आज रमिता छ [Aaja Ramita Chha]

by Indra Bahadur Rai, इन्द्रबहादुर राई

BRAND NEW, Exactly same ISBN as listed, Please double check ISBN carefully before ordering.

Genres: Fiction

243 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Indra Bahadur Rai was an Indian Nepali writer and literary critic from Darjeeling, India . He did his schooling in Kurseong and Darjeeling. He completed his graduation from Calcutta University and his post-graduation in English from North Bengal University. He taught at Turnbull High School in Darjeeling for several years. He also worked as a professor of English at St. Joseph's College, Darjeeling. He was also the Vice Chairman of Darjeeling Municipality.

He entered the field of Nepali literature around 1950 when he started publishing literary criticisms in different journals such as Aadhar, Bharati, Diyo, Diyalo, and Roop Rekha. His first novel Aaja Ramita Cha was published in 1964. After that, he entered the field of short stories. His first story was published in 1959. His first book Vipana Katipaya, a collection of thirty short stories published in 1960, had a great influence on Nepali literature, especially on the genre of short stories. From 1963 onwards, he was a prominent figure in the dimensional literature movement, which is known as Aayameli Andolan in the history of Nepali literature. He, along with Ishwor Ballav and Bairagi Kainla, searched the unexplored realms of Nepali literature. They successfully added a third dimension Tesro Aayam to Nepali literature.

He has received the Sahitya Akademi Award (for his work Nepali Upanyaska Adharharu), Jagadambashri Puraskar and Agam Singh Giri Smriti Puraskar.

Reviews

[Vikas Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

In 1977 Indra Bahadur Rai became the first Nepali writer to win Sahitya Akademi award for his work- Upanyas Ka Adharharu. Published in 1964, Aaja Ramita Cha is his first novel. It has been translated in English by Manjushree Thapa as There’s a Carnival today. Nepali is the official language of Sikkim.

The story is set in Darjeeling in the 1950s. The plot revolves around four people- Janak, a prominent businessman, Jayabilas, a Marwari trader, Bhudev, who is working to organize workers and Ravi who works in the tea estates. Non-linear in narrative, the novel is a take on issues of identity, labour exploitation, caste conflicts and generation gap. The agitation in the tea gardens, greedy local politicians and longing to preserve the cultural identity form the background in which the reader finds himself engrossed.

[Chitra Ahanthem · Rating 4 out of 5]

A deeply layered historical background to the social and political shifts in the history of the Nepali community living in Darjeeling in West Bengal. Yes, you have protagonists who keep you invested in their lives and you have other characters who step in and out of the narrative, you have a plot that plays out in a way that wants you asking more but it is the historical setting to the emergence of the voices in the Nepali community in India that stood out for me.
The beauty of the writing is the focus on the questions over identity, worker rights, the exploitation of Nepali workeros in the tea estates of Darjeeling, the control of business by the few rich outsider population and the question of who takes charge of the destiny of a community that has a rich legacy of contribution to a country in which it is a minority group, even as the story and plot plays it out.
Reading this book in the current climate of protests in the country over who is a citizen is most ironic but then, great literature reflects life and vice versa. There’s a Carnival Today makes you look at who is entitled to what and to what purposes does a community strive for. I would recommend this seminal work for the way it takes one to an overview of the Nepali community in parts of India and specifically, their lives and struggles in Darjeeling.

[Jaiseri · Rating 3 out of 5]

सुन्न धेरै अघि देखि सुनेकाे हाे तर पढ्ने माैका मिलेकाे थिएन । मञ्जुश्री थापाकाे नेपाली भाषा साहित्य माथिकाे वक्तव्य युट्युबमा हेरपछि यसप्रतिकाे चाँसाे झनै बढेकाे हेा । उनले याे पुस्तककाे अंग्रेजी अनुवाद गर्दै रहिछन् । त्यसैले पनि यसकाे नेपाली माैलिक प्रति पढ्ने मन लागेकाे हाे ।
नेपालमा भाषासँग सम्बन्धित धेरै कुराहरू अहिले बाहिरिएका छन् । १२३ भाषा भएकाे देशमा नेपाली भाषाालार्इ सबैकाे भाषाका रूप दिइनुमा कतिकाे चित्त दुखाइ छ । फेरी नेपाली भाषाका पुराना कृतिहरूमा जनजातीहरूका कृतिहरू नै अब्बल दर्जाका छन् । र्इन्द्रबहादुर रार्इले नेपाली भाषालार्इ भारतमा अाधिकारिकता दिन गरेकाे याेगदान देखि उपेन्द्र सुब्बाहरूले किराती भाषा मासेकाे अाराेप लगाउँदा सम्म धेरै परिवर्तन अाएकाे देखियाे। मदन पुरस्कारके इतिहासमा पनि पहिलाे मदन पुरस्कार पाउने सत्यमाेहन जाेशी नेवार समुदाय बाट थिए । अब उनी नेपाल भाषा एकेडेमीका कुलपति छन् ।
अाज रमिता छ पूर्वी नेपाल र भारतीय नेपाली भाषिहरूकाे समाजकाे इतिहास बाेकेकाे उपन्यास हाे । रमाइलाे छ । सबैले पढ्नु पर्ने खालकाे उपन्यास छ ।

[Vidhya Thakkar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read the full review here: www.vidhyathakkar.com/bookreviewthere...

