Causes, Effects and Consequences of Cultural Differences: Reading Nepali Migrants' Literature in West Asia

This exploratory study deals with the depiction of causes, effects and consequences of cultural differences between the Nepali transnational migrants in West Asia and the citizens of the nations in this locale as seen in the literary creations of Nepali migrant writers. About a million Nepali migrants work in the Middle East. In the three decades of this migration, they have undergone many experiences of awe and shock caused by their cultural differences with the host land societies. Mainly caused by the differences in terms of religion, social management and law, the Nepali migrants feel difficult to adjust in the respective societies and they bear the consequent discomforts. These experiences have been the base of the Nepali literary creations in that transnational locale. The authors have expressed these realities in their poems, novels, stories, essays and memoirs. This article shows how these writings have portrayed the impact of closed Islamic society unlike the open society in Nepal; occupation based social hierarchy unlike the caste based one in Nepal; differences in culinary items and chance of personal freedom; distance between male and female; the traditional concept about the housemaids and workers; and other socio-cultural discriminations on the migrants in West Asia. The texts under analysis show that whatever is the social background back in Nepal, all Nepali migrants have the same culture, i.e. Nepali; and so they try to save it for their solace in the hostland.

Under the Tourist Gaze: Kathmandu in Popular Culture

This research explores the shifts and continuities of representing Kathmandu City in Western cinematic and musical creations since 1970s. My research concerns with the representations of Kathmandu in the popular culture intends to explore the imagination of Kathmandu as a touristic place and how they represent the city and produce images in the popular culture which expands far beyond the visual apprehension and enjoyment of a landscape. While doing so my research first explores the representations, practices and processes of identity formation and cultural negotiations that are brought about in the city by tourism and secondly, it analyses the content and the visual representations of the movies and songs relying primarily on the theoretical tools of Popular Culture and secondarily the image production of the landscape in terms of Tourist gaze.

Satire in Shrestha’s Ghintang Ghishi Twank

The objective of this article is to analyze the use of satire in three poems, from Rupesh Shrestha’s volume of poems Ghintang Ghishi Twank in order to examine use of the suffering of voiceless people. The poems depict absurdities of the society and hypocrisy of the leaders which are the causes of poor people‟s pains. This poems exhibit how follies, vices and absurdities are hurdle in transforming society into prosperous one. The poet has berated them with the aim of bringing positive change in the society and in the lives of the common people. The poet mocks at the political changes which have brought change only in the lives of political leaders, not in the lives of the people who have been ignored by the state for long. Despite many anxieties, they enjoy dancing and playing sticks in their hands on the special occasion of Gaijatra. The poems are collection of sharp words which are used to butt the corrupt politicians. For this, the elements of Juvenalian satire have been used as tools for analysis of the selected poems. This study highlights upon the anxieties of marginalized people; demonstrates the shameful act of politicians; and exposes the absurdities prevailed in the society. It indicates that the political and social absurdities are subject to be poked in order to reform a society.

Editorial Vol.11(1)

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Book Review: Snow

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Representation of Gender Roles in Koirala’s Narendra Dai

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala‟s novel Narendra Dai is replete with gender issues of the then society that has marked its relevance even at the present time. This article examines how this novel has explored the concept of gender as a per formative entity; and shows that the characters perform the traditional gender roles because of the strict socio-cultural obligations. It also examines while performing the traditional gender roles, how the lives of these characters get affected. For that Judith Butler’s idea of gender theory has been used. Butler proposes theory of gender as a constant performance: a series of cues observed, internalized, and repeated over time. The significance of this study is to contribute a different perspective for the reader to see Narendra Dai because in this novel, Koirala has shown that since the characters cannot go against the social norms, they perform traditional gender roles via social policing and polishing. The study concludes that these characters define the socially prescribed gender roles because gender is socio-political construction that achieves legitimacy and naturality via perpetual observation and repetition.

