| Username |
Post |
| Biswo |
Posted
on 02-Jan-03 08:43 PM
San's benign subterfuge allowed everyone to bask in the glory of being 'man of the year', but The New Year 'celebration' was mostly yawning for me and a few others I know. In Nepal, we don't even understand it: we don't celebrate Baisakh 1, or January 1. January 1 understandably, and Baisakh 1 is also understandably. Baisakh 1 is not significant for us, most Nepalese don't even know what happened 2050+ years ago and who started this Bikram Sambat. We celebrate festivals, that's it, and Baisakh 1 is not a festival for us.It is just the first day of a year.
In fact, after 2017 when Mahendra's lionization was at peak, a few prominent sycophants had even proposed to start 'Mahendra Sambat'. If I am not mistaken, one of the proposers is now a minister, though I may be wrong.Anyway, the idea of Mahendra Sambat was scuttled, perhaps because Mahendra himself was at least not flying that high.
--
Guess what? I have heard that Diamond Shamsher's new novel is coming to market. I think it is named Grihaprabesh. Old stuffs about Janga Bahadur Rana. Will love to read his book. They are not always real, but they are well-grounded in reality. The romance of royals/Ranas depicted in Seto Baagh is still one of the best romance depictions in our literature. Seto Baagh, Pratibadhdha, Satprayash etc are all comparable to Godfather in their twists, thrills and suspenses. Srikrishna Shrestha tried to write about Janga Bdr later, and his book was sold pretty fast also. But my feeling was despite being great, his work was definitely not as great as that of Diamond Shamsher.
--
Finally, this is the anecdote I read in New Yorker sometimes ago. I think we will all enjoy this.
Chekov once went to meet Tolstoy. Tolstoy welcomed him in his house, served tea from samovar, and told him, "Chekov, you write great stories. They are so great that sometimes I wish I had written some of them myself. But your plays are great disappointment. They are so bad that .. they are even worse than those of Shakespeare."
Chekov, while returning from Tolstoy's house, looked at the setting sun, thought for a long time, and told himself, "I write so bad plays that they are even worse than those of Shakespeare"!
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| Jayahos |
Posted
on 03-Jan-03 08:23 PM
Biswo ji kina ho yata eklai?
By the way,one more in the list from DS RANA is ANITA. I am not sure why you left that one! This novel has covered one important but largely uncovered aspect of aftermath of 2007 sal. The largely missed part of 2007 sal is the the rampage LOOTPAT that took place in eastern Nepal in the name of CONGRESS. "Lau Congress Aaayo" bhandai Dhani mani ko ghar ma pasne, lootne ra manis katne kam went up largely uncontrolled. "TERO GHAR MA CONGRESS PASOS" bhanne ta chalan nai chha ni! (Though people use this for GHARAYASI JHAGADA, I think this symbolizes the LOOTPAT!).
To some extent, Diamond Shamsher has covered this story in Anita.
HAPPY NEW YEAR.
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| NK |
Posted
on 04-Jan-03 01:17 PM
Biswo, It is not quite true that we don't celebrate new year. Of course we do! We just do it differently. We don't put on a silly hat, ridiculous-looking glasses, yell happy new year at unsuspecting strangers and admire ice sculpture in butt-freezing cold. We have a priest come in our house and listen what the future holds for us according to his 'patro.' Maybe we would go even go to temple that morning as a bonus! You mean you did not do these things when you were in Nepal? Shame on you!
ps by the way, were you one of the people who sent Admin a 'Thank you' note for being chosen 'Person of the Year?" LOL
(how is your study going?)
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 04-Jan-03 04:11 PM
NK, the thank you note, that's funny !!!
San, silently wathching all of us all these months, finally decides, "Well, folks, here's one from me." From Krishnaji, who controls the Kuruchhetra. How are you Biswo and NK?
Did you guys have a "butt-freezing" new year? Yes, I did holler a few "Happy New Year" to unsuspecting strangers, including lonely ladies. Some went home to tell their hubbies, "George, you know what? One was this guy who didn't look very American. Of course, he didn't sound American."
George: "O, these immigrants."
Look what this place does to you.
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 04-Jan-03 06:36 PM
And a Happy New Year to you too!!!!
And NK too!
But do I know the both of you???????
Darn this Yumrika!!!! has contaminated my miserly spirits!!! Now I am a New Age-wanna-be!!!
:P
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 05-Jan-03 12:31 AM
NK,
Honestly, I never celebrated New Year. Going to temple is a routine job for my mom, so I don't remember it as a special. My faith on the god is shaky, as you know.
That 'man of the year' thing? I was too late to be excited. I read Rabi's and Puru's thank you note as soon as I read San's encomium for my contribution. Well, it was fun anyway.
Villagevoiceji, I watched this Hindi movie Kaante to celebrate new year. Unfortunately, despite its good filming, it reminded me Reservoir Dogs of Quentin Tarantino. Sometimes even the dialogues were same. It is not good to pay for the same movie two times, is it?
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| NK |
Posted
on 05-Jan-03 08:48 PM
>Look what this place does to you<
sigh!!
Biswo, I think my faith in gods are shakier than your faith in them! :p How about if we have a competition? But how??? Hmmm...
Sitara,
I know VillageVoice and dear ol' VV knows me. VV knows Biswo and Biswo knows VV. But only through email me thinks. Biswo knows me through email and I know Biswo through my sixth sense. And of course we all know each other, yes dear including you, through Sajhanagari. Isn't it wonderful to be alive??
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| SITARA |
Posted
on 05-Jan-03 08:55 PM
NK...and Biswo ji
Having the shaking contest???????
How???
Well, Shake your "Booties"!!!! And if if the Gods feel the earth move.... then the mover and the shaker is the winner! Or If they (the gods) Don't, then, The Gods Must Be Crazy!!!
:P
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| NK |
Posted
on 06-Jan-03 08:54 AM
haha! Ready Biswo??
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 06-Jan-03 11:30 AM
Biswo and NK,
Go ahead. Sajha deserves its shares of WWFs, esp. since the agent provocateur par excellence Oohi Ashu's been away for god knows how long. And the show has to go on.
Even the new year fails to excite me much. Now Biswo, be a sport...Call it Monday morning blues if you want to...:)
BTW, I hope to read the Diamond sumsher book. Tks. Vaguley remember reading his recent interview. Seto Baagh was definitely a great read. (which was the other one? Basanti?) But I hope he writes about the current-day Nepal too. There's enough mashala for a great plot/subplots, character roles, villains--not too sure about grand Shakeshpearean heroes.
Sitara, great to hear from you, hajoor. how's the naya barsa treating you?
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 10-Jan-03 06:10 PM
I dug up my thread from dustbin. So, NK, you wanna fight with me, huh? Let's start.
--
The point I wanted to write here was about War And Peace and Seto Baagh. Do you guys think Seto Bagh was influenced by the grand tradition set in War And Peace. The love story, a sick Bir Shamsher tended by his lovesick princess Dhanhajuri(?), don't they remind War And Peace? Of course, Seto Bagh is a great novel, original and full of suspense and plots/subplots, but it is entirely possible for a writer to be impressed by someone, isn't it?
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 10-Jan-03 11:33 PM
I probably read those two books just around the same time, but never occured to me that Ja Ba Ra could have been influenced by Count Tolstoy. Now that you mention it, biswo, hmmmm....???? It will be worth go through them again.
But then I think I have lost the early appetite for big books.
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