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Singh 1

INTRODUCTION

SARRC Literature

The Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature is the only apex body in the SAARC region,

working under the SAARC banner, projecting, nurturing and strengthening cultural connectivity

through literary and cultural interactions among the SAARC countries, for peace and tranquility

in the region, through people-to-people contacts and dialogue.

FOSWAL launched its vision of cultural bonding among the neighbouring SAARC countries in

1987, and emerged as the first and the only non government organization working in the specific

area of culture, for creating cultural connectivity through a think tank of intellectuals and writers,

creative fraternity and peace activities, who have common sensitivities and common concerns for

the socio-cultural-political-economic-tribal-gender issues of the region. FOSWAL organises

variety of art, literature and culture related festivals ensuring participations of eminent writers

and scholars from across South Asian region.

The horizon of English literature is ever expanding. It no longer means British literature or

American literature or Commonwealth literature; it refers to a number of literatures prospering

under its umbrella and is always receptive to new entries. Just a few decades back Canadian

literature, Australian literature, Caribbean literature and New Zealandian literature were

nonentity. Even Commonwealth literature as a new body of literature got recognisation around

1960 with the introduction of a course in Commonwealth literature at the School of English in

the University of Leads under the guidance of A.N. Jeffares, followed by the establishment of a

Chair of Commonwealth literature and the publication of The Journal of Commonwealth


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Literature edited by Arthur Ravenscraft. (Narasimhaiah, 16)

This context takes me to the main issue of making a plea for SAARC literature. Here lies a

good opportunity for India, to be precise for Indian universities to play the role that the

University of Lead in England played in the formation of Commonwealth literature. Indian

University must take a lead to form a Chair for SAARC literature in English, collect all the

scattered materials at one place and initiate a course in it. It may be a good point to take off

SAARC literature and make a strong case to be recognized as a distinguished body in New

Literatures. This one act alone would give tremendous boost to the creative talents in SAARC

countries and would certainly promote the objectives with which SAARC was formed. As we

know the acronym SAARC stands for South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation which

is a political organization of eight countries namely India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka,

Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives and Afghanistan founded on common cultural and historical ties

besides geographical proximity. Cultural and literary exchange among member countries is on

the agenda of SAARC. Keeping historical, geographical, cultural, racial and linguistic proximity

in mind and the sheer bulk of literature produced in these countries make a strong case for

SAARC literature. What is significant is the recent spurt of creative writings in English from

these countries particularly from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The

contemporary writers consisting mainly of South Asian Diaspora have many issues in common

like ethnic strife, subaltern condition of women, minorities and Dalits, socio-economic problems

gripping their motherlands besides diasporic sensibilities. The paper examines it as a paradigm

shift and explores possibility of a new literary group with greater homogeneity than what exists

in Commonwealth countries. It attempts to present a creative contour of these countries from a


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historical perspective.

Five of the SAARC countries have been the ex-colonies of Britain and they still sustain the

common colonial after-effects. Their commonalities can be seen in culture and tradition,

religion and philosophy, history and folk lore apart from inter connecting geographical

boundaries. From religious point of view Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity and

Sikhism is practiced in all the SAARC countries in different proportions. Linguistically

Urdu is common to Pakistan and India, Bengali to India and Bangladesh, Tamil to India and

Sri Lanka, and English with all the SAARC countries as an acquired language. And more,

these languages belong to the Indo-European language group. English in India, Pakistan

and Bangladesh is virtually a naturalized language. In India alone people using English

outnumber those in Britain itself. They have an exclusive branch of creative writing like

Indian writing in English. It's a fact that creative writing in English in the SAARC countries

is much more than in the British colonies in European countries. (CN. viii).

India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have gone through the same trauma of colonialism and

partition. Despite political partition, emotional, cultural and spiritual bond still exists. Above all

creative writers and artists know no boundary.

India's proximity with Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka is well known. In Sri Lanka both Tamil

and Sinhalese are of Indian origin. Similarly the early settlers in Maldives were Dravidian and

Sinhalese people who practiced Buddhism. Islam was adopted only in 1153 A.D. As for

Afghanistan it was a part of Mauryas kingdom. The inference is that all these countries have

been a part of cultural India. Consequently the oral tradition of literature, myths and legends and

even the creative writing today has several things in common. It is unfortunate that except
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India, no other SAARC country has got due space for their literary contribution. A brief outline

of creative writings in English in each member country excluding India would suffice the

purpose here.

Faced with turmoil, political uncertainty and a constant surge of violence Pakistan could

produce only two novelists worthy of the name in the first three decades of Independence. The

first one is Ahmed Ali, the author of Twilight in Delhi (1940) and Ocean of Night (1964). The

second is Zulfikar Ghose whose novel The Murder of Aziz Khan in (1967) brought him close to

Pakistan though he never lived in Pakistan. He settled in Brazil. However, Pakistan lays claim on

them as Pakistan national writers. In Bhutanese society women are more permissive and

Premarital sex is not considered disgraceful as it is in India. The Republic of Maldives consists

of about 1300 small coral islands of which only 202 are inhabited. It has ethnically mixed

population of races like Dravidian, Sinhalese, Arab and Chinese. It got independence from the

British rule in 1965 and joined this British Commonwealth in 1982. I have no information of

Maldivian's novel in English. However, there are a few poets who merit critical attention. It is the

Gestures : An Anthology of South Asian Poetry published by Sahitya Akademi in 1996 that

familiarizes us with the poetry written in SAARC countries.

The important Maldivian poets are Abdulla Fahumy Didi, Adbulla Sadiq, Adam Abdurrahrnan,

Muhammad Jameel, Saeed Ali Falhu, Yosuf Mohamed Falhu and Farah Didi.

Sri Lanka's cultural, historical, linguistic, mythical and geographical proximity with India is

Too obvious to be deliberated here. Buddhism is the greatest of all links. Interestingly Sri Lanka

Is next to India among SAARC countries that has produced such a rich corpus of fiction and

Poetry and is marching fast towards an independent identity in Commonwealth literature. It has a
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Long list of writers in English published from reputed publication houses like Penguin. Carl

Muller, Jean Arasanayagam, Kamala Wijieratne, Premini Amarasinghe, Ashaley Halpe, Tissa,

Rajiva Wijesinha, James Goonawardene to name just a few have explored the Sri Lankan

Psyche, ethnic strife, violence, anger, fear and suspicion in narratives and poetry in English and

They are getting international recognition and critical attention.

Indian literature in English with thousands of writers in every genre, one Nobel prize, (and

in the second India has its share;) five Booker Prizes, the Booker of the Booker several

Commonwealth Prizes and millions of readers need no introduction here as elsewhere. India has

To play a key role if SAARC literature is to acquire its own entity. India can be both a cementing

And a dispelling force. No doubt India is trying hard to develop greater social, economic and

Cultural ties among member nations. Others also claim the same.

Homogeneity and proximity why has it not evolved as a cohesive group? To me reason lies in

India's natural position as a big brother economically, culturally, politically, strategically or in

Terms of literature. Other countries of the group fall too short of India. This breeds a feeling of

Apprehension, suspicion and fear. Political disturbances in these countries and the political

Relation among them has hampered the growth of the sub-continent and of a literary group.

Rajiva Wijesinha, a Sri Lankan novelist, investigates the reasons behind the poor growth of the

Sub-continent. He refers to the partition of India, cosy relationship of Sri Lanka with the British

Ruler, Sri Lanka government's measure to disenfranchise the Indian Tamils from the tea estates,

Indo-Pak wars, India’s hegemonic ambitions in the subcontinent and finally the 1987 Accord

Between Indian and Sri Lankan government gave rise to the feeling of apprehension and

Suspicion in the people of the subcontinent.


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Indian Literature

Indian literature, writings of the Indian subcontinent, produced there in a variety of vernacular

languages,

including Sanskrit, Prakrit, Pali, Bengali, Bihari, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayala

m, Oriya, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Lahnda, Siraiki, and Sindhi, among others,

as well as in English. The term Indian literature is used here to refer to literature produced across

the Indian subcontinent prior to the creation of the Republic of India in 1947 and within the

Republic of India after 1947. The earliest Indian literature took the form of the canonical Hindu

sacred writings, known as the Veda, which were written in Sanskrit. To the Veda were added

prose commentaries such as the Brahmanas and the Upanishads. The production of Sanskrit

literature extended from about 1500 BCE to about 1000 CE and reached its height of

development in the 1st to 7th centuries CE. In addition to sacred and philosophical writings,

such genres as erotic and devotional lyrics, court poetry, plays, and narrative folktales emerged.

Because Sanskrit was identified with the Brahminical religion of the Vedas, Buddhism

and Jainism adopted other literary languages (Pali and Ardhamagadhi, respectively). From these

and other related languages emerged the modern languages of northern India. The literature of

those languages depended largely on the ancient Indian background, which includes two

Sanskrit epic poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana, as well as the Bhagavata-purana and the

other Puranas. In addition, the Sanskrit philosophies were the source of philosophical writing in

the later literatures, and the Sanskrit schools of rhetoric were of great importance for the

development of court poetry in many of the modern literatures. The South Indian language of
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Tamil is an exception to this pattern of Sanskrit influence because it had a classical tradition of

its own. Urdu and Sindhi are other exceptions.

Beginning in the 19th century, particularly during the height of British control over the

subcontinent, Western literary models had an impact on Indian literature, the most striking result

being the introduction of the use of vernacular prose on a major scale. Such forms as

the novel and short story began to be adopted by Indian writers, as did realism and an interest in

social questions and psychological description. A tradition of literature in English was also

established in the subcontinent.

Articles on individual literatures of the Indian subcontinent not specified above include Pali

literature, Bengali literature, Gujarati literature, Hindi literature, Kannada literature, Punjabi

literature, Tamil literature, Telugu literature, Urdu literature, and Sindhi literature.

Kunzag Choden

Choden was born in Bumthang District. At the age of nine, her father sent her to school in India,

where she learned English. She is the first Bhutanese woman to write a novel in English. Her

parents were feudal landlords. She has a Bachelor Honours in Psychology from Indraprastha

College in Delhi and a Bachelor in Sociology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

She has worked for the United Nations Development Program in Bhutan. The Circle of Karma,

published 2005, is her first novel. lieutenant takes place in the 1950s, the initial period of

imperially regulated modernization in Bhutan. The main character, a Bhutanese woman and

road-builder by occupation, is forced to deal both with the traditional, restrictive gender roles of

pre-modern Bhutan and the new kinds of sexism developing as men gain economic freedom.
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This is, apparently the first novel to be published by a female Bhutanese writer and a very fine

novel it is. It tells the story of Tsomo who, while not fully based on the author, certainly shares

some characteristics and experiences of her creator. It is set in the 1950s, when the Kingdom of

Bhutan had started to modernize, but attitudes towards women remained resolutely old-fashioned

and, as Choden shows, the lot of women was not generally happy. We first meet Tsomo as a

teenage girl. She is the oldest girl (and third child) of twelve (though several of the children die

young). Her mother’s family was comparatively well-off by local standards. Her father was

much older than her mother. He was a gomchen (a lay monk) and a very well-respected scholar,

who had remained single till middle age and then suddenly, decided he needed a wife and

selected Tsomo’s mother. He remains remote to his family, immersing himself in his studies as

well as providing religious services for the community. Tsomo is clearly an intelligent woman

though, as a woman she cannot expect to receive education (unlike her creator, who did). Her

father teaches some of the local boys (but not girls) in religious matters and Tsomo hides behind

the paper thin walls and listens to the classes. However, she is unable to learn to read and write

(and will never do so). Her role, as a woman, is to help in the house and she has to assist her

mother, which she does. The background is very religious. Spirits, the idea of karma, fate and

destiny all play a key role in their lives. Tsomo’s fate was decreed by an astrologer when she was

born. She would always be restless and travelling. At the beginning of the novel, we follow

Tsomo’s life as she becomes more and more immersed in household duties, while wishing to

follow the religious/scholarly life of her father, a path which, of course, is not open to

women. You are a girl. You are different. You learn other things that will make you good woman
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and a good wife. Learn to cook, weave and all those things. A woman does not need to know

how to read and write, her father says to her.

Tsomo is exposed to sex fairly early on. The local boys and girls seem to have rough games

which involve the boys exposing the girls’ breasts, while the girls expose the boys’ genitals.

