The Absence of History in Samrat Upadhyay’s Arresting God in Kathmandu

Abstract

The present study focuses on the absence of history in Samrat Upadhyay’s Arresting God in Kathmandu (2001) and compares it with other Nepali writings. In this regard, I would apply the theoretical framework of New Historicism which is a critical movement insisting on the prime importance of historical context to the interpretation of the literary texts. It shows how Upadhyay has disregarded social and historical turmoil such as the Maoist Insurgency (the Nepalese Civil War (1996-2006) from his literary peace. Upadhyay’s Arresting God in Kathmandu, a collection of short stories, was published in 2001 when Nepal was going through a series of political and historical upheavals, but while reading the text, I found no trace of history as Upadhyay has overlooked these historical events and upheavals. Nepal has experienced more than a decade of war, bloodshed, and violence which caused considerable human loss which remained irrecoverable for a long time. The conflict engendered more than Lakhs of Nepali people who left their birthplace and settled in some other part of the country to spend life peacefully, but some of them crossed the border forever in fear, and many were injured and disappeared from the country, many of them remained disabled in counter-insurgency between Royal Nepalese Government and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist).