XII - Hurried trip to avoid a bad star

Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star

Analysis

-M.  Lilla and C. Bishop Barry

The extract “hurried trip to avoid a bad star” is from the article “Karnali, roadless world of western Nepal” by M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry. It presents an exploration of the region which the authors did on foot for 15 adventurous months. The authors have talked about the issue in which the people of Karnali region make a hurried trip to Nepalgunj for trade indicating the various facts of the life in Karnali.

After Christmas, the authors joined the annual trek to view how Karnali zone was economically linked to the lowland regions to the south. The travelers carried baskets filled with medicinal herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweaters and blankets to trade. This shows that the economy of the Karnali region depended on the Himalayan herbs and cottage industries. On their way, they met a Chhetri woman of about 30 in Hari lekh. She told them that her husband might have moved to their village 15 years ago to find job. She requested them to look for him and tell him to return. This reflects the communication gap due to illiteracy and lack of infrastructures there. Similarly, moving to other places for job resembles the remoteness of area and poverty.

In an oak and rhododendron forest at 9000 feet, they passed a party of some men processing ‘silajit’, a medicinal tar-like deposit that they were about to sell for pharmaceutical use. When they were asked why they didn’t process silajit before leaving Sinja, they replied that they couldn’t wait for they would have been under the influence of omen. This indicates the superstitious character of people in Karnali. Similarly, the sights of deforestation, a forceful act to feed the cattle clarify the dependence of people on natural resources. Observing such facts, the writers reached Terai, known as ‘bread-basket’ of Nepal. The life-style out there was much more advanced than that in Karnali. The writers tell that they hadn’t seen a wheel for nearly a year on the highland paths, which shows the backwardness of Karnali.

In Terai, the traders from Karnali traded their materials with cotton cloth, aluminum, ironware, spice and jewelry stalls. One of them spent every rupee on distillery equipment with aim to make and sell liquor and earn money. This barter system reflects poverty and lack of geomatic knowledge in people of Karnali. Overall, the continuous movement of people in Karnali is the only way to survive there because of the diverse nature and landscapes. It is their only way of living.

The entire passage epitomizes the way of life in Karnali, full of struggle and hardships. The authors have shown absence of distant communication, compulsion of nature exploitation, illiteracy, lack of transport, lack of government approach, no ecological awareness, dependent economy, poverty, traditional and superstitious belief, obligation for constant movement, etc. as the true face of life in Karnali, the roadless world of western Nepal.