When Tsomo’s friend, Chimme, gets pregnant – he had, of course, promised to love her but now

denies everything – she realizes how hard it is for women. Fortunately for Chimme, a man comes

into her life who accepts her and her baby daughter. Tsomo’s mother becomes pregnant again

but this time things do not go so well and she dies, without having given birth. Tsomo has to take

on some of her mother’s duties, till her father marries again, a woman not much older than

Tsomo. When she goes off to the shrine, several days distance, on the first anniversary of her

mother’s death, she meets a man, Wangchen, and they have an affair. She gets pregnant and

finds out that he is already married with a child. However, he agrees to come to her home after

she returns and he does, eventually, come. But things get worse. The baby is still-born and

Wangchen starts an affair with Tsomo’s sister. He sees no problem in sleeping with both women.

When Kesang, her sister, gives birth to a healthy baby, she knows that it is time to go.

As the astrologer foretold, Tsomo travels around. Her life is not easy. She works breaking up

rocks and as a weaver. She finds her brother but, while he is sympathetic, he is more interested in

spiritual matters than the life of his sister. A man forces himself on her as a husband and she

more or less accepts him but he turns out to be even worse than she imagined and she is glad

when he finally goes off with a younger woman. She travels around Bhutan, Nepal and India,

meeting people, making friends, working and visiting shrines. Her life is not easy. When things
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seem to be going right, something goes wrong. She has health issues, with an distended stomach,

which is finally cured by Western medicine (it was a tumour). But much of her troubles are

caused by men, particularly her husband, though there is no doubt that some men do help her out.

Choden tells an excellent story of a woman who is resilient, intelligent and kind-hearted but is

trapped in a male society, where men make the rules to their benefit. This means not only that the

women cannot get an education or decent work, but are subordinate to their fathers and

husbands, subject to continual sexual abuse, including rape, and, as they tend to be the more

impoverished people, subject to the usual problems the poor face, such as frequent eviction and

other administrative abuse. There is no question that, with his novel, Bhutan is now on the world

literature map.

For personal reasons, Tsomo runs away from her family home when she is in her early 20s.

When she arrives in Thimphu, she has no money, so she takes a job on a road-building crew,

breaking rocks into gravel for long hours every day. As an illiterate, uneducated rural woman

with few profitable skills and nowhere to call home, this job is the best she can hope for. But she

doesn’t mind it, and because she is a friendly and garrulous person she manages to make friends

that help her endure the hardship. Not wanting to stay on the road crew, she saves money and

keeps moving, first arriving in Kalimpong, a Himalayan city near Darjeeling in India, and later

going on pilgrimages farther to the west. While she moves frequently, she never really

consciously decides to move: she is invited to travel with friends, or to stay with friends, or she

likes a place and decides to stay. Because she is poor and homeless, there is no reason for her not

to move to another place. In this unconscious way, she becomes relatively free of material

attachments even before she becomes a nun.


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Throughout her travels, Tsomo finds that her skills of weaving, gardening, and brewing the

Bhutanese liquor are are a constant source of employment. She is able to keep herself fed and

clothed with these basic skills, learned during her childhood in Bhutan. She is not rich, but she

doesn’t need to be rich; she just needs to have enough to get by, and that’s what she is able to do

with these village skills. The novel moves from giving a general glimpse of Bhutan’s cultural and

social aspects from a child’s (Tsomo’s) perspective at the beginning to the more specific events

of Tsomo’s life and journey.

Through her family, Tsomo learns several gender roles (doing household chores, gardening, and

weaving, to name a few) and gender myths namely that of female suffering and endurance. From

her father, she learns the cruel truth that girls, because of their gender, are not supposed to get

educated and learn to read and write.

Tsomo suffers a terrible loss during her childhood and consequently, she runs away from her

home to free herself from the restrictions of belonging and relationships. Her bold decision is a

major turning point of the novel. It puts her on a bumpy path of severe trials and tribulations.

However, those very trials also give her the independence to grow and stand on her own two feet.

To sustain herself during her days of struggle, Tsomo becomes a road construction worker. The

reconstruction of the Thimphu Dzong and the construction of the roads provide a sense of the

setting, which is around the time when Bhutan had chosen to modernize and open up to the

world, slowly but surely.


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Tsomo meets many women sharing the same dreams and struggles. She finds a new sister in

another fellow worker, Dechen Choki. She also embarks on many pilgrimages which broaden her

way of thinking by giving her exposure to several other cultures and peoples. At the same time,

these travels also force her to face a pressing conflict that has consumed her since she ran away:

whether to have a ‘normal’ life (with a husband and children) and be a good wife and a good

woman as her parents had taught her or to pursue a life of religion.

The next set of events takes her away from her religious desires at the end of which she learns

how the patriarchal society has taught women to always have hatred and suspicion towards each

other and not to hold the men accountable. She realizes that she must relearn everything that

society has taught her about gender roles. This is the other major turning point that portrays an

epiphany and self-realization on Tsomo’s part.

By tracing Tsomo’s growth from childhood to adulthood and finally old age, The Circle of

Karma, can be called a female bildungsroman as it depicts both Tsomo’s physical and

psychological journey. The story highlights girls’ experiences of the world and how from an

early age itself, both boys and girls internalize gender roles and expectations. In making Tsomo,

someone who has chosen to not be defined by relationships that burden a women’s identity, the

author has deftly questioned those gender roles. She has depicted the conflict that Tsomo faces in

wanting to fit in to society’s expectations from a woman, yet at the same time trying to carve her

own identity.
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The novel showcases female friendships and solidarity and how women can support each other

in times of need and deed which is the exact opposite of the internalization of the predominant

idea about women being enemies to each other.

The other important themes are religion and the idea of karma. The latter permeates the story and

is reflected in the title of the novel. The idea of karma is present in everyone’s thoughts. This

religious concept is used to rationalize one’s fortunes or misfortunes, but karma as a journey is

what stands out as Tsomo’s life comes to full circle at the end of the novel.

The Circle of Karma employs several nuanced interpretations of travel as a motif – be it in

Tsomo’s actual physical journey, or her spiritual and mental growth, or in the abstract concept of

karma itself which travels and walks together with you in the present and in the afterlife. The

Circle of Karma is the story of a quest to be loved. Tsomo pursuits for a love in which she will be

valued and get thee sense of belongingness instead of romantic and physical love. Thus Tsomo

when she met Wangchen she felt that he was her soul mate, who valued her as he left his

previous wife for her. “She had never known such happiness. She found herself laughing more

easily and often had to consciously stop herself from humming long forgotten tunes” (82). Yet,

over the course of the book, Tsomo taste a bitter side of love not once but twice. It is only at the

end when she starts valuing herself rather than seeking acceptance from exterior, she glows in

her own warmth. Since the writer of the novel is Buddhist, the theme of religion is unavoidable.

Throughout the novel any occurrence is made reference to religion. Tsomo‘s father is a devoted

monk and he makes sure that he makes aware of religion to his kids through various anecdotes.

He narrates them the story of miraculous women, Machig Lhapdron, a great saint, who sacrificed
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her own body to feed every conceivable kind of being. During Tsomo‘s pilgrim to India she

encounters with eminence Rinpoche who plays a great role in changing her life. It is because of

his tender and affectionate preaching she at last led her to the path of enlightenment. What we

are today is the result of what we were in the past. All physical and mental conditions and

circumstances are either accidental or due to past karmic action. Karma can be described in the

simplest form as “Cause and Effect”. "What goes up must come down" or "what goes around

comes around” are the fundamental understanding of how it works. A good deed is always

followed by good results and vice versa. The Karma theory is an overriding element in the novel

The Circle of Karma. Each and every event in the novel is associated with karma. It is used a

tool to subjugate women as it is believed or made to believe that female birth are inferior to male

birth. The fact can‘t be denied that the happenings in our life is due to our own deeds but the fact

that female are born because they have not accumulated ample of good deeds in their previous

life is rather too much to digest. ―If only she had been born a boy- but she had not accumulated

enough virtue to be born as a boy‖ (22). Everything which is happening now in our life is simply

because of the events happened in the earlier life and so on, everything will repeat the course.

According to Determinism, whatever or however it is happening now is because it is determined

to be like that. Every event in the life is inevitable. Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace, in the

18th century in his thesis states “For him, the present state of the universe is the effect of its

previous state and the cause of the state that follows it. If a mind, at any given moment, could

know all of the forces operating in nature and the respective positions of all its components, it

would thereby know with certainty the future and the past of every entity, large or small”

(Britannica 2016). Every events that happens in the life of the characters are given credit to
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Karma, be it illness, fortune, or misfortune. “Aum Choizom who sat on her porch sunning herself

day after day because she hoped her racking cough which exhausted her and brought out blood in

her spittle would be cured, was suffering her ‗Laey ney‘ Karmic illness” (12). What we are

today is the result of what we were in the past. All physical and mental conditions and

circumstances are either accidental or due to past karmic action. Karma can be described in the

simplest form as ―Cause and Effect‖. A good deed is always followed by good results and vice

versa. Every living creature is dependent on this very aspect and no living shall be freed from

this very clutch. In Buddhism the theory of Karma is an essential guideline. The main figure who

articulated and explained the philosophy of Karma, which we have it today, is none other than

Buddha. Being born as a woman is often considered bad karma in most of the religion and

cultures. In Indian culture, daughter is considered burden to family, while son is a blessing.

Likewise in the novel The Circle of Karma, women were treated inferior to men as women didn‘t

accumulate enough good deeds in their past deed hence born as girl. ―She had not accumulated

many virtues in her previous lifetime. She will not have riches‖ (2). Ritual is one of the important

features of human life and it has substantial aspect of Buddhist practice since the time of the

Buddha. In Bhutan, ritual is a sacred practice, practiced by generations and generations for many

decades. According to Catherine Bell in the book Ritual, Theory, Ritual Practice, ritual is defined

as, “particularly thoughtless action routinized, habitual, obsessive, or mimetic and therefore the

purely formal, secondary, and mere physical expression of logically prior ideas” (19). For ages

traditional religious rites has been manipulated in a wrong concept to dismiss the involvement of

women from acquiring political and religious authority. Women were constantly reminded and

taught about the inferiority of being woman by a variety of ideologies like rituals intended to
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keep them weak and, especially under control of man. The novel The Circle of Karma also

portrays oppression of women using various ritual tools like– marriage, ceremonies of

purification, food, birth, physical power and domestic violence. The novel The Circle of Karma

is a strong disapproval against the vehemence practiced by the macho society. It is an objection

in contradiction of the use of various tools to keep women under the feet of men. In presenting

Tsomo as a round and dynamic character, Kunzang Choden gives a serious view of the various

kinds of manly activity - commandment maker, domestic violence and compassion. By the end

of the novel feminine supremacy out shadows the masculine power. Women consists half of the

world‘s population yet ironically are not treated on equivalence with men in all walks of life.

They are constantly downgraded, suppressed and disregarded in obtaining equal opportunities for

contentment of their lives; instead woman has to slave all long day for the benefit of her family,

spouse and children. Slave all day for them and at the end get a beating for small to no reason as

a reward for loyalty. ―Tsomo endured his beatings in silence, after all he was a man and she was

only a woman. Now she understood why so many women said, ‗being born a woman is to

suffer‘‖ (92). De Beauvoir‘s claims that men basically dominate women by portraying them, on

every level, as the ‗Other‘, defined absolutely in opposition to men. Man declares the role of

self, or subject and woman as the object, the other. According to men, he is important, outright,

and superior. She is unnecessary, imperfect, and disfigured. He is born to command the world

and execute his will; on the other hand woman is condemned to immanence, or introvert. He is

the creator, maker, designer, on the other hand she is handicapped on her own, therefore waits for

him to rescue her. De Beauvoir agrees that it is natural for human to feel in conflict other humans

but, this becomes a problem when this rule is applied with gender difference. In describing
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woman absolutely as ‗Other‘, man is trying to dehumanize the woman. In the novel The Circle

of Karma, Tsomo is always put to the threshold where she had to prove of being individual and

not just ‗Other‘. In your condition it will difficult to travel. It is a rough journey. One has to be

quick and nimble to get in and out of trains and buses, which are always crowded. (174) She is

forced to accept that her life will be difficult without assistance of a male counterpart, therefore

after seeing her alone Ap Thinlay tries to patch her up with a man whom he thought will rescue

her from her loneliness. You are a woman, alone and so far away from home, I am concerned for

you. I feel like a parent to you and I feel I have to advice you. You should have a husband.

