Postcolonial View of Nepalese Society: Reading Samrat Upadhyay's Stories

Abstract

Samrat Upadhyay’s Arresting Gods in Kathmandu and The Royal Ghosts depict the picture of contemporary Kathmandu and society and culture which are filled with postcolonial ideology, suppression, displacement and self-alienation. The Western culture is inherently mixed up in Nepalese society and that formed a kind of hybrid society. The stories set in the backdrop of contemporary Kathmandu are purely designed to give the minute details of the contemporary society of Nepal about resistant and conflict as well as acceptance and surrender. Representation of marginalized groups, suppression of women and the issues of identity are the major concerns of the stories. The issues of feminism, representation and hybridity are gently arranged in the stories. Nepalese society in the Western metrolopolis formed a kind of diasporic society and Upadhyay tries to address such society in his story like New Jersey, New York and other cities of United States. In ‘A Refuge’, the pathetic character Kabita who has displaced in her own country and become internal refuge and victim of insurgency, this story shows how people are alienated in their native land. The glimpse of postcolonial impacts can be found in the story ‘This World’ where the bride’s parents wanted to give her hand to a Green Card holder old professor in America and Nepalese students like Kanti are eager to go and study as well as work in America. The city lifestyle of New Jersey and New York are compared to modern Kathmandu. In a way, there is cultural hegemony and materialism prevailed elsewhere in the city. Because of race, ethnicity, international affairs and globalization, Nepalese people veer towards colonization, not in political, but in socio-cultural aspect and overall concept. In order to maintain the hegemony over Nepalese people, the Western countries (previous colonizers) offer Nepalese people to work and stay in their nation.