Surrounding the crowd were scores of armed rebel soldiers, keeping an eye on the skies above from under baseball caps. The last time such a meeting was held late last month, a Nepalese army helicopter gunship sprayed the stage with bullets, killing a Maoist commander.
The villagers were there to listen to Maoist leaders talk about the new weapon in their struggle against the king: democracy.
Since the king seized power in February, sacking the government and imposing a state of emergency, the Maoists and the politicians they once regarded as "bourgeois class enemies" have edged closer together.
Both sides have begun to question the legitimacy of the monarchy -- especially since the present king assumed the throne in 2001 after a massacre in which his brother was shot dead. In a series of speeches, the Maoist leaders railed against the "fascism" of the monarchy.
But interspersed in the rhetoric is a clear message that King Gyanendra is being offered a last chance to exit the political stage. In return, the Maoists say they will give up the armed struggle.
Mistakes made
In a press conference, Comrade Viplav, a member of the central committee of the Maoist party, and the rebels' deputy commander, Comrade Prabraker, accepted that mistakes had been made in the past.
The leadership blames its cadre's wayward behavior on its recruits' village backgrounds.
"Our people's mindset comes from older traditions. This can cause problems when following party orders," said Comrade Viplav.
The new strategy revolves around development projects such as a new 90km road, a third of which has been completed, linking Maoist-controlled hamlets in the hills to the plains below. There is also a fish farm being built and a workers co-operative being set up to harvest crops. It was work "for the people, by the people," claimed the Maoists.
But when the Guardian questioned villagers they said they had been forced into working for such projects. If they disobeyed there was a fine. Unpaid dues would see their homes confiscated.
The Maoists say these are "rare instances."
New pragmatism
Analysts say that the new policy of Nepal's Maoists is based on pragmatism. Hari Roka, who has written and travelled with the guerrillas, said there were three main reasons for the change.
First, the king had frozen out the political parties, leading democrats to the Maoists. Second, the rebels could not capture Kathmandu, which is guarded by 35,000 troops -- half of the Royal Nepalese Army. Third, the situation is not the same as in China in the 1940s.
"The geopolitics has changed. Nepal is sandwiched between the emerging powers of India and China and the world would not stand by and watch a Maoist takeover here which would destabilize the whole region," Roka said.
The Maoists' "new line of thinking" appears more of a swerve than a switch. The guerrillas say the king's municipal polls to be held next year will be "unsuccessful." The political parties have already called for a boycott but the Maoists go one step further saying they will use violence to stop balloting from taking place.
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