Gomchen Lhatu is a good man and he is quite well educated too. I must tell you that his

parentage is clean, tax payers on both his parents‘ sides, like yourself. He doesn‘t have a drop of

serf blood. Now he is lonely and he has asked me to find a wife. He has been begging me to help

him to find a mature, older woman who is simple and humble. I told him that you are woman he

is looking for. (196-197) From the above lines it is very clear that love doesn‘t matter to Lhatu,

he just needs camaraderie or a servant to serve him. Another renowned feminist theorist, Kate

Millett‘s wrote Sexual Politics, in which she closely analyzed the patriarchal bias that triggers in

literary works. In her book she highlights a matter like gender inequality, and patriarchal society.

The book is an ―examination of how thoroughly culture and society are dominated by men‖

(Napikoski 2014). In the novel The Circle of Karma, the female gender is considered inferior

because of which they are deprived of basic right like education. Tsomo struggles with the

conventions constructed by the male oriented society. She is trapped between her desire and

rules. She is a girl and hence has to surrender her life to daily household chores and being a good

wife. You are a girl. You are different. You learn other things that will make you a good woman
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and a good wife. Learn to cook, weave and all those things. A woman does not need to know

how to read and write. (21)

A Karmic Illness

One of the most interesting and poignant aspects of this book is the “karmic illness” that Tsomo

struggles with for many years. After a premature stillbirth, Tsomo’s stomach never returns to her

pre-pregnant state: for years, she continues to look eight months pregnant. Her huge stomach

causes her to have enormous difficulties getting around and working. This is particularly a

problem when she tries to take up weaving because she can no longer fit into the backstrap loom!

But even worse is the psychological part of her illness. She gets constant comments about her

"pregnancy," and most people refuse to believe her when she tries to explain that she is actually

ill. When she visits a hospital in India, the doctors even laugh and tell her to come back when the

contractions start. This takes an immense toll: not only does she have trouble accomplishing the

most minor tasks and consider herself deformed and ugly, but no one believes her when she tells

them she is sick. For the educated reader, this “karmic illness” shows all the hallmarks of cancer.

But for uneducated Tsomo, it is a real mystery. The fact that no doctor believes her just

exacerbates the problem; without a doctor actually listening to her, how will she get a diagnosis?

She finally is taken to an American missionary hospital, where the doctors believe her and

perform surgery to remove the mass from her stomach. But in one of the most heartbreaking

moments in the novel, Tsomo is unable to find out what her illness actually was:
Singh 19

When the doctor came to check on her she asked him what had been in her belly and he

explained in great detail what it was, but all that the Tibetan interpreter said was, ‘It was a

disease, an illness.’ She never learns what it was that plagued her for so long, just that it had been

a disease and it had been taken out and discarded. While it is good that she finally got the much-

needed medical care, it is terrible that the doctor and patient were prevented from

communicating so much as the name of her disease. This highlights the great disadvantages that

the illiterate Tsomo faces when navigating through modern-day India.

The Circle of Karma by Kunzang Choden has several themes such as theme of men dominating

women, quest for identity, love and religion. The novel ponders on theme men dominating

women as one of the recurrent themes of the novel. The men take pride in exerting a power over

women which indirectly is connected primarily to their maleness. Wangchen‘s action of abuse is

the most life-changing event that Tsomo under goes in the novel is the clear indication of serious

instance of male domination over a female. After miscarriage Tsomo becomes ill and so is not

able to satiate Wangchen‘s lust because of which he goes on having relation with her younger

sister. Even though she knew the fact there was nothing she could do to get out of the hell.

―Tsomo felt that she was neither a frog nor a bird. She didn‘t belong in a pond, so she could not

stay in it, or she could she fly away like a bird and get out of the marriage. But one reason for

men overpowering women is their passivity toward men‘s dominance. ―Tsomo endured his

beating in silence, after all he was a man and she was only woman. It is with such kind of

thinking that men think it‘s their right to dominate women. Even after knowing the fact that

Lhatu is using Tsomo for his benefit, she silently accepts her fate and fulfills all the duties like an

obedient wife. Quest for identity in the novel gives one more step to view Tsomo from in
Singh 20

different perspective. From the starting of the novel till end we find female characters confused

with their own identity; as a daughter, sister and wife. Tsomo wondered with a thought that she

never saw her mother do anything that she liked. She always cooked what her husband and

children want to eat. And did what others liked. She lost her own likes and self-identity in the

midst of duty towards her family. Like her mother Tsomo also lose track of her own life. She

feels displaced ‘and unanchored ‘trapped with the obligations towards her family up till and until

she finally finds homage in prayers, ―Eventually she only heard her own breath, in and out and

she concentrated on that. She saw nothing and heard nothing. She only felt the peace within. The

Circle of Karma is the story of a quest to be loved. Tsomo pursuits for a love in which she will

be valued and get thee sense of belongingness instead of romantic and physical love. Thus

Tsomo when she met Wangchen she felt that he was her soul mate, who valued her as he left his

previous wife for her. She had never known such happiness. She found herself laughing more

easily and often had to consciously stop herself from humming long forgotten tunes. Yet, over

the course of the book, Tsomo taste a bitter side of love not once but twice. It is only at the end

when she starts valuing herself rather than seeking acceptance from exterior, she glows in her

own warmth. Since the writer of the novel is Buddhist, the theme of religion is unavoidable.

Throughout the novel any occurrence is made reference to religion. Tsomo‘s father is a devoted

monk and he makes sure that he makes aware of religion to his kids through various anecdotes.

He narrates them the story of miraculous women, Machig Lhapdron, a great saint, who sacrificed

her own body to feed every conceivable kind of being. During Tsomo‘s pilgrim to India she

encounters with eminence Rinpoche who plays a great role in changing her life. It is because of

his tender and affectionate preaching she at last led her to the path of enlightenment. What we
Singh 21

are today is the result of what we were in the past. All physical and mental conditions and

circumstances are either accidental or due to past karmic action. Karma can be described in the

simplest form as ―Cause and Effect‖. "What goes up must come down" or "what goes around

comes around are the fundamental understanding of how it works. A good deed is always

followed by good results and vice versa. The Karma theory is an overriding element in the novel

The Circle of Karma. Each and every event in the novel is associated with karma. It is used a

tool to subjugate women as it is believed or made to believe that female birth are inferior to male

birth. The fact can‘t be denied that the happenings in our life is due to our own deeds but the fact

that female are born because they have not accumulated ample of good deeds in their previous

life is rather too much to digest. ―If only she had been born a boy- but she had not accumulated

enough virtue to be born as a boy. Everything which is happening now in our life is simply

because of the events happened in the earlier life and so on, everything will repeat the course.

According to Determinism, whatever or however it is happening now is because it is determined

to be like that. Every event in the life is inevitable. Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace, in the

18th century in his thesis states ―For him, the present state of the universe is the effect of its

previous state and the cause of the state that follows it. If a mind, at any given moment, could

know all of the forces operating in nature and the respective positions of all its components, it

would thereby know with certainty the future and the past of every entity, large or small”

(Britannica 2016).

By the end of the novel feminine supremacy out shadows the masculine power. Women consists

half of the world‘s population yet ironically are not treated on equivalence with men in all walks

of life. They are constantly downgraded, suppressed and disregarded in obtaining equal
Singh 22

opportunities for contentment of their lives; instead woman has to slave all long day for the

benefit of her family, spouse and children. Slave all day for them and at the end get a beating for

small to no reason as a reward for loyalty.

“Tsomo endured his beatings in silence, after all he was a man and she was only a woman.

Now she understood why so many women said, being born a woman is to suffer.”

De Beauvoir agrees that it is natural for human to feel in conflict other humans but, this becomes

a problem when this rule is applied with gender difference. In describing woman absolutely as

‘Other’, man is trying to dehumanize the woman. In the novel The Circle of Karma, Tsomo is

always put to the threshold where she had to prove of being individual and not just ‘Other’.

In your condition it will difficult to travel. It is a rough journey. One has to be quick and nimble

to get in and out of trains and buses, which are always crowded.

The Circle of Karma is the story of a quest to be loved. Tsomo pursuits for a love in which she

will be valued and get thee sense of belongingness instead of romantic and physical love. Thus

Tsomo when she met Wangchen she felt that he was her soul mate, who valued her as he left his

previous wife for her. ―She had never known such happiness. She found herself laughing more

easily and often had to consciously stop herself from humming long forgotten tunes‖ (82). Yet,

over the course of the book, Tsomo taste a bitter side of love not once but twice. It is only at the

end when she starts valuing herself rather than seeking acceptance from exterior, she glows in

her own warmth. Since the writer of the novel is Buddhist, the theme of religion is unavoidable.

Throughout the novel any occurrence is made reference to religion. Tsomo‘s father is a devoted
Singh 23

monk and he makes sure that he makes aware of religion to his kids through various anecdotes.

He narrates them the story of miraculous women, Machig Lhapdron, a great saint, who sacrificed

her own body to feed every conceivable kind of being. During Tsomo‘s pilgrim to India she

encounters with eminence Rinpoche who plays a great role in changing her life. It is because of

his tender and affectionate preaching she at last led her to the path of enlightenment. What we

are today is the result of what we were in the past. All physical and mental conditions and

circumstances are either accidental or due to past karmic action. Karma can be described in the

simplest form as ―Cause and Effect‖. "What goes up must come down" or "what goes around

comes around‖ are the fundamental understanding of how it works. A good deed is always

followed by good results and vice versa. The Karma theory is an overriding element in the novel

The Circle of Karma. Each and every event in the novel is associated with karma. It is used a

tool to subjugate women as it is believed or made to believe that female birth are inferior to male

birth. The fact can‘t be denied that the happenings in our life is due to our own deeds but the fact

that female are born because they have not accumulated ample of good deeds in their previous

life is rather too much to digest. ―If only she had been born a boy- but she had not accumulated

enough virtue to be born as a boy‖ (22). Everything which is happening now in our life is simply

because of the events happened in the earlier life and so on, everything will repeat the course.

According to Determinism, whatever or however it is happening now is because it is determined

to be like that. Every event in the life is inevitable. Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace, in the

18th century in his thesis states ―For him, the present state of the universe is the effect of its

previous state and the cause of the state that follows it. If a mind, at any given moment, could

know all of the forces operating in nature and the respective positions of all its components, it
Singh 24

would thereby know with certainty the future and the past of every entity, large or small‖

(Britannica 2016). Every events that happens in the life of the characters are given credit to

Karma, be it illness, fortune, or misfortune. ―Aum Choizom who sat on her porch sunning

herself day after day because she hoped her racking cough which exhausted her and brought out

blood in her spittle would be cured, was suffering her ‗Laey ney‘ Karmic illness‖ (12). What we

are today is the result of what we were in the past. All physical and mental conditions and

circumstances are either accidental or due to past karmic action. Karma can be described in the

simplest form as ―Cause and Effect‖. A good deed is always followed by good results and vice

versa. Every living creature is dependent on this very aspect and no living shall be freed from

this very clutch. In Buddhism the theory of Karma is an essential guideline. The main figure who

articulated and explained the philosophy of Karma, which we have it today, is none other than

Buddha. Being born as a woman is often considered bad karma in most of the religion and

cultures. In Indian culture, daughter is considered burden to family, while son is a blessing.

Likewise in the novel The Circle of Karma, women were treated inferior to men as women didn‘t

accumulate enough good deeds in their past deed hence born as girl. ―She had not accumulated

many virtues in her previous lifetime. She will not have riches‖ (2). Ritual is one of the important

features of human life and it has substantial aspect of Buddhist practice since the time of the

Buddha. In Bhutan, ritual is a sacred practice, practiced by generations and generations for many

decades. According to Catherine Bell in the book Ritual, Theory, Ritual Practice, ritual is defined

as, ―particularly thoughtless action—routinized, habitual, obsessive, or mimetic— and therefore

the purely formal, secondary, and mere physical expression of logically prior ideas‖ (19). For

ages traditional religious rites has been manipulated in a wrong concept to dismiss the
Singh 25

involvement of women from acquiring political and religious authority. Women were constantly

reminded and taught about the inferiority of being woman by a variety of ideologies like rituals

intended to keep them weak and, especially under control of man. The novel The Circle of

Karma also portrays oppression of women using various ritual tools like– marriage, ceremonies

of purification, food, birth, physical power and domestic violence. The novel The Circle of

Karma is a strong disapproval against the vehemence practiced by the macho society. It is an

objection in contradiction of the use of various tools to keep women under the feet of men. In

presenting Tsomo as a round and dynamic character, Kunzang Choden gives a serious view of

the various kinds of manly activity - commandment maker, domestic violence and compassion.

