Book Review: A Nepali Town Becomes the Storyteller

Arun Gupto’s ‘Cracks in the Wind: Memoirs from Lumbini’ offers a unique narrative, weaving the author’s personal journey of growing up in Bahadurgunj, Kapilvastu, Nepal, with the lives of various villagers. The book paints a vivid picture of a border town where Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist traditions converge, creating a liminal space that challenges conventional notions of nationhood and nationalism.

Gupto masterfully portrays ordinary individuals, a postmaster who writes plays, a dacoit with a poetic soul, a teacher who bridges cultural divides, and a doctor offering life advice alongside medical care. Through Gupto’s lucid prose, these lives gain profound depth, dignity, and beauty. The author excels at finding wisdom and aesthetic richness within the mundane, elevating everyday experiences into something sublime, making his humble protagonists resemble mythic figures.

The narrative begins as a memoir of Arun, known as Onu, and his family. However, it soon shifts to the stories of others, like Rahamat, a Muslim man who recounts encounters with the goddess Durga. These tales, including Sukkhi’s aspirations and a robber’s composed song, are presented with a simple yet rhythmically attuned language that conveys deep philosophical insights. The book delves into culture, national identity, and the universal spectrum of human emotions, from joy and sorrow to ecstasy and fear.