In the novel 'Hiunko Geet', the narrator Tirtha Gurung has captured the primitive rhythm of the life of the Tamu society living with the snow.

The more than 700-year-old history and culture of the Tamu, as well as the story of the dissolution of the last United Khola, is detailed in 'Song of the Snows'. Deepak Sapkota's dialogue with Gurung :

You initially wrote the Shikshakendri novel 'Pathshala'. Readers also liked the story collection 'Apa Kharp'. Were you tempted to write the novel 'Hiunko Geet' because the reader liked the narrative, or did you have a sense of responsibility as a writer to write this novel?

I'm not good at saying a lot in a few words. Even if you want to write poetry, you don't have the melody, the sweet rhythm, or the ability to strike precisely. Or I do not find myself qualified to express my thoughts in an artistic essay. I feel that it is easy to convey my point in stories and novels. Moreover, this narrative seems to have led the era. I have taken 'Hiunko Geet' as a responsibility because I have not found a narrative written in all ways using the Gurung environment, customs and culture. I have seen the fear that Gurung civilization will be limited only to books and museums after fifty years if we consider it as a liability.

Wrote the story of a boy studying in a boarding school in 'Pathshala'. While many readers consider 'Pathshala' as a boarding school narrative, you believe that the elegy is not understood or reviewed in that way, why?

'Pathshala' is definitely a story of a teenager studying in a boarding school. I have tried to write that novel in an allegorical way by weaving the events from the first mass movement to the second mass movement. However, I consider it my weakness not to understand it that way. I must have failed to say it properly. However, this does not mean that the reader should understand what the author has written. The reader is free to read on his own, he is also free not to read. If the reader finds his own point of view in a book, it can be considered a success of the book.

How much do you see the danger that people will ignore the allegory of 'Hiunko Geet' by considering it to be only a seven/eight hundred year old cultural narrative? The

is more likely because the old cultural aspects found in the novel continued to interfere as the primary story was being written. The seed of the story did not grow like that. Although it is seven/eight hundred years old, it is also a contemporary story, a story of a British Gurkha soldier who survived the tragedy of war. Our age is the age of heroes, the age of fake heroes or the age of heroes who have been glorified. An author does not go around explaining his work, but the 'Snow Song' is not only an ancient story, but also a present-day story. As a writer, I make no secret of my wish that it remains relevant in the future. 

How long did it take to write this novel? Where and how did you research? What materials and people did you rely on?

Although the seed of the story was planted seven years ago, I wrote it in pieces, at different times. In between, I prepared a collection of stories and also translated Tim Dai's famous non-fiction 'Ayo Gorkhali' into Nepali. I say that I wrote 'Snow Song' after about four years of doing that. I think that history has taken leaps and bounds in the last 60-70 years. Before that, there was no difference in people's life apart from normal. Other stories I had heard from my childhood of my boy (who was a little jiudalki like the patta pilchi of the novel) became my material. I have been witnessing the rituals performed by the traditional priest Pachyu Lhauri (spelled Lhepri in the novel). I myself reached Khola Sonthar. Dr. Pachyu Solti, a master in his own right. Pol Bahadur Gurung has helped me a lot in this work.

Why should readers read this novel?

This is not the history of the Gurungs. I wouldn't even call it a historical novel. I have not found a standard answer as to why and how the Khola kingdom disintegrated. In that empty space I had the opportunity to create a world of imagination. One can read 'Hiunko Geet' to see the general environment of Gurung village, learn about our belief system and understand the customs and life.

What do you mean by portraying Khola Sonther's novel Tamu Samaj hundreds of years ago? I have a vested interest in choosing

Khola Sonthar. If a novel is written based on a present-day village, other villagers may not want to take ownership over it. We are proud of our own language, village or community, or sometimes even sheer pride. Khola Sompri Thon or Khola Sonthar is the place of our ancestors. A place from where the Gurungs dispersed to other villages. There may be other places like Khola, but I have a deep reverence for Khola, which I heard and later saw, and the only thing I could do for that place of archaeological importance was to make it the background of the 'Snow Song' and it did. 