By the end of the novel feminine supremacy out shadows the masculine power. Women consists

half of the world‘s population yet ironically are not treated on equivalence with men in all walks

of life. They are constantly downgraded, suppressed and disregarded in obtaining equal

opportunities for contentment of their lives; instead woman has to slave all long day for the

benefit of her family, spouse and children. Slave all day for them and at the end get a beating for

small to no reason as a reward for loyalty. ―Tsomo endured his beatings in silence, after all he

was a man and she was only a woman. Now she understood why so many women said, ‗being

born a woman is to suffer‘‖ (92). De Beauvoir‘s claims that men basically dominate women by

portraying them, on every level, as the ‗Other‘, defined absolutely in opposition to men. Man

declares the role of self, or subject and woman as the object, the other. According to men, he is

important, outright, and superior. She is unnecessary, imperfect, and disfigured. He is born to

command the world and execute his will; on the other hand woman is condemned to immanence,

or introvert. He is the creator, maker, designer, on the other hand she is handicapped on her own,
Singh 26

therefore waits for him to rescue her. De Beauvoir agrees that it is natural for human to feel in

conflict other humans but, this becomes a problem when this rule is applied with gender

difference. In describing woman absolutely as ‗Other‘, man is trying to dehumanize the woman.

In the novel The Circle of Karma, Tsomo is always put to the threshold where she had to prove

of being individual and not just ‗Other‘. In your condition it will difficult to travel. It is a rough

journey. One has to be quick and nimble to get in and out of trains and buses, which are always

crowded. (174) She is forced to accept that her life will be difficult without assistance of a male

counterpart, therefore after seeing her alone Ap Thinlay tries to patch her up with a man whom

he thought will rescue her from her loneliness. You are a woman, alone and so far away from

home, I am concerned for you. I feel like a parent to you and I feel I have to advice you. You

should have a husband. Gomchen Lhatu is a good man and he is quite well educated too. I must

tell you that his parentage is clean, tax payers on both his parents‘ sides, like yourself. He doesn‘t

have a drop of serf blood. Now he is lonely and he has asked me to find a wife. He has been

begging me to help him to find a mature, older woman who is simple and humble. I told him that

you are woman he is looking for. (196-197) From the above lines it is very clear that love

doesn‘t matter to Lhatu, he just needs camaraderie or a servant to serve him. Another renowned

feminist theorist, Kate Millett‘s wrote Sexual Politics, in which she closely analyzed the

patriarchal bias that triggers in literary works. In her book she highlights a matter like gender

inequality, and patriarchal society. The book is an ―examination of how thoroughly culture and

society are dominated by men‖ (Napikoski 2014). In the novel The Circle of Karma, the female

gender is considered inferior because of which they are deprived of basic right like education.

Tsomo struggles with the conventions constructed by the male oriented society. She is trapped
Singh 27

between her desire and rules. She is a girl and hence has to surrender her life to daily household

chores and being a good wife. You are a girl. You are different. You learn other things that will

make you a good woman and a good wife. Learn to cook, weave and all those things. A woman

does not need to know how to read and write. (21)

Karma and Social Apparatus in the novel The Circle of Karma

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap”

(New Testament Galatians 6:7, 350)

The word Karma originated from the Sanskrit which means "actions" or "deeds. The law of

karma can also be referred to as the law of cause and effect: in a very simple word every act

erupts into a plausible result. In the book The law of Karma, karma is discussed as

Each character or personality is the grand total result of previous mental actions,

and is also the cause of future changes in the character ... It is our own Karma that

produces its results in the form of joy or sorrow, pleasure or pain, happiness or
Singh 28

unhappiness ... Everything that we possess in this life, is the effect of our previous

Karma or action, both mental and physical. Our present character is the resultant

of our past and our future will be determined by our present acts ... We cannot

arrest our external work so long as there is mental activity. (Reichenbach 49)

If the act is driven by the greediness, abhorrence, or misbelief, we are actually sowing the seed of

suffering; but when our actions are inspired by kindness, love, or knowledge, indirectly we are

creating harmonious environment.

Sogyal Rinpoche states in his The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying:

Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a

spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain. Do not overlook

tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; even tiny drops of water in the

end will fill a huge vessel. Karma does not decay like external things, or ever

become inoperative. It cannot be destroyed by time, fire, or water. Its power will

never disappear, until it is ripened. (96-97)

The law of karma keeps people on track so that they don‘t abuse the thoughts, words and actions.

Especially, the elders try to boil down every activity with the concept of karma linking

everything in context to religion as it made people discipline their thoughts, action and words.

The effect is going to be positive if people are pure in their motive and in case people don‘t

watch their actions the effect for the causation is ultimately going to follow them. Tsomo‘s father

narrates infinite religious stories so that his children will be aware of the effects of karma and act
Singh 29

accordingly in their life. He believes that everybody are the way they were because of the way

they had lived their previous lives. He narrates an incident about aum Choizom to make his

children understand the concept of cause and effect;

Aum Choizom who sat on her porch sunning herself day after day because she hoped her

racking cough which exhausted her and brought out blood in her spittle would be cured,

was suffering her ‘laey ney’ karmic illness. Aum Choizom and her family had barely

anything to eat in the house. She went around begging and borrowing. The villagers

always gave her something, because she couldn‘t help her situation. It was her karma.

Years later, when her children grew up, everything changed. Their family became

prosperous. That was also karma (12).

It seems aum Choizom was suffering from hemoptysis which could be cured upon proper

treatment but it is convenient to put everything on one‘s karma. They kept her sunning and

begging until finally one day her illness got cured on its own, to which again they thanked her

karma.

Basically the idea of karma is same despite the differences in religion. In all the religion its

believed that the action, thought and speech of people contribute a positive or negative reaction

in this life or the next, on a basis of what seed they have sown in their life. All religion preaches

on gaining deliverance by escaping the death and rebirth cycle. Even the Greek people were very

much believer of the cause and effect- karma, they believed that life of human is under the

control of karma and all souls are only puppets in the hands of it. They strongly believe that
Singh 30

karma is the fiercest and terrifying fact from whom no individual can escape. In the play Oedipus

Rex by Sophocles the theme of fate is very prominent, “Fate is pre-determined and

unchangeable. People cannot deny it either they agree with it or not. As Oedipus` fate was

already written so how can he deny it?” If something is written in our fate it will happen like in

Oedipus Rex. When fate is pre-dominant than all things support it consciously or unconsciously.

Nature, our conscious, incidents and man himself help fate and then whatever is written in our

fate becomes true because “what will be, will be” (Sand et al.52).

David Lewis in his The Journal of Philosophy causation defines causation as we may define a

cause to be an object followed by another, and where all the objects, similar to the first, are

followed by objects similar to the second. Or, in other words, where, if the first object had not

been, the second never had existed‘ (556). In the novel The Circle of Karma the protagonist is a

girl who has not accrued ample of good deeds hence she has to bear the consequence in her

current life with sufferings. The astrologer declares that “it was written in her horoscope that she

had not accumulated many virtues in her previous lifetimes” (2), therefore she has to lead hostile

life. The protagonist, Tsomo, will suffer agony and anguish all through her life and only way out

of her sufferings is to practice religion and get rebirth as a man. Being born as man is considered

one having accumulated ample of merits in their past life. But the irony in the novel is women

are not given an opportunity of practicing religion or studying scriptures hence reducing the

chance of better next life. Women in the novel are suppressed with the notion that they are born

because of their bad karma and the plight is that many women are easily convinced that they bear

a bountiful of negative karma and accept their dominance without complaint. Physical or mental

mistreatment has been vindicated on the basis of karma, and has therefore been accepted as the
Singh 31

expression of religious norm. Women belong to the kitchen. That was the accepted truth and

belief. No women were educated and a girl from a very young age was trained for the household

chores and is reminded at all times to be gentle and submissive. Tsomo since a little girl was

trained to do household chores by her mother depriving her of childhood moments with her

friends, “Why do you waste your time with such spectacles? Now start preparing the vegetables

for dinner instead” (5). On the other hand men needed to be tough and take care of all the work

outside. There are beliefs that the women are the heart of the family and term as “Nang gi aum”

which means that the whole family is dependent on the woman who has the keys to all the

possession of the family. This kind of notions makes women in the novel feel inferior about them

and blame for the outcome of their lives. It makes them more susceptible to accept whatever

gender based discrepancies that they experience, since it is directly linked with their bad karma

having been born a woman. After the death of Tsomo‘s mother, she being an eldest daughter has

to shoulder all the responsibilities of the house and taking care of the younger siblings. Her

father was so detach and aloof from his children and barley talks with them. Tsomo unknowingly

acts as per the karma prescribed in her horoscope. As per Tsomo‘s wheel of birth or horoscope

she will travel away from her village which was impossible according to her mother.

Where is the furthest I can travel to Mother? Tsomo asks her Mother dreamily Where? I

don‘t know. Where can a girl travel to? Her old thoughts are stirred by the childish

questions. (2)

Her circle of karma starts when she leaves for Trongsa to offer butter lamps for her mother‘s first

death anniversary. She goes to lite a butter lamp for her mother‘s swift rebirth. Rebirth is an
Singh 32

essential theory of Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. Rebirth, or saṃsāra, is the notion

that all living being undergoes a cycle of reincarnation; that is a chain of births and rebirths.

Sogyal Rinpoche in his Tibetan Book of Living and Dying said that

Since the dawn of history, reincarnation and a firm faith in life after death have occupied

an essential place in nearly all the world's religions. Since the advent of interest in

Eastern religions that began at the end of the nineteenth century, a remarkable number of

Westerners have come to accept the Hindu and Buddhist knowledge of rebirth. (86-87)

Choden has not failed to constantly remind the readers about the death throughout the novel as

this gives epiphany to the readers that the death for all is certain and the rebirth will be

determined by the deeds done in the current life. Therefore it keeps the readers on track with

their action and intention. Instances which talks about the death and rebirth in the novel The

Circle of Karma are, for example Kincho Thinlay was said to be the rebirth of monk’ (70) which

suggest he had accumulated ample of good deeds in his previous life. The fact and the

motivating element behind rebirth called karma. The death of Goempola makes readers think

twice before they cheat on others, which result to painful and terrifying death. One dies and

someone is born, this circle keeps continuing forever, except for those who determinedly break

this cycle by achieving enlightenment like Buddha. If one wants happy and prosperous life in

next life one should watch their actions in current life. It is the action of present that will

determine the state in next life. No one escapes the death, “Increasingly as one gets older, death

becomes an ever present reality. Tsomo and her colleagues spoke of death daily. Nobody is

spared from dying” (306).


Singh 33

The law of karma functions as a moral guide. The realization of one‘s death helps people restrain

from unethical and immoral acts and instead divert their focus towards benevolent deeds which

helps them not only in their present life but in next life as well. “Our lives are that lamp on the

altar. We are born and we live for a while like the lamp. We can either shine brightly of flicker,

but we all must die. Life is transient. We are just passing by. Think of yourself as a pilgrim on

earth and in your own body because that too you must surrender” (145).

Tsomo unconsciously takes steps toward drawing a full circle of her life. In her journey towards

Trongsa she meets with a man named Wangchen who initially showers his love on her but later

leaves her for another woman. When Wangchen returns for Tsomo leaving his first wife, she is

so happy for herself and her unborn baby as her child will have a father.

Tsomo‘s pregnancy was no longer a mistake. Her child has a father. It was not her karma

to be mother to a koktey, she thought happily. The shame and humiliation that had been

hanging over her head were averted and they were all grateful for this good fortune.

Tsomo was happy to be with the man she loved and bear his child. (82)

Tsomo mistakes all these happenings in her life as a good fortune unaware that this good fortune

foreshadows her forthcoming sufferings. ‘What goes round comes round’, is a basic

understanding of a karma. Ethicization starts with the principle that every action has a

consequence, which will come to completion in either this or a future life; hence ethically good

acts will have affirmative consequences, whereas immoral acts will produce undesirable results.

An individual's current state is thus expounded by reference to actions of his present or in


Singh 34

preceding lifetimes. Karma is a judge to reward and punish, but it‘s the law constructing

consequence. “Every physical, verbal or mental act must have a result. Often the results are

visible, but frequently they are not” (Reichenbach 87). Tsomo gets what she has sown and in her

case the effect of her ill-action is very much visible. Earlier she stole somebody‘s husband,

Wangchen, unaware of the sufferings she has caused to that lady and now she has to bear the

same sufferings. Tsomo bears a grave anguish when she gives birth to a premature stillborn baby

boy that leaves her belly bloated as if she is still pregnant. Initially after the mishap Wangchen

took care of her but eventually he got wary of nursing her as he has to work in the field. Tsomo

carve and yearn for his love and care to overcome the depression and chaos she is undergoing.

