Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star

-Mark Lilla and Chapman Bishop Berry

Summary:

"Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star" is a travelogue taken from the article 'Karnali, Roadless World of Western Nepal' prepared as a research project by two American geographers. They spent nearly 15 months in the hills of western Nepal to explore how Karnali region is economically linked with the lowland regions to the south. These geographers have brought four events in the text- their meeting with a chhetri woman, people processing silajit, their encounter with cutting down trees and the people of Karnali buying and selling things. 

The essay begins with the description of some Karnali people who are making their annual trip to Nepalgunj, a commercial centre in the western lowlands of Nepal. They carry medicinal herbs, hashish, hand-knit sweaters and blankets to sell them in Nepalgunj. It helps them to buy the conventional household items for the whole year. On their way, the geographers meet a chhetri woman who tells them that her husband had gone to Terai 15 years ago, but didn't return. She requests them to find him. This makes the geographers wonder that how small is the world for an uneducated woman in the remote regions of Nepal.

The geographers also find some persons processing Silajit on their way. When they are asked why it's not processed at their home, one of them replies- 'One must begin one's trip when the propitious day arrives'. This event is indicative to the authors that karnali people aren't only ignorant but they are superstitious as well. 

On their way down, they find some persons cutting down the leaves and twigs in the Sal forest for feeding their cattle. When the researchers ask about its future effects, they shrug and reply- 'what can we do? The animals must eat today'. Such remarks makes it clear to the writers how these ignorant Nepalese are running after their immediate gain. They are destroying the wild forests rapidly inviting the natural calamities. They don't think about its outcome but the authors find that the slopes will soon turn into a bare land.

When they reach Nepalgunj, most of their fellow travellers buy conventional household items needed for the smooth running of their house. Karma, one of the karnali inhabitants, spends all of his money on distillery equipments which will help him to make liquor at home and earns enough money to buy everything in Jumla. This is indicative of those people who want to solve their problems permanently. Most of them aren't concerned about how long they continue making painful annual journey to Terai. The essay ends with an exploration of the region where agriculture product is very low, people must work hard and combine farming with 'other pursuits' to survive.

Q.1 How is Karnali linked economically with the low land regions to the south?  [057/061/063] 

=> Geographically, Karnali lies to the northern part of our kingdom. As it is made up of very sloppy hills, there are many problems. People do not have transportation and other facilities for their better survival. There is no sufficient cultivable land. So, they have to depend on the lowland regions to the south.

People of karnali cannot sell their products in their localities. To sell their items like medicinal herbs, silajit, hashish, hand-knit sweaters and blankets, they have to go to Nepalgunj. Similarly, they cannot buy goods in their places. For this purpose also, they have to depend upon lowland regions. People of Karnali have to depend upon lowland region for their jobs also. Being undeveloped part, it does not have factories. To earn livelihood, young people have no better options than leaving their places and working in the lowland region.

Q.2 What did the two writers learn about the life and culture of the people of the Karnali region during their journey on foot? [059] 

=> ‘Hurried Trip to Avoid a Bad Star” is written by American geographers M. Lilla and C. Bishop Barry. Their essay presents social, economic and educational aspects of Karnali region. To present these aspects, they have brought four events in the text- their meeting with a chhetri woman and the people processing silajit, and their encounter cutting down trees and the people of Karnali buying and selling things. The two writers learnt that the people of Karnali are innocent, simple, laborious and uneducated. Their world is narrow and limited. The Chhetri woman asks the travelers to find her husband and send him to the village. They live in geographically difficult part completely depending on their own or animal strength. They are ignorant about soil erosion and deforestation. Not only that, alcohol consumption in Karnali region is high because one of the porters buys distillery equipments in the bazaar of Nepalgunj. He hopes that he would sell liqueur and earn enough money to buy goods in Karnali. 

Q.3 What is Silajit and how do the Karnali people process it?

Ans:- Silajit is commonly used in Ayurvdic medicine. It is an effective and safe supplement that can have a positive effect on your overall health and well-being.

Silajit is a sticky substance found primarily in the rocks of the Himalayas. It develops over centuries from the slow decomposition of plants.

Karnali people collect Silajit that oozes from the rocks in their home valley of Sinja, far to the north of Nepal. It is boiled and unwanted materials like straws, soil, pebbles and other dirts are removed from it. When it is cool it becomes thicker in consistency. After complete drying, the purified Silajit is obtained to be used for therapeutic purposes. Karnali people have this knowledge to process Silajit.

The End