality. Thus, I present an account of what it means to do theatre and live by theatre in contemporary Nepal, from 2005 to 2006, through the artists' perspective. Co-performance, that is participation in some performances, complemented participant observation as a methodology. Theatre provides an outstanding context for both social reflection and symbolic action. In a manner similar to ritual, theatrical performances can become deliberate means for both constructing and de-constructing power and symbolically legitimizing or de-legitimizing authority. In Nepal, modern artistic and political theatre developed side by side. First, an historical overview of its development will set the scene for understanding the role played by theatrical performances in the years 2005-2006. In fact, during my fieldwork, history repeated itself. The restrictions on civil rights imposed by the king through the 2005 Emergency affected both street and proscenium theatre activities. Subsequently, ethnographic descriptions will illustrate the theatrical apparatus that the king employed to legitimize his power and how autocracy was similarly resisted and fought against in the streets through theatrical forms of protest and street theatre, loktantrik natak. I will then narrow my focus to a specific form of participatory street performance, kachahari natak, to describe how it was adopted and adapted in Nepal and how the theatre group developed as an organization. In conclusion, I will draw comparisons between different forms of 'theatre for social change1, kachahari natak, loktantrik natak and Maoist cultural programmes. 4 Table of contents ABSTRACT 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 8 LIST OF TABLES 9 chapter one INTRODUCTION 1. RESEARCH BACKGROUND AND KEY QUESTIONS 10 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 14 2 . 1 . Theatre, acting and life: 'altered states' of consciousness and transform ation 1 4 2 .2 . Theatre fo r social change 1 9 2.2.1. SOME DEFINITIONS 1 9 2.2.2. The crux o f PARTICIPATION 2 4 2 .2 .3 . ‘Street th e a t r e ’ in South A sia 2 8 2 .3 . T heatre in N epal 3 1 2 .3 .1 . Divin e actions in Nepali theatre 3 2 2 .3 .2 . When th e actor BECOMES god 3 4 2 .3 .3 . A RITUAL TOPOGRAPHY 3 7 2 .3 .4 . T heatre and th e Royal P alace 3 8 2 .3 .5 . Aar o h an T heatre Group a n d th e growth of th e art in Nepal 4 2 3. METHODOLOGY 49 3 .1 . M ulti- sites 4 9 3 .2 . M ulti- dramatis PERSONA 5 3 3 .3 . Just a shallow play ? 5 6 3 .4 . For whom does the ' rite of s e pa r a tio n ' w ork ? 5 8 4. CONCLUSION 59 chapter two SPACING OUT 1. THE PANCHAYAT 'COUNTERFEIT1 WORLD 63 2. MULTIPLE STAGES: ART AS POLITICS 68 2 .1 , M MET A GOD' 7 3 2 .2 . 'Art for l i f e ' s s a k e ’ 7 6 3. INTO THE STREETS: THEATRE FOR POLITICAL CHANGE 80 3 .1 . T heatre with a m ission 8 2 4. ARTISTS IN THE 1990 REVOLUTION 86 5 5. CONCLUSION 89 chapter three THE STREETS BECOME THE STAGE:ON PERFORMANCE, PROTEST AND THEATRE IN A TIME OF CRISIS 1. THEATRE OF/AND POLITICAL STRUGGLE 91 2. PERFORMING AUTOCRACY 94 2.1. S ile n c e d 95 2 .2 . T he S hah 'theatre s ta te ' 9 8 3. STREET PROGRAMMES FOR DEMOCRACY AND PEACE 106 4. THE PERFORMANCE OF DISSENT 111 5. CLOSED STREETS, AND AN OPEN STAGE 121 5 .1 . Loktantrik natak, or theatre for democracy 1 2 4 5 .2 . Theatre from the heart 1 3 5 6. CONCLUSION 140 chapter four DOING KACHAHARI NATAK IN KATHMANDU 1. THEATRE IN DEVELOPMENT: A BACKGROUND 145 2. DEVI’S DREAMS 149 3. KACHAHARI NATAK 151 3 .1 . N epalizing Forum T heatre 1 5 2 3 .2 . M ainstreaming kachahari natak 1 5 4 4. SEARCHING FOR A FORMAT: AN ’URBAN FORUM' 1 57 4 .1 . Issue- based kachahari 1 5 8 4 .2 . Workshop-based kachahari 1 7 6 5. A CULTURAL ARMY FOR A CULTURAL REVOLUTION 179 6. REVOLUTIONARY NATAK'. 