Renowned poet and lyricist Lal Gopal Subedi has come up with Rahul-Yashodhara Samavad, a collection of three poetic dramas. The first two, ‘Rahul-Yashodhara Savad’ and ‘Angulimal’ are based on the life of the Buddha while the third one, Yogamaya ra Dharma Sabha’ reenacts an episode from the life of Yogamaya the legendary woman rebel. The first play features Siddhartha’s abandonment of the palace and his argument and apparent misunderstanding with Yashodhara. It continues through the life of Rahul, who asks about the whereabouts of his father and claims his rights. At the end, the Buddha, who is the enlightened Siddhartha, gifts him a lotus and a grail, symbolically indicating his wish to see his son entering the order of the Buddha to spread his message to the world, instead sticking to power and royal engagements. The second play dramatizes the change the Buddha brings in the life of Angulimal, who was bent on killing people and making a garland of a thousand fingers of his victims. The last play, based on the life of Yogamaya raises the issues of widow remarriage, sati, casteism and class discrimination. Published by Aabaran Prakashan, Kathmandu, the book mitigates a long gap seen in the genre of ‘poetic drama’ which is seldom chosen by writers of the latter generation. The book has been priced 300 rupees.
