Inside Ratna Park, the scene is of couples chatting, young men wandering in groups, old men talking politics, vendors selling. It seems like one of those recesses during school hours.Kathmandu is not known for parks and recreation, and whatever places the city has seem unwelcoming. [break]However, there is a mass—unlike the ones sipping cappuccinos in Thamel or hipsters on Durbar Marg—that takes the benefits of what the capital offers.
The smell of roasted corn on the cob and constant hollering of the hawkers, who congest and narrow the entrance, welcomes visitors to this park. The initial impression: not impressive. Make your way through the crowd, and you’re greeted by an undernourished fountain; the water out of the spout is a myth today.
As the small path leads to the open space, people are in their own zone, cherishing the moment. Under the pink and purple blossoms, which add some beauty to the distorted park, couples are romancing, gently holding hands, trying to whisper. Under the shade of a tree, a couple shares a bottle of juice, the girl’s eyes pointed to the ground, the look of shyness on her face. At the other end of the park, there are other pairs seen and heard giggling.
While couples rejoice their company, single men don’t leave an opportunity to ogle at women and start flirting. Sitting on the green benches scattered in the park or under trees, men in groups or lonely hearts try to tease the women who pass by and flirt with the women vendors who constantly pass every soul in the park to sell what they have—bottles of water, fruits and peanuts.
On a hot summer afternoon, it is also a day of business for many at Ratna Park. Many vendors line inside the park with their nanglos filled with chocolates, cigarettes and packs of instant noodles. People queue for panipuris and chana chatpate. For another seller under a big tree, the day looks busy and beneficial as he keeps serving his customers one after another. The yellow carts of Lovely Special Kulfi roll from one corner to the other, cubes of pineapples and papayas lay displayed on small plates, often attacked by flies, and mobile carts offering momo, sausages and barbeques are surrounded by customers.
Lovebirds and vendors aside, the space is also crowded by leisure seekers. Sole souls sit on the benches, looking at passersby, or read local newspapers. People in groups sit on the dusty ground, talk and laugh.
And while some have come to the park to seek some solace, there are also people who have come to be the center of attention, either to make money, or express their freedom of speech.
A group of people gather around a mini circus. And as the performers beat their drums and show their skills, the audience claps and give some coins as a mark of their appreciation. Meanwhile, across the circus hullabaloo, there is a bigger crowd. A middle-aged man has climbed a tree, pouring out his political anguish. His vocal cord goes uninterrupted for almost an hour as he talks about the current political situation, former king Gyanendra, the Maoists, Nepali Congress, Nepal Army, and the Madhesh. And as he harangues in this Hyde Park of Kathmandu, people pause, listen, and pass comments and move. He certainly is a crowd puller, and the ones who might have come to the park without a purpose, it is an entertaining diversion.
Be it for some form of entertainment, time-pass, or to sit under the shade of the trees, or beneath the cute-looking concrete umbrellas, or for children to play and couples to cuddle, people look relaxed. There are no worrisome expressions, people don’t hasten to reach their destinations. They have reached a place where they can just sit and stare.
However, Ratna Park doesn’t seem like the best place. In some way or the other, park goers can be held responsible. Almost all of them. As they finish their eating and drinking fiesta, the visitors trash their leftovers in the open space. What remain are empty packs of noodles and biscuits, cigarette butts and plastic bottles that men kick as if they are targeting a football to a goalpost. And amid all the litter spread, the small concrete trash cans remain unfilled.
With its hangers-on playing, sitting, wandering, or simply gazing at the passersby, Ratna Park is lively throughout the day. For some, it’s a place to rest; for a certain crowd, it’s a place to date; and for many others, it’s just a park.
And as the sun sets, and as the day comes to an end, and while some still enjoy the park, people are out of Ratna Park and face the junction where pedestrians, street vendors and the bustling traffic merge. Toward their destinations, people walk left and right, or hop onto the microbuses parked outside.
But Ratna Park is more than just a park. It’s an epitome of all the political activities in the country; it’s the center where activists gather before they disperse.
And more than this, it’s a point, a virtual margin that defines two different sides of the city. On its right, as you face north, and past the Ghanta Ghar, there is the posh and modern area of Durbar Marg and the hip-and-happening Thamel; and on the other side, to the left, the streets lead to the traditional side of Kathmandu, daily wage earners and porters ferrying loads to and from shops.
And at the center, inside the park, nothing seems to matter. People are there just to be there and get some respite from the capital city’s chaos.
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