Review : Kyetse by Chador Wangmo

Kyetse: Of superstitious, hurdles, destiny and realization
Certain novels arrive on the reader shelves as a breath of fresh air. Madam Chador Wangmo’s second novel Kyetse is one of them. It is the gripping tale of a girl born in a time rife with superstitious beliefs and her journey in quest of finding herself. The book takes on a broad theme of; karmic and destined life, courage and bravery, self-realization and exploitation in mask of fake identity. It begins at Tashigang, briefly during the advent of modernization in a country in late twentieth century. While economic developments initially remain in the backdrop, rural traditions and ways of living are presented up close and personal.As the novel begins, protagonist, Som Dema was born to Tashi Tshering and Sangay choden, who were Serga-mathang-and-kokhkin (Tsangla phrase), which literally mean golden cousin and pertains to consanguineous marriage, owining to be daughter and son of sister Tshoden and brother Dathang respectively.  Only Dathang and Tshoden survived of ten children born to Memey Tenzin and Abhi Sanjaymo who has been ill-fated after having petty dispute with the imperious neighbor by Memey Tenzin. Novel setting depicts a kind of complex tapestry of early village living, culture and traditions. 

Kyetse was written for Som Dema that tells the entire history and science that concern her by village 

astrologer after three days of her birth. As per the kyetse, she was destined to encounter unpleasant siuation at ten years of age and later again a disastrous adversity at eighteen. It was added that if she surpasses those adversities, then she would lived her life inclined towards the spiritual side. As novel unravels, Som Dema had her first adversity of life at ten years, after she was sent with Ani donned in maroon robes to take spiritual path as a remedy for her ailment. Ani brutally treated Som Dema and all her friends in the foreign land. She lost her best friend Pentang and Neten, unnoticeably and blindly. When turn came for her to perish like them, she could overcome her adversity of getting away from Ani clutches by fleeing back to village with a shopkeeper. Her another eighteen years obstacle was appearance of Kinga. She nearly lost her spiritual path in trap of her biological calling after she fell in love with Kinga. Again, her disastrous adversity was surpassed after she knew that Kinga was a married soul. This reveals the life we live as unfolding of pre-destined path.

The revelation of the fact on Ani that took Som Dema and friends after disguising her under the maroon robes, talk about the fraudulent mindsets of people and losing morality of mankind.

Faced the world all angles and evolved into a major life journey, Som Dema begins to find herself as she grew up from little girl to a dignified woman. She realized that all her life’s queries have been answered and a path towards spirituality has been cleared. This testifies her realization, courage and bravery of facing life hurdles.The novel is enormous storehouse for many declining significant Bhutanese superstitious beliefs that has come passing down many generations and an essential wisdom of paving our own path, whenever it dash against destined path.  Truly, book reflects how times and perspective of life have changed in the country over the years as setting of story bring every stage of country development. It is a book to reminiscence and ponders upon, something to go back to and smile.