Love : The Telegram on the Table

                                                                                                                   Parashu Pradhan

Literal Comprehension:

Parashu Pradhan is a Nepali story writer. Through this story, the writer shows the dream of Nepali youth. Krishna, the protagonist of the story, was living in Kathmandu and his job was to guide the tourists. Some days back, he had received a telegram informing him of the demise of his wife in the remote village. He read the telegram, kept it on the table, but it didn’t move him at all. A few days before, he had met a friend from the village, who sympathized him for that tragic event, but that also did not touch him at all. All day he had been out describing the history and culture of the country to tourists and answering their questions. He would always come from the hotel in the middle of the night. He had some ambition to fulfill through that job. He explained the Nepalese culture and customs to tourists who were amazed by his words. Often he dreamed of New York, other western countries and their culture. He was sure that one day he’d follow a tourist girl far across the skies. But, then there was the telegram, which forced him to think about his wife. The telegram had the message of her death, but it did not affect him. He tried to sleep putting it out of his mind, but could not. He began to think about his lodging, which had no facilities. He also thought of the distant village he had not visited for many years. As he was thinking of his home, his wife’s image came to his mind. His mind was filled with desired and unwanted connections. Thoughts of the present and the past were running over his mind. Having lived alone in the city for so long, he had become like a stone. Suddenly, angry with himself, he tore the telegram to pieces and began to weep.

Interpretation

The story tries to tell us that we should not have very high ambition as it leads us to frustration if not fulfilled. It also seems to imply that the city makes people stone-hearted. In the story, after coming to Kathmandu, Krishna stops thinking about his family. Even of the message of his wife’s death in the village does not affect him at all. Moreover, the story suggests that we should not be very selfish.

Critical Thinking

The story beautifully presents the dream of Nepalese youths. However, I want to raise

some questions to the author:

Are people as cruel and selfish as Krishna?

Does the city make a person stone-hearted?

Can a person leave his family behind cherishing hi,s dream to fly to the USA or Europe?

Is it a realistic presentation of Nepalese Youths?

Assimilation
This story reminds me the event of my friend Karan. He went to Kathmandu from Dang to Study. Instead of studying he had the dream of going to America to earn money. So he told his parents to sell his property to go to America. He brought the money and gave it to the broker who told him that he would manage him to go there. He had the dream of earning more money, live in the city, buy a house and live there luxuriously. But later on when he came to know that the broker cheated him, he was badly shocked and began to cry.