Projection of Nature in the Śrimad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāna

[email protected] Kṛ ṇa Dvaipāyāna Vyāsa s Śrimad Bhāgavata Mahāpurāna is a reliable text for the projection of Nature. The Nature theory deals with the activities of the Paurānic characters and their love and respect to environment. This study is significant in order to present how Bhāgavata notices the issues on Nature. It traces the far-sightedness of the writer about the condition of Nature despite its writing more than five thousand years before. This analysis is primarily based on Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's theory of Nature which confirms the realization of God in Nature and motivates to the readers to love and care Nature as God because of interconnectedness between Nature and life. The researcher has used the English translation of the Sanskrit text of A.C. Bhaktivedānta Svām Prabhupāda. The findings of this investigation endow with the evidences that the text has used the issues on Nature and makes the modern humans aware of the use of Nature maintaining a balance between flora and fauna. The conclusion of the article suggests that Veda Vyāsa is a far-sighted poet of the very ancient time to make to the humans aware of the issues on Nature and motivates them to solve the environmental problems following the advices of the Bhāgavata.

Global and Local Perspectives on the Preservation of Linguistic Diversity: A Nepali Experience

This paper deals with the past studies about preserving and promoting linguistic diversity with special reference to indigenous languages of the world in general and of Nepal in particular. It is broadly divided into two major categories viz. global perspectives on linguistic diversity issues and local perspectives on linguistic diversity issues. The global perspectives section is related to conceptualizing the global trends of preserving and promoting linguistic diversity in different regions of the globe. For instance, past studies conducted on indigenous languages of Europe, South Asia (including Sri Lanka, Pakistan and India), Latin America, North America, Africa, and Malaysia were reviewed to identify the research gap for this study. The local perspectives section is related to conceptualizing the Nepali trends of preserving and promoting linguistic diversity in Nepal. Similarly, empirical studies were reviewed into four aspects such as a) linguistic diversity and multilingualism, b) endangerment of indigenous languages, c) bilingual and multilingual education, and d) mother tongue literacy. Based on these observations, this paper has been developed to identify the global and local perspectives on the preservation of linguistic diversity, using a Nepali experience.

Plights of Marginalised Limbu Community in Subba’s “Laato Pahaada” [Dumb Hill]

The title story “Laato Pahaada” [“Dumb Hill”] selected from Upendra Subba’ s anthology of stories Laato Pahaada [Dumb Hill] represents plights – pains, sufferings, tortures and difficulties – of ethnic Limbu community at the margin under the dominance of mainstream culture and various forms of repressive and ideological state apparatuses. So, this study aims to find out the responsible factors that compel the ethnic Limbu community to remain illiterate and go through numerous pains, sufferings, tortures and humiliation. Similarly, it aims to analyse how the illiterate and poor Limbu people suffer and get tortured by the cultural practices and apparatuses of the state power. In order to achieve the designed objectives and reach to a conclusion, Cultural Studies has been used as an overall theoretical approach. Particularly, Althusser’s concepts of ideology – repressive and ideological state apparatuses, and Michel Foucault’s idea of discourse and power have been used as theoretical tools for the analysis of the text. This study provides a new insight to see and understand the plights of the people at the margin from a new perspective; and to realize about the importance of marginalized cultures. Innocent Limbu people go through sufferings of illiteracy, poverty and difficulties due to the mono-cultural values and mono-lingual education system of state power which are effectively practiced by the means of both repressive and ideological apparatuses.

Language as Cultural Expression: The Case of Limbu Mundhum and Ritual* Ramesh Kumar Limbu

An anthropological study of „religious /ritual language‟ concerns the relationship between the study of language and the study of culture. This article, using ethnolinguistics and ethnographies of communication as tools of study, examines how the Mundhum language distinctively maintains ethnographic communication by use of the ritual language, and communicates the social worldviews and cultural cognition of Limbu community. The Limbu, known also by endonym "Yakthung", are one of historically notable indigenous communities of Nepal. They have their own distinctive culture based on traditional ritual performances guided by Mundhum. The Mundhum is narrated and recited by Limbu ritual/religious actants/officiants in cultural/ritual observations, that is, rituals from pre-birth to after death. The study focuses on the issue how the Mundhum language, also known as Ritual Language (RL), is distinctive to the everyday language or Ordinary Language (OL) and helps express their cultural perceptions, behaviours and way of life. In doing so, it also shows the way this ritual/liturgical language influences not merely the kinds of speech but also the aspects of tradition, culture and way of life.