Hidden Women: The Ruling Women of the Rana Dynasty

by Greta Rana

Hidden Women are women about whom we know nothing, or very little, so they are shades or shadows in the life of Jung Bahadur Rana who founded the Rana dynasty that ruled Nepal for 104 years. Nothing is written about the women in his life except that against his wishes they committed sati when he was cremated. Strong and independent women, they had influence on him, enjoyed a prominent place in his life, and ironically the one he admired most tried to kill him. It is a novel look at his story, worn out by many Nepali writers, as it is the first time being told through the eyes of the women in his life.

Thoroughly researched, Greta Rana builds together a feasible picture of how women lived and thought, hoped and died in a restrictive feudal society.

409 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Madhulika Liddle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hidden Women begins in 1877, with the death of Jung Bahadur Rana. Kadam Magar, an old but clear-headed, decisive woman who had been Jung's wet nurse and has been a part of his household all these decades, takes charge to ensure the safety and well-being of those she most values. Beyond this preliminary chapter, the novel goes into flashback, to when a fourteen year-old Kadam, pregnant with her second child, is chosen to be wet nurse to the baby that will be borne by the beautiful Ganesh Kumari, wife of Bala Narsingh and niece to the influential Bhimsen...

I had mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I found it impressive: it's an interesting and sometimes rather disturbing look at politics (often bloody, often dirty) in 19th century Nepal. While Greta Rana focuses on a handful of characters, the canvas is much wider, and the motivations, compulsions, virtues, vices and scruples (or lack thereof) of the many who held sway in Nepal around this period are well depicted. I knew next to nothing of Nepalese history before I read this, so in that sense, Hidden Women was enlightening.

On the other hand, there were a couple of elements about it that riled me. For one, it can get very confusing at times, especially since the author does little to explain relationships, families, clan loyalties, and so on, relying instead on the reader figuring these out from context or dialogue - not always easily done. The somewhat cryptic family tree in the beginning of the book didn't help me with this, and eventually I gave up trying to even sort this out.

Secondly, there is an irritating (to me) tendency to repeat things, sometimes in a way which is puzzling. For example, when Bhimsen kills himself, it's mentioned briefly. Then, some pages further on, when the narrative has (or so I thought) moved on to other topics and other people, it swings back to Bhimsen and his death, now providing more details about what happened. A few more pages down the line, and there's again another mention of Bhimsen killing himself. A similar again-and-again circling happens with a couple of other incidents too, leading to a bit of chronological confusion.

But, on the whole, an interesting book. If for nothing else, read it to understand something of the history of Nepal.

[Aastha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Started good, went all over the place and downhill fairy quickly. A lot of telling instead of showing. Tighter narrative could've still saved it but it dilly dallies quite a bit.

[Ananya Mandal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The name Jung Bahadur Rana was not unheard of, but besides that name and perhaps apart from a recent political news, I hardly knew much about the history of our neighboring country Nepal. This book seems to be a Labour of love, much researched (the inside life of women of Nepal both royal and rural) and in parts very vividly written. A truly expansive account of Jung Bahadur's life and death, his conquests, his women and the kot massacre. However parts of it felt rushed and edited so severely that some characters just popped up out of the blue in the narrative and became key players. it was a bit disconcerting. Another peeve was that for a non Hindu or non Asian reader, several customs and their background is not explained. A footnote or annexure would have been great. As expected the women were well rounded and well written. If it were only for the women, it would still be a great read! For me as the title said, it was more about the women around Rana than about him. Overall a good one!

[Asha Mohan]

looking forward to one sitting....