Amar Neupane's Seto Dharti is a fantastic piece of artwork. This work has revealed the veils of child marriage's evil practices and the misery of child widows in Nepali culture. Tara, Pabitra, and other child widows are central characters in this book. And Yemuna and Gobinda have their own tales to tell.
The main plot revolves around Tara's life. She married by lie when she was seven years old. She had no idea what love was at the moment. Her own parents lied to her and forced her to remain in the Jaggya, claiming that they worshipped God at home. She was then taken to her home and told that she needed to go to the temple. She didn't find out until the day after her wedding that she was marrying to someone she had never met before. She was sound asleep when it came time to execute the marriage rites. It was as if I were in a dream. She cried a lot as she thought of her mum. Her tiny mother advised her on the does and don'ts of becoming a new daughter-in-law. She had to sit in her house for a year. It was very painful for her to stay for the whole year. After a year, she moved into her own house. She lost her husband when she was nine years old. She was invited to her home without being informed of her husband's demise. She learned that her husbands had died as soon as she arrived home. Despite the fact that he was a stranger in her life, she was asked to follow all of the rites. That was the first time she'd seen her husband's face on his deathbed.
Then she was taken to the ghat that was on fire. Her bangles were broken by some women. They took away all of her jewelry as well as her clothing. They shaved her head and forced her to remain in mourning for thirteen days. She was granted a white cloth to wear until the rite was completed. She moved into her own house after a year. Both of her sisters were marrying on the very same day.
Her mother said that she could live like a son. She began to play with her pals. Govinda showed her how to read and write the alphabet. Mother gave birth to a son as well. They were all in good spirits. Her mother died unexpectedly one day. For the first time, Tara cried a lot. His maternal uncle took his nine-month-old brother. They retrieved the boy after discovering that he was not being well cared for. Tara once saw her brother sucking a dog's breasts. She was terrified. When the baby cried for her mother's breast, she pretended to breastfeed. The passing of time. Her friend Pabitra, who was also a child widow, visited Banaras. Govinda also went to Banaras to study. Yemuna quickly became her best friend. Yemuna was there to celebrate Tara's days as her youth blossomed.
Tara used to ask Yemuna about her love for her husband, and she would respond romantically. Her father married another wife, who was very young, one day.Stepmother began misbehaving with her eventually. Her father was in his wife's grip. He didn't notice her daughter's cries. Brother also married and moved out on his own. And she made the decision to leave her house for good.Her life had become like a ship without a rudder. She made her way to Devghat. She spent the night of her escape from home at Yemuna's house. They wished for her brother, whom she raised as if she was her mother, to come and save her. But no one showed up.
She joined a party of people on the route to Chitwan. She arrived in Devghat after a week. She dedicated her life to God. She saw Govind's image in the Swamiji there. In her dreams, she had many relationships with young men. As a result, she admitted that she was similar to Drupadi. She ran into Yemuna at Devghat one day. She'd also been there when her husband died. Time moved at its own pace.
Once upon a time, a lady called Gangeswari visited Devghat Ahram. She came to popularity as a result of her experience and the wealth she took with her. Gangeswari visited Tara's hut one night and unveiled her real identity. Pabitra her childhood friend was who she claimed to be.
Then Pabitra told her how she went through various stages of life before becoming Gangeswari. She also said that while in Banaras, she became a prostitute and built up a large fortune. She then left this career and gave birth to a daughter who is now a professor. Finally, she came to Nepal and changed her name in order to dedicate the rest of her life to God. Tara hated her when she first realized the story. However, she was unable to inform Swamiji. She later forgot everything. Finally, she met Govinda, whom she had secretly kept in her heart her whole life.
Most interestingly, the book depicts the life of a Brahmin daughter, including early marriage and widowhood at a young age, people's views on early marriage, and mother-in-law care of the daughter-in-law. Any chapter of the novel depicts the difficulties Tara faced. The novel tells her life from the time she was born when she was 87 years old.
My throat strangled several times while reading this book. I couldn't keep my emotions in check. Despite the fact that the plot is made up from the writer's imagination, it portrays an image of social evil and its negative effects on the lives of many Taras and Pavitras in Nepali society. The narration of the plot is typical. However, the author offers room to characters that have been overlooked in several stories. That is the voice of the voiceless.
