Prateek Dhakal's "Anandabhoomiko Yatra"

Prateek Dhakal दाइको सद्य:प्रकाशित पुस्तक "आनन्दभूमिको आँगन" पढेपछि मन काबुमा छैन । अझै पनि डुल्दैछ लाङटाङ, खप्तड र चाँदनी दोधारतिरै । प्रतीक दाइको विशिष्टता नै यही हो । आफ्नो शारीरिक यात्राको वर्णनबाट नै पाठकलाई मानसिक यात्रामा डोर्याउनु र सुमधुर यात्राको छाप दिमागमा अंकित गरिदिनु । दाइ हिउँलाई असाध्यै प्रेम गर्नुहुन्छ र प्रकृतिको चिन्मय स्वरूपको दर्शन गर्नुहुन्छ । यसले उहाँलाई आनन्दातिरेक दिन्छ र निस्कन्छ उहाँबाट प्रशंसोद्गार । उहाँमा रहेको यो आनन्दलाई पाठकसँग बाँड्न सक्नु उहाँको खुबी हो । प्रकृतिको सन्निधिमा सात्विक भावना उब्जन्छन् र आध्यात्मिकताले व्यक्तिलाई संस्पर्श गर्छ भन्ने तथ्यको प्रमाण हो प्रतीक दाइ । नेपाल बुझ्न, प्रकृतिको ईश्वरीय रूपको अवलोकन गर्नका लागि प्रेरणा पाउन अनि देशका कुनाकाप्चामा रहेका सरलमन नेपालीसँग साक्षात्कार गर्न पनि प्रतीक दाइको यो पुस्तक पढ्न जरुरी छ ।

Fatima Bhutto's "Songs of Blood and Sword"

Fatima Bhutto's memoir "Songs of Blood and Sword" left me cold. Bhutto engages in hagiography of her grandfather Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and her father Murtaza Ali Bhutto. But Zulfikar was not a milk-washed politician as Fatima wants us to believe. He hobnobbed with the junta to remain in power by rigging elections which proved fatal as military dictator Zia Ul Haq later had him imprisoned, tortured and murdered. Because of his hatred for Hindus in the other side of the border, Zulfikar spent millions in nuclear program in a country where even a pointed needle wasn't manufactured and many people had to live with bare minimum.  Fatima fails to discuss this.

Murtaza may be a good man as Fatima describes but during Zia's tyranny he was enjoying a posh life abroad. His sister Benazir was in Pakistan during the rule. Yes, Benazir later became corrupt to the core when she came to power with the help of the army. Her husband Asif Zardari comes out as a one-dimensional villain in the book. Fatima directs all her anger against Benazir rather than the army which always has a great say in Pakistani politics. She is completely biased in that regard but that is understandable in a memoir where her subjectivity dictates.

If you want to get a truthful picture of Pakistani politics, this book will not help you. If you are interested in political soap opera of a powerful family of Pakistan, this book gives you plenty of thrills. Fatima writes in a beautiful language and her descriptions of the intimate moments with her father and family oozes warmth.

