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The Evolution of Nepali Fiction by Taranath Sharma Short Story The launching in 1935 Sharada, a monthly journal form Kathmandu, inspired a number of hidden talents to come forward with their literary compositions. Most of the novels were published outside Nepal, but for the short story Sharada became a ready and easily available vehicle of expression for the scattered writers. Guru Prasad Mainali (1900-1997), Bisheweshwar Prasad Koirala (1914-1982), Pushkar Shumsher rana (1901-1961), Bal Krishna Sama (1903-1981), and Bhavani Bhikshu (1914-1981) are great names in the field of Nepali short sorties and all of their initial short stories appeared in Sharada mostly in the latter half of 1930s. Rup Narayan Sinha is the only luminary in this field to shine all by himself in Darjeeling, although Shiva Kumar Rai (1916), another talent form Darjeeling, derived his literary inspiration from Sharada where some of his earlier short stories were published. The first generation of successful short story writers in Nepali language include among others Rup Narayan Sinha, Guru Prasad Mainali, Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, Pushkar shamsher Rana, Bal Krishna Sama, Bhawani Bhikshu, Shiva Kumar rai, Bhim Nidhi Tiwari (1911-1973), Laxmi Prasad Devkota (1909-1959), Laxmi Nandan Chalise (1913-1945), Hridaya Chandra Singh Pradhan (1915-1959), and Govinda Bahadur Malla Gothale (1922). Among these Bhim Nidhi Tiwari, Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Laxmi Nandan Chalise and Hridaya Chandra Singh Pradhan wrote short stories bringing out the social injustice and economic exploitation in rural and semi rural environment of the country. Tiwari is a prolific writer with ten collections containing sixteen short stories limit themselves to family bickering, women's lot in orthodox families, neighborly misunderstandings and individual pains caused by apathy, poverty, deaths, diseases or separations. His characters are drawn mostly form the lower middle class people and the poorer section in the city of Kathmandu and its outskirts. They are more like anecdotes or episodes written in a very simple language with apparently no psychological analysis. Though his contemporaries are substantially influenced by Western styles, he remains adamant and sticks to his won traditional bringing up with Hindu idealistic approach to life. Pradhan, on the other hand, depicted the economic and social exploitation of the poor with a rebellious spirit. Devkota and Chalise wrote in favor of the oppressed and the downtrodden and appealed to a change of heart in a more attractive and convincing language, but both of them could not progress further due to the fact that Devkota's attention diverted to other genres and Chalise met his untimely death languishing in a Rana prison. Rup Narayan Sinha with his nine stories collected in his Katha Nava Ratna (1949) set the tone of modern Nepali fiction writing in his artistically chiseled words and meticulously designed sentences with a deep sense of cultural vision and an intellectual awareness of emancipating his fellow brothers and sisters from the pangs arising out of social malaise. Most of his characters belong to Darjeeling or elsewhere in India but they have in them an agonizing sense of nostalgia for Nepal. Shiva Kumar Rai's characters are less nostalgic, but with his penetrating analysis he brings out in masterly strokes the inner sorrow of the Nepalese people in the villages of Darjeeling hills and vales. 'The Mother' by Sinha and 'The Price of a Fish' by Rai are their masterpieces. The Mother depicts the shattered hopes of a poor mother who under her very eyes is obliged to se her promising son turning communist by the dominant influence of a spoilt young daughter of a rich family and who later joins the immoral rich girl in marriage to be left betrayed and mentally wrecked at the end. 'The Price of a Fish' is a sad but realistic delineation of a poor man who has to fight tooth and nail for his existence in this cruel world of misery and wants. Mainali wrote only eleven short stories in all, but his knowledge of Nepalese people made him an excellent exponent of the life in the hills and mountains of the country. With a strong influence of Prem Chand, the famous Hindi fiction writer, Mainali intimately dealt with his characters from rural Nepal. Due to his contact with different kinds of people in different parts o the country as a judge transferred from one district court to the other Mainali had an ample opportunity to study the human character in various situations at close quarters. The exposition of the sad plight of the common people in Nepal made in his stories1 remains unmatched even today. Some of his unforgettable short stories are 'Naso' (the Pledge), 'Paralko Ago' (Fire on Straw), 'Shaheed' (The Martyr) and 'Chhimeki' (Neighbors). Bal Krishna Sama tried his hand in the short story with a dozen or so pieces among which 'Taltal' (the Desire), 'Khukuri' (the Knife), 'Deurali' (the Pass), Hari Siddhi and 'Roopko Mulya' (the Value of a Beautiful Face) are memorable for their psychological penetration and an in-depth study of human weaknesses. 'Taltal' and 'Deurali' deal with child psychology which after a decade or so becomes a focus of attention in innumerable short stories of Dev Kumari Sinha (later Thapa). Sama is the forerunner of symbolism in Nepali short stories with his 'Khukuri', which represents the evil human sentiments like quarrel, jealousy, hatred and murder, and 'Hari Siddhi', which shows how an innocent man loves an ancient idol of a god to his last breath. Sama's older brother Pushkar Shumsher Rana wrote almost half a dozen short stories only, but they are greatly treasured in Nepali literature for their keen vision and artistic expression. His subject is the high-handedness and stark selfishness of individuals highly placed in the government. In 'Paribanda' and 'Swarthatyag' (Relinquishing of selfishness) Rana brings out the torturous behavior of the unjust and cruel higher officials for their sexual pleasures. ___________________________________________ 1. His eleven short stories were collected in a book entitled Naso compiled and edited by the writer of this critical essay in 1963.
©Taranath Sharma, 2005 |
