ABOUT THE WRITER 👇

Shankar Lamichhane
Shankar Lamichhane (1928-1975) was born in Kathmandu but lived in Banaras with his
uncle at a young age. After receiving college education at Tri-Chandra College in
Kathmandu, he took his first job at the age of twenty-two and worked for a number
of governmental and cultural institutions in the capital. In his later years, he became the
manager of a handicrafts store. Lamichhane was an admirer of modern American fiction
and frequently mixed with foreign visitors to Nepal. His stories are heavy with symbolism,
often lacking a conventional plot and more closely resembling essays, but his prose is rich
and poetic.
ABOUT THE STORY 👇
The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun
"The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun" is a short story that has
been written by Nepalese writer Shankar Lamichhane. This story had been published in
the year 1991. This story has been taken from Himalayan Voices: An Introduction to
Nepali Literature. It has been translated and edited by a professor of Nepali
named Michael Hutt.
This story is all in all about the beautiful country Nepal and its various aspects related to
the history, culture, religion, people and their survival.
This story has been presented in a narrative form. This story has been told in a simple form
presenting a discussion between two characters: a Nepali tour guide and a foreign tourist.
This story is quite different from the conventional form of stories.

There are two main characters here in this story: a Nepali guide and a foreign tourist. Both
of the characters are the main narrators of this story. This story is based on the
monologues of these two characters who keep on talking about various aspects regarding
the beautiful country Nepal.
This story has been written using a stream of consciousness technique. This story has
presented the setting of Kathmandu valley and its different places.
CHARACTERS IN THE STORY 👇
1. The tourist: The main narrator of the story. He is a foreign guest in Nepal. He has an
aesthetic vision regarding the beautiful country Nepal based on his study in history, culture
and religion.
2. The Guide: Another main narrator, a Nepalese person who works as a tourist guide. He
has good knowledge of Nepalese art, culture, geography and religion.
3. The farmer's family: The poor and simple farmer's family living in a remote village with
lots of hardships in their lives. They are quite hopeful about the doctor. They have deep
faith, intimacy, kindliness, and gratitude in themselves.
4. A paralyzed child: A small boy who is affected by Polio. His whole body is useless. He is
unable to speak, move his hands, chew his food, or even spit. Among his other body parts,
his eyes are only the living parts in his body.

MAIN PLOT OF 👇
The Half-Closed Eyes of the Buddha and the Slowly Sinking Sun
TOURIST'S HAPPINESS ON THE LAND OF KATHMANDU VALLEY :
When the story begins, we find the tourist quite happy. He describes his initial impression
of the Kathmandu valley as being Joyous. He describes the aesthetic beauty of the green
valley with its geometric fields, different colours of the houses, scent of soil and mountains
in the air. He feels an age-old peacefulness in the atmosphere of Kathmandu valley. He
enjoys the tranquil environment a lot.
Later, the tourist adds that the West is indebted to the East. According to him, the East has
contributed so many things, such as the Purans, images of brass and ornaments of ivory,
palm leaf manuscripts, and copperplate's inscriptions.
TOURIST'S CLAIM REGARDING HIS KNOWLEDGE
The tourist tells about his knowledge related to the history of the country Nepal. He tells
his guide to help him in his guidance. The tourist seems well-versed in Nepalese history. He
tells his guide that he has spent many years reading books regarding Nepal and its history.
According to him, the guide will lead him in the present situations but he will take the
guide in the ancient ways.
A bit later he starts telling him the story of Manjushri and Chobhar's history. According to
him, Manjushri was the person who stroke the hills of Chobhar with his sword to let the
water of Kathmandu valley out. Due to him, the settlement of the people was possible in the
valley.

The tourist relates the guide about the monks and nuns receiving alms and spreading the
law in the nooks and crannies of the Kasthamandap. He even talks about the gaze of
shaven-headed monks. According to him, it is called the samyak gaze which is perception,
pure and without contamination; a sight that perceives everything in its true form.

