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Fatsung: Song of the Soil - Book Review


फातसुङ ठेट दार्जिलिङे लवजमा 1986 को आन्दोलन बारे लेखिएको कथा हो। कथाको सरल र मिठो शब्दहरूले बगाउदै  लान्छ पाठकवर्गलाई पुरानो इतिहासको अध्यारो पृष्ठहरू बिच जहाँ हाम्रो पूर्खाले गरेको बलिदानहरू अलिक नजिकबाट हेर्न पाउछौ। आन्दोलनको अनुहार छेउबाट नियाल्न पाउछौ। दार्जिलिङको इतिहासमा सबैभन्दा कालो दिन 27 जुलाईमा गुमाएका हरेक सहिदको बलिदानलाई नमेटिने गरेर राखेको छ यस कथाले जसलाई सारा दार्जिलिङले कहिले भुल्न सक्तैन ।


The residents of Darjeeling have always, in varying degrees, felt like an outsider in their own place. In order to


establish their identity, the innumerable sacrifices made by them from since the time of their ancestors, is the

gist of story, Fatsung.


Fatsung, is a Lepcha word which means, the story of the soil. Taking up on this meaning, its English translation, titled as Song of the Soil by Ajit Baral, has only been recently published in 2021.

From the way it has been written, it is the story of the land; the story of every person that has fought for the

land, of the families they left behind, of their houses that were set to fire, of their love that remained incomplete,

the dreams that they dreamt, which appeared and ended in their eyes alone. In my opinion, the martyrs who,

mid-war, fell into the embrace of the earth without achieving their dreams, is how Fatsung has materialized to

become the story of the land.


As a typical Darjeelingey word, Fatsung is a story written about the agitation of 1986. The simple, pleasant

words of the writer transports the readers inside the dark pages of the old history where the sacrifices made by

our ancestors can be viewed closely, where we can scrutinize the face of agitation more intimately. 27th of July,

the most unfortunate day in the history of Darjeeling when martyrs lost their life through their sacrifices, a fact

which shall never be forgotten by the people of Darjeeling is kept alive through the pages of this story.


Get your copy here.


This review is by "Tales In Two Languages", a blog aims at providing tales as well as thoughts of the Indian Nepali Diaspora

to a wider audience by engaging in translating Nepali works into English. They, however, also translate

works written in English, into Nepali in order to preserve and engage in reading and writing in their own

native language.

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