Narrated chiefly through the eyes of Chandra’s friends and families, and through the circumstances and contexts in which he was born, schooled, married and worked, this book is in essence the story of Nepal and the Nepalis in Chandra’s decades and deeds.
Although the book’s title sounds as if it is for those somewhat familiar with Dr Chandra Prasad Gurung and his contributions to nature conservation in Nepal, it is actually for the ignorant.
Manjushree understands that in order to know who Chandra Gurung was, one must know his professional life; and in order to know his professional life, one must know the history of conservation in Nepal. She starts with the fascinating, albeit heartbreaking, details of the number of Nepal’s Royal Bengal tigers and one-horned rhinos and other animals slaughtered by the Royal families and by the international dignitaries they invited along for the hunts. Then, she moves on to narrate how these hunters realized that soon there might be nothing left to hunt, and therefore set up “Royal” national parks in Nepal to conserve its hunted species and other fauna and flora. As a result, King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) was formed and ACAP (Annapurna Conservation Area Project) was born under Nepal’s royal patronage. In recounting these historical facts, Manjushree does what she did best in Forget Kathmandu: tell history like an enthralling story. Sometimes, though, Manjushree zooms far out to describe the history of the landscapes, and not just of the society and the country.In the book, Chandra’s personal life seems secondary to his professional one. Because of this unevenness, readers might wonder if Chandra really existed as a real person. However, there are few instances in which we do get glimpses of Chandra as a day-to-day human being. In the stories of his failed marriages to Sumitra Manandhar and Tokiko Sato, we see Chandra as a person deeply conflicted in his love and devotion. In the story where a pipeline for a micro-hydro project bursts and Chandra believes to have lost his sato (soul) for two weeks, we see a ritualistic man who was indeed raised in a Nepali culture. And when Chandra goes first to the United States, then to the United Kingdom and returns home following the Hippie trail with lice in his hair, we see a person who could be as influenced as he was influential.
While reading the book, readers will probably have one big complaint: the hidden personal motivation behind writing this book – besides the tragic death of the prominent subject himself.
In the very first paragraph, Manjushree mentions that Chandra changed her life, yet we have to wait until page 119 to get a glimpse of how that happened. I, as a reader, wished that Manjushree had taken liberty with writing this biography and used her talent as a fiction writer to show us the events that led her to decide to stay in Nepal. I also wished that she had used her own eyes more often to show Chandra in what she sees. For example, at the end of the chapter “Once in Fifty Years”, she describes a trail she followed through a Ghale Gaon. There, in that passage, she does not mention Chandra at all. Yet I could still imagine him in her detailed description, and how he might have felt what she felt.
A Boy from Siklis is an engaging story of Chandra Gurung intertwined with the history of nature conservation in Nepal. For those curious about either or both, it is an essential reading. It is also a story of a man who studied abroad but came back home to make the most out of an imperfect situation in Nepal. And it is an untold story of a woman as well, who was inspired to do the same.
The Chandra Gurung Conservation Foundation (CGCF) is holding a fundraising event at the Central Zoo in Jawalakhel on Saturday, December 5. The event will feature a reading by Manjushree Thapa from “A Boy from Siklis,” a photo exhibition on Siklis by Sara Parker, and a guided tour of the zoo. More details at: www.qcbookshop.com
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