Amod's 'Bhumika Sakiyepachhi' hits bookstalls

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Aug. 22: Short story writer Amod Bhattarai has come up with a new collection of short stories in Nepali.

The collection titled 'Bhumika Sakiyepachhi' (After the Role Is Over) contains 19 representative short stories by Bhattarai.  Some of the stories are new and others are from his earlier works.

Among them, Maun Byatha (Silent Grief) is one of his most celebrated stories. It portrays a young man and a beautiful woman traveling together in the same berth on a train. The woman tries to strike up a conversation, but the man appears preoccupied with reading a book and playing the violin. 

She speaks to him, yet he does not respond. As she prepares to leave, the man hands her a slip of paper. To her shock, she discovers that he is mute.

Another remarkable story, 'Samanantar', narrates the romance of a Nepali boy who falls in love with a Ukrainian lass. Though she initially shows affection in return, she eventually deceives him when she finds someone new.

Other notable stories in the collection include Taank (Button), Bhok (Hunger), Swayamsewak (Volunteer), Dar (Fear), and Antar (Difference).

The settings of Bhattarai’s stories are, for the most part, foreign lands. However, they are not essentially stories of foreign citizens; rather, they depict the lives of Nepalis who, in the course of study or work, have reached countries like the United States, Russia, Japan, and Africa. 

His stories explore the bonds of love, friendship, and warmth that these Nepalis build abroad. Most of his characters belong to the upper-middle and middle classes.

Published by Sangrila Books, the collection includes an insightful preface by veteran critic Dr. Dayaram Shrestha 'Sambhab.' "Amod Bhattarai has interwoven his stories with the spirit of today’s changing times, linking them with noble deeds that seek to make the human world more beautiful and enchanting," Shrestha writes in the preface.