There's a carnival today is a book by Indra Bahadur Rai, translated from the Nepali by Manjushree Thapa. I loved the title of the book, it's impressive, and the cover is wonderful. it depicts so many things about the story. This is a story of the post-independence period based in Darjeeling.  There’s a Carnival Today is as much a panoramic view of post-Independence Darjeeling. First of all, The blurb of the story is interesting, which made me pick this book. The writing style of the author is something I loved the most. Writing about history with such an engaging style, in perfect flow, is what I loved about the author. This is my first translated read and I absolutely loved it. They way the author set the plot is amazing. It's out of the box. The way the author described relationships, how the family falls apart, portraying each emotion beautifully, along with the politics and war in one plot is mind-blowing and strong. The narration of the story is crisp, smooth and powerful. The language used by the author and the translator is interesting and connecting. One can easily connect to the story and can visualize the situations in the post-independence period. The way the story started and the climax was stunning. The pace of the story is also good and is medium paced. what I loved is the flow of the story, the story went smoothly, and crisply with lots of emotions portrayed. The characters that author made were strong, each having a different perspective and everyone had their own importance.  Each and every character played a vital role. The way each and every situation are described were astounding. 

Strong characters, amazing plot, crisp narration, interesting Language makes this book one of the best read. If you are interested in reading historical fiction, do read this one.

Kudos! to the author and the translator for the amazing work. would love to read their books in future.

[Prabin Dhungel · Rating 4 out of 5]

[ आज रमिता छ - इन्द्रबहादुर राई]
साझा प्रकाशनबाट वि.सं. २०३२ सालमा प्रकाशित भएको आज रमिता छ उपन्यासको दोस्रो संस्करण केही दिन अगाडि हात लाग्यो ! २०७३ मा फिनिक्स ले निकालेको edition पढ्ने अवसर मिलेको थियो।

प्लस टु हुँदा कलेजको पुस्तकालय बाट र नयाँ प्रकाशन अध्ययन गर्ने मौका मिलेको थियो। बहुतै impressed भएको थिए इबराको न्यारेटिभ स्टाईल, संवाद शैली, अहिले नि बेजोड लाग्छ यसको अध्ययन। शब्दका माध्यमबाट गजप सँग दार्जीलिङ - सिलिगुडी शहर घुमाउँछ यो उपन्यासले केही दशक पहिलेको। अहिले त बहुत छ परिवर्तन तर पहिचान, स्वाधीनता र गोर्खाल्याण्डको माग चै यथावत् नै छ। इबराका कृतिहरुमा सहजै प्राप्त हुने र नयाँ प्रकाशन गृहबाट reprint भएको कृति हो यो। उनका अन्य कृतिहरुको reprint हुने पो कहिले हो खै ?

सुरुमा पढ्दा साँच्चै झिँजो र कन्फ्युज भा भएर केही समय side मा राखेको कृति थियो यो त्यो बेला। कारण : कथानकमा के हुँदै छ, पात्र के गर्दैछ अनि यो त्यो कुरोको चुरो के कस्तो छ भन्ने खुट्याउन नसकिएको बखतको कुरा हो। अहिले repeat गर्न मन लाग्नुको कारण एकाध सामाजिक संजालका मित्रको reading this वाला story ले हो। आइबी सर भनेर नि उनलाई खुब चिनिन्छ। सुरुमा त खासै यास गरिएन यो उपनामबारे।

अहिले संझिदा बुझ्दा उपकथाहरु अनेकानेक आए तापनि एउटा राम्रो बुनोटसाथ हुने inter-link छ। यस कृतिमा माटोको माया, सामाजिक यथार्थ र अस्तित्वको जोडदार प्रसङ्ग छ। जनक, वीरमान, रवि, एम.के., ड्यानिएल, आदि पात्रहरु मजेदार र हाम्रै वरपरका जस्ता लाग्दछन्।