But the warehouse of her happiness seems out of stock of happiness. Series of sufferings lines

for her comfort. Tsomo‘s recovery paces at snail speed and she finds difficulty in healing both

mental and physical depression. One night Tsomo wakes up from her sleep to find that her

husband is missing from the bed. She rushes out to search him thinking he must have fallen out

somewhere as he was drunk but suddenly Tsomo was taken aback when she comes to a

realization that her husband is with her younger sister Kesang. The theories of karma are also an

ethical theory; as it is indirectly linked with intention and action to the virtue, incentive,

drawback and penance. In ethics, one's attitudes, desires and intentions matter in the assessment

of one's action. Karma theory not only considers the action, but also individual‘s attitudes,

desires and intentions pre and posts the action. Therefore the concept of karma inspires every

being to pursue and live a moral life, and avoid an immoral life. Tsomo despite knowing the fact

that Wangchen was a married man advances her relation with him and gets married with him,

compelling him into leaving his first wife. The immoral life she led causes her the same misery
Singh 35

that she had caused to Wangchen‘s first wife. “She knew it was now her turn to bear the

suffering she had caused another woman not so long ago. This was her karma, the consequence

of her actions, she could not escape from it”(90).

Everything that is said and done regulates what‘s going to happen to individual in the future.

Whether one is honest, dishonest, benevolent or malevolent, it all reveals as a karmic reaction

either in this life or a future life.

Tsomo‘s bad action bore her a bad consequence; her chain of bad karma eventually catches her.

Tsomo‘s father narrates an incident to his kids on the consequences of one‘s deed. It is not

necessary that our bad or good deeds will be manifested only in next life but so of the actions can

be instant. Reichenbach in his The Law of Karma explain the terms used for immediate effect

and gradual effect as phalas and Samskara.

Phalas include all the immediate effects, visible and invisible, which actions produce or

bring about. They are often referred to as the results or fruits of an action. Samskara are

the invisible dispositions or tendencies to act, think, experience, or interpret experiences

in ways which are conducive to one's happiness or unhappiness, produced in the agent as

a result of the action. They constitute, in effect, special modifications of the agent. (25)

Ap Goempola in the novel depicts the example of the phalas, whose bad action bore bad effect in

his immediate life. Goempola was an elderly bon in the village. He was an expert scripture

reader and he went to most of the houses for reading the holy texts. But he was not honest to

what he was doing and he mocked the God and the religion. He instead of reading the scriptures,
Singh 36

he just mumbled and muttered. And his sin of mocking religious scripture fell upon him and it

took his life.

For two days before his death, Goempola was moaning and groaning, begging anyone

who came near him to lift the heavy scriptures that were crushing, pressing and

suffocating him to death. Of course, nobody could see the books except himself, so

nobody could help him. He had died crying out in pain and making as if to push the

heavy books off his body. (13)

Goempola has dishonored the scriptures and lied to the people who trusted him. His actions,

thoughts and discourse were not pure therefore he accumulated plenty of bad deeds and was

punished in his current life itself. The law of karma is absolutely beneficial for every individual

as it guards our soul‘s progression. Tsomo‘s father narrates these anecdotes to his children so

that they will be guarded with their actions, thoughts and speech. But no amount of advice or

anecdotes will help when one‘s karma hovers around them. Despite Wangchen and Kezang‘s

open illegitimate relation and his ill-treatment towards her she endured his harassment in silence

after all “being born a woman is to suffer” (92). David R. Loy in his The Karma of Women said

that

Often times, the monk will say that karma is the cause of her suffering, so she has no

choice but to accept and deal with the situation, and continue to be kind to her husband

so that one day the karmic force will subside and everything will be fine. We found that

this kind of thinking is not only the belief of the monks themselves but that it is also
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prominent among the followers of Buddhism in Southeast Asia, including women…. It is

one of the factors that keeps a woman in a marriage even though her life may be in

danger, and it explains why neighbors and community leaders choose not to intervene.

(5)

After bearing enough of insults Tsomo finally decide to leave the place with her swollen belly,

some of her belongings and a hope that Wangchen will come searching for her begging and

repenting his mistakes. She goes to Thimphu in search of her elder brother Nidup Tshering. Her

karma has had not enough of causing her enough sufferings. Nidup Tshering, her brother is long

gone to Kalimpong. This pushes Tsomo to menial job like being housemaid at her relative‘s

house and breaking stones at the road construction site. Her life seems to never take a turn of

happiness, rather every step she takes pushes her into a painful series of journey depicted through

various places; Thimpu, Kalimpong, Kathmandu, Dehradun and Delhi.

Despite a bitter experience in love she still believes in silver lining. Her fate thrust her one more

man in her life, Lhatu. He claims himself to be her husband only for his personal gains like;

physical and monetary. He doesn‘t show a slightest affection to Tsomo. Tsomo during her olden

days gravely recollects, “Men and sex have caused me enough sufferings to last many lifetimes.

Enough men, sex and suffering to last for nine lifetimes”(ix). Tsomo endures yet another betrayal

and heartbreak, Lhatu also leaves Tsomo for a younger girl leaving her totally devastated and

exhausted both emotionally and financially.


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Karma can be understood in positive and negative energy. If one evokes positive vibes from self,

all the positivity is going to follow him, like Chinua Achebe said in his Things Fall Apart that,

“When a man says yes his chi says yes also” (20). Here ‘chi’ refers to personal God, so if one is

positive; no negative things are going to follow him.

Finally Tsomo had it enough of her sufferings and decides to say yes to herself, yes for to her

chi. She renounce the worldly things and devote herself to religious practice proving her

horoscope to be right; she lacked worldly riches but she dedicated herself into religious practice

thus completing the circle of her karma. Her intentions were pure unlike in the beginning where

she wanted to avenge on Wangchen and Kelsang by proving herself, so that one day she can

return home and proudly declare, “Look what I have made of my life all on my own” (164). She

didn‘t achieve any material success which she can pompously boast of but she has gained one

thing which is very much invaluable- self-respect. She stops brooding over the shortcomings in

her life and making the karma culprit for lack of happiness in her life, doing so she was neither

leading a pleasant life nor was able to create a better life for her next life. Tsomo finally learns to

treat karma as a greatest instructor, as it makes her aware of her account and give opportunities

to learn from mistakes and make amends. Tsomo learns a lesson from the sufferings that she

encounters in her life. She comes to an awareness that materialistic world is full of sufferings and

if she keep involving in such a chaotic samsara, she can never come out of the suffering hence

accumulating more sins and having a bad consequence. Any kind of attachments can drown her

into more emotional pool which can refrain her from spiritual practice. “It had taken her lifetime

to get away from all the attachments” (310). Though she had fumbled and tumbled throughout

her life she eventually discovered the essence of her life and found peace with herself.
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Tsomo shaves her hair off and wears a maroon dress opting divinity over material world. She

finally accomplishes her childhood aspiration to practice religion. She pledges to reform her life

and forsakes all sorts of attachments. When she finally settles emotionally and spiritually, she

finds a joy in detachment and lightens up her heavy and a vengeful heart by forgiving the old

injuries. She “could now smile a smile free of all memories and free of all malice”(296).

Owing to the above perspectives, it can be concluded that karma plays pivotal role in

determining state of individual in the successive lives. Whatever we do, with our speech, body or

mind, will have an ultimate result. Action no matter how minor or major bears its consequences.

It is said that even a tiny seed results into huge tree and slight poison can cause death therefore

people have to watch their discourse, action and intention to avoid undesirable happenings in

near future or in next generation. But the concept that women are born due to negative karma

doesn‘t have any concert findings, but it might have arisen as the women are the one who land

up taking more responsibility in the household as compared to their male counterpart. Tsomo‘s

mother never thought anything for herself in her entire life. Her whole life was dedicated to her

family. “Tsomo never saw her do anything for herself or even cook something she liked. She

always cooked things that other people liked. When she cooked pumpkin she said, ‘Your father

likes pumpkin’. She didn‘t use ginger in soup even though she herself liked it very much”(56).

Women are so indulged in caring her family that she loses her own identity. Like her mother

Tsomo was also busy taking care of her husband weaving day and night for some income

whereas her husband just wasted away his time and the money she earned in gambling. Lhatu

least bothered about Tsomo and her illness. It is women‘s selflessness attitude that makes men

think of women as inferior and docile creature giving them misconception of being a better sex
Singh 40

and superior birth. As women get more involved in domestic chores and her family she loses her

own identity and hence she loses the power over herself also. Maslow in Motivation and

Personality states that if one sees selfactualization one can

… Accept their own human nature in the stoic style, with all its shortcomings, with all its

discrepancies from the ideal image without feeling real concern. It would convey the

wrong impression to say that they are self-satisfied. What we must say rather is that they

can take the frailties and sins, weaknesses, and evils of human nature in the same un-

questioning spirit with which one accepts the characteristics of nature… so does the self-

actualizing person tend to look upon human nature in himself and in others. This is of

course not the same as resignation in the eastern sense, but resignation too can be

observed in our subjects, especially in the face of illness and death (156).

Women are subject to pains and sufferings due to biological reason like; menstrual cramps,

pregnancy and other hardships. But there is no rational justification for women bearer of bad

karma. The agony and adversity of women are the causes which motivate men to belief women‘s

birth owed to bad karma. It is just a stereotypical belief. Women are barred from making their

own decisions hence lacking freewill and self- actualization. Once Tsomo started valuing herself

as an individual and giving importance to her own decisions, everything was clear to her, she

could easily make decisions for herself without having to think what other‘s might think of her.

Portrayal of Ritual and Sexism in the novel The Circle of Karma


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Choden in her novel The Circle of Karma makes the women a scapegoat of ritual and religion.

Religion has been an easy weapon to keep anyone subjugated and this was done through

numerous rites, rituals and vows. Tsomo comprehends that a woman has almost no command

over their life as it was predestined by the existing rituals coined by the male society. She spends

her childhood observing the rich ritualistic life, the gender biasness, the culture of night hunting,

the humiliation that a girl has to undergo for bearing illegitimate child and the joy of consensual

wooing. Through her keen observation in her pre-teens Tsomo surpasses in the mundane

customaries and becomes a good homemaker who earns her praise from her mother and

neighbors. In the book Gender Roles it says that

Religious imagery is used to maintain injustice, suffering, and oppression-of nation

against nation, men against men, and men against women. Institutionalized religion-

whether pagan, Hebrew, Christian, or Islamic- not only helped maintain hierarchies of

domination and oppression but also functioned to alleviate part of the suffering caused by

these very hierarchies. (Lindsey 333)

Religion has always been an easy defense especially for men to hold their responsibility on, as it

is considered impolite to disapprove opinions and practices that arise from religious belief, no

matter how malevolent or repulsive they are. Encyclopedia Britannica ritual is defined as the

performance of ceremonial acts prescribed by tradition or by sacerdotal decree. Ritual is a

specific, observable mode of behaviour exhibited by all known societies. It is thus possible to

view ritual as a way of defining or describing humans” (Penner 2016). The fact that women are
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being oppressed cannot be simply brushed off; it is a social custom present in every cultures. The

way women are repressed may vary, but their intentional degrading of Other gender so that the

men can claim their power economically, socially, or religiously is identical. The mental,

physical and emotional consequences of the gender degrading are shattering. The ritual itself is

male dominated or it‘s patriarchal in nature. It was an aged old ritual that religious education is

meant for boys. Tsomo has always wanted to learn scriptures but studying scripture or education

is rightful claim of boys, girls were deprived of such opportunities and rather focus on how to

handle the house and raise a family. Tsomo squeezes behind the kitchen door from where she

can peep into the altar room where the boys were taught by her father. It was a plight that despite

her keen interest she was denied from getting education as it has been tradition of educating only

the boys. She pressed her face against the wall “watching the boys in class, until she hears

Mother call her to do a chore or until the pins and needles in her legs, compel her to move” (20).

Being born as a girl was like having done a great crime as they are deprived of all the

advantages. Tsomo‘s father is overshadowed by the old traditions that he is not able to have a

broader perspective of how education can benefit not only men but also the women. It can

strengthen Tsomo and women in general to help reason out so that they can control their

emotions and make them stronger as a person. In A Vindication of Rights of Woman it says;

By individual education, I mean, for the sense of the word is not precisely defined, such

an attention to a child as will slowly sharpen the senses, form the temper, regulate the

passions as they begin to ferment, and set the understanding to work before the body
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arrives at maturity; so that the man may only have to proceed, not to begin, the important

task of learning to think and reason. (Wollstonecraft 20-21)

Her father takes pride in being a great learned man in village, but he never considered to educate

his daughters. Tsomo tries many a times to persuade her father to agree upon educating her like

her brothers but he won‘t relent. Being a patriarchal society there was nothing she would do then

to bury her dream of studying religion “deeper and deeper, until it becomes a distant unfulfilled

dream. If only she had been a born a boy- but she didn‘t accumulate enough virtue to be born a

boy” (22).

