Subjective Expressions RRS

Subjective Expressions

RRS

Yubaraj Nayaghare is an illustrious essayist of young generation of Nepali literature. With seven books to his credit, Nayaghare have won many awards such as Rastriya Pratibha Puraskar, International Nepali Literary Society, Best Book Award and Shankar Lamichhane Yuba Nibandha Puraskar. He has invented a distinct style of writing, in which he plays with words and expresses his personal views like a soliloquy method of drama. Like Montaigne and Lamb, Nayaghare picks ordinary things and starts analysing them in an intellectual fashion. In his essays, action moves very slowly. It is delayed by speculative ideas of the essayist. While being occupied in self-reflection, he also communicates his ideas to the readers. Ek Hatko Tali (Clap With One Hand) is his seventh work. It has 23 essays, which deal with social anomalies, human helplessness and predicament. The essayist has poked at political and cultural hypocrisy. Athar Hajar Jabo (An Insignificant Amount of Rs. Eighteenth Thousand) offers a brutal satire on human value. Everything is getting expensive nowadays but life is becoming very cheap. The essayist talks about the absence of strong law to punish cruel drivers who can crush a pedestrian to death and escapes the jail-term by merely paying a fine of Rs. 18,000. Here Nayaghare encounters with a rough and rowdy teenage driver, who drives a microbus carelessly in the crowded road of Kathmandu. The foul-mouthed driver every times scolds the innocent passers-by as they cross the road. He fixes their price at Rs. 18,000. "You poor guys! You are near the door of death. I will kill you and get rid of you by paying Rs. 18,000," he bursts out as the pedestrians walk down to reach the other end of the road. Nayanghare is sitting beside him. These horrible remarks make his hair stand. This pushes Nayaghare to ponder over how worthless the human life is at the hands of callous driver. The restless essayist asks him as to why he is so hurried and losing temper. The driver makes a blunt yet a painful reply: "Tomorrow, I will get license and this evening I have to throw a party to a traffic hawaldar (sergeant). Then, should I not be hurried?" In ‘Let’s Meet in Curfew,’ the essayist takes the readers to the popular April Uprising when hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets against the guns and tanks. The writer depicts the unparallel unity and solidarity of the Nepalese people to topple the despotic ruler. No matter how powerful the dictators are, they have the feet of clay and should surrender before the people’s power. This is what the message of the essay the writer wants to convey to his readers. Ek Hatko Tali, which is also the title of the book, is satire on the politicians. The plot of the essay is written against the backdrop of referendum in 2036 BS. Here is a live character named Nyangrunge Katawal, who is a witness to history. He runs a teashop at the corner of Ratna Park. People are pouring in to take part in the processions and chanting slogans demanding political freedom and democracy. Katwal is very busy. He uses his one hand to serve the tea to the clients, mostly the political cadres and another hand for clapping to the speeches and slogans of the leaders. This is a unique scene. There occurs many political changes but there is no change in the life of Katawal. In the cold winter, he serves hot tea to many leaders, who delivered their fiery speeches in Tudikhel but these leaders have forgotten Katawal. He is now a neglected character. This and other essays highlight the various facets of human life. Readers find essayist’s subjective expressions in the book. In many of them, he is absorbed in the philosophical pondering. Readers may be delighted from the essays from cover to cover. They are experimental, critical and analytical. The book is expected to add a new dimension to the Nepalese essay writing.