Despite the small market and requirement of funds while bringing out a book, a number of Bhutanese writers are writing novels and compiling a collection of short stories. This is a positive sign for the growth of literary culture in the country.
Adding one more book to this growth, two former journalists Sonam Tashi and Riku Dhan Subba released their first collection of short stories titled ‘In Love with Butterflies and Other Stories’ yesterday.
The book reflects the changes the Bhutanese society is undergoing through realistic characters, current events and messages. It touches on issues of smuggling, alcoholism and treatment of women among others.
The book has 30 stories, 15 each by the two authors. The release of their first publication is a celebration of their friendship and their journey as a writer.
“The reason for coming up with this book is to give something new to the Bhutanese readers with a different approach to writing literature in the country. And both of us worked as a journalist before, we had also covered a lot of stories when we were reporting. And from those stories, some stories we fictionalized it, “Riku Dhan Subba, one of the authors, said.
As Bhutan is undergoing changes socially, politically and economically, the country needs more matured writers who can shed light on societal strengths and weaknesses to remind society of the lessons they should learn and questions they should ask.
“We need to push the boundary into more world-class fiction, into a more matured storytelling and not totally fall back on folklore all the time. Folklore is our bedrock but then we need to evolve into a modern way of the storytelling,” Gopilal Acharya, a journalist and writer, said.
In Love with Butterflies and Other Stories is an effort from these two authors to make a mark in Bhutanese contemporary writing.
