Prof. Dr. Khangendra Prasad Luitel

This epic drifts quite away from the conventional subject and structure of an epic and even without conforming to the theory of epic it is simple, comprehensible and natural, in spite of being experimental. Each scene of this epic consists of prose-poetic triplets. In every scene, consisting of nine to eleven verses, the last verses are addressed to the poet's daughters or their names.

This work, which obviously is the narrativization of feelings, also is a dramatization of those feelings. All three women characters in the work—attached to or free from anyone's life—have been used as metaphors to express the poet's feelings about entire Nepal and life of its citizens, or say, of the entire world. Though there are many works that address Mother Earth, this is the first work of this volume that addresses the daughters of the earth in the way it does. The persona, by means of the daughters of the earth, has expressed his patriotism, thereby making the work a distinguished achievement of Nepali epic tradition. The work that gives primacy to women and dispenses with the presence of men altogether can also be taken as a feministic work. As senior critic Mohan Raj Sharma opines, this degree of presentation of feminine issues in such grand, comprehensive and serious manner is rare in other works, and it can be hoped that this epic will rejuvenate the otherwise ailing genre of epic by sprinkling elixir on it. This work presents the evidence that an epic can be produced even in a style that is easy and natural. Parajuli, a practitioner of abstract style in plays and one-act dramas, has adopted a concrete style in this epic.  Though written in an experimental style, this epic is not abstract, complicated or incomprehensible; instead, it is concrete, easy and worth reading. Presented as a monologue in prose, this work presents a complete picture of Nepal and the Nepalese. This way, the epic bears a dynamic and lively presentation of Nepali life in an epical structure, and it work should be considered an excellent work wherein traitors and quislings have been criticized, and the feelings of patriotism and nationalism have been celebrated.

Prof. Dr. Khangendra Prasad Luitel

Samashti, June-July2000