यस कृतिमा आफ्ना मान्छे गुमाउन पर्दाको पिडा पनि कथानकमा आएको छ। जिन्दगीमा आइपर्ने अनेकौं आरोह- अवरोह, नाता गाँसिने - छुट्टिने, पहिचान र अस्तित्वको लडाइँ लड्ने, चियाकमान र खेतीको भित्री कथानक (उरमालमा पनि छ यस्तो theme तर फरक लाग्छ अनुभुति) आएको छ। भारतीय नेपालीभाषीका मर्म- पर्म- कर्मसहित तत्कालीन समाज र राजनीतिको psycho- social representation पनि पाइन्छ। इबरा पढेर थाकिन्न , पट्यार पट्यास लाग्दैन अनि कुनै न कुनै contents वर्तमान् समय सापेक्ष हेर्दा relatable पनि बोध हुन्छ।

आज रमिता छ बाहेक उनका अन्य कृति चै बजारमा उपलब्ध छैनन्। इन्द्र सम्पूर्ण सेट पनि लिमिटेड कपी आको याद छ।

North Bengal University का एक जनाले चै आज रमिता छ को विश्लेषण नै गरेका रहेछन् रिसर्च पेपरमा। अत: किशोरावस्थामा हुँदा र अहिले उमेरले ३० कट्दा बुझ्ने स्मरण गर्ने र relate गर्ने मापदण्ड र तौलिने तौर नितान्त फरक हुने रहेछ; तर पनि उत्साह, रुचि अनि इबराको शब्द-शिल्पले उत्तिक्कै मोहनी लगाउने गर्दछ। गज्जप कै छ कृति अनि यसको अङ्ग्रेजी अनुवाद पनि। मानव जीवनका यावत् बाध्यता, संघर्ष अनि यथार्थपरक चित्रणका साथै दार्जिलिङतिरको मौसम - पर्यावरण - रहनसहन- व्यापार- व्यवसाय पनि देखाएका छन्।

उपन्यासमा आउने विविध line, paragraph हरु यति सशक्त र यथार्थपरक लाग्दछन् की अहिले पनि relatable नै लाग्दछन्।

जस्तो:

'आमा मरेकोमा छोराछोरी बढ्ता रून्छन् आज, लोग्ने चुपचाप जस्तै शोक सहन्छ। तर नानीहरू भोलिदेखि भुलेर दिनदिनै धेर गर्दै हाँस्न थाल्छन्, कारण जीवन जम्मै उनीहरूको अघिल्तिर आएर पर्खिरहेको हुन्छ ! त्यो आज नरूने लोग्नेलाई भरै राती खाने बेलामा मर्ने स्वास्नीको याद आउँछ, बिहान उठेर एकछिनमा छैन भन्ने याद आउँछ, घरबाहिर काम गर्दा गर्दै याद आउँछ, घर पस्दा याद हुन्छ; जीवनभरिनै झस्किरहनेछ। सबैले बिर्सिसकेपछि पनि उसले मात्रै बिर्सिएको हुँदैन। झस्काइहरूको अन्त उसकै अन्तको दिनमा मात्र हुन्छ।

[Neeraj Adhikari · Rating 4 out of 5]

प्रवासीहरु धेरै वर्ष परदेश बसेर स्वदेश फर्कदाँ आफ्नो भाषामा जसले जे बोले पनि मीठो, कर्णप्रीय सुनिन्छ होला। मलाई धेरै समयपछि नेपाली किताब पढ्दा त्यस्तै-त्यस्तै भयो। आफ्नो बोलीचाली, आफ्नो लवजमा कुनै सुन्दर कृति पढ्नुको आनन्द बेग्लै। दार्जिलिङे नेपाली कुनै पूर्वी पहाडको मान्छेलाई आधा आफ्नै गाउँ-ठाउँको जस्तो, आधा कतै टाढाको जस्तो अनौठो हुन्छ। यी दुवै भावनाहरु यहाँ एक-आपसमा मिलेर एउटा रमाईलो पठन-अनुभव सिर्जना गरे।

मेरो विचारमा आज रमिता छ एक साधारण उपन्यास हैन, एक बुलंद एथ्नोग्राफिक उपन्यास हो। एउटा समुदायको, एउटा समय-ठाउँको, एउटा सामाजिक परिस्थितिको जिवन्त चित्रण, त्यसका हरेक वर्गका, हरेक जातिका, हरेक किसिमका मानिसहरु यसका पात्र। यी पात्रहरुका कथा-व्यथा, जीवनशैली र दुःखहरु, त्यो समयाको दार्जिलिङ्को एक महत्त्वपूर्ण अभिलेख हो। म यी स-साना कथा र अनेकन पात्रहरुमा रमाउँदै पढ्दै गएँ, यसो गर्दा कथा निकै अघि बढेको नलाग्दै उपन्यास सकियो। तर फर्केर हेर्दा, यी डेढसय भन्दा थोरै पानाहरुमा बलियो कथा छ, अरु धेरै साना कथा-व्यथाहरुको बिच त्यो निसास्सिँदैन।

[Dibyajyoti Sarma · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first picked up the Manjushree Thapa’s translation of celebrated Nepali author Indra Bahadur Rai’s There’s a Carnival Today, the first thing I remembered was reading Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin all those years ago, especially his concept of carnival as a social institution and his idea of novel as polyphony.

