The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun
- Shankar Lamichhane
Shankar Lamichhane (1928-1975) was born in Kathmandu but lived in Banaras with his uncle at a young age. After receiving a college education at Tri-Chandra College in Kathmandu, he took his first job at the age of twenty-two and worked for a number of governmental and cultural institutions in the capital. In his later years, he became the manager of a handicrafts store. Lamichhane was an admirer of modern American fiction and frequently mixed with foreign visitors to Nepal. His stories are heavy with symbolism, often lacking a conventional plot and more closely resembling essays, but his prose is rich and poetic. This story is taken from Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to Nepali Literature translated and edited by Michael Hutt. The story deals with the monologues of two characters a tourist guide in Kathmandu valley and a foreign tourist. The story is different from conventional stories and, instead of showing actions and events, the story records what the two characters think in a stream of consciousness technique.
• Characters:
The tourist: A Westerner or a
Guest who holds an aesthetic vision regarding Nepal based on his study of
history, culture and religion.
The Guide: A Nepalese person and
a tourist guide having good knowledge about the Nepalese art, culture,
geography and religion but has a feeling of inferiority in comparison to the
westerners.
The farmer’s family: The simple
farmer’s family living in a remote village having high faith, intimacy,
kindliness, and gratitude in themselves.
A paralyzed child: A boy who
suffers from Polio disorder and can’t speak properly, nor can he move his body
parts except his eyes indicating purity.
• Summary:
“The Half-Closed Eyes of the
Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun” by Shankar Lamichhane is a simple story
being told through a discussion between two characters: a tourist and a guide.
It was included in the anthology Himalayan Voice: An Introduction to Modern
Nepali Literature, which was released in 1991. The story is set in and around
Kathmandu, Nepal’s capital city.
In the story, both of the
characters act as narrators. The first is a Nepali guide, and the second is a
foreign tourist. However, the western tourist pretends to be an expert, saying,
“I could take you along your ancient ways.” “You are my tour guide for today,
but I feel I can help guide you as well,” the Nepali guide replies, indicating
that he understands more about the subject at hand.
The story begins with a pleasant
atmospheric description of the Kathmandu valley, complete with visual beauty
and various colours of homes, blue hills, and so on. The guest then remarks
that the East has contributed so many things, such as the Purans, ancient
tools, ivory ornaments, palm leaf manuscripts, and copperplate inscriptions.
The tourist then tells the stories of Manjushri and how he stroked his sword at
Chobhar, allowing people to settle in Kathmandu Valley later on, as well as
“the samyak gaze” of the shaven-headed monks and nuns who were receiving alms
and spreading Buddhist preaching near the Kasthamandap, which represented
purity.
They then discuss their passion
for wooden figures, Nepalese folk music, various cultures such as Aryans, non-Aryans,
Hindus, and Buddhists, and drinking wine. The tourist expresses gratitude to
the guide for supplying him with Nepali and Newari cuisine. Following that,
they examine the lives and histories of Princess Bhrikuti and King Amshuvarma,
as well as how the King cultivated his relationships with his neighbouring
countries, a story projected in the picture and related by an elderly man to
his grandson. The tourist is overjoyed by the welcoming smiles he receives
wherever he goes, comparing it to the farmer’s son returning home from hard
work and assuming himself and the people’s hospitable behaviour. They have one
more drink for the Nepalese people’s beautiful smile.
Then they explore other types of
eyes, such as the eyes in the windows, the eyes on the door panels, the eyes on
the stupas, the eyes of the people, the eyes of the Himalaya, and the
half-closed eyes of the Lord Buddha, referring to the country as a land of
eyes. These eyes reveal a new culture, a diversity of religions, civilisation,
vivid memories, and a long trip.
The guide tells about the temple
of Adinath, the Shiva shrine encircled by several other pictures of Buddha- a
living example of Nepalese tolerance and coexistence- but the guide takes the
guest to a house where he discovers the pulse of reality. It’s a farmer’s
family with a paralysed youngster (polio-affected boy) whose entire body is
worthless and he can’t speak, move his hands, chew his food, or even spit,
except for his eyes, which are just opposite his sister’s. As the guide introduces
the visitor as a doctor, the parents are overjoyed. In their eyes, there is a
depth of faith, connection, kindness, and thankfulness.
At last, the guide adds that
these are mountains’ eyes, and their lashes are rows of fields where rice
ripens in the rains and wheat ripens in the winter. They are as lovely as the
setting sun’s reflection in the Buddha’s eyes.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. How does the tourist describe his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley?
Answer: The tourist
describes his initial impression of the Kathmandu valley as green, with
geometric fields, earthen buildings in red, yellow, and white, and the aroma of
soil and mountains in the air.
b. According to the tourist, why is the West indebted to the East?
Answer: According to
the tourist, the West is indebted to the East for the pleasant atmosphere,
religious and cultural sculptures, the Purans, ivory ornaments, manuscripts of
palm leaves, inscriptions on copperplate old tools, and many other things.
c. How does the tourist interpret the gaze of the monks and nuns?
Answer: The tourist
interprets the gaze of the monks and nuns as ‘the samyak gaze,’ which denotes
pure and uncontaminated perception; a sight that detects everything in its
genuine form.
d. Why do the tourists think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional?
Answer: The tourists
think Nepali people are wonderful and exceptional because of their ability to
create exceptional wooden images, as well as numerous ornamentations and
beautiful images of deities, enchanting music from traditional musical
instruments, and hospitable behaviour through diverse cultural and religious
ceremonies.
e. What are the different kinds of communities in the Kathmandu valley and how do they co-exist with each other?
