Tale of a Bhutanese woman
Kamaldeep Kaur

The Circle of Karma
by Kunzang Choden. Zubaan-Penguin Books. Pages 316. Rs 295.

This novel explores Bhutanese culture from a woman’s point of view. The author delves into this patriarchal society and shows how women are made to suffer due to the faults of men. The novel has tragi-comic elements and presents a realistic picture of a woman trapped in a ritualistic society that staunchly believes in karma—a philosophy wherein a person is rewarded or punished according to his actions in the past life.

The plot revolves around a Bhutanese woman, Tsomo, who is destined to suffer in life as predicted by the priest. This prediction comes true as her life unfolds. Due to her suffering, she undertakes a long journey from Bhutan to Delhi and back to Bhutan. She is twice married and twice betrayed. Though she is emotionally scarred, she never wallows in self-pity. The protagonist is admirable in that she maintains her dignity and self-respect even in abject poverty.

The author uses the picaresque technique with dexterity in the novel. Throughout the journey, the protagonist meets people from all walks of life and each person touches her life thus transforming her character for the better. She feels a "karmic connection" with each person she meets. It is a physically, psychologically and spiritually therapeutic journey. The different levels of her suffering and endurance enrich her as she tries to come to terms with the complexity of her experiences.

The theme of womanhood, of the trials and tribulations of a woman in a restrictive society forms the mainstay of the book. "You are a girl. You are different. You learn other things that will make you a good woman and a good wife. Learn to cook, weave and all those things. A woman does not need to know how to read and write," says Tsomo’s father sternly when she insists that she wants to educate herself. The author vividly captures the bitterness, misery and rejection faced by women in a male-dominated society.

The book is simply written with no boring patches. However, the absence of a glossary of Bhutanese terms is irksome at times. The style is charming and sentimental. The meditative pace of the book is firmly controlled by the author, who never loses her grasp of the plot. The form and the content are in perfect harmony each complimenting the other. It is a realistic novel that is at best ironic, as it does not peter down into gloominess.

The novel makes enjoyable and leisurely reading. The non-Bhutanese reader will find subtle insights into traditional Bhutanese culture that are missing in official archives. However, this is not a path-breaking novel in terms of either style or content, as it describes the all too common subject of the triumph of the human soul in the face of adverse circumstances. The novel follows the human soul as it struggles to find salvation as it is propelled from one experience to another.

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