Loo : A Picture of the Othered

Loo : A Picture of the Othered

                                      -Satya Narayan Sarkar

(The New Paper-2069/1/16)

It is very easy to raise the issues regarding the marginalized people living in the periphery who can be identified as the nationalities but they stand far away from the main stream. They can be the topic of the hot discussion for the politicians in 5 star hotels and high level discussion for them to reach to the conclusion. For the several years the people living in the border area of Nepal and India are facing physical, mental, psychological and financial torture day by day. The evil natured persons from the other land trespass and capture the cattle, loot the properties, rape the girls and women and even kill innocent persons in those areas. In the evening they sleep in and under Nepal's territory but as they get up the next day they find themselves to be Indians. They can have the registration records of the land but those lands could be seen occupied by outsiders the next day. The politicians raise the issues in the valleys but hesitate to go and share their problems who are the real victims. The issue can be a way of dealing in the main stream but that never reaches to the conclusion. In various places of Nepal especially from Indian side the pillars have been removed in Nepal's land. That can be found in from Jhapa to Darchula districts. In the center, the politicians can be seen strong but as they go in the victimized areas, instead of pointing the problem, they come back just with simple formality with the SSB in No Man's Land area. The Nepalese security personnel can be seen giving security to those who exploit, loot and torture the people living in those areas.

In Nayanraj Pandey's recent novel Loo (2012), depicts the miserable condition of the people living in the area bordering India and Nepal. In this area, the people are forced to live under the treat of the people beyond the border. Anytime they can come to the village and loot the properties and take away the cattle. Not only that the women and girls can be raped and all the time they have to live under the threat. In the novel, Nusarat has been raped and even the property of her parents has been looted. They are psychologically and mentally tortured. The cunning political leader beyond the border takes advantage of the gullible people. The political leader with a gangster Shambhuram plays several tricks to rule over the villagers of Pattharpurva. He even forms an underground group named Mukti Morcha with the fake name Swaraj. He becomes able to assure the villagers that the group is working in favor of them. The innocent villagers like Bajarangi are used by the same leader and befooled. Bajarangi believes that Shambhuram is his keen supporter for whom he works for the political candidate with the flag of India though he is not an Indian. But Bajarangi's illusion breaks when he eventually knows that the same person is the leader of the underground group and not only that, he is also the rapist of an innocent girl, Nusarat.

The villagers are highly terrorized by the youths mobilized by Shambhuram and for the political protection; they go to Asgar Ali, a political leader, born in Pattharpurva. They have a great hope that Asgar Ali will help them but they could not even express their problem because they saw the same Indian leader who is the cause of the terror in their village, sitting with Asgar Ali and enjoying. It is obvious that all dwelling in those regions is unable to bear the suppression all the time. Maheshwor tries to go against the exploitation and suppression of the people beyond the border. He completely goes against those and even beats the security personnel (SSB) and takes them to the nearest police station. He has a great hope that the Nepalese police will support the people and penalize the culprit. But the people find the situation completely opposite because Maheshwor is kidnapped by an underground group and in the instruction of Shambhuram, murdered. Bajarangi as a rubber stamp of Shambhuram comes to know every reality about his use and expresses all the detail to Ilaiya, a significant but villainous character in the novel. Though the novel begins with his sudden death by downing in Seti, there is a humorous twist because on the last day of the death ritual he appears and the people get startled. He falls in love with a muslim girl, Nusarat but he doesn't express. He conveys the message on the behalf of Devaki, Maheshwor's daughter. Devaki takes it negative and does not convey the messange to Ilaiya.

On the other hand, the pure soil brought by Breej Lal to make idol of the goddess Durga for Dashain, is polluted by Radio Lal as his wife has been taken away by Muslim from India. He wants the Muslims to be in clash. The issue of polluting water takes the form of contempt among the Hindus and Muslims and a great clash begins. The Indians involve in that clash and many houses of Muslims of Pattharpurwa are destroyed in fire. The Muslims are forced to leave the village and they are exiled from their own birth place towards uncertain future. The whole Muslim community is in tragedy and they can do nothing except deserting the village.

The novel has tried to focus on the bitter reality of the suffering of the people living around the border. It has been presented dramatically. But sometimes, the readers can be confused due to the presence of multiple narratives. A simple reader can be confused as to who is narrating the story.