chowpal

plural chowpals

1. IndiaalternativeAlternative form of chaupal, a village meeting-place.

   The chowpal was and is the centre of all activities—social, religious and political.

   1952, The Voice of Islam, volume 1

   5 more examples

   He yearns for his village chowpal (meeting place) and fondly remembers the pleasant nights he spent in bhajan, kirtan, or folksongs with his village companions.

   1946, Report of the Health Survey and Development Committee, volume 3, page 93

   Towards evening they entered Daryapur where at the village chowpal sat a group of elders puffing away at their hookahs and gossiping... In their dress, habits and talks, gradually the new generation of children are following the city-bred people. The dhoti is being replaced by troussers. Every house has a transistor or a radio. The community chowpal attract every child for the TV shows...

   1969, Sarvodaya, volume 19, pages 189-190

   Chaupal (Chowpal). A shed in which the village community assemble for public business.

   1977, The Correspondence of Lord William Cavendish Bentinck, Governor-General of India 1828-1835, volume 2, published p. 1458

   We gathered at the ‘chowpal’, the platform where people get together for public events.

   2000, PLA Notes, volume 37, page 56

   However, it is true that the village was note without its local politicians. The chowpal (courtyard) was full of talks about individuals, quarrels, and questions of caste behaviours. Some members of the chowpal were even deeply thinking of the dangers of the commercial wealth of village shopkeepers...

   2002, Politics and Culture: Essays in Honour of Serajul Islam Choudhury, page 347

2. IndiaalternativeAlternative form of chowpaul, a kind of litter.

   The second type was Chowpal. It had a very light bed or sofa cover with a bamboo arch over it—It was attended by servants carrying umbrellas. This was in demand for ceremonies such as marriage processions etc.

   1992, Anil Ranjan Biswas, Calcutta and Calcuttans from Dihi to Megalopolis, page 361