Perhaps the English title of the novel and the bright white, indigo and red cover, featuring a protesting mob, among others, were the triggers. As I read on, my hunch proved to be not altogether wrong, but not entirely correct either.

On the surface, the novel tells the story of Janak, a garment trader, and his family, his wife from across the border in Nepal, Sita, and their two children, Ravi and Divya making a living in Derjeeling, a decided British town, now a part of West Bengal, hosting diverse communities such as Bengali, Nepali, Lepcha, Bhutia, Tibetan, among others.

Dig deeper and several stories emerge. It is a story of a country in transition from independence to self-rule to development (The novel begins at the dawn of Independence when Janak returns home after completing his studies in Kolkata and ends during workers agitation in 1950s.).

It is the story of the struggle of the Tea Garden Workers’ rights that led to a full blown protest in Derjeeling in the 1950s. In one sense, it is a story of the communist labour union movement in the tea plantations.

It is also the story of building a cultural identity, the ‘Gorkha’ identity and the rise of the demand for a Gorkhaland state. At the same time, it is the story of cultural diversity, the comingling of different peoples — settlers from Nepal, who while using the language, formed a separate identity as Gorkha (which the novel highlights in the confrontations between Janak and his father-in-law, who is from mainland Nepal); Lepchas; Limbus; Bhotias; Bengali administrators and tea plantation owners (exemplified by Janak’s neighbours MK and Ajoy Dasgupta); and the Bihari and Marwari traders (as represented by Jayabilas, once Janak’s business partner, now his bitter enemy). There are also vestiges of the colonial past (the movie theatre in the market and even Goan Jazz).

This inevitably leads to another story, a story of clash of cultures, between the Gorkhas and their Bengali leaders ruling from Kolkata, between the indigenous population and the migrants, between the tea garden owners and the workers (This clash between capitalism and communism comes to a full circle in the clash between Janak and Ravi, a businessman and a teacher fighting for workers’ rights. The first half of the novel concerns Janak as struggles to build a perfect family while the second half shift towards Ravi, who against his father’s wishes, becomes a teacher and gets involved in the politics of the tea gardens.). At one point, Janak says, “Good habits are as useful as Bihari servants; bad habits are as evil as Bengali masters.”

Above all, There’s a Carnival Today is a novel about a city, known the world over for its tea and for the Kanchenjunga peak — a novel about Derjeeling, her people and their political aspirations. The story isn’t over yet, and Rai knew, as he ends the novel with Janak’s transition as a man without courage to a man acting as though he has courage.

So, we could perhaps read the novel using Bakhtin’s philosophy after all. For one thing, Rai’s narrative is classic polyphony. Unlike a classic western novel, which follows the protagonist’s journey, seeing the world from his point-of-view, Rai shows an unfailing curiosity towards all his characters, and their unique situations. The novel is purportedly centred on Janak and his travails, but Rai is in no hurry to narrate the story of his struggles — his identity crisis, his struggle to succeed in business, his conflict with his children and his doomed extramarital affair.

Instead, Rai’s narrative digresses at every possible opportunity to tell us more about the people in Janak’s life, his neighbour MK and his long-suffering wife Babuni; Ravi and his love for an anglo-Indian girl; Bhudev, Janak’s partner at the party and soon his bitter rival; Jayabilas, Janak’s business partner; Namgyal and his wife Yamuna, and even occasional Madhesi servants.

This apart from Rai’s interest in describing mundane activities in illuminating details, like shopping, food habits, drinking habits, customs and clothing, which he does in such a way that they take a life of their own.

In the introduction to the book in 1958, Rai wrote, “I saw that life was moving forward, but not in an organised manner, with everything falling into place. I have disarranged this novel in a similar way. I didn’t see life as a singularity, or as the chemical purity and unhindered progress of a single subjectivity. Love is the mother of all emotions: Touch it, and all of our other emotions awaken and writhe.”

Love, then, is the key to understand There’s a Carnival Today — the love that Rai’s characters display, and love that Rai feels for his characters, and their causes.

At this juncture, Bakhtin’s philosophy doesn’t help us much, for There’s a Carnival Today defies comparison to the western novel tradition, and we must read the book in its own term, in the context of its own creation.

Indra Bahadur Rai (who passed away this year) was the first Nepali-language writer to win the Sahitya Akademi Award for a book of literary criticism on Nepali literature, Nepali Upnyas ka Aadharharu, in 1976. Together with two prominent modern poets from Nepal, Bairagi Kainla and Ishwor Ballav, Rai founded the abstract ‘Tesro Aayam’ (Third Dimension) school of writing, introducing an abstract, modernist aesthetics to Nepali-language literature. Later, Rai invented the exuberant and lyrical deconstructionist aesthetics that he called ‘Leela-Lekhan’ (play-writing).

