JHAMAK GHIMIRE: An inspiration for many

During an interview, Jhamak Kumari said that she daily reads about 12 hours or even more. Photo: telltaleladies.com

By LB THAPA

Jhamak Kumari Ghimire has achieved the seemingly impossible feat of success by winning the Madan Puruskar, the nation’s most prestigious literary award, for her autobiographical essays Jiwan Kanda ki phool (A flower in the midst of thorns). Jhamak has proved that nothing is impossible before hard work and strong determination.

 

Jhamak Kumari Ghirire was born in Dhankuta in 1980 with a rare form of disease named cerebral palsy. This was a group disorder that affects the functions of the brain and the nervous system. This rare physical disorder made her unable to stand on her feet and use both of her hands. Having been unable to go to school, she was forced to spend all day at home. Jhamak wanted to go to school like many other boys and girls of her age, but physical disability confined her within the four walls of her house.

 

Jhamak was not an ordinary girl like many others. She was a girl who had a strong mental attitude. She decided to read on her own. Since neither of her hands could support her intense urge to hold a book and pen, she trained her left foot to hold a pen. Jhamak held a twig with the help of her toe and the middle finger and wrote on the ground. Her early effort, however, was not welcomed by her parents. Superstitions riddled the society where Jhamak was born. When Jhamak began practicing writing Nepali letters on the ground, her parents opposed it. They stopped her, saying writing on the ground would bring a bad omen to the family.

 

Remembering those struggles of the early days, Jhamak writes in her autobiography. “I went through a litany of extremely hard work beyond imagination for years; only then could I learn to write on paper with ease. Before that, I would write on open ground, using my toe and middle finger.

 

“After many unsuccessful attempts at writing on paper, finally I succeeded. Writing on paper was a remarkable feat of success for me. It was something like a dream come true. As days progressed, I saw awkward letters on papers, but those moments were delightful. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw I could write well, as many normal people do write with their hands. I was so elated at my success that I can’t express it in words”.

 

Ghimire continued her writing practice on paper with her toe and the finger of her foot. And as she practiced more, she began writing much better than ever before. Today, Ghimire has reached the highest pedestal of success, where she is recognized as a living literary legend of Nepal.

 

She is a regular columnist of several national dailies, weeklies, and monthlies. Besides regular contributions to different media, she has penned over one dozen books. Ghimire’s life is full of creativity, and there are many things that we can learn from her life. She is, in short, an epitome of hard work and courage.

 

Jhamak is a voracious reader. She reads about 12 hours or even more every day. “I read more than I write. I get a tremendous amount of pleasure and satisfaction from reading. This is the reason I read more. I have maintained a small library of my own where I have collected some books of my interest,” said Jhamak during a TV interview.

 

Jhamak was born in a society where women had no dignity. On top, a handicapped woman is no more than an eyesore. Ours is a society where a female child is considered no more than a liability. At this crossroads, Jhamak had decided to stand against all odds. This was without doubt a daunting task indeed. Jhamak had decided to live a dignified life. For this, she determined to hold a pen and create literature straight from her heart.

 

There was no one to commiserate with her predicaments. She imposed strict discipline and practiced hard to hone her literary skill. Although no one came forward to support her, she fought her battle on her own. She took everything as a challenge. To some extent, her disability came in the guise of a blessing to Jhamak. A physically abled girl is expected to do many household activities. But Jhamak was free from this responsibility. She utilized her time to read, write, and hone her skills to a great deal.

 

Jhamak’s story tells a tale of hardship, humiliation, superstition, and social discrimination against women who are physically challenged in Nepal. Jamak’s autobiography is full of the experiences that she went through all her life. Now the government must take this issue seriously and ensure a dignified life for people with physical disabilities. In fact, there are hundreds of thousands of people across the country who are mentally or physically disabled. They need timely support before they succumb to helplessness and negligence. However, most unfortunately, our political leaders give flowery speeches to win people’s support but in reality do nothing to improve the life standard of physically disabled people.

 

Jhamak has penned four collections of poems, a collection of essays, a collection of articles, and two collections of stories. Today, Jhamak has become successful enough to earn enough money to support herself and her family from the earnings of her books and articles published in various magazines and newspapers.

 

Meanwhile, she has also won several prestigious awards like ‘Kavitaram Bal Sahitya Prativa Puruskar-2055,' ‘Aswikrit Bichaar Sahitya Puruskar-2056,' ‘Captain Gopal Prasad Jankalyan Puruskar-2057,' ‘Prabal Gorkha Dakchhin Bahu, Chautho-2057,' ‘Apang Prativa Prativa 2057,' ‘Dr. Bimlawani Puruskar 2062,' ‘An honor from Nepal Government 2063,' ‘Chhetriya Prativa Puruskar 2065,' and ‘Dhankuta Prativa Puruskar 2066.'

 

Through hard work, Jhamak has shown that no disability can stand against strong willpower and hard work. If no one agrees, then pip into the life of Jhamak Ghimire. Today Jhamak has become an epitome of success and courage when many people think physical disability is a curse and the disabled are simply a burden to the family.

 

A MOVIE ABOUT THE LIFE OF JHAMAK KUMARI GHIMIRE

Binod Bista, a Manipur-based film director, was much impressed with the life of Jhamak Kumari Ghimire. Actually, director Bista happened to know about Jhamak Kumari Ghimire while reading a newspaper article. His curiosity about the life and work of Jhamak Kumari Ghimire led him to make a full-length movie.

 

Director Bista met Ghimire and expressed his intention of making a movie about her life. Ghimire gave permission to film about her life, but on one condition: the script of the movie must be approved by her. Bista immediately agreed to Ghimire’s demand and started making the movie.

 

The script of the movie was written by Mukti Baral. When the script was ready, he showed it to Ghimire. After a few changes, the script was finalized, and the shooting of the movie began.

 

While speaking with different media, director Bista said that his real intention of making the film was to glorify the extraordinary talent of Ghimire, but not to make any monetary gain. It is, therefore, audiences can see the absence of a commercial element in the film.

 

Finally, the movie “Jiwan Kanda ki phool (A flower in the midst of thorns)" hit the cinema theaters on 22 November 2019. And the film was much appreciated by the audiences and critics at home and abroad.  

 

LB Thapa is a Pokhara-based freelance writer and author.

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