Rama Adhikari, TGT
Kathmandu, August 12,
Indramaya, a novel by Bhojraj Ghimire, was launched virtually on zoom in Kathmandu on Thursday. The author’s maiden novel was launched by Chief Guest, Chancellor of Nepali Academy, Mr Ganga Prasad Upreti in an event chaired by poet and lyricist Dr. Bimal Koirala. LB Chhetri, Sadhana Pratikshya, Ghanendra Ojha and Mahesh Paudyal reviewed the work and named the work a daring feat, having borrowed the protagonist from master novelist BP Koirala. Indramaya, as a character, is taken is one of the boldest women characters ever featured in Nepali fiction.
The novel is a re-reading of BP Koirala’s famous novel Teen Ghumti, where Indramaya is the protagonist. BP Koirala features Indramaya as a rebellious Newari woman who elopes with her crush, a political rebellion Peetambar, who belongs to a different community than hers, and she does it against her parents’ consent. In the post-marital life, her husband alleges her of being sterile, citing it as a reason why she has no child. To prove that she is not sterile, she has sexual relationship with Ramesh, a friend of Peetamber, and begets a baby girl. Following this, Ramesh is lost from the scene while Peetamber forces Indramaya out of home, together with the baby girl, to live all by herself.
Ghimire’s Indramaya starts from the moment when Indramaya leaves home and takes refuge in a temple, wherefrom she is rescued by a kind-hearted old man. Indramaya later lives with the old man’s sister, also a widow and childless woman, where Indramaya finds a permanent shelter, a ground to grow and perk up, and thus discover a new self and new life not only for herself but also for her daughter Rama. The novel shows the struggle a lonely woman has to endure in order attain success in life. It also inspires a debate on complex human relationship, man and women’s rights, imbalanced gender equations and social normativity, human rights and freedom.
Speaking on the occasion, novelist Ghimire confessed that he was heavily impressed by BP Koirala’s character Indramaya and wanted to explored how she lived on after leaving her husband’s house. He explained his works at his attempt to find answer to the gaps BP Koirala had left behind in his Teen Ghumti.
Chief Guest Ganga Prasad Uprety hailed the author for the feat and appreciated Mr. Ghimire’s narrative technique and the smartness in character selection. He urged Ghimire to continue writing and foregrounding newer shades of knowledge among Nepali readership.
Chair, poet and lyricist Bimal Koirala appreciated the author for bringing out a thought-provoking work. The event was hosted by poet and critic Mahesh Karki Kshitz. The book has been published by Shikha Books, Kathmandu.