Ayodhyanath Choudhary
Dr. Ramdayal Rakesh, as a writer, is so seasoned and distinguished that his name and fame need no special mention. He has been writing books and articles in Hindi, Nepali, Maithili and English–all equally , for more than five decades. Recently, he has come out with a Maithili novel which was written on and during Corona lockdown adding to the number of novels written few and far between by Nepalese Maithili writers. So his name is duly reserved as a Maithili novelist and will be put down in the upcoming history- book of Maithili Literature.
The impact of Covid-19 was and is still felt as a severe crisis worldwide– killing millions of people and rendering more and more people deplorable , miserable and in a state of trauma. People are compelled to live indoors miserably and most of their activities have come to a standstill. Many people have lost their jobs and so we can imagine their situation. In the same way , we can well- imagine the worst situation of daily-wages-laborers who have no other means than daily work basis for their livelihood. We have heard many such laborers died of starvation and many others are compelled to meet the same evil fate if the lockdown continues in the same way.
After all, there is a class in every society who have utilized the lockdown leisure in their own way, and that class consists of writers, singers and musicians. Obviously , they are also not happy with the situation but they were compelled to do what they could to an extent. Many books have come out in the same situation worldwide. Similarly, Dr. Ramdayal Rakesh has also come to the front with his novel Corona in Maithili. As the name itself suggests, this novel is an outcome of lockdown due to the rampant spread of Corona. .
Corona , no doubt, is a novel which like many novels deals with many social , religious and political problems of our society and nation on the whole. It has been divided into twenty one subtitles which give a clear picture of the growth of the novel which discusses different issues of a village society which has many issues to discuss before it sees changes in the modern perspective. The story may look short but it carries a huge dimension with it. It has also discussed issues like environment, culture and science. But it’s main focus is love which develops in a village society in two ways- one dealing with physical attachments and another dealing with spiritual feelings. Both the external and the internal aspects of love come to light. In this novel, lovers of two different backgrounds and nature are seen proceeding in their own ways. The society they live in is not congenial to them. The surrounding, traditions and social norms of the society do not allow them to go their ways smoothly. They feel obstacles in their ways and the novelist depicts their different situations to proceed with the novel.
Gouri, who is a secondary school student, falls in love with her school teacher Jhagru who comes to her house to teach her privately as the school is closed due to lockdown. She is robust and filled with sexual desires, and so encourages her teacher for lovemaking. The teacher as he hails from a poor family and different caste is not bold enough to respond to her desire so soon . But she convinces him saying her father, being a ward officer, is very influential and will not ignore his only daughter’s requests and will let them live together in Kathmandu to make their career. That makes Jhagru sir bold, and he also comes to agree to her proposal of shifting to Kathmandu for lovemaking and marriage purposes and there by amassing wealth by seducing Gouri and causing a strong hold on her . She, on the other hand, wants to make her sir a puppet of her hand and use him according to her likings. In stead of reading course books, she often reads Watsyan’s Kamasutra, a book on sex and eroticism. Anyway, Jhagru Sir, taking recourse to illicit ways. helps her pass SEE exam, a means for their living together in Kathmandu. He , on her request, resigns from the teacher’ post and joins her in Kathmandu where also she has her own house. She is very active and extra-forward and knows that if she pursues a leader’s profession, all her ambitions will be fulfilled. She comes in the contact of a leader who spends money on her and her fiancé Jhagru by taking them to tourist centers . She often leaves Jhagru at home and attends hotels and bars and enjoys a lot in the amorous company of the leader Shardindu. With the leader’s grace and support, she becomes a parliamentarian and is able to make Jhagru Sir a campus chief. Although taking recourse to illicit and immoral ways where character has no meaning, Gouri is able to fulfil her ambitions . So this is one aspect of love where enjoyment and selfishness reign the lovers’ arena.