There’s a Carnival Today (the only novel by the author of thirteen other books), originally published in 1958, is Rai’s early work, and as such, instead of literally experimentation, we notice a rather plain narrative highlighted by his desire to do right by his people and his land. Here lies the pleasure of reading the novel, like a grandfather’s tale, without discernable beginning and end, yet each moment illuminated by lived experiences.

In this sense perhaps, Rai’s Derjeeling is like Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Macondo in One Hundred Years of Solitude, and the political struggles are like the numerous wars Colonel Aureliano Buendia fought. Yet’s unlike Marquez’s long passages, Rai’s narrative is filled with conversations, both as communication and as a code to understand character motivations. And Rai’s approach is joie de vivre. He approaches everything with a lightness of touch, never allowing the readers to get bogged down by the complexities of it, never allowing the proceeding either to turn maudlin or tragic. This masterwork of fine balance is one of the joys of reading There’s a Carnival Today.

In her note, the translator, Manjushree Thapa, writes, “There’s a Carnival Today doesn’t capture the wry tone of Aaja Ramita Chha, which deploys the word ‘ramita’— a combination of fair, a show, a spectacle or some fun— ironically.”

Yet, Thapa’s translation is on point. At no point in the novel you feel that you are reading a translated work — it flows perfectly.

{First published in Indian Literature, the bi-monthly magazine of the Sahitya Akademi, November-December 2018}

[Raunak Sapkota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rai's first and only novel, and his inexperience in writing them shows. The whole thing is set against a heavy political backdrop of 1950s and 1960s Darjeeling, so if you go in without some political context, lord help you.

Besides, there are seemingly pointless characters in the book that just seem to be there to pad the readtime? Birman, the butler at the protag's house, has no purpose in the story except to spend a couple of pages early on making a big fuss about leaving to his village (making you think Rai's gonna place him in a position pivotal to the story) but then he appears straight up a 100 pages later for no reason again, and leaves just as quick. Maybe Rai felt the need to give this character some closure, but Birman sure doesn't seem like a character he "spent months creating" as he so claims.

Another peeve I have is the fact that the story is all over the place. There are random incidents happening all over the book and you have no idea how they're supposed to tie into the main narrative. On that note, is there even a narrative at all? The only linearly and properly told story arc takes place around 50 pages from the end of the book, and ends inconclusively. The hell?

The dialogue is a bit wonky at times and gets especially jarring when the characters get emotive in their lines, but I suppose it's more the fault of the translation than the author.

Anyways, it's fun to read nonetheless, and a short breeze, so I'd still recommend that you pick it up, to get a backdrop on the situation of people of Darjeeling in that era, and some characters are extremely relatable. But above all, pick up the original one. I feel like this translation doesn't do justice to the author's intentions, as often is the case with the limitations of translating a book from an entirely different culture.

[Niloy Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book, as a historic book worth reading. Read in Bengali. The translation by Samik is brilliant.

[Shelly Bajwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

There are a few stories that jar you, bring you to your knees and show you what you have been shying away from for so long. Partition, war, riot stories are something that I particularly stay away from because of the nature of human turmoil and anguish encapsulated within them. Also, with me being a Sikh and having heard of torture imposed on not only our Gurus but also our fellow men during 1984, bombings and civil riots during 1993 and other such tragic events, my palate to digest human lynching is particularly small.
When I saw the book that had come my way I didn't know what to expect because a. It was my first ever book from Nepali Literature and b. It was of people and times not usually found in our history books. I was apprehensive at first when I read the blurb because I didn't know if I would be able to complete it. However, the almost poetic prose and writing style kept me engaged and I found myself getting immersed into the story voluntarily.
This is the story of Janak, an educated man who inherits his father's Austin and his good naturedness, following through the Indian Partition of 1947 and the Second World War of 1945. Set between the captivating hills of Darjeeling, it follows the story of how civil unrest transforms him from a simple man to a rebel. When his business goes south, family runs into tatters and relationships fall apart due to a civil unrest, he forges ahead to gather the pieces and move forward.
I think it takes a lot of skill to interwine relationships, human emotions and politics unrest without actually losing the plot of it all and what is even more difficult is to translate it into another language. Indra Bahadur Rai's writing style has been kept as authentic as can be by the ace translator Manjushree Thapa and the depth of the story, characters and outlines are accurately merged into the original ones. You can see the effort the translator has put in to not only convert the words and landscapes but also retain the ethnicity of the emotions in doing so. I was actually quite impressed with how much I read the original writer's work through Thapa's words.
For my first ever Nepali Literature read, I couldn't have asked for a better start. As I found out for my friend Sudeepta Pradhan from @booksteaandmore the original Nepali novel is called Aaja Ramita Chha and anyone who is interested to read the original can look that one up too. I'm quite intrigued to read more from the author as well as from this particular culture and I hope my ignorance of it slowly wans away.
You can't exactly rate epics, especially the ones lauded and applauded. It's a no brainer 5 star read but I'll have to pick up on Sudeepta's verdict on the original!

