RRS
Laghukatha (short-short story) has become a popular genre in the recent times with many more young writers trying their hands in the field. It is not that they are fascinated to short-short story because it is easy to write. Writing a short-short story is more challenging than penning the lengthy ones. The writer must be able to put forth their views in limited space in short-short story. He or she should convey the message without offering detailed background. Besides, it must be to the point and touchy with twisting and poignant ending as found in the stories of O. Henry. The character, situation and the setting speak for themselves in the short-short story carrying the underlying themes.
Against this background, Hari Prasad Bhandari, who is famous for penning progressive literature, has come up with Abiral Yatra (Incessant Journey) that contains 82 short-short stories. It is perhaps Bhandari’s third collection of stories. He has already written two anthologies of stories Chirag and Aswikrit Kathaharu. The book under review reflects further refinement in the writing of Bhandari. Subtle human feelings combined with minute observation of life and society has made his stories readable and effective. Satires, symbols and parables are some literary tools he has used to express the theme powerfully. Bhandari has ruthlessly targeted corrupt politicians, bureaucrats and charlatans.
But in Ma Marisake (I Have Already Died), which is a heart-rending story about the abject poverty faced by great poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. The writer employs historical characters such as poet Kedarman Byathit and Devkota to have poignant impact on the narrative. One day Devkota has to observe a Shradha, a ritual in which a son remembers his late father and forefathers. He happens to be in a state of dilemma when he has to change his dhoti (lower-part clothe) before a number of guests but sadly he has only one dhoti. He is lying on the bed and hesitant to move for the ritual. He compares himself with a dying man since he can’t buy a dhoti that is not so costly. All the time, he works hard. Still he has been unable to get one dhoti. One can trace elements of pathos and pains here. This story is based on Devkota’s poem ‘pagal’. In ‘Guide Master, ’ the writer introduces us to a crooked teacher who intentionally does not give a pass mark to the students, who do not use guidebooks and guess-papers written by him. Sukrabar (Friday) is about a lazy bureaucrat who only wants to tame his juniors but fails to be honest to his office. Giddha Sammelan (Conference of Vultures) is a subtle satire on Kathmandu that boasts of being a civilised city. Vultures hold a meeting as they face food crisis in the villages with the people becoming more aware about health and sanitation. They no more find carcass in the field. They decide to migrate to the capital city where they have easy access with bones and garbage that are scattered here and there. The story derides the city dwellers who are living amidst the heaps of trashes. Based on parable in story telling, it is one of the powerful stories in the collection.
Other stories of Bhandari are equally effective. He has worked hard and demonstrated commitment in penning stories filled with irony on social, political and cultural life. The book will indeed take the author into new height where he can compare himself with other successful short-short storywriters. Reader should go through his stories to have a real flavour of the literature.
Source: The Rising Nepal, Kathmandu
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