On the other hand, a doctor ‘s only daughter Chandini is also compelled to read from a poor but intelligent senior village student Rampratap due to closure of her school owing to lockdown. Their economic status and caste are also different but they give importance to their careers first. Chandini’s father, Dr Mohan is liberal enough to send her daughter to Kathmandu and provide college expenses for her daughter’s mate Ramprasad who prepare and work together enthusiastically to become doctors. They also love each other but with a true heart and ardent promise. Their ambition of becoming doctors is fulfilled and they get appointed in the same provincial hospital, and they also work together in a private clinic “Chandini Care” at Janakpurdham. This couple gets their destination fulfilled through honest means, real qualification, activeness and talent. They represent supreme love leading to ideal career and profession.
Both girls come from rich families but they take different recourses to reach their destination. Gouri is selfish and so gives priority to her self first, only using Jhagru sir as a means . But Chandini is broad-minded and so she thinks of not only her good but also the good of Rampratap. Jhagru sir is also selfish as he marries Gouri, a wealthy man’s daughter, for economic gains and material happiness. The novelist has been able to depict all the characters in the real sense. The life story of Chandini and Rampratap proceeds bound in mutual respect and trust. But the same of Gouri and Jhagru proceeds in shamelessness , ignoring minimum civility. Here in Gouri ‘s case, the novelist presents many obscene scenes through her utterances of suppressed sexual desires and behavioral activities. Sometimes readers themselves feel ashamed as if they are reading D.H. Lawrence ‘s book Women in Love. Gouri has been given more freedom than was really necessary in a society where people try to escape from taboos. She leaves no stone unturned to make Jhagru bold enough to pacify her private physical demands but he cautions her of possible dangers. Even when she goes to Kathmandu, she enjoys flirting and dancing with the leader Shardindu at Diamond Night Club in Thamel, without any regard for her mate, left alone in the rented house .So this shows that some people may reach any limits for political gains. And that’s why elected leaders ignore and forget their voters because they have money and muscles in their minds which cause and warranty their victory. For political gains, a little education works, and it’s not necessary to be very talented and highly educated. Of all the characters, Gouri’s character reigns over readers’ mind, as she represents a person who goes smart and fit in today’s brave new world. Ideal personalities like Chandini and Rampratap are remembered less and thought to be ‘misfit’ by many young people of this modern world .
The novel captures readers as it deals with two kinds of love –one overpowered with sexual desires and another encouraged by spirituality, honesty and integrity. Both types of love go paralleled but their implication for the society is different. The ladder to love on which Gouri and Jhagru try to climb is full of risk, defamation and degradation. Contrary to this, the ladder to love on which Chandini and Rampratap climb is saturated with essence of true love, idealism, responsibility, and so matches with the social norms and cultured behavior. People of different backgrounds live in a society and both types of lovers are found in a society, but the society doesn’t accept love which goes against their norms. Considering the modern society is in a transitional period , the novelist has ended the novel abruptly but indeed very ably or say, rather cleverly, and left upon the readers to choose between the two ways of love. It seems he wants to speak in favor of inter-caste marriage and live-in -relationship before marriage, and marriage between the rich and the poor which happen few and far between in our traditional set up. The time is not ripe to voice for these things openly in a society. So the novelist has chosen his own way of voicing for some changes through creating a plot for his novel and put forward his ideas, leaving at the discretion of readers, which otherwise is not possible with open , loud voice, living in the same society. The novel is progressive in that sense and the novelist commendable for that matter.
Besides the main focal point above, the novelist has also talked about the dangers of the killer disease Corona, the precautions for the prevention of the disease, role and importance of gene in human development, prevalent Mithila culture and behavioral habits congenial to eradication of the pandemic, dowry system as a curse, ending of child marriage and mismatch marriage, introducing sex education in schools, conditions for immunity growth, exploitation of natural resources , and life far from Nature etc. These burning topics have been identified and interwoven as dialogues here and there throughout the novel. In such places, the teacher in the novelist becomes more vibrant, The novel, on the whole, is worth- reading. I myself found the story so interesting that I finished it in two sittings, but I am sure that youngsters of today, because of amorous and romantic talks between lovers, will finish the book at a stretch, recommending others to go through the book urgently and as soon as possible.
Congratulations and best wishes to the author.