An attempt to tell a hundred years old story from the genetic memory of the featured character Disco in the first part of 'Hiunko Geet' is seen. Some readers were found suggesting that the novel should have been removed from the first section and started directly from the second section. What could be your explanation for this class of readers? 

Disco's genetic memory is activated by some of his friends. Whether he was hallucinating, or whether he was possessed as if he could be seen somewhere, this can be a matter of discussion. However, the second part of the novel is narrated by him, that too in the ancient Chon language. The suggestion that the

should be left out of the unbelievable thing and kept only in the second section has come before and it seems that it will continue to come tomorrow. However, I consider it to be the main point of the novel. He grew up in his uncle's house because his father rejected him as a son. Reluctantly, he enlists in the British Army. Having to participate in the war against terrorism, he is actually an anti-war man. 

It can be difficult to remember the names of characters in a novel for two reasons. First there are the unheard names called in the typical Tamu language. Those names may be strange and difficult to remember for readers who do not know Tamu language. Second, the characters come up a lot in the novel. How likely is it that the reader will get confused by all the characters and their characterizations? What is the purpose of bringing many characters?

This question was also asked by elders and peers who read the manuscript. I removed some characters and made others anonymous, for example just removing the name of Chromy's Fupazu. Even to name the characters, I worked by listening to the Khema Thiu or Sue Thiu that Pachyu does inside the house in the name of the fathers. Some of the names I made up myself. I took for granted the possibility that readers would be confused if I could not remember all the characters without seeing the book myself. Again, when the story is not only of a particular individual but of an entire state, it is natural to have numerous characters. I sometimes think that not being able to minimize characters is my weakness. The multiplicity of characters is the same as you find in 'Pathshala', that is also the case in the story 'Sarpharuru sitko Sutai' collected in 'Apa Kharp'. After reading 'Mahabharat' once, it may be difficult to remember the characters there, because it has appeared in teleserials and some writers have written another work based on the characters of 'Mahabharata', they are remembered. We rarely remember characters from Greek, Roman and Norse literature. 

How much have you realized that it would be better to have a 'family tree' for reading your own novel now? 

I tried this but there are many protagonists in the novel, whose biological father has not been determined. Again, all the characters throughout the novel do not even have a family relationship with each other, and because the secret of the two protagonists should be revealed at the end, a 'family tree' was not kept.

In the second section, that is, in the original story, all the characters except one Alidev have been taken from the Tamu culture. What is the special purpose of choosing Alidev as a Hindu name?

He is a prominent i.e. illegitimate child and his birth is shrouded in mystery. As the presence of Nani Kuchiri, who raised him, was unacceptable to the King of Khola, she came into exile in Nepal with that child. To us the first son is called 'Ali'. I named him 'Alidev' because he came in contact with Hindus. That is why words like sin and religion are used in Khola. Those words are not in Gurung language. The Tamu community may have come in contact with Hinduism around that time. 

On the one hand, there is a need to document the belief system of the Gurung society, on the other hand, is it too late to do a critical analysis?

Sociologists and anthropologists continue to document our belief systems. Dr. who recently graduated in Anthropology. I have read Pol Bahadur Gurung's thesis. If it is given a comprehensive form, I see that it will become a strong record of the Gurung belief system. I am also of the opinion that there should be a critical analysis on it, because it is only being followed in a traditional way, it seems that it has become like a frozen pond. 

Have myths been helpful in understanding the cultural history of your society?

s which we consider to be mere myths have come riding on the seed of truth. Therefore, the cultural history of the Tamu society is known through a deep study of myths. Pachyu Lahori has numerous such myths, the statement of which has not come out. The Sark sung on the last day of the Pai Sanskar performed after a person's death can be very significant. It is a story of migration itself, where the plha (self) of the deceased is reunited with his ancestors. It takes all day to sing this circle to Sikles Tangting. Earlier, elders used to sit in the middle and listen to the circus sadly, but nowadays I see that order has thinned out. Does the author have any intention in using symbols like 'gun' and 'bow' used in the