Where life becomes a tale of a legend

A Disgraced Story

By Bishnu Prasad Aryal

THERE goes a story about a man and a stomach. Whenever this pen pusher recalls that tale and tries to relate that with the present socio-political scenario of the country, it makes him dumbfounded. Here it goes: once upon a time there was a man without a stomach. Every year he used to worship at a shrine. One day he met a stomach without a body. The stomach said: "I have been looking for you. What are you doing without me?" And then the stomach jumped on the man and became a part of him. The man carried on with his journey to the shrine. But before he got there he became very hungry. The stomach said: "Feed me." "I will not," said the man. "When I didn’t have you I travelled far, was never hungry, was happy and contented, and I was strong .You can either leave me now or be quiet."....’

Fascinated by the piece of a tale I mounted and downed searching for bellyless figure, head to foot, so that I could inquire him/her how exciting and delightful experience s/he does have from the absence of empty bowels. On the way a pumpkin branded, bizarre flesh rolled over, unlike a slug, but as a pajero resemblance.

At the mean time, a journalist with shining camera, headed towards the mortifying giant, having a sack like stomach nosing a imported tie, took a photograph, in fact, of headless abdomen. A crowd round the object jeered at it. Some spelled out it belonged to right wings or left wings. Others exclaimed it seemed to be of extremists or orthodox. No sooner had they scrutinised upon the hot issue than an insane claimed that once it belonged to tradesmen or industrialists.

I thought myself this scouring is an absurd attempt as Samuel Beckett in his most celebrated text Waiting for Godot indicates the never-ending hope for that which does not appear at all. In such a paradigm into my mind, I summed up that no one can be found without a stomach. The argument grew from the jungle out of words tapped my head, belly and back as if it is a metal detector which can spy the terrified objects under clothes or skin. Bhairab Aryal in his book Jaya Bhundi, sarcastically depicts the misery of stomach, makes us apprehend it.

Let’s pray, may God stock out all the stomachs from human beings, to empower man without it. Then, you cannot anticipate, how magnificent the world be, let’s say: Nepal is such a state where no one will be the admirer of fraud, cunnings and mischievous heads .Talking or making a speech about poverty reduction is no more than a act of Don Quixote rather it is better to skip paunch. If God redraws sacks from man, God will be extreme corrupt than man and we will not worship but curse Him.

Every one dispersed from the crossroad where I find myself thin, lean and weak since only I am deprived of the stomach, all others rush for and hide it under the black coats. If we beseech God to terminate conundrum God must be the black hole akin to politicians‘ bellies. Even god owns belly does not seem queer, so our food vessel remains behind our back. Now, do you not ask all think of the treatise itself contains the stomach of enchantment, which is only the problem of human beings, not of Nepal? Therefore, if you want to be happy, contented and strong as before the man of the story lived, drop instantly your stomach for good and be as me.

This feature article was published on The Rising Nepal, dated June 8, 2002. It is my first article appeared in the national daily.