KATHMANDU: Literary writer Keshab Raj Gyawali has brought out a collection of short stories entitled ‘Arko Bhor’.

The collection was jointly launched by noted literary writer Narayan Dhakal and critics, Mahesh Poudyal and Gyanu Adhikari, amidst a program in the capital on Saturday.

The collection containing 14 short fictions has vividly presented Diaspora musings reflecting on the sense of identity, isolation, women’s emancipation, post-COVID existential pang, divided self and cleft characters.

Composed in different settings of the United States, Nepal and gulf countries, Gyawali, engineer by profession, has starkly criticized the racial and ethnic discrimination and de-humanizing behavior prevailing in the US.

Commenting on the book, critic Gyanu Adhikari said that the short stories have artistically presented women’s freedom and inherent pursuit of happiness in a Diaspora setting.

Likewise, another critic Mahesh Poudyal said that the stories have well manifested author’s stream of consciousness and attempted to divulge pang of the people living abroad.

Noted fiction writer Narayan Dhakal appreciated the author for bring into limelight the issues of migration and Diaspora with the effective use of symbols. “Such writing would enhance Nepal’s literary image in the global literary arena”, he added.

Author Gyanwali said that the fictions compiled in the book manifest the stories of diverse characters of our society whether that be in Nepal and abroad.

Shikha Publications brought the collection of  the stories to the market. (RSS)