THE MAITIGHAR MANDALA

Maitighar Mandala – The Maitighar Mandala located at the heart of Kathmandu has been a popular shrine for social activists all around the country. Now it is not merely a place but and emotion, a means of expression of rage, resentment and discontment towards any government decisions. Whenver the public feel discontentment on any social issue, we can see a prodigious amount of cathartic furore around the Maitighar Mandala. Some people are performing the street dramas, some are blindfolding their eyes, some are holding the play cards and shrieking relentlessly. You can see many activities in a single small place.

But … But why Maitighar mandala? Why don’t they gather around the Baneshwor or Basantapur area where the population is most dense? Why not the Tundikhel or Khulamanch area. You know a lot of people could be accomodated around those area right? But why do people like Punya Gautam, Jwala Sangraula, Jaya Nari, Bhawana Raut or other social activists mill around this particular place? Why is this place chosen to be a venue for rallies, peace vigils, protests and demonstrations around the valley?

Well perhaps because Maitighar Mandala is not a park, nor a street. It’s rather like a park within the street. It is a traffic island in close proximity to Singh Durbar and Supreme court, the main administrative and judicial bodies of the country. So if you raise voices in this area, you can easily trasmit the voices to the walls of Singh Durbar and the Supreme Court. And… if you feel bored while participating or watching the protests. You can just ponder over the beauty of Mandala Carvings in the island. You know? The Maitighar Mandala, the traffic island  at the confluence of Thapathali, Babarmahal and Bhadrakali, is embellished with impeccable art depicting the Buddhist relics, with Astamangals at the corners and concentric circles of different colors and designs at the center.

But do you know how did it get it’s name? Like why it is named Maitighar – the abode of girls before marriage? Well during the late ’60s, a huge poster of the upcoming movie – Maitighar was flyposted at this intersection of roads. Influenced by the huge display, the bus conductors, drivers, pedlars and pedestrians started calling it by the name “Maitighar”. Further during the late 90’s, during the mayorship of Keshav Sthapit, the island was created and embroidered with a beautiful Mandala carving and since then the island is christened "The Maitighar Mandala".

You know? Political instability is quite frequent in Nepal. The government is unable to satisfy the needs and demands of citizens, In every step, in every tread, there is a profuse number of bureaucrats and racketeers you have to deal with. Despite your relentless hard work and perseverance, you cannot get a scholarship, you cannot get a job, you cannot get a driving license, you cannot get anything, literally anything if you have no contact with some “BIG GUY” or unless you have some “GODFATHER” in politics. The public is literally fed up with the government. They have to go through a lot of such pains and sufferings due to the incompetence of the government. They have suppressed their rage for a long time but how long can they?

Despite all the pains, torment and sufferings we have to go through, whenever anybody of our country is in trouble, we go to the Maitighar Mandala. Maitighar Mandala has now become a symbol that we all are together. Just like how we fought for the justice of Nirmala Panta, Just like how we raised our voices when a slander or fake allegation was imposed on Rabi Lamichhane for inciting the suicide of journalist Shaligram Pudasaina,  Just like how we put the culprit Manoj Pandey behind the bars for raping a teen-aged girl who was just pursuing her dream through the beauty pageant program, whenever anything goes wrong in the country, we held our hands together to express the wreathe of solidarity and fraternity. No matter what tribe, caste, religion, color or gender we are, WE ARE ONE.