‘What Dillibazar Thinks Today, the Rest of the Country Thinks Tomorrow’

Through the Tale of an Ordinary Teashop From the Pen of Renuka Dhakal

A young reviewer´s warm recollections of a noted ancient yet ever-youthful place of a multifarious awakening of two generations!
A vibrant description of EVER LIVING DILLIBAZARKO LAPTONKO HOTEL! (डिल्लीबजारकाे लप्टनकाे हाेटेल !)

Arvind Rimal

With warm thanks to Renuka Dhakal, skillful commentator- writer on contemporary Nepalese art and culture and The Rising Nepal for the fulsome review of this rather old book, the author himself would like to share some thoughts and events on and about this ordinary teashop, a mute yet a lively witness to epochal historical events of our country.

A nation of barely 8.5 million population with many dozens of tribes, and nationalities linked with various cultures, customs, and speaking languages unbelievingly awakening from the deep slumber of feudal thraldom! A capital city encompassing three sisters cities called “Nepal” habited by about half a million people, primarily local Maharjans- Newars, enriched with fabulously famous indigenous culture, festivals, and architecture sung and written in glorious terms by nation´s poets and writers. A people striding forward, in thoughts and actions, three centuries within three months of tumultuous political happenings within the country!

And an audacious call ‘What Dillibazar Thinks Today, the Rest of the Country Thinks Tomorrow’ came forth from this very teashop by a handful of young communists, the Pushpala Kathmandu cadres to be echoed and reverberated all over the country with the hearty cooperation of the large numbered of political democrats belonging to the legendary Nepal Praja Parishad of 1997 pamphlet uprising against the family autocratic Rana regime and other political or independent democrats from non- Nepali Congress spectrum.

Thus was the call derided, distorted, and defamed by the then-new ruling class of the Nepali Congress circle. Yet, this was a place which tea-loving political – literary luminary Bishweshwor Prasad Koirala would have genuinely loved to visit but which his local cadres dare not do so for “fear” of him being hounded by “totalitarian” communists, if not due to pathological hatred of the Reds! This was the place which the Rana Mrigendra Shumshere, a minister of education during the last Rana regime, wondered and queried about its fame when being imprisoned together with this writer in 1952 Hanuman Dhoka police prison for a few days for different political reasons. And, his son Sagar Rana, former Nepali Congress parliamentarian and noted historian attended the launch of the book about this teashop and spoke graciously, too. And this was the place which King Mahendra orally, but explicitly, forbade, just out of spite, his government officers from visiting and enjoying its tea which, our beloved Mahakavi Laxmi Prasad Devkota immensely favoured and savoured, as well, contrary to the taboos maintained by the ” elite’ or sophisticated elements of the then society.

This was the venue for preparing a black flag show for Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru for his first visit to democratic Nepal in 1951, against his government’s policy of interference in our internal affairs and for safeguarding our national sovereignty. This was the place for launching many movements aimed at people´s welfare and for demonstrating support to and solidarity with peoples fighting for national liberation in Asia, Africa, and Latin America!

This was the place which the writer dreamt for a long time to write about being impressed and influenced with such writings by famed European and Indian writers!

And this was the place that initiated an English newssheet ‘Everest News’ for the world outside to know about the aims and aspirations of the Nepalese political circles and public different to Nepali Congress thinking! And, surprisingly, the future Editor of The Rising Nepal, Barun Shunshere Rana was associated with this newssheet of Congress and non- Communist outlook, due to persuasion by Kirti Nidhi Bista, a permanent member of this teashop political club and an immense likable popular figure with this audacious Dillibazar circle. As such, TRN with its review of this book today, figuratively, happened, also, to be pre-associated with this circle!

And a lot more about this seemingly ordinary yet historical place from this review itself and also from the tale-telling slogans inscribed on the cover pages of the book!

Thanking the People´s Review, weekly, The Kathmandu Post daily, Madhuparka, literary monthly, the Gorakhapatra, daily respectively for their reviews of this book, now, Nepalnamcha.com and all of its readers and fans.

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