Niraj Bhattarai's "Dhuwaako Dhaago" धुवाँको धागो

युवाकवि निरज भट्टराईको "धुवाँको  धागो" मा संकलित कविताले मलाई प्रभावित गरे । छोटा बान्कीका सशक्त कविता पढेपछि अनौठो आनन्दानुभूति भयो । मृत्यु चिन्तन, समयमाथिका विचार र कविता सिर्जना प्रक्रियालाई कविताको विषय बनाइएको छ । जिन्दगीको  म्युजिकल चेयरमा बस्न नसकेकी हजुरआमा, जिन्दगीको धागो तान्ने त्यो अज्ञात शक्ति, अस्तित्वको भुरुङमा मानिसको नाच, जिन्दगी के हो भन्ने प्रश्नको उत्तर पाउन नसकेर भएको छटपटी,  समयको गतिसँगै गल्न  थालेको काँध, समयले हीरा बनाएको अप्ठ्याराका कोइला, कल्पनाको छिटाले बनेका कविताहरू तलस्पर्शी लागे । लय मिलेका यी कवितामा निहित गेयताले यसको लालित्य बढेको अनुभूति हुन्छ । (वाचनमा झन् कति सुन्दर सुनिएलान्?) जानीबुझीरहेको कुरालाई कवितात्मक अप्रत्यक्षमा भन्न सक्नु निरजको विशेषता हो । "जुन अखबार/चिया तितो बनाउन माहिर थियो/सधैँ झैं हिजो बोकेर आइ रहन्छ/ र आज बिथोलेर गैदिन्छ" ले समाजमा व्याप्त हिंसालाई अभिव्यक्त गरेको छ भने कट्टरपन्थीले महिलाका मुहार क्षत पार्ने कुत्सित क्रियालाई "आ-आफ्नो रिसको आगो थपेर निर्णय गरे/ 'यो आगो केवल अनुहारमा निभाउन सकिन्छ'" मा दर्साइएको छ । दार्शनिक गहिराइ बोक्ने "ऐनाको कैदी", 'ब्रह्माण्ड" जस्ता कविता पढेपछि लाग्छ निरज विचार र अनुभूति दुवैलाई उत्तिकै बलियो रूपमा प्रस्तुत गर्न समर्थ छन् । प्रेमको मधुर अनुभूतिलाई अभिव्यक्त गर्ने "आदत", "सम्बन्ध"  जस्ता कविताले  त मुटु न्यानो बनाउँछन् ।   "झाँक्री हीरालाल", "आकाङ्क्षा", "यौटा घरमा", "कति चिजहरू"  जस्ता केही कविता भने कमजोर लाग्छन्, शब्दचातुरी मात्र प्रदर्शन भएको देखिन्छ तिनमा । तर अधिकांश कविता राम्रा छन् यो संग्रहमा । नेपाली कविताको क्षेत्रमा निरजको आगमन एक सुखद घटनाका रूपमा मैले लिएको छु ।

Uday Prakash's "The Walls of Delhi"

Written by Uday Prakash in Hindi and translated into English by Jason Grunebaum "The Walls of Delhi" probes into the Indian underbelly to make a strong statement against the establishment. This is a collection of three novellas, "The Walls of Delhi", "Mohandas" and "Mangosil". The first novella shows the corrupting power of ill-gotten money. The second, the best among the lot, depicts the theft of identity of a brilliant-minded eponymous character from the lower caste and the lack of justice. The last one is the story of a strange child whose head keeps growing out of proportion. 

All the novellas hit out against the culture of corruption, unchecked capitalism, inequality gap, criminality, casteism and many other ills that infect modern India. Prakash incorporates humor in the midst of grim narrative and provides non-fictional comments that work as a bitter satire against power-wielders. This works as the alarm to the reader who may be lulled by the narrative but at times they prove to be jarring. Prakash is not afraid of showing crimes in graphic details to generate rage in the readers. No many writers are capable of outspoken criticism of illnesses of Indian society.

All the downtrodden characters are well-developed and manage to gain sympathy for their plights.

The English translation has been able to capture the nuances of Prakash's language. Recommended!

Arlandur Indridason's "Silence of the Grave"

The characteristics of a good fiction is that it has the power to make readers enter the narrative and vanish there. The reader forgets his/her self and starts caring about the characters as if they were the dear ones. A sense of empathy develops for them.

As I read Icelandic author Arlandur Indridason's crime novel "Silence of the Grave", I went through the emotions mentioned above. Inspector Erlendur is in charge of investigating a cold case when a bone structure surfaces from an unmarked grave in Reykjavik. The progress in exhumation and forensic analysis runs together with the story of a family where domestic violence has made the life of a wife and children hellish. Simultaneously, Erlendur's family troubles are described.

The scenes of domestic violence made my blood boil (in empathy for the victim). They are presented in a graphic manner but never descend to vulgarity. The scarred pysche of a battered wife and children has been realistically presented by the writer. Twisted mentality of people is generally the result of childhood trauma, as Freud maintained. The suspense of the grave is maintained till the end with plenty of red herrings thrown between.  I was engrossed till the end.

This book rises above genre conventions as it avoids cheap thrills and provides insights into human nature. A heartwarming work from a very cold place, "Silence of the Grave" will please the connoisseurs of crime fiction.