Patriarchal civilization condemned woman to chastity; the right of man to relieve his

sexual desires is more or less openly recognized, whereas woman is confined within

marriage: for her the act of the flesh, if not sanctified by the code, by a sacrament, is a

fault, a fall, a defeat, a weakness; she is obliged to defend her virtue, her honor; if she

‘gives in’ or if she ‘falls’, she arouses disdain, whereas even the blame inflicted on her

vanquisher brings him admiration. (Beauvoir 443-444)

The ritual of marriage portrayed in the novel is an act of hegemony by the men. They feel they

have the right over female body so they just so in search of women as their prey and if they like

certain women, with or without consent they spent their night with woman. Choden had

discussed the marriage ritual commonly known as night hunting or bomena. This kind of wooing

involves where a boy quietly enters a girl‘s house at night for courtship with or without prior
Singh 44

discussion. It is through this kind of meeting young people find their partners and some get

married and some end their relation when the day breaks. Initially there will be disbelief and the

girl will try to shoo the boy but upon the boy‘s persistence the girl hesitates and gradually give

in. When the young girls go to guard the maturing buckwheat they yell and hollered echo

through the hills and valleys to chase the animals. The animals visit seldom but the boyfriends

never miss the chance. Once the crops were harvested and the grains were to be milled, the

young women had to again go to mill overnight. These isolated and away places from their home

give opportunity for the romances to brew and intensify. Marriage is imposed upon a girl

comparing to boys. Man they will come in the middle of the night making fall promises and

when the day breaks their promises and themselves disappears from the life of the girls leaving

girl shattered and humiliated. And the worst horrendous thing happens to girl when she gets

pregnant. She is force to announce her pregnancy and organize a purification ceremony called

tshangma. Purification ceremony is must to do ritual for pregnant woman as pregnancy is

unclean unless purified. In their tradition it is believed that;

Unpurified pregnancies disturbed the gods and the locality gods. Until the woman had

performed the ceremony, she was accountable for all severe weather conditions, illness

and deaths among humans and even cattle. Whenever there was an unusual hailstorm,

people immediately suspected a pregnant girl. (36)

It‘s very ghastly norm that even the natural disaster was blamed on women. The believed that the

disaster was likely to be the manifestation of God‘s will: it is when the gods get aggravated with
Singh 45

human‘s undesired act the god cause great affliction on mankind. But why cast the blame only

on women, when the act was done by involvement of two adults? The blame should equally go

to man, because of who the girl is in this condition. But since the men are the image of God he

can never be wronged or judged. During the purification ceremony if the father of the unborn

child denies marrying the girl, she has to either hire a man to represent the father of the unborn

child or make a dough effigy representing a man. Chimme‘s mother protest to her idea of having

dough effigy but Chimme adamantly says, “A dough effigy is good enough. This is also our

custom” (39). In the name of custom, tradition and rituals women are being humiliated forcing

them into a notion of inferiority. Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedigh justifies the reason of the increase

earthquakes in Iran during his prayer sermon;

Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity

and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes. What can we

do to avoid being buried under the rubble? There is no other solution but to take refuge in

religion and to adapt our lives to Islam's moral codes. (The Telegraph 2010)

Despite the advancement of world in science and technologies it‘s astonishing to digest the fact

that people are still widely orthodox. For a natural cause also they have to blame innocent

women. The inclination to look for a probable explanation for mysterious natural disaster

depends on human mind rather than a divine will. Men try to explore the reason behind the

disaster and when they can think of nothing else blame the women in the name of religion.
Singh 46

Tsomo‘s both the marriages also takes place through night hunting. The first marriage with

Wangchen transpires when they were sleeping in the open fire. Wangchen silently creeps into

her bed and Tsomo doesn‘t resist rather she was thrilled with Wangchen‘s touch and it seems

perfect under a twinkling starts. Tsomo‘s second marriage was also like the first one. After

several days of odd relation, on cold night Lhatu crawled in her blanket and suddenly she feels

the stirring inside her. “Tense and expectant, she turned towards him. Eventually he turned

towards her and in an awkward, fumbling and passionless manner their marriage of sorts took on

physical aspects” (203). Only if Tsomo knew that by surrendering her body to the man she was

indirectly accepting to be dominated.

Polygamy or the custom of having more than one wife at the same time was acceptable ritual.

After giving birth to still birth baby, Tsomo is caught by an unexplainable disease which inflict

her with pain and sorrow both mentally and physically. Because of her slow recovery her

husband starts having an illicit relation with her younger sister and upon Tsomo‘s discovery,

instead of apologizing on his misbehavior he suggest Tsomo to accept her younger sister as his

second wife. “Ay, why complicate matters? I will be a husband to both of you. This kind of

arrangement works”(91). Tsomo leaves the two upon realization that her husband prefers her

younger sister over her. Polygamy is boon for man as it is certified and very easy way to divorce

from the wife without any hassle.

Men have always felt the superiority over women and one of the reasons is the strength, stamina

and the valor he possess. Owing to this concept till now men are bestow with a work that

requires physical strength and it has become kind of ritual to give easier work to woman and

taking up of difficult work by man. Choden illustrates the ritual of buckwheat cultivation in
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which man exhibits their strength and power over woman. The work begins three to four months

before the cultivation of the buckwheat, they prepare the land. By eighth month the whole village

gets busy with reciprocal labor exchange for digging followed by heaping and burning. This

really eased the work of all the villagers. They will take turn in helping out each other and

whosoever‘s land they work on, that person is responsible for food provisions. On the day of

working when the day breaks, the people gathers to the designated place with their hoes. The

men take in charge and start dividing the field, “women keep to this side of the field and men

keep to the other side” (31). It is woman who actually gives the man the impression of him being

powerful and she being powerless, “the ground is so hard, I can feel blisters in my hands just

looking at it‖ (31). When women have this kind of attitude it is obvious that man will take

advantage of the situation. There isn‘t anything a woman can‘t do if she tries. For example like

Chimme, she challenges the menfolk and digs the field equally with them proving the concept of

women having less strength deceitful.

Men‘s responsibility is to go out and win bread for his family members, educate children about

the religious obligations required by their faith. Tsomo‘s father is known for his service for

which many villagers sought his help and during his free time he narrate religious anecdotes to

his children so that they will revere the religion. Whereas the women are confined to household

chores, looking after the wellbeing of her husband, children, performing minor religious rites,

such as wading as spirits and helping men in cremation rites. Tsomo‘s mother has spent her

entire life looking after her family members without any complain. She has to do all the chores

on her own so that her husband can concentrate religious practice. It was also a culture whereby
Singh 48

women should be stay within their territory i.e. within their village. The androcentric dogma is

also found in the Bible, which states;

And the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper

comparable to him. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into a

woman, and He brought her to the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones,

and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

(Genesis 2: 18-23)

The belief that woman are made as the other half of a man, helper and server from the religious

point of view makes woman believe to be inferior blinded by religion. The conception of Eve

being created second to Adam gives a justification for man‘s domination over woman. Religion

and rituals has always proved to be a powerful instrument of gender dissimilarity. As Karl Marx

said, “religion is the opium of the people” (Karl Marx and Religion, 83), he alleged that religion

had certain features like an opium in the society where sick or injured person are treated from

their suffering providing them with agreeable illusions, but at the same time the effect of the

opium weakens their immune system to fight back gradually making them weak to confront the

repressive, cruel, and subjugation by the capitalist. Man is the capitalist and woman is the

proletariat; every oppressive activity is linked with religion hence woman willing agree upon

being subjugated. The Circle of Karma discusses a great deal of the specified gender issues in

society of twenty century Bhutan. Tsomo is raised to exhibit the proper protocol of being a

woman, loving sister, wife and a mother; of course Tsomo can never harvest the joy of
Singh 49

motherhood. Tsomo tries with all her might to love her husbands but despite her best attempts,

she fails to keep her marriages. Both her husbands ultimately betray her once their lust is

fulfilled. Human are born with biological differences but the gender differences are invented by

the men in order to claim their birth superior. Lindsey defines sexism as “Perpetuated by systems

of patriarchy, male dominated social structures leading to the oppression of women. Patriarchy,

by definition, exhibits androcentric- male centered norms operating throughout all social

institutions that become the standard to which all persons adhere” (Gender Roles 3).

Tsomo or the women in the novel The Circle of Karma are portrayed as an oppressed

characterizing them, as the Other, in opposition to men. Men in the novel hold the great role be it

at home or outside exhibiting themselves as master and woman the slave. Tsomo‘s father, her

two husbands and her elder brother have a notion about themselves as of great importance,

complete, and superior. On the other hand Tsomo, her mother or any woman, are considered

unnecessary, incomplete, and disfigured. The man goes out into the world to do what he wishes

whereas woman is destined to be introvert and obedient slave of a man. Simon de Beauvoir

denies the claim made by man that, “Humanity is male, and man defines woman, not in herself,

but in relation to himself; she is not considered an autonomous being” (The Second Sex 26).

Woman may be very well different from man when it comes to biological but when it comes to

psychological, linguistic and cultural woman possess same power and skill like man do.

Men have the superiority complex of being a God, and the misconception that the world is

owned by them. Whenever there are oppositions like; man vs. man, orient vs. occident, civilized

vs. uncivilized, man vs. woman at a same time and territory, one will always strive to subject or

dominate the other to its rule. And the dominating process becomes easier when the other
Singh 50

opponent feels inferiority complex. Female body being prone to larger pain and suffering like

menstrual cycles, pregnancy and nurturing of baby let women abstain from activities such as

hunting and fighting gradually leading to a concept of women being inferior to men. “Thus an

existential perspective has enabled us to understand how the biological and economic situation of

primitive hordes led to male supremacy” (The Second Sex 100).

The roles that Tsomo carry out as a daughter and wife is not endowed to her during her birth

rather it is socially constructed. Since a little girl she is taught what she is supposed to be in life,

what kind of roles she can or can‘t perform in benefit of being of the second sex. Tsomo is

constantly reminded of the fact that she is a girl and so inferior to boy. In The Second Sex it is

stated that;

One is not born, but rather becomes, woman. No biological, psychic, or economic destiny

defines the figure that the human female takes on in society; it is civilization as a whole

that elaborates this intermediary product between the male and the eunuch that is called

feminine’. (Beauvoir 330)

As per her horoscope she is supposed to be named Pema Tsomo, but as her elder brother‘s name

is Pema Namgyel, she was simply named as Tsomo, demeaning her being a girl and providing a

privilege to her brother as a boy. Despite having two elder siblings, Tsomo has to do all the

household works since she was the eldest from girl siblings. “Any failure was met with reprisal.

You are the oldest girl, you have to learn to take responsibilities of the household” (8). The 1969
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“Redstockings Manifesto‘‘ mention the women to be an oppressed class whereas men to be

capitalist:

Women are an oppressed class....We identify the agents of our oppression as men. Male

supremacy is the oldest, most basic form of domination. All other forms of exploitation

and oppression (racism, capitalism, imperialism, etc.) are extensions of male supremacy:

men dominate women; a few men dominate the rest. All power structures throughout

history have been male-dominated and male-oriented. They have used their power to

keep women in an inferior position. All men have oppressed women. (3)

Being a girl there is always a conflict between want of being oneself and having to be the other.

