Activity pattern of the chowk
The usual daybreak of the residents starts by visiting the temple and offering water to the tree beside the temple. During that time an old lady sits there for a while with her neighbors and does her daily chants and performs her rituals. The street becomes and the chowk becomes alive early in the morning when cleaning and water filling activities start taking place. This is the time when usually women wash clothes or utensils and collect water from the chowkdi right in the early morning just beside the otla on the street edge (Kagal 1986). At times women also gives a bath to their young ones in the chowkdi itself. This is the time when maximum interaction within the women residents takes place. At the same time, visitors, as well as residents, visits the iron stall to give and take clothes for laundry and iron press. During this time either the elderly sitting in the otla or the men enjoy being a part of the street activities and experiencing the environment while reading the newspaper. One of the residents their
Bhau ni pol chowk
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shares his experience by saying that he enjoys sitting on the otla during the morning daybreak as he could listen to the sound of the bells at the temple nearby and hear the chantings performed by the devotees. At the same time, there is a sound created by the visitors to the place and a chance to exchange a casual talk with them happens. By the time vendors selling vegetables, fruits and flowers would come and will call to gather everyone at its pitch voice. This is the time when residents from the above floors come down to take vegetables and fall into a casual talk with the neighbors and other visitors. The vendor with fresh flowers sitting besides the temple and brewing tea at all the houses during day time evokes the smelling senses while reading a newspaper on the otla. All of these activities happening around the chowk and street makes a spectator feel to be indirectly participating in the activities and experiencing the atmosphere.
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