BP's democratic socialism is regarded as forcibly buried alive after the handover of industries in the public sector to the private sector
Bishweswor Prasad Koirala's (BP) Memorial Day was observed last week throughout the country highlighting his multi-faceted contribution to Nepali society. If politics and particularly democratic socialism formed one end of the spectrum, the other was his literary genius that spread over novels, stories, interviews and essays. It is enigmatic that politicians contributing to differing ideologies, even diagonally different, consider him as the ace political statesman of Nepal. Though he reigned for a short period of a little more than a year, he has left a deep mark in the minds of the people in Nepal and abroad. This is in stark contrast to the politicians who have managed to remain at the top for decades but are barely remembered positively even when in power and are thus likely to be forgotten soon after they disappear from the political scene.
On the occasion of his Memorial Day, the Nepali Congress (NC) and its fraternal institutions organised a few programmes. In one of them, the President of the NC, Sher Bahadur Deuba, virtually took the forest for the trees by stressing on his policy of reconciliation, which, however, is a mere chapter of his voluminous political book. He did not bother to highlight democratic socialism, which forms the spine of his political ideology. In fact, BP's democratic socialism is regarded as forcibly buried alive after the handover of industries in the public sector to the private sector.
With the political aspect being totally forgotten on the pretext of its irrelevance, saying that BP's concept of socialism like the presence of a milch cow in the front yard has now been outdated in view of the dairies mushrooming today, his literary component has begun to assert its presence. It was projected very clearly at a programme Tuesday last week staged by the BP Trust by publishing two books. These were based on rigorous research carried out by Professor Hari Prasad Parajuli back in the seventies. The Academy promotes the publication of research done on BP's contribution. One of the books featured Parajuli's doctoral dissertation focussing on his literary endowment consisting mostly of stories. The other revealed BP's rare works, some of which were authored in Hindi originally but translated later into Nepali.
Whilst BP's protégé, the first and former president of Republic Nepal, Ram Baran Yadav, had graced the programme as the chief guest, while the General Secretary of the Academy, senior NC leader Ram Chandra Pokharel had chaired the programme. On the podium were literary luminaries like Professor Dhruba Chandra Gautam. What was striking was the fear and even terror that researcher Parajuli and his thesis supervisor, Gautam, underwent when the Panchayat was in full swing. Students and professors both considered it hazardous to undertake or supervise any study on B P Koirala's writing. But Professor Parajuli and Gautam stuck to this noble task, little fearing the possible consequence.
Freudian psychology forms the nerve of BP's stories. Freud's theory is overwhelming but it can be described as revolving around id, ego and superego for the sake of simplicity. Id is what is present for a take and ego is the urge to enjoy it. But superego controls by defining the extent to its engagement or even preventing it. For example, delicious sweets are some kind of id but for a diabetic it should be taken in moderation or not at all. Whilst the ego urges one to consume it, the superego controls one from doing so. The domination of ego over superego leads to tension in life. The domination of superego over ego, in turn, leads to a low profile of the individual. These three aspects can be seen in varying degrees in the stories of BP. The ego and superego are both shaped by physical, social, cultural and economic factors.
For example, in Doshi Chasma (defective looking glass), Keshabraj has one eye which is not functional anymore because of the change of his eye power. But his ego is so weak that he does not change the glass due to a seemingly weak economy, with the result that he fails to salute the general passing right in front. Keshabraj harbours the fear that the general may have become angry although that latter had not seen Keshabraj at all. Keshabraj maintains a low profile due to the domination of superego over ego.
In another story Sakhi (lady friend), Chandrakumari happens to interact with her husband's friend who asks for a kiss. After a series of denials, she finally yields to his request. When he ignores Chandrakumari, duly writing something, she tears his papers crying in a loud voice. Here, the ego had dominated the superego giving rise to tension like crying and tearing the paper.
Though this world is about the constant struggle of id, ego and superego, nowhere does it surface prominently as in BP's stories. Written in simple language, it is understood by literates and educated alike. His simplicity in stories and novels is similar to poet Bhupi Sherchan's clarity in Nepali poems. Both, though lucid, provide a powerful message to the reader.
BP was Nepal's first popularly elected prime minister, well known for his political philosophy of democratic socialism. But after his imprisonment following the ban imposed on political parties in 1960, he started being addressed as a writer because it was risky to describe him as a politician during the absolute kingship. Again, after the restoration of democracy in 1990, his political philosophy was expected to make a comeback, but it was abandoned by the government of the NC openly. It is no wonder that his literary aspect has again come to the fore amidst his political agenda placed in the back burner.
