One of the major characteristics of Indian legends and mythology is the emphasis on male characters. In contrast, female characters and their roles are always ignored in historical discussions and stories. This exposes the male-dominated character of ancient Indian society. The discussion of various aspects from the male perspective severely neglected the status and importance of female characters in the society as well as in the history. One of among such neglected female character is Gopa, The wife of Great Buddha. In the novel Buddhazaya, author Geetali Bora tries to bring a ray in the life stories of Gopa as well as some other important female characters those were contemporary to Buddha. The book is published by Saumitra Jogee on behalf of AANK-BAAK publication.
About The Author :
The writer Geetali Bora is an established novelist and storyteller from Bishwanath District of Assam. Her works includes novels Buddhazaya, Antartom, Bakhanaheena, Collection of stories such as Sambhawato, Orgol khula Priyamvada, Apollo-Apollo, Satya-Surjya, Nirabadhi Noiranjana etc. She has been awarded with various awards like Homen Borgohain literary award, Munin Borkotoky award etc. She is currently serving as the associate editor of prominent Assamese magazine ' Prakash'.
About the storyline :
The novel 'Buddhazaya' offers readers a tapestry of love, sacrifice and spritual awekenning. The novel presents a beautiful narration of the vast spread of Buddhisim from it's inception through various characters. As the name suggest, the main protagonist of the novel is Gopa or Yashodhara, wife of the Buddha. It takes us to the deeper of Gopa's inside where she continued to nurtured her love for Siddhartha and continued to buried her pain when he left her. Author Bora paints a picture of how a woman lives tolerantly and strongly despite such conflicts. Here we can see a ray of author's desire to present the women with a familiar restrained appearance. In the other hand, Bora also presented some other women characters as reactive who could cross the boundaries of societal conservatism and repression. So, in a way, author maintained a balance while presenting the characters.
The characters that are examined by the author from various aspects includes Buddha's mother Gautami, his followers Amrapali, Patachara, Sujata etc. Male characters such as Buddha's father Shuddhudhon, Devadutta etc were also in the fold of discussion as the story revolves around these characters. At the end of all the discussions, the author presents the same truth among all the characters- the saga of their love, loss and the finding of own truth.
As the author acknowledge, a novel could not be the true history. She clearly acknowledges at the introduction of Buddhazaya that although it deals with the contemporary society of Buddha, a major figure in history, not all of it's information is true. The sources and information about the Buddha is so tangling. For example, Devadutta is sometimes refered to as the Buddha's cousin, while in many texts as the brother of Buddha's wife Gopa. There are also confusions regarding the location of the places like Devadaha, kapilabastu and regarding the Mahaparinirvana of Buddha. It is not possible to make a determination of the true facts among the such different facts for the writer. According to the author, apart from the religious fiction, the real characters and their actions-events were also imaginative.
The prose of the novel is though lyrical some readers may find difficulty to understand the philosophical musings and the nuances of Assamese literature if not well versed. That could slow the narrative flow. Again, the deeper introspection into Gopa's life, to some extent, overshadowed other important characters. Some characters remained incomplete despite their possibilities.
Still, ‘Buddhazaya’ touched our heart with a unique style of presenting the unconventional theme, depicting a beautiful understanding of human relationship, love and loss, the introspection of the self by putting a question mark on the ultimate truth. Indeed, it was a pleasant felling to read ‘ Buddhazaya.’.