[Shubham Ghimire · Rating 5 out of 5]

नेपाली साहित्यका सर्वश्रेष्ठ पुरुष इन्द्रबहादुर राईले भारत स्वतन्त्रता पछिको सन् १९५० को दशकमा दार्जीलिंगमा त्यसबेलाको नेपाली भाषीहरुको समाजको अस्तव्यस्तता, आर्थिक-राजनीतिक विसङ्गतिपूर्ण परिवेश, धार्मिक र सांस्कृतिक सङ्कीर्णताले विचलित समाजको यथार्थ चित्रण गरेर लेखिएको उपन्यास हो । पहिलो पटक कक्षा नौतिर हुदा पढेको थिए, आज फेरी दोहोराएर पढेर सकाए।

संयमशील भएर राईले त्यहाँका मान्छेका इच्छा र आकांक्षा, आशा र उत्कण्ठा, विश्वास र अविश्वास, ईर्श्या र प्रेम, घृणा र सद्भावना जस्ता कुरालाई एक-एक चित्रण गरेका छन्। आजको रमिता हिजो पनि थियो, भोलि पनि हुनेछ, र भविष्यसम्म पनि यथावत् रहनेछ भऩ्ने यथार्थलाई यस उपन्यासले दर्शाएको छ ।

[Shelly Bajwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a few stories that jar you, bring you to your knees and show you what you have been shying away from for so long. Partition, war, riot stories are something that I particularly stay away from because of the nature of human turmoil and anguish encapsulated within them. Also, with me being a Sikh and having heard of torture imposed on not only our Gurus but also our fellow men during 1984, bombings and civil riots during 1993 and other such tragic events, my palate to digest human lynching is particularly small.
When I saw the book that had come my way I didn’t know what to expect because a. It was my first ever book from Nepali Literature and b. It was of people and times not usually found in our history books. I was apprehensive at first when I read the blurb because I didn’t know if I would be able to complete it. However, the almost poetic prose and writing style kept me engaged and I found myself getting immersed into the story voluntarily.
This is the story of Janak, an educated man who inherits his father’s Austin and his good naturedness, following through the Indian Partition of 1947 and the Second World War of 1945. Set between the captivating hills of Darjeeling, it follows the story of how civil unrest transforms him from a simple man to a rebel. When his business goes south, family runs into tatters and relationships fall apart due to a civil unrest, he forges ahead to gather the pieces and move forward.
I think it takes a lot of skill to interwine relationships, human emotions and politics unrest without actually losing the plot of it all and what is even more difficult is to translate it into another language. Indra Bahadur Rai’s writing style has been kept as authentic as can be by the ace translator Manjushree Thapa and the depth of the story, characters and outlines are accurately merged into the original ones. You can see the effort the translator has put in to not only convert the words and landscapes but also retain the ethnicity of the emotions in doing so. I was actually quite impressed with how much I read the original writer’s work through Thapa’s words.
For my first ever Nepali Literature read, I couldn’t have asked for a better start. As I found out for my friend Sudeepta Pradhan from @booksteaandmore the original Nepali novel is called Aaja Ramita Chha and anyone who is interested to read the original can look that one up too. I’m quite intrigued to read more from the author as well as from this particular culture and I hope my ignorance of it slowly wans away.
You can’t exactly rate epics, especially the ones lauded and applauded. It’s a no brainer 5 star read but I’ll have to pick up on Sudeepta’s verdict on the original!

[Dee · Rating 4 out of 5]

⚘ "It is said that a novel ought not to contain unnecessary characters, but this novel contains such characters, though they srrve no purpose in the story, because the world I've seen doesn't contain only necessary people"

☙
"Aaja Ramita Chha" by I.B. Rai or "There's a Carnival Today" in English (translated by Manjushree Thapa), this book will capture and bring to you a major chunk of the life, culture, social and political dynamics of our Indian Nepali population, especially those residing in the cosmopolitan hilly town of Darjeeling.

I honestly loved reading this book, looking deeply into their world through lives of people, their simple lives woth extraordinary ideas, all trying to seek their identity and freedom in their own ways. The women characters, as one may find initially nothing interesting, but are definitely beautifully potrayed. Simple words weaving deeper truths, if one looks into the intricately designed words that strives to convey the words which may not reach the world otherwise.

I would request everyone to give this wonderful book a read for the message it tries to deliver to the world on behalf of those reality that don't really manage to capture all eyes as it should.

