I started the May Day Maobadi mass demonstration at the district office of the All Nepal Hotel and Restaurant Workers Union where the flag partly pictured above is kept in the Union safe.

These are security guards, chambermaids and other hotel workerssigning in at the district office.  The same is happening at districts all over the city.

The area meeting place where a few district groups met and ready the flag

Area groups like this one are emerging from dirt road alleys to begin converging towards the middle of the city Ratna Park

Another convergence.  There have been many activist groups having rallys in the streets in recent days, but nothing like this.  Essentially this is the workers of about 30 Maoist affiliated unions.

Her feet and hands have withered away, perhaps leprosy.  There are numbers of people who drag themselves through the dirt to sit at busy intersections begging for small coins.  Somehow taking a closer shot seemed obscene. 

Large crowds from East and West meet to turn South into Ratna Park.  The main speaker will be Baburam Bhattarai and the topic no doubt will be the insistence by the Maobadi that the National Army stand down in their defiance of civilian supremacy

The combined demonstrators from one half of the city prepare to enter the park.  A similar large contingency will be entering from the opposite end.  Locked hands accross the width of the column provides a kind of crowd control.

The whole thing had to enter the park through this really narrow gate, about 6 meters wide.  It was no place to stumble.

Inside there was music from the loudspeakers and groups began to dance.. shades of the Gratetful Dead concerts came to mind, but here not even beer.. after China it was strange to see a crowd in which there were relatively few who even smoked cigarettes

Center stage.  The crowd was about 200 meters deep in s semi-circle.  The function was sponsored by the All Nepal Federation of Unions and was presided over by General Secratart Ganesh Regmi who was featured in one of my recent interviews.

Taken from the side of the stage,  In the far back you can see the vendor area in the trees.

Among the food and drink vendors were book sellers as well.  I don't know if there was anything to Ghandi opposite from Prachanda, but you could also get stuff about and by Hitler.

And a young Australian named Ben who obviously is not a Nazi.. he must have found that flag someplace in Kathmandu, a likely cover

Young Ben Peterson gets tips from political comedian.. an interview being filmed by David, another Aussie commie who has showed up in town

I left the mass rally.  I saw this guy on the way in.  He and his flies had a hard time standing up for this picture.. most of his hair gone and clearly diseased.  He had lain there placidly as the marching revolution skirted his magic circle