Short stories
The Ward
नासो
Guru Prasad Mainali · 1935
Synopsis
Deviraman, a wealthy Brahmin, has no child despite his offerings, and his wife Subhadra is barren. On the advice of astrologers, he marries a young woman, Laksmi, without knowing whether Subhadra truly consents; she withdraws to a neighbouring room, consoled by her servant Nauli. Laksmi gives birth to a son, Susil, whom Subhadra raises as her own. When Deviraman goes on a pilgrimage with Laksmi and the child without offering to take her along, quarrels set in, and Subhadra leaves the house for a poor life with an aunt, in Gaurighat.
Context
The story appeared in 1935 in the magazine Sharada; it is its author's first, according to The Rising Nepal and Thuprai. It was included in an anthology of Nepali prose, according to The Record. The author's eleven stories were then gathered under this title by Tara Nath Sharma, and The Rising Nepal counts twenty-two reprints of the collection. Theodore Riccardi gave an English translation of it, The Ward, which Prabook dates to 1964.
Who it is for
A short story in Nepali, with no French translation; Theodore Riccardi's English version can be read online.
Prizes and reception
The author's first story, regarded by The Rising Nepal as the foundation of the modern Nepali short story; schools in the country assign it.
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The pages consulted to check this page.