Kathmandu, 13 December
The first novel Agnigarbha by writer Dr. Archana Thapa has been released. The book was jointly launched on Saturday at Shilpi Theatre in Battisputali, Kathmandu, by the author Thapa, her mother Anjana Sijapati Thapa, critic Mahesh Paudyal, and journalist and scholar of gender theory Aarti Chataut.
Addressing the gathering at the launch, critic Paudyal said that Agnigarbha brings what he called “kitchen politics”—politics rooted in the domestic space—into the foreground, thereby giving a new direction to the debate on gender equality. He noted that the kitchen is also a site where rights, labor, self-reliance, and determination are tested, and that the novel presents this insight in an artistic manner. He further observed that the novel signals a clarion call to dismantle the bridges of discrimination constructed by patriarchal narratives, as well as to confront generational gaps and the conflicts between old and new value systems.
Speaking at the event, reviewer Chataut remarked that Agnigarbha is a document of rebellion. She said that gender discrimination and patriarchal thinking still prevail everywhere—whether in cities or villages, among the educated or the uneducated. In this context, she pointed out that Dr. Thapa’s novel urges every individual to break the links of gender discrimination that they knowingly or unknowingly continue. She emphasized that arguments justifying discrimination, built on stories, legends, myths, or scriptures, should no longer be perpetuated.
Presenting her own views, novelist Thapa said that the narrative incorporates the distortions of relationships she has understood through her study and experience. She claimed that the novel captures the struggle of women who have been deprived of names and identities, and their fight for recognition and existence. Expressing strong optimism about the younger generation, she said she is hopeful that the walls of discrimination will be dismantled in the future and that coexistence will be established. “This book has only initiated the debate,” she said. “The discussion must go much further.”
The novel has been published by Akshar Creation. Earlier, Dr. Thapa’s short-story collection Kathaputala and several non-fiction works have already been published.
