Book Review:
Purna Infada
Stories with Multi-cultural Identities and Enriched Emotions
Any literary piece written in prose and dramatic short form is called story. Themes of the stories are prevalent around the society. One who can give the form of storytelling to a theme, he is called storywriter. Stories were written since the ancient time. With t advent of the modern age, the stories took the different styles and forms. Story is accepted as a powerful genre in Nepali literature. With the story writing, we can bare the flaws and disparities of the society by revealing the truth and realities. The style and art of Nepali story writing was pioneered by Guruprasad Mainali. His tradition is still in practice tnow. Through the stories, the writer can express the life experiences and perceptions in simple and emotional way because the stories possess the power of carrying the voice of society and time. It is still popular genre in the world literature.
The British Gurkha writers are contributing important and exceptional stories to the Nepali literature while living in Britain. Their effort to use the spare time to write in Nepali is very commendable while struggling to make living by doing jobs in various occupational sectors in the foreign land.
By now, nobody can deny the truth that British Gurkha writers have made incomparable contribution to the Nepali literature while residing in Britain. If anybody forgets it, it will be ungrateful. In this context, versatile and talented writer Tanka Wonema’s (2020BS) story collection, ‘Shlesmantak ko Sammang(2071BS) is present in the Nepali literatre with different literary flavor and significance. It’s the debute story collection book by Tanka wonema who has already written sporadic stories, memoirs, poetry and serious research works earlier.
Three poetry collections and one research work have already been published before. In his stories, theme ranges from the horror of world war to the Maoists insurgency of ten years. He also blends his story writing with Limbu culture’s intimate sexual lives of rural people in his story collection. There are twenty one stories dealing with various themes in the collection.
Tanka’s stories feel like watching multi-colored painting after reading them. The writer has profusely employed the myths and images of Limbu Kiranti culture. The writer portrays well along with the cultural colors, beauty, love among the young people. While he also reveal the chaos of incongruence and disharmony in love matters.
The writer has made effort to weave various dimensions of society in the stories possessing different characteristics. He has artfully decorated the stories with the experiences of sorrowful lives of the village to the heartbreaking life incidents in the foreign land.
In the story, ‘Autobiography of Blind Man’, he portrays the human psyche of blind and disabled man and hints that some disabled people can outdo the abled ones.
In the story of Tanka Wonema, ‘Revenge’, a story born out of the Maoist insurgency, the root cause of the conflict was not merely a desire. He depicts the truth that people’s sorrow caused by being killed for no reason is also blended in the story.
‘Shore of Babai River’ and ‘Voyage of Sorrow deal with terror' he state officially created during the conflict period. The grief and hardships of having to be displaced and endless inflictions and cruelties imposed on the displaced by the state are well revealed. The story ‘The Hunter of Sola Forest’ depicts the impacts of Maoists conflict in the village lives along with the disintegration of Maoists cadres after peace agreement. In ‘Tears of Joy’ story exposes the dark sides of Maoists war and happiness after the reunion of the family members and societies in the end.
The story ‘Red Flag, Movement and Face of Kathmandu’ clarifies that Nineteen Day Movement in 2062-2063BS was succeeded due to the Maoists’ instrumental role, but people couldn’t realize the social, economic transformation as they had aspired and shows the miserable condition of superficial change of politics as the old pattern.
In ‘Cherry Tree’, the writer has attempted to reveal the realities that when one of your life partners is drug addict; you have to deal with many troubles and suggest the way how the parents must be responsible toward their children.
‘Life of Bhogimaya’ deals with the sexual frustration of a village young girl. Likewise, in ‘Caterpillar of Orange Orchard’, the wife expresses her desire to be a mother while the husband can’t understand her sexual problems. In ‘Young Tamrange’ the writer portrays distorted aspects of the character with the central theme that unprincipled man just troubles the social harmony.
‘The Grief of a City’ dramtatises the reality that how a woman of a modern city has to undergo the sorrow and pain when she loses her lover.
Through the collection, ‘Shleshmantk’s Sammang’, the writer powerfully brings Limbu Kiranti culture to the light. In the story ‘Sogha’, the writer depicts how the funeral of unnaturally dead soul is managed ritually according to Limbu culture and tradition.
The stories ‘One Night in Tangsingma Fedangma,’ and ‘Conversation of Tumyangs’ deal with the interconnection between the environment and Limbu religious philosophy. Another story, ‘Diary of Hangma’ portrays the sorrowful state of a plain and innocent girl who is tragically doomed to die after being tortured and sexually exploited.
Similarly the story, ‘Story of Gurkha Who Wins a War’ is about a Gurkha warrior in memoir style who wins a war. When he is fighting the Second World War, the story depicts how spends seven years after parting with his close friend in emotional and grieving manner.
The ‘Um Noor’ story depicts the devastating Iraqi war. It’s the story of a refugee woman suffering from torture and horrible time that is caught up in the Iraqi war. ‘Upasana of Shakti Chakra’ dissects the realities that if people can’t use an opportunity rightly, he has to suffer ugly consequence in the materialistic life. ‘Naachhiri’s Sinned Belly’ is story with the moralistic message that if anybody behaves badly, he has to suffer the dire consequences inevitably.
‘Old Grandmother’s Intelligent Dhungo’ narrates how people have to suffer when someone is gripped with superstitious belief. He suggests wisdom should be properly dealt with.
‘Bhakti of Karbir Masan’ strives to weave the conflict between the spiritual and materialistic aspects of the human life.
In the stories of Tanka wonema, ‘Shlesmantak ko Sammang,’ the characters vary from ones with Nepali soil and its flavor to foreign characters with foreign culture and delicacy. No matter how appealing and pretty migrated life of British Gurkhas may look in the surface, Tanka’s stories like Dasyung Dhara of Barmse Kaka’ reveals their suffering, pain, wound and restlessness. The stories also depict the sorrowful and scarifying love of a British Gurkha.
In form of prabrittigat in stories of Tanka Wonema with various style and structure, we derive maturity and skill in his writing. In his stories, we find multi-cultural consciousness which add Nepali flavor. He also blends British culture and lifestyles in his story collection. So the stories successfully appeal to his readers.
Translation: Nirukowa
