Revisiting History In Bhupi Sherchan’s Poem “Galat Lagchha Malai Mero Deshko Itihas”

Abstract

This article attempts to explore how Bhupi Serchan destabilizes the conventionally established official history of Nepal and efforts to rewrite a true history of the margins raising the voice of the voiceless and choice of the choiceless through his poem Galat Lagcha Malai Mero Deshko Itihas (I Think My Country’s History is a Lie). It also analyzes Serchan’s concerns on the rulers’ hypocrisies, pomposities, immoralities, atrocities, follies, fopperies, tyrannies and corrupt discriminatory attitudes concealed in the history with the false consciousness of patriotism, nationalism and morality in the formally recorded history by the power-holders. This article shows Serchan’s critical analysis and revisiting of history in favour of the margins leading to a moral, just, equal and humane advanced society. It also projects how the poet exposes the falsities of the so-called true history displaying the helplessness, dumbness and deafness of the great people in the form of the statue and even of the god in the steeple of the temples. Serchan’s endeavor to prove the Nepalese official history totally false projecting the true picture of the people and society engulfed in hunger, thirst, poverty, corruption, injustice, inequality, helplessness, humiliation and lack everywhere making whole life hellish has been highlighted in the paper. It also depicts the poet’s feeling of distrust, disgust, and mockery at the traditional Nepalese history after his total observation of the suffering people, dilapidated buildings, dim and dark streets and dwellings, deteriorated and silenced statues of the great men and shattered dreams and souls of the national heroes. The new-historicist ideas of Michel Foucault, Stephen Greenblatt and Catherine Gallagher have been used to revisit history in order to remake it. This research is historically significant for its attempt to highlight on the need of rewriting history of people and nations including the excluded.