''Jiyara'' () is a 2021

Nepali Nepali or Nepalese may refer to : Concerning Nepal * Anything of, from, or related to Nepal * Nepali people, citizens of Nepal * Nepali language, an Indo-Aryan language found in Nepal, the current official national language and a language spoken ...

short story collection by

Nayan Raj Pandey Nayan Raj Pandey ( ne, नयनराज पाण्डे) is a Nepali writer and screenwriter. He writes stories and novels, as well as screenplays for Nepali cinema. He is known for his representation of contemporary Nepalese society in hi ...

. It was published on June 14th 2021 by FinePrint Publication and is the third short story collection and the tenth published book of the writer.. The book consists of 13 stories which are mostly set in

Madhesh Madhesh Province ( Nepali language, Nepali/ mai, मधेश प्रदेश) is a Provinces of Nepal, province of Nepal that was formed after the adoption of the Constitution of Nepal. It is Nepal's most populous province, and smallest prov ...

like Pandey's other two most popular works, ''Loo'' and ''Ulaar''. The title of the book is a Hindi word meaning soul or inner heart. The book was supposed to be released during April 2020 but was delayed due to

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

Synopsis

The stories are mostly set in the southern plains of the Mid-Western region of Nepal. The stories depicts the traditions, culture and socio-economic conditions of the people of that region. The stories also includes phrases, songs and folk taels of

Awadhi language Awadhi (; ), also known as Audhi (), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in North India, northern India and Nepal. It is primarily spoken in the Awadh region of present-day Uttar Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, India. The name ''Awadh'' is connected to ...

. The stories are an example of ''Anchalik'' (Regional) literature. The stories on this collection presents a strong critique of capitalism, corrupt politics, political establishment, greed and patriarchy. The genres of the stories are

realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

and magic realism. The stories included in this book are:

Reception and awards

The book received positive responses from the critics. Bishal Babu Basnet in his review for ''Farakdhar'' praised it as "one of his best works". Khim Lamichhane Kaji of ''Sahitya Post'' praised Pandey for his "unique and experimental style" in his new book. The book won the Karnali Sahitya Samaj Kriti Puraskar (Karnali Literary Society Book Award) for the year 2077 BS. The award was presented by Karnali Sahitya Samaj (Karnali Literary Society).

References

{{Nepali literature, state=collapsed 2021 short story collections 21st-century Nepalese books Books by Nayan Raj Pandey Nepalese short story collections Nepali short story collections