Breaking hidebound notions

Sushila Pradhananga

Aakashma taraharu ek ek gardai lukdai janchhan. Antarikchha khairo rangale potinchha. Ma thakchhu ra usko nirjiv sharir jyang bhitra lukayera herchhu. U nirbirodh tohlaeki hunchhe, headhunterki chhori manau u samjhiraheki chha, kasto anischit yo jiwan! Kasto sasto yo mrityu! Filama, petma, chhatima nila dagharu spashta dekha pariraheka hunchhan.

Estai thiyo usko anta, headhunterki chhoriko anta, Hitlerko mahatwakanchhama gabhieko euta anta, Britishharuko samrajyabadko bedima bali gayeko euta anta, euta nirparadh anta. Samjhandai uslai rityaera afulai rityaera ma farkanchhu. Kehi hoina yo, maile jiwanlai arthapurna siddha garaeko ho. Tes thitiko anuharbata futkera euta sunaulo tauko bhagchha, ma bichalit bhaera herchhu ra dohoryaunchhu ‘Meri Sakambari! Timima aera ashraya khojchha mero jiwanle, estari nabhaga. Au! Ma timilai balatkar garna sakdina.

– Shirishko Phool by Parijat [break]

I read this novel in 1965, right after I gave my SLC examinations. At that time, I was quite naïve to understand everything that the book offered. Then I read the book thrice and have loved it ever since. The whole book is quite powerful in the sense that it gives us a glimpse of a perspective of a man towards a woman and vice versa. It touches profound aspects of life and makes us wonder what life really is.

Photo: Chandra Shekhar Karki

The part that I like the most in this book is the conclusion. The lines that I mentioned shows the way a man perceives a woman, his thoughts, ideas and the way he looks at things. The novel also talks about the kinds of relations husbands and wives have. It also states the fact that no matter what the cases are, men always have to depend on women. These lines from the book have been said by a character named Shivaraj who loved Sakambari. From the lines, we can understand his perspective on Sakambari and the things that he had imagined of her.

Parijat is one of the best writers and she is an inspiration to me. From her books, I get the encouragement to do something in life. This acclaimed first novel even received the Madan Puraskar. Her writings are always powerful, and in this book, she particularly talks about our society. She writes about the transgression of the society and how a woman suffers in such a society. What kind of position do women hold in our society? What’s her identity and how does the society recognize her identity? She raises such issues and talks about how can women overcome the misdemeanors of the society and rise against all of that to protect her identity. It shows the ways of the struggles and tests that the society puts upon us, and how we should raise our voice to overcome all the obstacles.

About Pradhananga

Pradhananga was inclined towards writing since her schooldays as she used to participate in allliterary activities. At a time when there were hardly any female journalists, she broke the stereotype by working as one in Butwal for papers like Dainik Jansangharsha and Dainik Lumbini during the 1990s.

Her first story called “Doshi ko?” was published in a newspaper called Fulbari in 1968 which was based on a real-life incident. It was about how a woman commits suicide after she got pregnant, and the incident touched her so much that she wanted to raise the question of what is right and not.

She also worked as a teacher at a primary school where her love for children’s literature grew even more. Her published works are three collections of children’s stories – “Mohanko Himmat,” “Sohan ra Parewa,” and “Santeko Mehenat” – and a children’s poem collection called “Hat Ghoda Hat.”

She regularly contributes to newspapers on the topics of politics, women’s rights and also writes columns for children. She is also working for her next poetry collection which is based on the topics of women’s rights and politics, and her children’s poetry anthology is also coming out soon.

“There are things which cannot be said directly. So writing is a powerful tool to express them. If it does so in a proper way, it can spread positive messages,” says Pradhananga.

As told to Nistha Rayamajhi

Smritika Ankhijhyalbata

by Sushila Shrestha

This is a biography of Sahana Pradhan. The book was written in 2003. Pradhan is an inspiration for women. The struggles that she has endured in her life have been described in this book in detail. The story of her life is an inspiration to us all.

The incident of how she came from Burma and the issues of the struggle of women, instances of going against the Rana regime, to the issues of the right to study for the women, and the voice she raised at that time have all been portrayed well in this book.

Jiwan Kada ki Phul

by Jhamak Ghimire

I’ve met Jhamak in person and she’s also a great inspiration. She even received the Madan Puraskar for this book. The story of her

struggles to reach to this stage is clearly shown in this book.

Breaking all the barriers, she fought with all the complications in her life to reach her current position. This book is a must-read and it talks about heartrending instances in her life. It talks about how sadness and happiness are parts of our lives. It’s a story of triumph and it inspires us to move on no matter how much we have to struggle.

Palpasa Café

by Narayan Wagle

This novel is also a recipient of Madan Puraskar. The book is a modern kind of literature which is relevant to today’s times. It also touches some aspects of abroad. It just beautifully shows how a writer has put a woman in the pages of his book as well as in his heart.

There’s a line in this book that says, “Ma ankankchhaharule bharieki euti sadharan keti hun, jiwanma kehi banna ra kehi garna chahanchhu, bas ma kagaj banera udiraheki thiyen, tapainle nai chyappa samatnu bhayo, tesma ranga bharnu bhayo.”

This particular line shows the central idea of the book. In this book, the novelist loves a female character who is a foreigner but is unable to express himself. So in this context, she expresses this line.

If something goes to the right hand then a beautiful portrait may come out as a result, but if it goes into the wrong hands then it becomes a waste. This is what the story tries to impart as this is how life is.

Aimaiko Hak

by Taslima Nasreen

Her books usually talk about women’s rights. In her culture, women are supposed to wear burqa as a veil and they are also expected by men to act in certain ways. But she questions if that’s all women are supposed to do. Is the life of women confined within the regulations

constructed by the society? This is what the book talks about.

Soch

by Karna Sakya

Karna Sakya has described the various events of his life in this book. It talks about how much, no matter what, we have to struggle in life. We need to be strong enough to find a way out. After Sakya found out that his wife had cancer and there were no facilities for such patients in the country, he planned to open up a cancer hospital.

For that, he came out with various plans and stood by them. Rather than getting low, he looked for better ways out and that’s how we should be positive in life and not give up.