'AFTER UNDERSTANDING' 180 7. CONCLUSION 186 chapter five THE 'NORMALITY' OF THE SPECIAL: THE PROFESSIONALIZATION OF ACTING 1. FROM STIGMA TO GLAMOUR 192 2. GURUKUL FOUNDATION MYTHS 2 0 0 2 .1 . ' I nstitutionalizing ' the theatre group 2 0 6 2 .1 . Re-inventing the modern guru 2 0 8 2.3. From guru to teacher? 212 6 3. REVOLUTIONARY ARTISTS AND ART FOR 'SOCIAL CHANGE' 219 4. BEING POLITICAL ARTISTS AND ACTIVISTS 220 5. CONCLUSION 224 chapter six: CONCLUSIONS 1. HOT STAGES: ARTS-IN-TRANSITION 228 2. ‘KACHAHARI IS NOT ONLY THEATRE, IT IS SOCIAL WORK' 233 3. CONCLUSION 238 BIBLIOGRAPHY 242 7 List of illustrations Fig. 1. The torana of the temple dedicated to Natyashwari in Patan. It represents the dancing god. Fig. 2. Senior artists are venerated in Gurukul during Guru Tika day. Fig. 3. Artists impersonating the gods dance during Kartik Nach. Fig. 4. Pamphlets celebrating the prince birthday are stuck over commercial movie posters. Fig. 5. One of the king's hoardings. Fig. 6. Bag Bazar during a day of bandha, December 2004. Fig.7. The audience starts gathering around the lorry that functions as stage. Fig.8. Members of CMDP introduce the programme. Fig.9. Sunil Pokharei on the microphone recounts the tale while the artists perform the actions. Fig. 10. Om Prakash sets the ropes delimiting the space where the citizens are obliged to move. Fig.11. Bhola, other citizens and I still searching for a way out. Fig.12. Kamal manages to free himself while Rajan juggles between co-actors, speakers andphotographers. Fig. 13. Even Rajan breaks free from the rope while in the background Suresh is caught in the effort of liberating himself. Fig.14. Pashupati and Mahesh exult. Performers and spectators mix. Fig.15. Samuna, Nisha and I also enjoy the newly conquered freedom. Fig. 16. A common citizen played by Ram Hari requests, with a red cloth, loktantrik ganatantra to the Maoist leader played by Bhola. Fig.17. The Nepali Congress leader, played by Suresh, on the TV speech. Fig. 18. Kamal, the recruiter, smiles with pride while preparing his vigilantes, played by Rajan and Pashupati. Fig. 19. People get knot in the complexity of the political scenario. Fig.20. Yuvaraj as joker discusses with the audience and asks for possible ways out. Fig.21. Rehearsing the continuation of the play. Fig. 22. Crowd gathered around a kachahari performance in Balaju Market, Kathmandu. Fig. 23. Rajan as joker introduces the rules of kachahari natak to the students and performs a game requiring arms coordination. Fig. 24. The artists gather in a circle and sing the opening song, Fig. 25. The father performed by Suresh calls his daughter, performed by Pashupati, to go to Kathmandu Fig. 26. A banner symbolizes the bus to Kathmandu. Fig. 27. Father and daughter are greeted by the house-owner played by Saugat. Fig. 28. The wife, played by Aruna, shows Devi the different rooms she has to clean. Fig. 29. Devi helps the son to get ready for school but she cannot go herself. Fig. 30. A teacher (wearing a purple sari) enters the forum section and tries to persuade the couple to send Devi to school. Fig, 31. A student replaces Devi. Fig, 32. Final scene of the Cultural Programme staged at the Nepal Academy in September 2006. Fig. 33. Leaders of the Cultural Section of the CPN (Maoist) head a rally in Chitwan, October 2006. Fig. 34. Leaders sing the 'International' with a raised clenched fist at the opening of the cultural programme, Chitwan 2006. Fig. 35. Some members of the audience also raise their fists and sing along. Fig. 36, Dancers wear Chinese-style martial art costumes during the song Yugie aja bhanchha (Today the epoch says).