[Reewaz Aryal · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars

आज रमिता छ इन्द्रबहादुर राइद्वारा लिखित उपन्यास हो जसले तत्कालीन समयको दार्जिलिङको सामाजिक , राजनीतिक , आर्थिक एवं धार्मिक पक्षको जीवन्त चित्रण गरेको छ । सामाजिक र राजनीतिक अस्थिरता , पात्रहरुमा आउने विचलन , अन्योलताहरुलाई प्रस्तुत गर्दै त्यस भूमिको (माटोको कथा) बताउन सफल भएका छन् । जनक, भूदेव , रवि, एम.के., ड्यानिएल, यमुना , इशावेल आदि whirlpool of characters भएकाले सुरुमा कथानकमा प्रवेश गरेर पूर्णत रुपमा connect हुन समय लाग्यो तापनि भारतीय नेपालीभाषीका कथाव्यथाको निष्ठापूर्ण प्रतिन्धित्वले गर्दा ढिलै सही म कथानकमा डुबे ।
यस उपन्यासमा proper नायक खडा नगरि विभिन्न पात्रहरु एवं उनीहरुको मनोविज्ञान , अनुभूति र चेतनालाई नायकत्व प्रदान गरेको पाए । पृ १०१ मा जनकको पात्रले “ पुरानो दार्जिलिङको एउटा उपन्यास लेख्नुपर्ने थियो कसैले “ भनेको सुनिन्छ जुन यही उपन्यासको लागि meta reference हो जस्तो लाग्यो । थुप्रै उपकथाहरुका बुनोटले यो उपन्यास तयार भएको छ कुनै कुनै सन्दर्भहरु अझै पनि relatable बोध हुन्छ जसले गर्दा हामी Matrix मा छौं र रमिताको सिलसिला चलिरहेझैं पनि लाग्ने । आज रमिता छ भन्ने शीर्षक र उपन्यासको घटनाक्रमबीच प्रत्यक्ष सम्बनध त भेटिन त्यसैले पनि यो प्रतीकात्मक छ । ऐतिहासिक विषयको चित्रण गरिएको यो महत्त्वपूर्ण उपन्यास हो , पढ्नुहोला है त |

[Nishan Baral · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple yet a beautiful book. Society has been searching for social justice since ages even though the earth continues rotating and revolving under extreme forms of capitalism or autocracy. I read this book then read the latest madan puraskar winner Urmal, both carrying similar theme. Decision to judge quality differs amongst people but the fact is tea state workers lives barely changed between books written in a gap of few generations (1964 to 2025) and with that socialism and equity barely got its chance to bloom.

[Joe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good story and well written (and translated) although I started to lose interest at the end as the story focused almost entirely on the political activities of the characters. I think that a few things were lost in the translation, especially in the first third of the book but it smoothed out after that.

[Disha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me forever, but I finally finished this! It has an incredible description of Darjeeling and its people and socio-political scenario post-Independence. Unfortunately, considering I read this over months, there are a lot of things I couldn't fully appreciate. Definitely a book I want to reread for that reason someday.

[Tabin Lyatosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a book about people. Unlike other books it does not view life from abstract but from within as each and every character reveals their own version of life. A beautiful book by wonderful author. Loving it.

[Viper · Rating 3 out of 5]

It contains lots of elements of Darjeling and Sikkim from 50s. Stories are not linear and feels often incomplete just like the ending. But I enjoyed this reading. Although written in Nepali, it feels different but this is a beauty of Nepali literature from than time.

[Anushree Rastogi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I knew more about Darjeeling to be able to understand this better. Many cultural references were lost on me.

[Smriti Rai · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great to know Darjeeling from a political and social perspective.

[Rahwl Shrestha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still, yet to read the translation though,
"आज रमिता छ", weaves a tapestry of life and death, politics and love.
IBRA truly is a maestro.

[Khyati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book about the political and ordinary life of Darjeeling's Nepali population

[Kathakokatha · Rating 4 out of 5]

As colourfully narrated as its Nepali original( Aaja ramita cha by Dr. Indra Bahadur Rai), There’s a Carnival Today by Manjushree Thapa captures the ethos of Darjeeling's collective community as it awakens and adjusts its feathers to a post-independent India. The book brings out the multifaceted characters of Darjeeling and their ordinary realities shaped by their precarious position in a place that shares in the National sentiment of India while remaining ironically isolated.

