| Username |
Post |
| Biswo |
Posted
on 06-Feb-03 06:27 PM
In this mysteriously evolving political time in Kathmandu, newspapers superannuate themselves before they are published. So, I have lost my interest in reading newspapers, but writings of Khagendra Sangraula are still my favourites.It is wonderful to see how he is changing, how he is closer to the truth each new day.
Mr Sangraula is not clear if he is republican, but he definitely doesn't like Gyanendra. He finds himself closer to Girija than his ideological kin Madhav Nepal who unfortunately is again a secretary general, and confides that he voted for Daman Dhungana when he contested against Mrs Bhandari. He also wrote somewhere how disgusted he was to see Khasa, the outpost of a communist nation, but how he couldn't tell his internal feelings to his friends lest he would be labelled unfaithful to his belief. Communism in Nepal has flourished in the fertlizer of prevarication, and most of Pragatishil Lekhaks have written slogans rather than literature. I remember once Mr Mod Nath Prashrit, himself a tainted person, wrote in Chhalphal, "China and Russia developed more under the auspice of great communist movement within 50 yrs than USA and UK did in more than 300 years." A rubbish, surely. No proof is needed in papers like Chhalphal. And lies sell like a hot cake in Nepal's left movement because their targetted audience long to live under the pernicious spell of lies.
I remember reading about George Orwell, the man who wrote 1984 and Animal Farm, and the man who coined the word 'Cold War'. He hated capitalism a lot. He hated Stalin too. He was a confused fellow, he hated even Gandhi, he didn't have solutions of anything, he even hated the idea of small nations like Burma being an independent. But when he died, he left his book Animal Farm, with its sharp criticism of communism, which capitalism, whom he equally despised,used as a weapon against communistm during 'cold war'. "All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others" became a catchphrase to ridicule communist egalitarianism. Mr Orwell, a socialist, a proletarian, thus became a tool of capitalists posthumously. His Animal Farm's movie copyright was bought by CIA and it was later distributed worldwide as a propaganda.
Sometimes I wonder if Mr Sangraula is heading to the same direction. A man who seeks truth in his old age, and in that pursuit, he refutes what he firmly believed in his youth. For readers, however, it will be a good thing to see a man coming out of his ideological straitjacket, and pursuing truth, inching closer to the real world in that process. A piece of a literary work gains immortality in its meticulous attention to the reality.Falsehoods never survived as an art.
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| noname |
Posted
on 06-Feb-03 07:20 PM
Very true BISWO ji! A radical communist transforming to a radical left. His comments are harsh, poignant and straightforward and his choice of words is astounding. In his recent column in Kantipur he has coined the term BHALU KO NACH for the so-called facilitators and Dr. Bhattarai too has picked this word in his article.
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| Deep |
Posted
on 07-Feb-03 03:17 PM
Biswoji,
There are hundreds of thousands of Nepalis who are walking with Khagendra Sangraula to the extent of his confusion on what or who he likes. We got way too many leaders but no lead; way too many ideologies but no principle; way too much rhetoric but no meaning; and way too many claims but no truth.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 07-Feb-03 11:51 PM
> A radical communist transforming to a radical left.
nonameji, actually my point was that the radical communist was transforming to a man seeking truth, perhaps in his own old way, but I didn't mean he was transforming to a radical left. I agree with you,however, that his choice of words are very good.
>way too many claims but no truth
Deepji,
I appreciate your comment, but beg to differ a little bit. We have too many claims, may be some of them truth.But liars in ours society have been successful in selling themselves as virtuous person, which is sad.
And that is why those who want to write what they think is true, what they think others will also think to be true should be encouraged to write more. Even in their fading days.Left or right doesn't matter. To quote Deng Xiaoping, Black cat or white cat doesn't matter, the one that can catch mouse is the best one.
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 08-Feb-03 10:03 PM
Biswo, very interesting observation about KS.
I do enjoy his writing, his choice of hard hitting words, the way he relates his own experiences, etc. But never noticed his transition - maybe the writer in him is gaining ascendance :)
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| VillageVoice |
Posted
on 08-Feb-03 10:23 PM
By the way, Manjushree Thapa (yes, the famous novelist and columnist for the Nepali Times) has an article in Koseli (Kantipur) on KG's latest (?) book.
It's a fun read - I mean her article. Trust me :)
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| ? |
Posted
on 08-Feb-03 11:05 PM
> A radical communist transforming to a radical left.
Is there a difference?
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 08-Feb-03 11:25 PM
hahahah ? thik question..isn;'t communit=radical left
socialist (moderate, liberal) communits (radical) anai left (communists/socialists)..
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 08-Feb-03 11:30 PM
tara khoi biswoji le bhaneko artha maile naujheko huna sakcha..