Tsomo is taught to please and listen to others smothering her own wishes and desires renouncing

her independence. Gender discrepancy or male domination is illustrated in the novel. Everything

is determined from male‘s perspective. Even the education is prejudiced and women have no

right to be educated. Tsomo longs to be educated and begs her father to educate her but she is

bluntly rejected by her father saying, ―You are a girl. You are a different. You learn other

things that will make you a good woman and a good wife. Learn to cook, weave and all those

things. A woman does not need to know how to read and write‖ (21). Tsomo‘s father is a true

misogynist. Instead of encouraging his daughter to be equal with a man he degrade her by saying

she is different, different not in a grander way but different in an inferior way and her only job is

to learn to be good wife and woman. The family is the most important agent of girl‘s overall

growth. Although various factors attribute to shaping a girl child‘s life but family plays a primary
Singh 52

pivotal role. It should be taught at home how being a girl one should have self-respect and self-

esteem and to be proud of whom they are. But instead of instilling positive perspective in her

life, if her family member accuses her of being girl, she can never learn self-respect. Beauvoir

states;

She first discovers the hierarchy of the sexes in the family experience; little by little she

understands that the father‘s authority is not the one felt most in daily life, but it is the

sovereign one; it has all the more impact for not being wasted on trifling matters; even

though the mother reigns over the household, she is clever enough to put the father‘s will

first; at important moments, she makes demands, rewards, and punishes in his name. (The

Second Sex 349)

In the novel, Choden describes the quality of an ideal wife as a woman who is submissive,

obedient and always devoted through Tsomo‘s mother. The novel also states women taking the

accountable for the happiness of men. Choden exposes the experience of Tsomo‘s feeling in a

series of catastrophic choices she makes but gradually overcomes it to search her ‘self’. The

protagonist Tsomo is restricted by gender system formulated by the community. There are lots of

invisible shackles that tie up Tsomo from living her life. She is deprived from being educated,

traveling and also living her life as a child. Being a girl she has no childhood, she has to grow

mature before the time as being an elder daughter she has to help her mother perform household

work and get trained in domestic work as it is trait of a good woman. Since young age Tsomo is

taught the art of weaving by her mother as it is also considered as one of qualifying traits of

being a good wife. Tsomo is tied up by the tentacles of the hegemony and throttled as she can‘t
Singh 53

enjoy the equal facilities that the men enjoy. She is forced to accept her ill fate of being girl. She

comforts herself by repeating a phrase; “I am only a woman”(23) which is positively approved

by older women with encouragement; “Yes, we are women, Tsomo. We are different. We must

be less ambitious and more subdued. We are not like the men” (23).

“It is interesting that many women do not recognize themselves as discriminated against; no

better proof could be found of die totality of their conditioning” (Millett, 56). Tsomo also

succumbs to her fate of being girl not realizing that she is being dominated and discriminated by

male chauvinist. Men in the novel try to put down the women portraying their masculinity and

strength. They mock and condemn the women for their lack of strength and assign a menial

work. And no one but women is to blame for such kind power and superiority air these men have

achieved because women give them this privilege by acting meek and docile. They enjoy the

inferior status men enthrust upon them and gleefully accept their submissive quality. “The

ground is so hard, I can feel blisters in my hands just looking at it” (30). Pem Lhadon, who

represents many women doesn‘t want to give a try of knowing their aptitude rather glad that

because of their weakness they get menial job. While Chimme challenges the men Tsomo

realizes it quick that she will take her own pace after all, “she didn‘t have to prove herself better

than the men” (32). Tsomo did recognize her self-worth very early but due to the norms of her

community she was clouded with illusions.

Marriage is yet another shackle in which Tsomo gets entangle, both her marriages give her

immense pain resulting from betrayal. ―Marriage incites man to a capricious imperialism: the

temptation to dominate is the most universal and the most irresistible‖ (Beauvoir, 566). As a

young, feeble and of inferiority complex, Tsomo come across men of good, wicked, moral and
Singh 54

immoral character during her journey. However, no matter what their eventual objectives are,

they all gradually try to institute some form of power and control over Tsomo.

Wangchen, Tsomo‘s first husband, loves her zealously initially so much so that he left his first

wife and child for her. Wangchen as expected undertakes the position of the master in their

relationship as well as in the house. He was able to win the heart of all the people gaining their

trust, thus Tsomo‘s father decided to handover the house and land to Tsomo and Wangchen so

that he can leave for hermitage. In order to hand over the property, her father wanted to draw a

letter of agreement to which Tsomo for the first time questioned her father, “Why Father, don‘t

you trust Wangchen? We don‘t need letter of agreement. I trust my husband completely?” (82).

Little did she know that her excessive trust towards her husband is just an illusion which can

break any soon. Gradually Wangchen took over all the decisions in the house by taking the role

of master as Tsomo was confined inside house due to her pregnancy. In the book Personality;

Classic Theories and Modern Research the theorist explains the reason behind male being more

oppressive and claim to master-hood as;

According to the (male) functionalists, most of a woman‘s energy was to expended on

pregnancy, childbirth, and lactation; as a result women had no remaining resources for

developing other abilities. These concepts were used to both explain and justify the

dominant position of men and submissive position of women in the contemporary

society. (Friedman and Schustack 382)


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Tsomo after giving birth to stillborn baby gets physically and mentally ill. Her recovery is very

slow which exasperated Wangchen as he had to go work in the field, “He couldn‘t afford the

luxury of staying home to nurse her” (89). Due to her illness Tsomo was not able to fulfill his

lust therefore his love for her vanished. And he seeks his solace in Tsomo‘s younger sister,

Kesang and deceives Tsomo when she needed him the most. Upon Tsomo‘s discovery of the

fact, Wangchen instead of feeling apologetic, he starts physical violence upon Tsomo, before she

can understand that matter, his hand strike across her face causing stars in her eyes.

“Traditionally, patriarchy granted the father nearly total ownership over wife or wives and

children, including the powers of physical abuse and often even those of murder and

sale”(Millett, 34). He instructs Tsomo to agree upon the arrangement he has made i.e. he will be

husband of both the sisters. Tsomo, however, does favor to herself giving importance to her self-

respect, and endeavors to maintain it despite her inner turmoil and decides upon leaving the

house. She came to Thimphu with the plan of staying with her elder brother only to find that he

was long gone to Kalimpong. Her hope was shattered and lack of knowledge of the place

unnerves her and curse herself for taking an impulsive decision and wish she never left the

village but soon she get hold of herself and consoles, “No, it was better to be lost than to be

humiliated” (96). She searches for people from her village and finally tumbles with Tseten Dorji

and his wife Ugyen Doma. They let her stay in their hut, and she in return she did menial job like

collecting firewood, cooking their meal and doing dishes. But this is not what she came for,

being a maidservant. So Tsomo leaves the house and gets a work at a road construction site.

During which she meets with lots of women, who plays a pivotal role in her life; they directly or

indirectly motivates her to work harder and fulfill her lifelong dream of practicing religion, “Just
Singh 56

let me make a little money to pay for my journey to look for my brother and then I will practice

and get out of this cycle of suffering” (105). One more woman comes into her life with whom

Tsomo gets the bonding of sisterhood. “The term sisterhood is used among feminists to express

the connection of women who are not biologically related but are bonded in solidarity”

(Napikoski 2016). Dechen Choki, twenty-one years old shares a similar kind of fate, both

destroyed by men.

Our stories are so similar and yet so different. Everything happened because we are

women. You loved a man and suffered. I hated the man and suffered. (109)

Dechen Choki‘s father dies when she was six and her mother brought a step-father for her who

never failed to humiliate her referring her as ‘an eating mouth’, ‘a waster of grain’ and ‘that

whore’. But as Dechen grow older his attitude towards her changes and he starts giving her

special attention. Dechen‘s step-father is also an epitome of patriarchy society, a colonizer and a

master. He threatens Dechen forcing her into obeying him since he feeds them and make them

able to walk in the society. “We were very poor and he really did work hard and we were

dependent upon him” (109). It is because of this kind of helplessness nature in women that

makes man take advantage. Once her step-father got the clue of Dechen and her mother‘s

submissive quality, he started sexually molesting Dechen every day and night. Though her

mother knew of this happening, she could not do anything to safe her daughter as they were

dependent on him. So one day Dechen takes up a decision to abscond from her house as she was

willing to die of starvation and suffering rather than to live in a hell. Since both of them went
Singh 57

through same sufferings and both of them left home for betterment two of them feels bonded.

Choden has portrayed the problems faced by women at the work site and how female laborers

are demoralized at work place denying salary and demanding for sexual favors in return,

“Dechen Choki, if you want your wages, come and get them from me personally, otherwise I

won‘t give them to you” (122). Dechen Choki is very pretty and lively girl and every man at the

site desired for her, but their lajab thought that he deserves her and he tries to sexually harass her.

Lajab feel like he own her body and so he can have her whenever he feel like after all “women

had always been taught to condone such behavior, especially from men in positions of power”

(121). Tsomo however consoles and instruct Dechen that there‘s nothing they can do as they are

woman except to stay strong. One day lajab‘s wife came hearing the rumors of her husband‘s

doings at the site. She attacks Dechen who was standing droopily ashamed of what was

happening with her. Suddenly the suppressed woman inside Tsomo woke and she pushed the

woman who was abusing Dechen and said, “Enough now. Why don‘t you look after your

husband better?” (123).The sexual molestation by lajab and physical attack totally changed. “She

cried a lot and did not speak unless she was spoken to. Her shoulders stooped and she hung down

her head” (126). Lajab harass woman for his enjoyment and fulfillment of his lust that he never

realize its adverse impact both physically and psychologically that other‘s undergo.

Tsomo‘s second husband is also a man of patriarchal outlook who suppresses the intellect of

Tsomo and try and to prove her as irrational and ignorant. When Tsomo is attending a religious

initiation in Tso Pema out of nowhere a man called Ap Thinlay, who is from her same village

comes up to her and starts showering his concern on her.


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You are a woman, alone and so far away from home, I am concerned for you. I feel like

parent to you and I feel I have to advise you. You should have a husband. Gomchen

Lhatu is a good man and he is quite well educated too. I must tell you his parentage is

clean, tax payers on both his parents‘ sides, like yourself’. (196)

Ap Thinlay plays a sexual politics with Tsomo by making her believe that she is vulnerable

without man‘s company. But instead of conforming to Ap Thinlay‘s proposal Tsomo makes her

point clear that she will not “let the marriage obstruct my way to religion” (197). But Ap Thinlay

prejudices that Tsomo is being coy and resisting the proposal because it is part of matchmaking.

One day Lhatu just shows up unannounced and starts taking in-charge of the hut and Tsomo‘s

life. She apparently declines to be overwhelmed by his presence but as Tsomo was drilled to

respect the man, she cooks food for him, does his dishes and eagerly waits for him to return

home. “Waiting can be a joy; for the woman who watches for her loved one, knowing he is

hurrying to her, that he loves her, the wait is a dazzling promise” (Beauvoir, 794). Tsomo is

living with a deception that Lhatu loves her; She feels ecstatic when he utters kind words to her,

she loves seeing him sleeping and listening to his loud snore. Though he doesn‘t contribute even

penny for home, Tsomo is still glad to have him around, his presence makes Tsomo happy and

gradually she was getting used to having him around her. “Love has been assigned to woman as

her supreme vocation, and when she addresses it to a man, she is seeking God in him” (Beauvoir,

802) and granting him the supreme power over her. Although he was surviving under her

welfare, he acted as if he was doing everything for her. Tsomo‘s willing submission shows her as

meek and innocent which ultimately gives power to Lhatu to hurt her. Lhatu in all walks of life
Singh 59

proves to be unreliable, impractical, irresponsible, immature and insensible husband yet in spite

of all the shortcomings, anguish and the torments she undergoes, Tsomo, always look up to

Lhatu with great pride and hope, as being a woman she is not supposed to be disobedient or

noncompliant according to the community she hails from. Though he never did any work both

inside and outside, he likes being in command, and if ever Tsomo has query or question he

dismisses her concern by saying “Everything is under control. I have arranged for everything like

I always do” (240).

Choden portrays Tsomo as a woman who submissively consents patriarchy as the mandate of

their life and suffer from it. Choden basically portrays the sufferings of the women in the novel

and makes the readers sympathize with them. The novel depicts how men like Wangchen, Lajab

and Lhatu abuse the women bodies for their pleasure and needs. Tsomo sensing that Lhatu is

cheating on her follows him to Phuntsholing and sees him with a young pregnant girl. Feeling

helpless she returns to hotel where she was staying and decides to let go Lhatu. But the next day

when someone from her village tells her that Lhatu‘s new wife calls her ‗old woman‘, the phrase

hurts her esteem and makes her immeasurably aggravated. “If tears are not sufficient to express

her revolt, she will carry on in such incoherent violence that it will disconcert the man even

more”(Behavior, 735).

Tsomo clutched her knife in her hand and walked towards her husband‘s apartment. Her

body seemed to have a life of its own, beyond her control, and she felt herself being

propelled by some energy totally unfamiliar to her. She felt like a gust of wind, the sole

chant in her mind was ‗a piece of her nose, a piece of her nose‘. (268)
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Tsomo is actually “not fighting with matter but with life” (Beauvoir, 725). Choden‘s female

characters are usually obedient against the practice of oppression but Tsomo‘s rebellious trait is

exposed through the outburst of her anger. She has pent up her rage for so long; her rage is not

only because of Lhatu and his new wife but also her old wound from her first husband,

Wangchen and her sister Kesang. So far all the failure regardless of the agent, Tsomo took the

blame on her silently:

Women internalized their problems and grief and believed that they were all at fault.

