The white tiger Ujjwal Prasai

Legend has it that Jung Bahadur Ranathe initiator of the 104-years-long Rana rule in Nepalsaw a white tiger on one of his hunting trips in the Tarai. But a white tiger has never been found in the Nepali forests, and most attribute this apocryphal tale as being an illusion that Jung Bahadur saw; he was an old man by then, and his eyes were not the same. Writer Diamond Shamsher beautifully captures this moment in his acclaimed novel Seto Bagh (White Tiger), where the moment signifies the end of Jung Bahadurs rule. Ironically, Shamsher himself cannot see properly any longer. Fiction has come to life for him, as the 93-year-old suffers from diabetic retinopathy which has affected his vision. Yet, new characters and plotlines continue to emerge in his mind even now. I have many plots that I can develop into novels, but I cannot write any more due to my eyes, says Shamsher. Shamsher no longer possesses the energy that is evident in Seto Bagh and in his other equally-acclaimed work Basanti. Both his kidneys dont function properly, and he suffers from arthritis as well. Before I started interviewing him at his Kupondole residence, Shamsher was telling his close friend Dr. Kedar Karmacharya, Doctors have said that they cannot treat me now. And when I began speaking to him about his works, he was unable to remember how he wrote such masterpieces. His answers would invariably begin to shift towards another subject, but he didnt forget to tell me people were still reading him. I still get the royalties from Seto Bagh, Basanti, and Anita. Only last month, I got Rs. 60,000 as royalty for Seto Bagh. Shamsher wrote so beautifully about the Rana regime and the politics within because of his first person experience. He wrote about what he heard and saw; his knowledge and experience came out in his writing. His historical fictions occupy a unique space in the history of Nepali literature. They reveal a world that was far aloof from societal realities of the day, where the Rana rulers are portrayed as being completely cut-off from the society they ruled over. Instead, they fight among themselves; fratricide and patricide are common in the tussle over the throne. The best example of this can be found in Seto Bagh (1973), which has been translated into Hindi, English, German and French. His first work, Basanti (1948), told the story of the Kot Massacre, an incident repeated endlessly in history textbooks even today. Seto Bagh focuses on Jagat Jungthe eldest son of Jung Bahadurand his love affair with the kings daughter, the side plot reveals the battle for succession between Jung Bahadurs sons and his brothers. The history of the Ranas continues in Satprayash (1981); Shamsher himself has said that the book is a sequel to Seto Bagh. But Shamsher hasnt written only about the rise of the Ranas. In Anita (1986), he chronicles their downfall, which he attributes to the Ranas themselves. The Ranas didnt educate the people and that was their biggest mistake, he says. Shamsher was born in 1917 to Buddha Shamsher, an aristocrat from the Rana clan, in Palpa. He was brought to Kathmandu when he was six months old to his ancestral home in Thapathali. He studied at Patan High School, though he didnt complete school. After his father died, he had to quit his studies and join the army, where he was given the post of a lieutenant. Shamsher was only 20 then, and continued serving in the army for nearly 20 years. Though Shamsher couldnt continue his studies, he received private tutorials from an Indian teacher called Animesh Raya Chowdhury, who had taught him English literature. Chowdhury inspired him to write; the fruit of Shamshers first efforts was Basanti. But the book didnt eulogise the Ranas; instead, it lashed out at their tyranny. As he wasnt allowed to publish it from Kathmandu, Shamsher chose to get it published from Varanasi, where the Nepali democratic movement also had its roots. He was still in the army when the Nepali Congress began the democratic movement, and Shamsher participated in an anti-Rana demonstration in Kathmandu. I was the first among the Rana army to protest against their rule, Shamsher says. He was arrested and imprisoned, and a death sentence loomed large. But the Ranas surrendered to the revolution of Nepali Congress and I was freed.

The Rana rule was over, and Shamsher began working actively for the Congress. King Mahendras autocracy earned him another prison sentence, this time for six years (1960-1966). While in prison, he started writing about the sequence of events after Jung Bahadurs death and the infighting between his brothers and his sons. The book was initially named Durbin Bhitrako Nepal, but was ultimately published in 1973 as Seto Bagh. Shamsher got immediate fame from this work, which encouraged him to continue writing. Shamsher became ostracised by his own family and the clan because of his writing. He was considered to be a traitor, but he didnt really care. After all, Shamsher was someone who idolised B.P. Koiralathe antithesis to whatever the Rana regime stood for. Shamsher continued writing while he participated in the long road to multiparty democracy up to 1990. He upheld the ideals of democracy throughout his life, and even today, political leaders come to visit him every once in a while. Though he is happy with the progress Nepal has made, Shamsher says he told Baburam Bhattarai the same thing he had said to other politicians, Make education free for all. Invest more in education than in buying weapons. Diamond Shamsher is a living example of a writer who goes against the norms of society to write about what he believes in. He wrote about the tyranny of the Rana rule even though he was a Rana himself, and subsequently, has earned a place as one of the most revered writers in Nepali literature. But, he acknowledges that he couldnt have written about the Ranas if he hadnt been born into the family. I could write such novels not only because I am a Rana myself, but also because I was in the army when they were in power.

This is a fortnightly series that will trace the lives of Nepali literatures living legends and their works. Posted on: 2010-12-25 09:53