Namrata Bhandari
Novel: Ujyaalo Aausi
Writer: Anita Koirala
Publisher:Shikha Books
Language: Nepali
Price: RS 450
Published Year:2081
An up-and-coming author, Anita Koirala’s Ujyaalo Aausi is a novel that explores the relationship between father and daughter, women’s empowerment, the power of insightful thought, and how tenderness, warmth, and affection of mother love uplift life, along with the teacher’s guidance, molding the new persona.
The novel’s core introduction, “Rachanagarava, ” and the other twenty chapters are entitled differently, portraying the reality of motherhood, challenges, and how she bring up her children through the journey. Though intimately connected, all the features of the story have separate conclusions highlighted with a new kind of patience, selfless love, and a protector of society. Slowly and slowly, hard work and endless sacrifice increase the potentiality of the persona.
In the novel’s portrayal of a patriarchal society, whatever the circumstances or bad omen occur, women are forced to accept reality thoroughly. Nevertheless, when one challenges the norms set by society, they are often questioned. A thought-provoking power, courage, and determination build a different path of progress when the protagonist encounters the various faces of society in the novel.
Anu, the protagonist, faces a different dilemma as she encounters the death of her father in the Mother’s womb. She wants her father to be safe, to feel deeply loved, and to have her support when life gets tough. Her heart beats loudly as she feels the pain and breaks equally and deeply.
The other leading female characters face the hardship of their life when both lose their son and husband, respectively. In such a critical period, the so-called society cursed the innocent child. Still, the mother and grandmother stand as pillars of hope, with whom she can talk continuously without any hesitation and never judge, and provide her with a shoulder of emotional support forever. Both women handle the situation and circumstances as strong fighters.
The novel questions old age customs and rituals that suppress the individuality of women. In the novel, we perceive women with big hearts. Life is truly a very rough journey for them. Even when life isn’t easy at all, they survive the waves of their emotions to overcome terrifying circumstances
From the very beginning, Anu flies with her father, white horses roaming around, talking frequently, and an attachment forever with her grandfather. The novelist is successful in exploring the area of magic realism, too. It presents supernatural occurrences as if they were perfectly natural. At the religious site of Matatirtha, the grandfather and the protagonist were talking when Heera, the white horse, calmly came near them, as if he was also enjoying the beauty of nature with them.
Of course, to progress and achieve the world, one needs to encounter the ups and downs and overcome the difficult ones. The novel is not easy to read as it contrasts the simple life and spiritual attachments of the individual. It examines the relationship between love, patience, peace, ego, and forgiveness. According to the novelist, if not content and satisfied, we are easily broken from within at any phase of our life. We remember the trauma and suffering as a reflection of our mental state. So, if in our hearts we want happiness, progress, and contemplation, we need to free our body from material objects and take a deep breath, on a journey of self-realization. Self is the essential quality that is different from others.
Fighting over small things without cause with Cheena, another major character, talking together, and love for the realization of one true nature is the core time the protagonist admires the most in the later part of the novel. However, recurring a traumatic childhood memory and the absence of a father’s love made Anu a different person, she is unaware of. In the absence of peaceful time, never being happy and unsatisfied within oneself is the result of hitting his brother. Imbalance in her nature and behavior is the consequence of hard times, entangled with different threads of life she has gone through. Comparing their behavior and nature, especially from the outsider’s perception, made her detached from society. She realizes that her friends’ homes are full of laughter and peace, while hers feels incomplete and strange without her father’s love. Happiness flaps far from their houses as society shows the vast difference between daughters’ and sons’ upbringing. In such a society, we see a cultural difference in a linear pathway too. But Anu’s mother fulfilled all the dreams, where girls were never deprived of education. Education is the core element in the novel, which enlightens the whole society.
The novel presents a profound portrayal of love, loss, and resilience. At its heart is Anu, a protagonist deeply bonded with her father. Despite their emotional closeness, Anu’s days feel incomplete without speaking to him.
Another leading character Kanch Dai, a loyal companion to Anu’s father emerges as a heroic figure. His fight against dark forces both literal and symbolic is steeped in courage, even as sorrow surrounds them. In pursuit of freedom and power, innocent lives are often lost, much like Anu’s father. However, Anu finds strength and guidance in the teacher who helps her navigate the emotional and social changes and challenges she faces.
The novel also shines a power light on the struggles and strength of women. These women, though often victims of circumstances, exhibit immense courage and determination to reshape the world. Through quiet endurance and tireless effort, the women in the novel show that silence can be strength too. Each characters becomes a symbol of self realization, breaking away from barbaric traditions, embracing self love and in dependence.
In the chapter Cheena ko Chena, a young woman at first conforms to a societal expectations, agree to marry a man chosen by her parents. However, on her way to her new home, a mental thunder storm awakens her inner conflict. Choosing freedom over conformity, she decides not to go with her husband, rejecting the societal norms and rituals imposed on her. She feels herself as a free warrior unwilling to surrender to expectation that suppress her identity.
Reading the novel thoroughly, the reader realized that we attempt to form ourselves with a long time of patience, meditation, and determination. Turning into an improved and better or admirer self, we moved on. Achieving peace of mind, we become conscious of how much love and sacrifice are crucial in our sacred relations. Love is hard to understand; unlike mathematics, it offers no exact answers.
The boundaries of love vary, as we hold different expectations from our lovers, family, friends, relatives, and life partners. Our sense of commitment is especially strong in relationships with parents and romantic partners, where love often feels unconditional.
Being a daughter is the toughest, and at one point worried that the absence of the father’s love changed and affected Anu. However, pure love has nothing to do even in imperfections. Yet the concern marked the disgust she often felt over the last decade with anxiety and distress. But after attending classes for several years at Janakpur College under Bimal Sir’s guidance, she begins to preserve and uplift the life of another person. Spirituality is enchanted throughout the sessions, whose reverberation enriches the mind and makes it more lively and enchanting in ‘Bara Beegha ’. The Guru is with a simple vision, shifting our thinking and making us realize the fact that nothing is absolute or universally true. Everything is temporary, even the body we think gives us strength is nothing.
Even in our mundane life, we store stress, pain, unnecessary things, bound with wealth and achievements, losing the charm of our life and the serenity. Life itself is a teaching and learning process. Darkness, shadow, confusion, fragments of despair, and tears are torn apart within our inner selves when we appreciate, admire, adore, and love ourselves.
At the end, the novelist is successful in showing where our roots are, and this is where her new journey began as the Headmaster of the school. The whole village couldn’t believe what she had achieved. Love for Bhiman is connected to her heart as a return to her own land.
The novel embraces being true to oneself even in obstacles and fear as a unique feature. Anu achievs the spiritual words as soothing medicine in the later phase of her life. After an extended walk, her inner consciousness brightens during the most productive and energetic moments, as she admires the company of philosophical ideas that enlighten and strengthen her—transforming her into a different person from who she was before.
Anita koirala’s writing is clear, graceful and deeply moving. Her story telling evokes tears and reflection. The father- daughter relationship, presented with such intimacy, forms the emotional core of the novel. Even in moments of sorrow, Anu’s longing to see her father again feels achingly close to real life.
More than just an inspiring story, the novel is a powerful work that carries emotional weight and dares readers to believe in what they can achieve. At its core is a spiritual message: that every dreamer will face obstacles, but with courage, love, and resilience, they can overcome them.