Answer: The different
kinds of communities found in the Kathmandu valley are Aryans, non-Aryans,
Hindus, and Buddhists and they co-exist with each other in harmony.
f. What does the tourist feel about the temple of Adinath?
Answer: The tourist
feels the Adinath temple is a live example of Nepalese tolerance and
coexistence.
g. Why does the guide take the tourist to the remote village?
Answer: The guide
takes the tourist to a remote village to show the tourist the pulse of reality
through the eyes of a farmer’s family, their hard labour, clean environment,
and miserable living.
h. What does the innocent village couple think of the doctor?
Answer: The innocent
village couple thinks of the doctor as the ray of hope for life.
i. What are the differences between the paralyzed child and his sister?
Answer: The difference
between the paralyzed child and his sister is that the paralyzed child’s entire
body is worthless; he can’t speak or crawl, and just his eyes are living parts
of his body, but the sister’s entire body operates normally. She can speak,
crawl, and move her body freely.
j. Why does the guide show the instances of poverty to the tourist?
Answer: The guide
shows the instances of poverty to the tourist so that he understands the
terrible poverty of people living in remote locations, as well as their lack of
security and modern conveniences despite their hospitable behaviour.
Reference to the Context
a. Which narrative technique is used by the author to tell the story? How is this story different from other stories you have read?
Answer: Shankar
Lamichhane, the author, uses the stream of consciousness as a narrative
technique to narrate the story “The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the
Slowly Sinking Sun.”
This story differs from others
I’ve read since most other stories are told in the first person, with the
narrator or persona describing the events in his own words, however, this story
is told through the monologues of two characters, a tourist guide in Kathmandu
Valley and a foreign tourist. Furthermore, unlike traditional stories, the
story uses a stream of consciousness technique to capture what the two
protagonists think rather than portraying actions and events. In this context,
stream of consciousness is a writing style or storytelling approach that
reflects the natural flow of a character’s extended mental process, frequently
by including sensory experiences, recollections, unfinished thoughts, unique
syntax, and sloppy grammar. This approach of stream of consciousness, on the
other hand, is not found in any of the prior stories I’ve read.
b. How is the author able to integrate two fragments of the narration into a unified whole?
Answer: The author of
the storey “The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun”
attempts to integrate two pieces of narration into a unified whole by
connecting them with instances of eyes and associating them with two separate
universes. The author is detailing events that are happening in the community
as well as the activities that people do for a living. On the other hand, he
ties it to the world of farmers, where people are uninformed of the real world
and suffer from a variety of traditional beliefs and diseases.
Thus, by connecting two separate
worlds or conceptions of the East and the West, he conveys the message that one
should picture things deeply through their deeper eyes and comprehend the true
meaning of the circumstance. He associates the guide’s journey with the tourist
and watching the thing on the one hand, and the guide explaining the meaning of
the places and activities on the other through examples of eyes and his
narrative techniques of stream of consciousness on the other.
c. The author brings some historical and legendary references to the story. Collect these references and show their significance in the story.
Answer: In the story
“The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun,” the author
Shankar Lamichhane brings some historical and legendary references. The
following are the references and their significance:
- The mention of Manjushri and his sword stroke at Chobhar, which caused the Bagmati River to overflow, represents her contribution to allowing people to live in the valley.
- The Puranas, depictions of brass and ivory ornaments, palm leaf manuscripts, and copperplate inscriptions all demonstrate that the Nepalese people are rich in culture, traditions, religions, and art crafts.
- The eyes of the shaven-headed monks and nuns represent ‘the samyak gaze,’ which implies pure and uncontaminated perception; a sight that perceives everything in its genuine form.
- The mentions of Princess Bhrikuti and King Amshuvarma illustrate historical ties or relationships with neighbouring countries such as Tibet.
- The beautiful light of the sunset reflected in the Buddha’s eyes shows Nepal as a country of Buddha with many more hopes and peaceful sentiments in the people.
- The Adinath temple is a live example of Nepalese tolerance and togetherness.
d.
The author talks about the eyes in many places:
the eyes of the shaven monks and nuns, eyes in the window and door panels, the
eyes of the Himalayas, the eyes of the paralyzed boy, the eyes of the welcoming
villagers and above all the half-closed eyes of the Buddha. Explain how all the
instances of eyes contribute to the overall unity of the story.
Answer: In the story “The Half-closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun” the author talks about the eyes in many places such as the eyes of shaven monks and nuns indicating ‘the samyak gaze’ which means the sight that perceives everything in its true form. The eyes of the carved lattice windows, the eyes painted on the door panels. The eyes on the stupas, the eyes of the people, the eyes of the Himalayas, the eyes of the paralyzed boy, the eyes of the welcoming villagers and above all the half-closed eyes of the Buddha. These all instances of eyes indicate that it is a land of eyes, a land guarded by the half-closed eyes of the Lord Buddha. Even if all of the world’s history books were destroyed today, it is these eyes which display a new culture, civilization, religion, natural beauty and the land of Buddha. The journey becomes meaningful by the memories obtained by the eyes. In this way, the author connects various instances of eyes to memories that people acquire and people’s appetites that never come true as they imagine something with their inner eyes and hearts, and therefore unites the story as a whole.
Reference beyond the text
a. Write an essay on Living
Proximity to Nature.
b. The story talks about
ethnic/religious co-existence of different communities in Nepal, where the
Buddhists and the Hindus and the Aryans and non-Aryans have lived in communal
harmony for ages. In your view, how have the Nepali people been able to live in
such harmony?
