Govinda Bahadur Gothale: Stories with New Dimensions

To many he seems to be a non existent writer who has been lost to oblivion. And it’s because he rarely appears in public and seldom talks to press. Perhaps, he is most widely read but less known writer.
Govinda Bahadur Malla, 74, popularly known by his pet name “Gothale” is a part of his family legacy. Inspired by father Riddhi Bahadur Malla , the founding editor of Sardha, the most prominent literary magazine of pre and post democracy era(1950). Gothale entered the literary realm at the age of eighteen and kept on writing till he reached forty.
During his childhood, Malla’s was the centrepoint for the literateurs and it was here that he came in contact with some great literary figures including Laxmi Prasad Devkota, Bala Krishna Sama, Lekhnath Poudyal, Gopal Prasad Rimal, Bhim Nidhi Tiwari, Bhawani Bhiksu, Siddhi Charan Shrestha and many others.
As a son and grandson of Subha, a high ranking official during the Rana regime, he never went to the farm house for cultivating land or rearing cattle though he often visited his vast agricultural land in Saptari. But has an anecdote to tell us associated with his pen name.
“When I was arrested in 1940 in the wake of democratic movement, my first story Tyasko Bhalay (His rooster)appeared in Sardha with his pet name Gothale given by Bhawani Bhiksuto avoid further execution . I think the credit goes to Bikshu for giving me a pen name,” he grins.
“Among the story writers, to name a few, I was inspired mostly by B P Koirala and Bhawani Bhiksu,” he says.
As a prominent story writer Gothale gave a new dimension to psychoanalytical study of characters. Gothale’s stories show mental conflict of his abnormal characters. The conflict between desire and morality in Ke gareki Shobha (What are you doing Shobha) the sadism of the principle character in Maile Sarita ko hatya Gare(I killed Sarita) and stories like Adhar, Bhaaro(Pot) and Bichari u are typical examples. In Bhaaro, he shows how a woman neglects the presence of a poor boy by bathing infront of him exposing her body but draping herself the moment she sees her brother-in-law. He raises the question of morality of Nepali women in the story.
Earlier he had also writeen on domestic and social subjects. In Tyasko Bhale(His Rooster), Mahapap(A great sin), Lakshimipuja and Nidra Aena(Could not sleep) his child characters are interesting.
“Sex is also a social subject. I write whatever I feel as part of our society,” he explains. “I try to write about the existing social problems.”
“The writers were used to treat as anti-Rana and whoever tried to experiment new things could be termed as anti-Rana. So it was obvious for us to be anti-Rana.”
There was not question of being our novels controversial because of low readership, he says.
His penchant for writing did not limit him to story writing. Pallo Ghar KO Jhyal (The window of that house, 1959) is one of the naturalistic novels in Nepali. Its principal character Misri is tied in marriage which is physically unsatisfying for her. She keeps on watching a man who looks her through the window of the adjoining house and elopes with him ultimately. Gothale tries to explode the myth that Nepalese women remain firm and loyal towards their husband despite their husbands’ inability to sexually and emotionally satisfy her.
He was the first editor of Awaj daily which published in Falgun 7, 2007 BS, the day Nepal attained democracy. Later he also edited Sardha, a literary magazine run by his family.
“Nepali literature has not flourished as others. So whatever evaluation they did for my works, it seems to be good,” he says. But the readership has not soared up as much as it should be, he says.
Chyateiko Parda (Torn curtain) and Bhus KO ago (Fire of Chaff) presents psychological dimensions. The first play by two men is about a girl who is wooed by two men. One man is married and rich and is attracted more by her physical charm; the other is impoverished by his addiction to wine and gambling but respects the girl’s freedom and loves her sincerely. The girl chooses the latter and this freedom of choice is the confirmation of the freedom of feminine individuality. The second play develops around a married woman, Urmila. Detested by parents-in-law of the husbands, she is not allowed to bring home and they force her husband to marry again. Urmila chooses to live independently and joins a college. Fed up with his illiterate second wife, her husband wants to come closer to Urmila and she also responds it positively. However, the sense of her independence prevails upon her and refuses to go with him. Love and marriage, the status of women in a society is dominated by men, and the necessities of an overhaul change in the conservative ideas about these matters are the principal subjects of Gothale. His two plays Chayatieko Parda and Yug KO Sikar (Victim of the Era) have been dramatized and shown on Nepal Television.
The man behind the new trend in Nepali story, Govinda Bahadur Malla is rarely honored by the people and the government. So far he has received only Tribhuvan Award in 1989. And, apart from this, he is grossly neglected by literary institutions. Though he says the people have recognized his contributions, he is not properly honored for what he did for Nepali literature.
“I did not write after 1964 due to lack of atmosphere or my weakness. Hardly one or two Nepali magazines used to publish from here,” he recalls. “For the publication of one thousand Sardha, we had to have paid only fifty or sixty rupees. It was very cheap then.”
After two decades of active life in writing, he stopped writing unexpectedly and switched over to business. Now he is free and retired from business. Since the last few years, he seems to have gathered his old spirit and zeal for writing. Recently he has contributed a long play, a few stories and recollections in the magazines. He says whatever ideas are stored in his brain he would them in creative writing.