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 02:31 AM
IFji,
Actually, that was not my statement. It was nonameji's statement. I was just trying to say that a radical communist was turning to be a person seeking unvarnished truth.
villagevoiceji,
Thanks for the info. I just read Manju's comment and I definitely agree with her. I had read Junkiriko sangeet couple of years ago. There were some dramatic moments, which looked far-fetched, especially the way he explained the actions of two guys of NGO in Parbat. You expect a master of words to write something flawless. Something we can read and identify with. Sangraula writes very well when he writes short piece, but he somehow fails to connect different pieces together and make a great long novel.
To some extent, same thing is observable in Maha too.They make great comedy, great theater show, great TV serial. But their movies lack organization, clear message, and look confused between message and masala. Lovi Papi was a good example of this kind of failure by Maha.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 03:18 AM
biswoji,
sorry about the confusion.
another thing is: i don't agree with your views on khagendra shangraula. khagendra shangraula is never happy with anyone. i ahd never experienced "ruthless criticism of all that exists" till i started reading his pieces on kantipur. he has a good choice of words, but no content whatsoever. he has complains but no solutions. he complains about everything and everyone so much so that he has forgotten (or yet to figure out) what's that he wants. and if somebody contradicts his mahan statements, he attacks the poor fella with his "choice of words".. and this applies to people who don't buy his "radical" views. One example of this guy's holier than thou thinking:
a month or two ago, in his kantipur column he came up with a few names who were against the asoj-18 move.. then, he had a name of this poor dude who was not in favor but not very against the asoj 18. And our mahan columnist wrote something like.. hey these 12 people denounc the move, and this guy is supportive of the move.. since i have given the name of famous and infamous people against the move, this poor guy supportive of the move is a damn idiot. (of course he was very sarcastic) and the worst part was.. he didn't even care to tell when and in whart context Govinda Bhatta expressed his views in support of the asoj-18 move.
If ridiculing other for their views/sincere remarks without understanding the context is what makes khagendra shangraula readable and mahan, then yeah, he is good and is in the process of turning into our nepali version of George Orwell.
my 50 rs. including telephone bill and internet charge..
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 04:59 PM
IFji,
George Orwell aka Eric Blair WAS a confused personality, a dual personality, charged with , among other things, fabricating his experiences in his essays like Down and Out in London and Paris(?) and the one he wrote about Burma.(Sorry, I forget the titles of those essays, and don't want to go to search rightnow!) He sought truth until his death, he sought to write something that would be regarded as truth, a sincere evaluation of things by a dispassionate mind.
Sangraula is a confused writer, but there is one thing he is getting clearer day by day: that he is supposed to write the truth, perhaps scathing comments, not bhajan, he is supposed to write what he thinks his mind is dictating him to write, not what the prospect of (exogenous) momentary benefit is dictating him to write. That is a good signal of becoming good writer. He is not always right, but he is transforming. And that was my point.
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| surya |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 05:54 PM
"Transforming" maybe because he is abandoing and "seeing the truth" in an alternative political worldview... moving away from his "confused" past where he thought communism was the way to go. And his skill as a writer and a craftsman with words aside, would you say he still be labelled a "writer-seeking-truth" category if he employed his skills to communicate a different political conviction, say one that agreed with the asoj-18 move? I think that would determine what we are talking about here, hoina? ... just a thought.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 07:54 PM
Sangraula is a confused writer, but there is one thing he is getting clearer day by day: that he is supposed to write the truth, perhaps scathing comments, not bhajan, he is supposed to write what he thinks his mind is dictating him to write, not what the prospect of (exogenous) momentary benefit is dictating him to write. That is a good signal of becoming good writer. He is not always right, but he is transforming. And that was my point.
Biswo-ji,
Thanks for the info. on Georghe Orwell, I only knew Animal Farm. Biswo-ji, I agree with what you have written in above para. but that all can be summerized as "ranting". He is angry, furious and mind you, his truths aren't always the truths that the majority of Nepal's population believes in.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 07:56 PM
another thing, yes, money (momentary benifit) is also one compelling factor, I guess. ...X 4 = ..000, hoina? I don't think he writes for free for Kantipur.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 09-Feb-03 11:59 PM
>He is angry, furious and mind you, his truths aren't
>always the truths that the majority of Nepal's
>population believes in.
IF ji,
I think majority/minority rules are not applied to writers and scientists for obvious reasons. If people were to vote about their likes/dislikes of Galleleo's finding, or Darwin's findings, we know who would win. Ditto about the writings of unconventional writers or philosophers like James Joyce and Hegel. So, let's not talk about majority/minority.
On the other hand, it is a bit ironical that while you are reluctant to apply minority/majority rule in politics and governance where it is relevant, you would like to see this in literature. But again, that is entirely different [matter] from what I tried to address here.
Wo de yige pengyou xianzai zai Beida jiaoshu. Ta she jingji xi de jiaoshou. ni shenme shihou qu nabian?
