फेरि सुन्दरीजल: जेल डायरी २०३३-२०३४ [Feri Sundairijal: Jail Diary 2033-34]

by Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala, विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला

The diary, which he wrote during his imprisonment upon his return to Nepal from India in December 1976, was transcribed from microfilms preserved at the Madan Puraskar Pustakalaya and the Jawaharlal Nehru Museum in New Delhi. BP Koirala, who returned from India with a call for 'national reconciliation' between the monarchy and democratic forces, was arrested at the airport and locked up along with Ganesh Man Singh at Sundarijal by Mahendra's son, Birendra.

At the time, India was under Indira Gandhi's emergency rule, and spearheading the movement against it was BP's friend and well-wisher Jayaprakash Narayan. BP describes his health concerns in excruciating detail, but there are also discussions with Ganesh Man about Mahendra's true intentions and readings of Gorkhapatra that look between the lines to figure out what Indira Gandhi may be up to. "I am not spending time in jail," BP writes on one of his more despondent days, "time is spending me."

175 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2015

About the author

Bishweshwar Prasad Koirala (Nepali: विश्वेश्वरप्रसाद कोइराला) was born in Varanasi to father Krishna Prasad Koirala, was one of the greatest Nepali political and literary figure. He was the Prime Minister of Nepal from 1959 to 1960 and also the first democratically elected Prime Minister in Nepal's history. He held the office just 18 months before being deposed and imprisoned by order of King Mahendra. The rest of his life was spent largely in prison or exile and in steadily deteriorating health.

While Koirala is considered one of the most charismatic political leader of Nepal, he was also one of the most well-read and thoughtful writers of Nepalese literature. He wrote short stories and novels, and some poems. Koirala began writing short stories in Hindi. His first stories were published in Banaras in Hansa, a Hindi literary magazine edited by Prem Chand (India's Tolstoy). His first Nepali short story "Chandrabadan" was published in Sharada (a Nepali literary magazine) in 1935. Koirala was very good at depicting the character and mind of women. Four other stories of Koirala were included in Katha Kusum (an anthology of Nepali stories), published in 1938 in Darjeeling. As a social realist, with good psychological insight, Koirala had established himself as one of the most important Nepali short story writers of Nepal.

Reviews

[aryal · Rating 5 out of 5]

> विपति धैर्यमथाभ्युदये क्षमा
> सदसि वाक्पटुता युधिविक्रमः।
i love this verse