The Circle of Karma - Truly Bhutanese!

This book was on my shelf since 2006. I never attempted to read it. I always preferred to read novels of Daniel Steel, Sidney Sheldon, Agatha Christie, Nicholas Sparks and etc. Finally I read it and it was a nice change. This novel is first novel by a women to come out of the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. Unlike those novels written in western context, this novel based on a Bhutanese setting represents various aspects of rich Bhutanese culture and pattern.

Photo from Google.

It gives a clear and tough picture of the kind of life a Bhutanese village woman lives. The importance of Karma or one’s actions, whether good or bad is clearly portrayed. This novel gives the message that each human being will experience the consequence of his/her Karma in one or other way, in this birth itself. There is no escape from that. God has created each of us in this way.

The author, Kunzang Choden, in this novel tells the story of Tsomo, a young Bhutanese woman who embarks on the difficult and lonely journey of life. She lives in her village with her father, mother, sister and brothers. By the description of the culture and looking at some of the local phrases mentioned, the place seems to be in the eastern part of Bhutan (Bumthang).

She was denied the freedom to learn, read and write though she is very much interested because she is a girl. She had to accept this painfully. Tsomo learns how to become a good housewife from her mother until her mother dies when she turns fifteen. Her father marries again but the thoughts of her mother still lingers. So, Tsomo decides to go to Trongsa (a holy place) to light butter lamps for her mother’s first death anniversary. That is the beginning of Tsomo’s travel. Tsomo’s travels, which begin after her mother's death, take her away from her family, and leads her across Bhutan and into India.

On the way to Trongsa she falls in love with Wangchen who was already married and had children. Tsomo’s happiness of her married life is only short lived when she gets pregnant but she delivers a dead baby. After that, her belly becomes permanently swollen and she suffers that illness for a long time. Her husband falls in love with her younger sister and she was disregarded and unnoticed. Being hurt by the betrayal, Tsomo leaves her house. She travels within Bhutan and as far as India and Nepal. On her journey she meets many people who were experiencing the results of their karma like herself. She learns a lot from her journeys.

One more man comes in her life as her partner, but that marriage also fails. The man treates her like a slave and exploits her. At last, he too leaves her for a young beautiful girl, with whom he turns to be a perfect husband, completely opposite from what he was like when he was with Tsomo. Tsomo undergoes the circle of Karma repeatedly in her life. All these bitter experiences help her to develop into a new person and woman. She understands herself in her long journey and meets with many Buddhist monks. Finally, she becomes a nun and through her spiritual life, she gets permanent peace and happiness. Reading this novel was a completely different experience to me. Everything in the book, the scenes, the setting, the events, everything was Bhutanese. I look forward to read more Bhutanese novels.