Quest for One's Own Roots in D.B. Gurung’s Novel Echoes of the Himalayas

Abstract

Echoes of the Himalayasechoes the voice of the people till now underminedand unheeded by the mainstream power holders both in literature and in politics. Byintroducing an ethnic youth as the protagonist of his novel, D.B. Gurung has venturedon a new terrain of literary practices. He has effectively proved that it is not thenobility of birth but the nobility of ideas and ideals that make one worthy of beingtreated in literature. The central concern of the novel is toexpose how the ethnic people are treatedinhumanly in their own lands. Especially, Gagan Ghondey, the son of an ex-Gurkhaveteran, suffers much harassment and humiliations as he tries to establishment himselfin his ancestral land. Because his father hadleft the country of Nepal withoutacquiring his status as the citizen of Nepal, Gagan now lacks the essential documentsto prove himself a Nepalese. But his fluency in Nepal language, his mongoloidfeatures, and his ardent love for Nepal all speak volume for the fact that he is a Nepaliat the core of his being. This thesis rests on the assumption that the greatest question that an individualor a people can ever face is the question of roots and cultural ties. The truly universalyet immediate question human beings have since long been facing is 'Who am I?' Thisis the most important question related to one’s identity. And when we talk about ouridentity, we necessarily talk about our ancestry which comprises our genealogy andthe soil of our birth. The novel recounts, in moving terms the thousand miseries that the tribal peoplehave to undergo if they try to align themselves with the land of their ancestors. Theunsympathetic establishment does not accept the rights and existence of theindigenous people. This exclusion of the natives from the state mechanism may resultin ultimate rebellion and recrimination—this is the premonitory tone of the novel.