Chaulagain’s 'Rudane' mirrors Rupchandra Bista's life

Kathmandu, Feb. 26: Rupchandra Bista was elected to the Rastriya Panchayat twice from Makawanpur during the Panchayat era. As the creator of the ‘Thaha’ movement, the role of the legendary leader in advocating for truth, justice, and high moral values remains unforgettable. Even today, elderly intellectuals across the country and the older generation of Makwanpur share numerous interesting stories about Bista. 

Theatre director and novelist Tanka Chaulagain has captured these intriguing anecdotes and Bista’s biography in his latest novel 'Rudane'. Readers who have heard about Rupchandra will find this novel engaging, as it provides insights into the time and society in which he lived.

Numerous fascinating incidents reflecting Bista’s impartiality and sense of justice are included in the book.  His nephew, Ranasangram Bista, served as his bodyguard and was also a national player in martial arts. Once, an opportunity came for training in Japan, and Ranasangram requested Rupchandra for a recommendation letter. Rupchandra immediately wrote, which read: “If this man is qualified, I recommend him. If someone more qualified than him is available, I recommend that person instead.”

While building Jankalyan Secondary School in Makawanpur, Bista, then Pradhan Pancha of Palung, even made his wife Uma Shah, who was from an aristocratic family, carry stones just like him. His habit of working hard himself and making his wife do the same led to the heartbreaking tragedy of his marriage.

Bista believed that children speak the truth and that their words reveal the character of their guardians. A fascinating anecdote in the novel illustrates this belief. He once asked a group of children, “What do you like the most?” Some answered fruits, some sweets, some biscuits, and others clothes. He then asked, “If someone offers you what you like the most but asks you to cut your friend’s hand in return, would you do it?”

Most of the children replied, “Yes, we do.”

However, one child objected, saying, “Hush! I wouldn’t do that. I’d rather not take what I like.” Bista then told his colleagues, “What we learn from this is that most people are selfish around here. The child who refused to harm his friend must have honest parents. We should associate with such families.”

In the early 1970s, he launched the ‘Thaha’ movement. He believed that farmers should lead farmers’ politics, women should do their own, and only by awakening themselves could the oppressed overthrow their oppressors. He called the system where hardworking people remained poor while lazy and deceitful people became rich a 'dacoit system'.

 He argued that in such a system, a man could remain the master even if he spent his time drinking and gambling, whereas a woman, no matter how much she worked or how much wealth she generated, would remain a servant. To dismantle such a system, he urged everyone to gain awareness.

 Bista considered moral corruption, which was often overlooked, to be extremely dangerous. Once, while travelling through a remote hilly village in Makwanpur, he saw someone picking out the best pieces of roasted corn. He immediately remarked, “If you cheat just to get better corns, imagine what you would do if you got hold of the entire country!”

Throughout his political career, Bista consistently hammered the Panchayat system, its loyalists, and feudalism. However, after the restoration of democracy, some parties spread nationwide propaganda, claiming that Bista sold out himself to the Panchayat regime during the people's movement. He was unable to counter the misleading narratives propagated by a party with a nationwide organisation. As a result, even those he had tried to awaken developed misconceptions about him. However, the fact that Bista was actively involved in the movement was well known to the current Prime Minister, KP Sharma Oli, who had once delivered speeches alongside Rupchandra in Daman of Makwanpur.

In the final phase of his life, he was utterly alone, distressed, disoriented and deeply disheartened. His main sorrow was that those he had attempted to awaken had remained indifferent. Overwhelmed by despair and almost entirely without support, he passed away tragically at Bir Hospital in 1999.

Published by Sangri-La Books, this book could serve as a valuable document on the 'Thaha' movement and Bista’s activities. However, despite dealing with such a powerful subject, the novel’s language and presentation resemble a simple diary. Given that Chaulagain gained fame by successfully directing the renowned play 'Madhavi', the book might have been more engaging had he presented it as a biography rather than a novel. While the novel includes some fictional characters to drive the narrative forward, its chronology remains unclear despite being based on historical events. 

In this 408-page novel, there is an instance where Bista is portrayed as referring to himself as a "Pancha since the year 2010 BS." This could tarnish his character, as he had opposed the Panchayat system throughout his life and advocated for a people-centric communist system. There is always room for improvement in any creative work, and this novel is not an exception.