Love and its ills (Barun Bajracharya's "Sins of Love"

This appeared in Republica daily on May 2, 2014.

http://theweek.myrepublica.com/details.php?news_id=73936

Barun Bajracharya’s short story collection, ‘Sins of Love,’ is enjoyable for what it is, short and sweet with a little bite. 18 short stories compiled in this slim book spanning just 64 pages appeal the sensibilities of the teenagers. Young hearts palpitating with love for their beaus and belles savor these stories like chocolates. The stories also provide insights to life from different perspectives. In each story, the readers witness vivid images woven wonderfully with crisp narratives and feel-good themes.

Simple and straightforward language and witty dialogues are the highlights of Barun’s stories. Characters are taken from normal life and that is why they are realistic. 

Barun’s expanse of love is so wide that this world is not enough for its fruition. So his characters seek love even after death. Death looms large in most of the stories. Besides the impulsive love of teenagers, love of parents and children and misdeeds of hypocritical people are the subject matters of the stories.

The first story ‘Father and Son’ attempts to inspect child and adult psychologies. Here, Barun has inserted vivid images of how a child and an adult view their environs. In this mere two-and-a-half-page story, the writer has striven to deal with the sensitive issue of a motherless child and his single father.

‘Sins of Love,’ after which the book title has been derived, is a romantic story and it’s an apt title. Influenced by mainstream Bollywood and Korean movies, the protagonists in this story seem to live like in a fairytale where handsome Johnny tries to woo sultry Karishma through unfair means.



This story adheres to the beauty and the beast type in romantic fiction but has a twist in the tail. The motif of an unruly male who is finally tamed by his beautiful, self-sacrificing victim is presented in a heartrending manner. Towards the denouement, Karishma discovers that Johnny’s misbehavior had only masked his sensitivity and love for her; in fact, his maneuverings were the proof of his love. Johnny changes from beast to beau and is successful in melting Karishma’s heart. But there is no coda of “they lived happily ever after.”

One of the best stories in the collection is ‘Time to say Goodbye.’ In this story, the writer has displayed his writing potential, paying meticulous attention to detailing and character building. This tale illustrates aggravation and anguish of a lonely old man.

Some other noteworthy stories are ‘Shristi,’ ‘Two Sides,’ ‘Story of a Girl,’ and ‘Radha and Krishna.’ The suffering of an elderly person is realistically portrayed in ‘Shristi’ but there is a twist in the end that is quite shrewd. ‘Two Sides’ is about an unusual love triangle between three teenagers and this story portrays male chauvinism.

‘Story of a Girl’ is a unique attempt in story writing. With this story, the writer has tried to blur the boundary between short fiction and poetry. Set in 3-4-lined paragraphs and confined within a single page, this story is actually the suicide letter of a girl. If we read it out loud and mentally break the story into stanzas, we can find beautiful rhyme scheme and poetic flow in it. Most probably the writer has tried this method due to his inclination towards poetry which can be observed in some of his earlier published works in certain journals.

Another story, “Radha and Krishna,” is about the plight of a poor couple and the hypocrisy of a priest. The names of the characters in this story are tied up with Hindu mythical characters. This allusion shows the maturity of the writer.

However, commercial filminess in the sense of glorious coincidences to propel the plot of some stories seems to be Barun’s weakness, and he has to work on it. Barun has certain flair in his language and style (complete with realistic dialogues and expletives) and seems to be seeking to develop his own style, which he should.

A few stories towards the last section of the book are less gripping than the first half of the book. Perhaps some stories in this collection are too simple, bordering on being simplistic. For the sake of brevity, Barun seems to have neglected character development in some of the stories.

Due to the likeability of the characters and the corny plots, this collection will be received well by adolescents rather than older readers. Those who read books for the sole purpose of refreshment and entertainment may highly enjoy the book. Those who read serious literature and like to minutely dissect every word and character, this collection may lack appeal.

Considering it a debut attempt of a young writer, we can surely cut him some slack and expect much more from him in the near future. We hope Barun takes up themes other than love for fiction in the future and presents them with dexterity.

Title    :     Sins of Love
Author    :     Barun Bajracharya
Genre    :     Fiction, in English
Publisher    :     Indrachaitya Publications
Published    :     Feb 1, 2013
Pages    :     64, Paperback