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 01:28 AM
ok, let's leave this isue of minority vs majority here. kura jati tankayo, tyatti tankincha.
lao peng,
wo ba yue, er ling ling ling san nian qu nabianr. ni de pengyou ne bo er ren hai shi bie de guo jia ren, nan hai shi nu de ye xue xi shen me?
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 02:13 AM
aha.. duibuqi...wo bu kan dao "jingli"
suo yi ta shi jingli de xue sheng.. shi ni bo er ren ma?
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| rajunpl |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 04:26 AM
Well,biswo jyu,
I have read very few articles of sangrula ji.Whenever i did read the articles in any newspaper or the newsmag I was in dilemma too.I cannot explain whether me was wrong or the writer was wrong.Specially,sangraula and whether rightist,leftist or the ultr-leftist.They are so incomplete and the one-sided.
If one is writing about the communism.He will say communism is 100% good for the govt.He will show the example of china and the russia.What about the communism in the eastern europe,italy,germany ?The western world has already proof that communism is wrong.The communism in the italy and the germany was revised and still in revision in china and the russia.
But, mao said revisionism in the communism is like suicide.Then why is all the communism nation are in revision?Say,if nepalese leader can say communism in china and the russia is far better than uk and the usa. Then you wouldn't see that much russian prostitute in the european and the american brothel.You wont see the china town in major uk and the us cities.This means i am not suppoting the western world.
I am just supporting what i see infront of my eyes.
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| rajunpl |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 04:40 AM
What is the point in relation to the sangraula biswo jyu?He is your fav. writer.Is that all what you mean?Or you like the way he explain communism.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 12:34 PM
IFji,
ta she meiguo ren, jingji xueyuan de jiaoshou, bu she xuesheng.
--
Rajunplji,
You are entitled to your views. I am yet to read Sangraula's 'communist' articles. I am reading his mainstream articles and not-so-mainstream novels.And that's what I commented in my posting.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 12:59 PM
hao ming bai le.. ke shi, jigji shi shen me?
wo yijing wnag le hen duo.. duibuqi aa.
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 01:07 PM
Economics.
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 01:21 PM
jingji huo zhi jingli?
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 01:52 PM
It is jingji. Jingli is for manager.
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| noname |
Posted
on 10-Feb-03 05:30 PM
>>A radical communist transforming to a radical left.
This is my observation only. I should have started this line in next para. sorry for the confusion.
By this, I just meant that he voices against establishment. He raised voice against deployment of millitary, against emergency, against nepali congress and now against near-to-power UML. He does not spare even communists but never supports the one in power.
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| rajunpl |
Posted
on 11-Feb-03 08:23 AM
well, whatever b jyu
ism ism ism wakka dikka ki kaso
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 11-Feb-03 09:55 PM
Raju,
Wakka Dikka nai ta haina. Just didn't want to go to that territory here.
--
IF,
wo tingshuo Zhu Rongji yao dang jiaoshou le, zai Qinghua daxue jingji xi. Wo de pengyou jintian gang gen wo shuo de.
Hai you, Zhang Yimou de Yingxiong(Hero) zai Oscar Award bei timing le. Kan guo ma?
Hope your travel to Beijing will be a good one. May be your political views will also be 'mellowed' :-)
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 11-Feb-03 10:00 PM
zhen de ma? zhu lao shi... wo yao gen ta xue xi, ke shi bu neng aa! ta ma de!
wo hai mei kan Hero, na bu dian ying hao bu hao? wo ting guo na bu dian ying he Crouching Tiger... yi yang de, shi ma? Zhang yi mou de mei bu dianying ho.. wo zui xi huan t de "wo fu qin, mu qin" (the road home)..zhen hao.. ni kan guo ma?
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| isolated freak |
Posted
on 11-Feb-03 10:02 PM
de mei bu dianying = zhang yi mou de mei ge dian ying hao..
political thinking .. well, who knows i gert even more radical ; )
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| Biswo |
Posted
on 12-Feb-03 12:46 AM
mei kan guo yingxiong. No theater is playing that movie here. I know it was played in New York. Saw a review in New Yorker. Zhang Yimou makes perfect movies. I once met him when he came to our school for the premiere of Keep Cool, but in a group.An extra ordinary person, in deed.
--
There is no place left in your right, IFji. mei you difang, zhende.King ko support, democracy/election etc ko birodh, aba kati aru rightwing jaanu ni? Ni yijing ji youyi(rightwing) le. Fanzheng, dao zhongguo yihou zai shuo ba.We will see:-)
Zhu ni hao yun. Beida boasts the 'only' Sanskrit expert in China, forgot the old man's name now.Also, It has a real beautiful xiaoyuan. People so productive and smart that last year, thirty five+ students got offer of graduate study from Stanford re. dao nali yihou bu yao he henduo pijiu. Gotta be productive!
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