[Nascent]

'आज रमिता छ' उपन्यासका सर्जक इन्द्रबहादुर राई हुन्। उनको जन्म सन् १९३० मा भएको थियो। इन्द्रबहादुर राई तेस्रो आयामका अग्रणी साहित्यकार पनि हुन्। आयामिक साहित्यको घोषणा गरिँदा ‘अबको साहित्य लेखनले मानिसको सम्पूर्णतालाई उचाल्नु पर्छ’ भनेर त्यसअघिको साहित्य च्याप्टो रहेको, तीन आयाम नभएको र कुनै न कुनै एक आयाम मात्र उपयोग भएको आरोप लगाउने गरेको र अब तिनै आयामको उपयोग हुनुपर्ने सन्दर्भ यहाँ उपयोग भएको छ । यस सिद्धान्तका प्रवर्तक इन्द्रबहादुर राई, ईश्वरबल्लभ र तिलविक्रम नेम्वाङ (बैरागी काइँला) हुन्। यसका प्रेरक विचारहरूमा जेस्टाल्टवाद, घनत्ववाद, हेलियोग्राफ, सामूहिक अवचेतन आदिको भूमिका रहेको थियो।

उनै आयामेली साहित्यकार इन्द्रबहादुर राईको उपन्यासको शीर्षक ‘आज रमिता छ’ पढ्दा पाठकलाई मनभित्र निकै उत्सुकता जगाउँछ भने पढ्दै जाँदा कतै पनि रमिताचाहिँ भएको पाइँदैन। बरु रमिताको स्थानमा भरमार विसङ्गतिहरू पाइने गर्दछन्। यस्तै विसङ्गतिमै कुनै पनि समाज चलेको हुन्छ र चलि नै रहन्छ।

‘आज रमिता छ’ फरक धारको उपन्यास भएको कारणले पाठकलाई अन्योलमा राख्दछ। एउटा पाठकको पूर्वाग्रहमा रहने कथाको आधार र आकार यसमा छैन। यसको शुरू र अन्त केही भिन्न शैलीमा छ। यस् उपन्यास पढिसकेर पाठकमा अन्यमनस्कता आउँछ। भ्रामक लाग्दछ, यसको अर्थ बोध गर्न कठिन पर्दछ। शीर्षक र पाठमा सामञ्जस्यता भेट्न अलमल हुन्छ। पाठ अनेकार्थी रहेको देखिन्छ। अर्थको क्रीडा राखिएको बोध हुन्छ। यस उपन्यासमा समेटिएको यही तकनिकको कारणले यसले भिन्न पाठक र भिन्न समयमा फरक अर्थ सम्प्रेषण गर्न सक्षमता देखाउँदछ।

[kiran kumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

कस्तो बेलामा यो किताब पढ्दै रहेँभने देशमा राजनीतिक संकट देखा परेको छ । साँच्चै भन्नुपर्दा देशमा रमिता छ । विसङ्गति छ, कोरोनाको प्रकोपले जीवन आक्रान्त छ, मानिसलाई हातमुख जोर्न समस्या छ तर देश चलाउने, चलाउँछु भन्नेको ध्यान केवल सत्तामा छ, पदमा छ ।
इन्द्रबहादुरले आज रमिता छ मा बर्षौ पहिले समाजका यस्तै विसङ्गति लेखेका रहेछन् । समाज उस्तै छ, समय फेरीएको छ । समयसँगै जबरजस्ती फेरीनु पर्ने कुरा फेरीएका छन् । बाँकी मानिसको प्रवृति, दुःख-वेदना उस्तै छ ।
जुग अघिको लेखनी भएकाले शब्द तथा लेखन शैलीले कथा बुझ्न केही समस्या भयो । बाँकी त, उपन्यास राम्रो छ ।

[Saurav · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indra Bahadur Rai has been a prominent leader and thinker in introducting and experimenting the third dimension of Nepali Literature with his literary works. The novel 'Aaja Ramita Chha' has dwelled on the various facades of life of normal people of Darjeeling in a way dealing with their own struggles and how they keep on moving with their lives. A good read to enjoy the Darjeeling version of Nepali Language, for the subtle humour and dialogues that would perfectly fit into a play

[Sabin Chhetri · Rating 3 out of 5]

यो उपन्यासको नाम पहिले देखि धेरै को मुखबाट सुन्दै आएको थिएँ। सोचें राम्रो होला अनि किनेर पढ्न शुरु गरें। तर अनावस्यक पात्रहरुको उपन्यासमा उपस्थितिले मलाई निकै पट्यार लाग्यो। मैले करिब ३० प्रतिशत सम्म आफुलाई पढ्न बाध्य बनाएँ। तर त्यसपछि सकिन, नपढी थन्काए। चट्ट सानो र मीठो भएको भए राम्रो हुन्थ्यो होला, तर लामो र अनावस्यक गन्थनले मलाई पट्यार लागेर पढ्न सकिन।

[Saroj · Rating 2 out of 5]

seems little mess by including many characters.

[Ravi Shakya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author IB Rai vividly gives a picture of socio-political situation of Darjeeling in the 60s. Distinct language and expression - liked it.