लण्डन । काठमाण्डौंको थापाथलीस्थित नर्भिक अस्पतालमा बेहोसीको हालातमा गत विहीबार भर्ना गरिएका प्रसिद्ध उपन्यासकार डायमण्ड शमशेरको भोलिपल्ट अर्थात् शुक्रबार स्वर्गबास भएको छ । ९४ वर्षीय शमशेर डायबिटिज र उच्च रक्तचापको विमारीले थलिएका थिए ।

सन् १९४० बाट लेखनमा हात हालेका डायमण्ड शमशेरले प्रतिवद्ध, सेतो बाघ, The wake of the white tiger, बसन्ती, अनिता, धनको धब्बा, गृह प्रवेश, सत्-प्रयास आदि पुस्तकहरु दस्तावेजको रुपमा दिएका छन् । उनले ९३ वर्षको उमेरमा दिएका एक अन्तर्वार्तामा भनेका थिए – “मसँग यति धेरै प्लटहरु छन् कि ती सबैलाई उपन्यासको रुपमा तयार पार्न सकिन्छ तर आँखाको कमजोरीले गर्दा त्यसलाई साकार पार्न सकेको छैन ।”

एक अँग्रेजी अन्तरवार्तामा उनले यसरी आफ्नो बारेमा बताएका थिए, जसलाई स्पाइनीबब्लर डट ओर्गबाट साभार गरिएको छ –“In 1914, during the first great war, my grandfather went to India to assist the British. He stayed there for six years and learned the English language. When he returned to Nepal, which was towards the end of the First World War, he took up a position as governor of Palpa again and, during that time, I was born. My grandfather was taken up by the English language and thus named me Diamond Shumshere Jung Bahadur Rana. My parents wondered what ‘diamond’ meant, and when my grandfather explained it was a hira, they became very pleased. Afterwards, my grandfather was stationed in Kathmandu and we lived in Thapathali for five years. Then, at the age of five, we moved to Kupondol where I have lived all the past years. While living in Kupondol, I attended Patan School. When I was ten years old, my father became the governor of Birgunj where there were no schools so I had a private tutor. He was a Bengali from Calcutta and taught me English literature. Back then, people used to say that he was the first Indian professor to be in Nepal. We studied Shakespeare most of all.
“Around the time I had to give my School Leaving Certificate (SLC) examinations, I was commissioned as a captain in the Royal Nepal Army and my grandfather received the governorship of Hanuman Nagar. So I spent five years there. When I came back to Kathmandu to sit for my SLC exams, the Second World War broke out. I also found that the subject I had studied was not accepted for the SLC exams. They did not cover the subject. Because of the war, I could not visit India as an army officer and this limited my chances of giving my SLC exams there. My family sent me to Mau Military School, an institution in India for military training. Other than this, I have received no formal education.”

चितवनमा शिकार खेल्न गएका जँगबहादुर राणाले जँगलमा सेतो बाघ देखेको घटनाले सो समयमा निक्कै नै चर्चा पाएको थियो । १०४ वर्षसम्मको राणा शासनलाई शिल्यान्यास गर्ने जंगबहादुर राणाले आफ्नो शासनको अनि जीवनको बूढ्यौलो उमेर देखेको भनेको सो सेता बाघलाई उनको नजरको धोका हो भनियो, भ्रम हो भनियो तर त्यसलाई अर्थपूर्ण किसिमले नयाँ थालनीको उदयको रुपमा भने लेखक डायमण्ड शमशेरले आफ्नो उपन्यास सेतो बाघमा दर्शाएका थिए, जसको पछि अँग्रेजीमा पनि रुपान्तर गरियो । त्यस्तै, गगन थापाको जीवन उदय र पतनका साथै जँगबहादुरकै उदयलाई आधार बनाएर निमार्ण गरिएको बसन्ती उपन्यास एक सफल उपन्यासको रुपमा रहेको छ ।

९४ वर्षको उमेरमा बितेका लेखक शमशेरको मृत्युले साँच्चैमा नेपाली साहित्यमा निक्कै नै अपूरणीय क्षति बनेको छ ।-नीर, मेस