Books and Culture

Truth is often stranger than fiction and the best example is Ulaar – a modern classic. 
The novel Ulaar — meaning the rearing up of a cart in Nepalgunj’s local language — is as much about politics as it is about human relationships, friendship and love. Politics is dominant in poor countries like Nepal and Ulaar portrays how such politics destroys peoples’ lives by creating imbalances in their lives.
Nayanraj Pandey has been successful in creating a local ambience in Ulaar that is a modern classic. Full of sights, scents and sounds of Nepalgunj — a mid-western Nepali town — it is unfortunately one of the political centres where one can find many Premlalawas and Draupadis.
Amazingly, Draupadi’s childhood name was Sita. After her mother takes ill, Sita gives continuity to her mother’s profession as a prostitute and changes her name to Draupadi. How Sita in course of time became Draupadi is a satire aimed at our rights’ advocates.
Nepalgunj was not so beautiful before reading Ulaar. However, after reading Ulaar people will love Nepalgunj more as the novel takes us on a journey right into the heart of this rugged town.
Premlalawa’s horse dies due to the cart going Ulaar and he turns to Rajendraraj, a shrewd politician and his mentor and guru, for help. The Rajendrarajs and Shantirajas — the unpopular faces of Nepali politics — promise him help like they do everyone, mechanically.
He is asked to follow Shantaraja to Kathmandu. Premlalawa goes in tow to Kathmandu. But Kathmandu is yet another silent killer, always in search of prey like Premlalawas. After he witnesses the ugly face behind the colourful facade of Kathmandu, Premlalawa returns. He escapes from the monster called Kathmandu and returns to his town where his Draupadi is waiting for him.
Premlalawa, at last, revolts, though silently, against not only Kathmandu — the power centre but also against power crazy politicians, the Shantarajas and Rajendrarajs, and the system.
Pramlalawa sells his land worth Rs 90,0000 for only Rs 30,0000 and starts life afresh with his Draupadi. He vows that he will never give a free ride to the crooked politicians or their families.
Premlalawa — the protagonist of the novel — a cart-driver is sucked into the vortex of troubles by current politics and politicians but he does not surrender. Instead, he vows to fight back.
After a long while we have a novel — Ulaar — that is worth discussing as it captures the interaction of individual lives in the mid-western Nepali town of Nepalgunj.
Nayanraj Pandey’s deft use of words as well as locally spoken slang help create the rich texture of the novel.

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Book - Ulaar (A novel)
Poet - Nayanraj Pandey
Publisher - Fine Print Inc
Price - Rs 90
Pages - 80

The needle of the clock was
moving too fast,
Time had no time,
……….

Indeed time has no time and the old Professor Sharmas are being replaced by new Professor Sharmas. There is a huge difference between the old Professor Sharmas and new Professor Sharmas, yet at the same time there is no difference at all. The change is merely for the sake of change that time has forced upon us.
Neither the Professor Sharmas have changed nor the students. Yesterday also students used to set fire to the departments in the University and today also they have not stopped doing so. Today, their parents also have started bashing up the teachers and it’s anyone’s guess what the students — the children of these parents — will do tomorrow.
Poet Viplav Dhakal has woven the words in his poem ‘Professor Sharma ko Diary’ with as much skill and patience as a weaver strings together a piece of cloth; a beautifully work of art and craft. Maybe, it’s because he has seen that life, and lives that life.
Professor Sharma’s diary of 30 years is lost and so is his entire world of pseudo intellectualism. He has so dependent on his diary that in the absence of the diary he cannot face his students. The poet through the students challenges his professorship. “What is the difference between the university and buffalo-shed?” — the students ask professor Sharma. Has our university really turned into a buffalo-shed? No one has the answer.
Be what may, Professor Sharma will not die. He may disappear for the time being but he will come back again from his grave and start chasing the new Professor Sharmas. He will continue haunting us as long as our old mindset does not change enough to accept the reality that we are human robots operated by some old sutras in the manual — Professor Sharma’s diary.
Professor Sharma has taught many of us and we are no better than his carbon copies. May be there is a cultural defect. It is a satire that the young poet of this generation depicts of our education system — a system that needs complete overhaul.
Professor Sharmako Diary depicts the reality of our times. The poet is successful in depicting our time and its naked truth. There are very few poets in this generation, and  Dhakal is one of them, who dare sympathise and yet at the same time reject the plight of old Professor Sharmas and lampoon the new Professor Sharmas.
New Professor Sharmas are always fearful of the return of the old ones. This fear pyschosis has to be cured. The sooner the better !

…………
If old Professor Sharma is successful
in getting his old diary back,
what the new Professor Sharmas
will do from tomorrow?

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Book — Professor Sharma ko Diary (A long poem)
Poet — Viplav Dhakal
Publisher — Kaal Chakra Nepal
Price — Rs 55
Pages — 52