The Burden of War: Examining Postcolonial Melancholia in Blue Mimosa and Lahure Phool

The Burden of War: Examining Postcolonial Melancholia in Blue Mimosa and Lahure Phool

Bhanu Bhakta Sharma Kandel

Abstract

Blue Mimosa (Shirishko Phool) is mainly studied as an existential expression of an educated, modern, bold lady who could not make her life a fulfilling experience. The life of any character in the novel has not been characterised to be meaningful enough and has been expressed in the form of her knowledge of nothingness and absurdity. However, the main objective of this research article is to study the novel from the postcolonial point of view that the women and indigenous people have been more exploited in the war or by the colonial power than anyone else. However, some subaltern people have realised colonial exploitation, subordination, and subjugation, and they have developed their character not to let anyone exploit them like that of Sakambari. The postcolonial literary theory, with a special focus on the ideas of Leela Gandhi, Edward Said, and other postcolonial thinkers, has been used to read the text, and the bold characters of Sakambari and the war widow have been made to challenge the power of the people who try to exercise power upon the less powerful people. This article explores the themes of destruction, alienation, cultural displacement, unjust exploitation, and the shared legacy of loss caused by colonial power and its residue. The poem “Lahure, I want to Change Your Name” by Tirtha Shrestha criticizes the lahure culture developed among Nepali people and its adverse effects on family, society, nation, and the subordinate mentality of Nepali people.