Himalayan Voices An Introduction to Modern Nepali Literature TRANSLATED AND EDITED BY Michael James Hutt UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS Berkeley Los Angeles Oxford CONTENTS PREFACE / xi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS / XV NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION / xvii Introduction / 1 PART ONE • THE POETS OF NEPAL / // Nepali Poetry / 13 Lekhnath Paudyal (1885-1966) / 22 A Parrot in a Cage I 26 Himalaya I 28 Remembering Saraswali I 29 An Ode to Death I 30 Last Poem I 30 Balkrishna Sama (1903-1981) / 31 Man Is God Himself I 34 1 Hate I 35 All-Pervading Poetry I 35 from Sight of the Incarnation I 36 Lakshmlprasad Devkota (1909-1959) / 40 Sleeping Porter I 44 from Mund ami Madan I 45 Prayer on a Clear Morning in the Month of Mdgh I 51 Mad I 53 Like Nothing into Nothing I 56 vi CONTENTS Siddhicharan Shreshtha (b. 1912) / 57 A Suffering World I 59 No Smoke from the Chimneys I 61 My Reflection I 61 Untouchable I 61 Father Has Not Come Home I 62 My Son I 63 To the Poet Devkota I 64 Kedar Man" Vyathit" (b. 1914) / 66 Fragment from the Year '09 I 68 Ants I 69 A Glimpse I 69 The Storm I 70 The End I 71 War I 71 The Practice of Sculpture I 71 Gopalprasad Rimal (1918-1973) / 73 A Mother's Dream I 75 Consolation I 76 A Mother's Pain I 78 A Change I 79 Who Are You? I 80 To— I 81 Mohan Koirala (b. 1926) / 82 • Remembering as I Go I 86 An Introduction to the Land I 87 I Love Your Daughter I 89 The Martyrs I 90 1 Remember I 91 A Flower Amid the Mountain Rocks I 93 The Fiddle I 93 The Snow Peak's Blood-Red I 96 It's a Mineral, the Mind I 97 You Who Remember I 98 Bairagl Kainla (b. 1939) / 99 The Corpse of a Dream I 102 A Drunk Man's Speech to the Street After Midnight I 103 People Shopping at a Weekly Market I 106 Parijat(b. 1937) / /// Sweep Away I 113 To Gopalprasad Rimdl's "To —" I 114 A Sick Lover's Letter to Her Soldier I 115 In the Arms of Death I 116 CONTENTS vii Bhupi Sherchan (1936-1989) / 119 Always Always in My Dream I 122 Midday and the Cold Sleep I 123 I Think My Country's History Is a Lie I 124 A Blind Man on a Revolving Chair I 125 This Is a Land of Uproar and Rumor I 127 New Year I 128 A Poem I 129 A Dove of Two Delicate White Hands: Your Greeting I 130 Cold Ashtray I 131 A Cruel Blow at Dawn I 131 Banlra Giri (b. 1946) / 132 Time, You Are Always the Winner I 133 I Am a Torn Poster I 135 Kathmandu I 137 Woman I 139 New Trends in Nepali Poetry . / 141 Bhairava Aryal (1936-1976) / 143 A Leaf in a Storm I 143 Haribhakta Katuval (1935-1980) / 144 A Wish I 144 This Life, What Life Is This? I 145 Ishwar Ballabh (b. 1937) / 145 The Shadows of Superfluous Songs I 146 Where Is the Voice? I 147 Hem Hamal (b. 1941) / 148 Village and Town I 149 Children Going to School I 149 Before the Dawn I 149 Krishnabhushan Bal (b. 1947) / 150 April Wind I " 150 Historical Matters I 151 Bimal Nibha (b. 1952) / 152 Are You Quite Well, Oh Poet? I 152 Ashesh Malla (b. 1954) / 153 To the Children I 153 None Returned from the Capital I 154 Mlnbahadur Bishfa (b. 1954) / 155 Wliat's in the Bastard Hills? I 155 Thus a Nation Pretends to Live I 157 Avinash Shreshtha (b. 1955) / 157 A Spell I 158 Headland I 158 viii CONTENTS Bishwabimohan Shreshtha (b. 1956) / 159 Should I Earn My Daily Bread, or Should 1 Write a Poem? I 159 PART TWO • SELECTED SHORT STORIES / 171 The Short Story in Nepali / 173 Guruprasad Mainall (1900-1971) / 189 A Blaze in the Straw I 189 Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (1915-1982) / 197 The Soldier I 197 To the Lowlands I 201 Bhavani Bhikshu (1914-1981) / 206 Will He Ever Return? I 207 Mdujang Bdbusdheb's Coat I 214 Shivkumar Ral (b. 1916) / 224 The Murderer I 224 Daulat Bikram Bishtha (b. 1926) / 231 The Andhi Khold I 231 Bijay Malla (b. 1925) / 236 Sunglasses I 236 The Prisoner and the Dove I 240 Ramesh Bikal (b. 1932) / 244 A Splendid Buffalo I 244 Shankar Lamichhane (1928-1975) / 253 The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Setting Sun I 253 Indra Bahadur Ral (b. 1928) / 260 Maind's Mother Is Just Like Us I 260 Poshan Pande (b. 1932) / 266 A Sweater for Brother-in-law I 266 TarinT Prasad Koirala (1922-1974) / 271 It Depends upon Your Point of View I 271 Prema Shah / 278 A Husband I 278 Parashu Pradhan (b. 1943) / 284 The Telegram on the Table I 284 A Relationship I 286 Dhruba Chandra Gautam (b. 1944) / 290 The Fire I 290 CONTENTS ix Manu BrajakT (b. 1942) / 298 A Small Fish Squats by the Dhobi Khold I 298 Kishor Pahadl (b. 1956) / 304 A Living Death I 304 GLOSSARY / 311 BIBLIOGRAPHY / 317 INDEX / 325 (Illustrations follow page 162).