The tourist says to his guide about the creativity of Nepalese people. He starts talking about
wooden images, artists, music and different cultures of Nepal. He thinks that Nepali people
are wonderful and exceptional. He finds Nepali people quite creative through their creative
abilities. He sees different wooden images, ornamentation, and beautiful images of deities.
He even hears enchanting music from traditional musical instruments.
He even finds various cultures in the Kathmandu valley. In Kathmandu, he finds different
communities such as Aryans, no-Aryans, Hindus, and Buddhists. All these people of
different communities co-exist with each other for ages in peace and harmony.
The tourist expresses his gratitude to the guide for supplying him with Nepali and Newari
food items. He likes momos very much. He starts telling a scene to the guide. He relates
about a house during winter to the guide. He tells about an old man in the house who tells
the history of Princess Bhirkuti and King Amshuvarma to his grandson. The old woman
smoking hookah is making momo. The old man burns his tongue while swallowing a piece
of hot momo. The grandson laughs to find his grandfather's unclear words. The tourist
admits that these scenes can't be read in the books at libraries.
Next, the tourist expresses his joy through the concept of various kinds of smiles which he
receives wherever he goes. He assumes himself in various relationships as son, landowner,
husband, sister's husband's friend. He feels so happy to get these smiles everywhere in the
land of Nepal. According to him, the smile is from the soul and full of wisdom. He adds one
more drink in the name of Nepalese sweet smile.
After that, their discussion moves into a new topic of eyes. They talk about different kinds
of eyes as the eyes of the carved lattice windows, the eyes on the door panels, the eyes on the
stupas, the eyes of the people, the eyes of the Himalaya, and the half-closed eyes of the Lord
Buddha. The tourist refers to the land of the country Nepal as the land of eyes which is
guarded by the half-closed eyes of the Buddha.
The tourist desires to go to lonely places to see stupa's clear eyes where he wants to see the
pleasant light of sunset reflected in the eyes of the Buddha. He asks the guide to show him
beautiful, full eyes, eyes without equal, eyes whose memory will make his journey
unforgettable.

GUIDE TAKES THE TOURIST TO CHOBHAR

The guide takes the tourist to Chobar to show him some eyes. He shows him the cleft that
was made by Manjushri and the outflow of the Bagmati River.
The guide tells him about the temple of Adinath which is located in the middle of the
village. According to him, in the temple country yard, there is a shrine of Lord Shiva,
several Buddha Images and many prayers wheels. The tourist feels that the temple of
Adinath is a living example of Nepalese tolerance and coexistence.
Later, the guide takes the tourist to a remote village to show him the pulse of reality. He
wants to show him poverty, hard labour, miserable living style, the reality behind the eyes
of the poor.
He takes the tourist to a poor farmer's house. He shows him a boy from a farmer's family
who is in a miserable state. Here, the tourist discovers the pulse of reality. The small boy is
affected by Polio whose whole body is useless. He is unable to speak, move his hands, chew
his food, or even spit. Among his other body parts, his eyes are only the living parts in his
body.
He tells the tourist about his lie. When he introduces the tourist as a doctor to the parents
of the boy, the parents become too much happy. Their eyes have a deep faith towards the
tourist. There is intimacy, kindliness and gratitude on their faces about him. He even
relates about the hope of the family that will shatter along with the departure of the
tourist.
The guide even shows the boy's sister to the tourist. She is a fine girl whose body functions
properly. She can speak, crawl and move her body freely.
At last, the guide differentiates various kinds of eyes. He explains the values and
importance of those eyes along with the hidden meanings of different types of looks. For
him, the natural beauty of the land, people's lives, their long-term harmonious
relationships, their hardships and sorrows, religions, end of life etc have their meanings
and importance. All these aspects are as beautiful as the sinking sun's reflection in the eyes
of the Buddha.