Women were the thieves, stealing husbands from each other, living in suspicion and in

hate. We had it all wrong. We have to learn to rethink our roles and obligations. Our

obligations to ourselves and to each other‘. (270)

Tsomo is so determined to revenge on Lhatu‘s young wife that she is blinded from rational. But

at the right moment Gaylong Sherab seizes her from doing a heinous act and pleads Tsomo to

think calmly. Tsomo finally realize the blunder she was about to cause had it not been Gaylong

Sherab. “Not only is she unaware of what real action is, that is able to change the face of the

world, but she is lost in the middle of this world as in the heart of an immense and confused

mass. She does not know how to use masculine logic well”(Beauvoir, 726). It is noted that after

Sherab‘s assistance Tsomo handles the issue tactfully. The reason for her brutal act is very

primitive because as a woman she is always taught to take the blame and be submissive in the

sphere of man, women‘s brain is utilized only for domestic chores and does not harbor for
Singh 61

anything intelligible. Finally Tsomo is able to smile and “her smile came naturally, neither of

vengeance nor in malice. It was a smile of reconciliation and humour at the image of Lhatu

getting up early every morning to make tea for his young wife. Nobody is unchanging,

everybody can change” (271). Though she can now remember Lhatu without any retaliation, she

still feels the void in her “physical world as well as her life” (282). She does whatever she can to

erase the memory of Lhatu from her mind and the house. She pulls out the nails on which Lhatu

used to hang clothes but the holes left by the nails still bothered her until one day she plasters the

hole and completely erase the memory from the wall but it takes time to erase it from her mind.

Tsomo‘s this act shows her effort to be independent but she is so habituated to depending on

someone that she finds it difficult to accept the fact of being alone.

As a result of her indecisive and submissive hamartia, she is put in a perfect spot where she can

now withdraw from worldly pleasure and fulfill her lifelong dream of practicing religion.

Tsomo‘s freedom (freedom from any masculine oppression) was the vital key to her growth. By

the end of the novel without much ado she plunges herself in the spiritual salvation after

enduring violence, infidelity, exploitation and poverty at the cause of men. Tsomo finds

selfactualization through her religious pursuit and determines to become a nun. She says, “I want

to devote the rest of my life to religion. I have always wanted to learn religion but because of my

female body I was denied that privilege” (145). Tsomo shaves her hair and decides to wear a

maroon garb indicating submission of her soul and body to religion choosing divinity and

detachment from worldly things. As Rinpoche ordains Tsomo to be a nun she pledges to

transform her life and pursue a better route.


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I have made the offering of your hair and now I have ordained you. You are nun now. We

have waited too long and now there is no time for the usual preliminary stages you would

normally have to go through. Isn‘t this what you always wanted but you kept forgetting,

because you were busy living your life? Ningche Achi, you are now Ani Samphelma. Om

Ah Hung. (286)

As Tsomo grasps the end of her life, she becomes more philosophical, forgiving and detach from

all worldly possession and her relatives. Tsomo realizes that all the relationships are arbitrary

prone to change, but “the only relationship that doesn‘t change is the relationship with yourself”

(308). It becomes possible for Tsomo to endure any obstacles in a composed, peaceful and

serene manner unlike during her younger days where she used to panic with little things. She

loves her new lifestyle; she spends her time fruitfully by praying, circumambulating, prostrating

and lighting butter lamp. She becomes independent and selfreliant and receives a stipend from

the government on an obligation of chanting a number of prayers every month. Tsomo wants to

live her rest of the life in dignity and so die in dignity. She doesn‘t want her relatives to dispute

over who is to bear the expense for her death rituals.

Death rituals cost the living severely, and it can turn out to be an economic disaster for

many. Tsomo did not want her relatives to bear the financial responsibility for her death.

She wanted to be able to bear her own expenses even when she was dead. (305)
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She wants to be cremated in dignity and want to avoid being the cause of quarrels and in the

family. So she sells the zis that has hung round her neck for many years. Though Lhatu coaxed

her many times to sell it, she never agreed with him. But now she neither felt any attachment to it

nor did she needed it. So she sells it and deposits the money in the bank so that her relatives can

use it for her decent cremation.

Mary Wollstonecraft in her book A Vindication of the Rights of Woman states that if the women

are to be wise and judicious then they must be set free of oppression, for when they are free they

can take better decisions.

Make them free, and they will quickly become wise and virtuous, as men become more

so; for the improvement must be mutual, or the injustice which one half of the human

race are obliged to submit to, retorting on their oppressors, the virtue of men will be

worm-eaten by the insect whom he keeps under his feet. (186)

The escapade of Tsomo is blessing in disguise. Had she not taken up a decision of leaving

Wangchen and Kesang, she must be still suffering the torture both physically and mentally. Her

journey from her village to Thimphu, Phuntsholing, India and back to Bhutan despite full of

suffering and struggle; she is able to retrieve her identity and purpose of her being.

Critical Analysis
Singh 64

Not much of a research work has been done on Choden‘s The Circle of Karma and some of the

works that are done have focused on the cause and effect of Karma, the role of the Karma in

one‘s birth and explained the novel from Buddhist point of view.

Nazneen Khan in her Articulating Women's Experience: Kunzang Choden's The Circle of Karma

observes that;

The novel The Circle of Karma attempts to expose the patriarchal practices that exist in 20th

century Bhutan. Patriarchy is a system formed by male in which male possess the prime and

fundamental power and overpowers important decision making, privileges such as political,

social and property and also life of the other sex-female. The head of the family is always the

male and he holds authority over women and children. Though all the women are not same

around the world the plight they are going through are same. Girls are tagged as well disciplined

and mannered if they are docile and submissive to male desires. The man will decide what she

should do and what she shouldn‘t. The novel is Choden‘s attempt to give voice to the voiceless

women across the globe.

Kunzang Choden‘s The Circle of Karma portrays the numerous facets of women‘s

experience emphasizing in particular the trials and tribulation of being a woman in a

patriarchal society. It tells the story of Tsomo, a young Bhutanese woman, who embarks

on the difficult and lonely journey of life. Tsomo's travels, which begin after her mother's

death, take her away from her family and lead her across Bhutan and into India. All the

while, Tsomo attempts to break out of the pre-ordained, pre-defined shackled roles and

seeks to find herself and grow as a person and woman. (2)


Singh 65

Mohini Gurav in her Eco feminist study of Kunzang Choden‘s The Circle of Karma focuses on

similar domination on women and nature. The women characters in the novel simply don‘t bare

the humiliation rather they erupt as strong fighters and venture to avoid violence and dominance.

Gurav relates women to the nature and find comfort in the nature. Gurav states that the novel

conveys a message loud and clear for all humans to save women, nature and non-humans.

It throws light on interconnectedness of women and nature and how they search

happiness, peace and solace in nature. It also focusses on the association between

oppression of women and the exploitation of nature by the dominance of Patriarchy. The

protagonist goes a slow transformation and refuse to be a victim. She identifies herself

with nature and finds solace in nature. (3)

Abhishek Kumar Jaiswal in his The Circle of Karma: A Realistic Approach to Bhutanese

Gender, Culture and Religion observes that the book is purely based on Buddhist philosophy of

Karma: cause and effect. The book creates awareness that every human being has to deal with

the consequences of karma whether good or bad based on accumulation deeds in their past life,

in one or other way, it affects the current birth. There is no escape. Jaiswal points out gender

difference to be one of the problems of Bhutan. All the decisions are determined by male even

the basic rights like education is partial, females were not allowed to be educated. Though he

finds Bhutanese culture to be simple and restrictive in nature, the tradition of courtship and

marriage system are far more liberal than in European and Asian countries.
Singh 66

It is explicitly a Buddhist novel but one that concentrates on the everyday struggle of the

protagonist- Tsomo‘s life. The writing is rich with Buddhist imagery but the story is

firmly grounded in mundane realities of gender and cultural issues, in short an excellent

novel about a woman‘s hard life, set against vivid gender, cultural and religious

background. The novel applies the theory of nemesis in practice. It deals with the

importance of karma/action. There is a message that each human being will experience

the consequences of karma whether good or bad, in one or other way, in this or other

birth. There is no escape. The novel is a story of Tsomo the central character, a fat girl

compelled by her own restless spirit and later by circumstances to leave her family and

go on series of endless travels. Hope and tragedy mark her path in equal measure as her

story gives a look of microcosm of Bhutanese society. (2)

The novel The Circle of Karma is a good example of Feminist literature as it addresses issue of

subjugating women through various tools like rituals and karma and how the protagonist frees

herself from all these clutches. Women have been scapegoat of ritual since ages. Since religious

plays significant role in Buddhist religion it is very easy for the men to fool the women into

believing that Buddha himself claims to male superiority in birth. Whereas in actual Buddhism

never consider women as being inferior to men. There will always be the biological and physical

differences between the two sexes, but that does not make men greater than women. Both the

sexes can be equally useful to the society.

The purpose of this research is to explore the status of women in rural and urban Bhutan and

women in general. The dissertation will discuss entirely new perspective on the book through
Singh 67

feminist point of view. The novel illustrates the difficulty of a woman, who is brought up under

patriarchy. The main protagonist suffers in the hands of series of male; her father and her two

husbands. Choden talks about different rituals prevailing in different corners of Bhutan and also

the orthodoxy of people especially regarding female birth. The main objectives of this

dissertation are to: to analyze the role of ritual, to study the concept of Karma and to analyze the

traditional gender role stereotypes and in the inherent inequality between men and women.

This research aims at discovering a better understanding of the topic through qualitative research,

and the methodology used shall include library search, online journals, other internet articles and

feminism approach.

Library searches shall focus on books that are related to the research question. Focal point of

online journals shall be to look for any articles that have already been written on the book. Using

these research methods, the researcher intends to collect all possible sources like books, articles,

journals, essays, and all kinds of written materials supporting the study.

This area of study has not been done before. Writers have mostly focused on the themes of cause

and effect Buddhist philosophy, and some critical studies about the book and little or no attempt

have been made to explore the theme of karma, ritual and sexism.

To deal with the issues in the novel, this work is allocated into two chapters. The first chapter

aims at exploring the effect of karma on individual‘s and general misconception of treating birth

of woman to the accumulation of less merit in previous life.

The second chapter is devoted to ritual and sexism in Bhutanese culture and how these

perspectives affect the Bhutanese society.


Singh 68

Conclusion

The novel explores about the male hegemony using various tools like Karma, ritual and sexism.

Different societies have subjugated, oppressed and tortured women by different ways. But, in the

present context, the protagonist has suffered the cultural and social despotism of Bhutanese

society. Tsomo, representing women in generally is socially and culturally fabricated, rather than

shaped biologically. “Gender stereotypes are formed at an early age with men and women beings

identified with particular occupations” (Gender Studies, 230). Stereotyping depicts wrong

impression to the society as to what women can do or cannot do, and how women should be or

shouldn‘t be. Women in the novel are expected to do all the domestic works, care for her family

and be obedient to her husband. Whereas men have privilege to education, go out for work and

command over his family. Tsomo is the echo of the society and symbolic of the women crushed

at the extremity of society. Tsomo‘s horoscope predicts her life line to be a disastrous where she

is doom to struggle especially in the hands of men. Her misfortune is generated when she goes to

lite butter lamp for her mother‘s first death anniversary. Wangchen and Lhatu are those men who

came into Tsomo‘s life as a sorrow. They are the personification of misogynist society who

claims a rightful possession over female‘s body and soul. Though these two men never

encounters in the entire novel but their purpose in Tsomo‘s life is same; leaving her devastated

and shattered. By depicting the situation of female condition and feeble protagonist, Choden

reveals feministic approach in her novel.


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Tsomo never heard her Mother complain. She was a big strong and brave woman and she

did not complain about anything. Sometimes Tsomo thought she had strange fixed

expression on her face. It was funny expression, a smile that verged on sadness. When

she had this expression she would stare into space as if she missed something and Tsomo

thought that she would complained if she could. (6)

Through the above lines it is clear that undervaluation of femininity prevalent in the novel.

Tsomo‘s mother locate her identity and meaning of her live through her husband and children so

much so that she loses her own identity. Though she is described as a brave and strong lady, she

is never really able to complain and protest to her husband‘s demand. It is because of the culture

of man being treated superior and equivalent to God. Mother bears the pain of bearing child year

after year giving birth to thirteen kids silently because Tsomo‘s father believes “that large

numbers of people were a great blessing” (56).

The old gender stereotypes prevails in the novel but gradually Tsomo is able to breakdown

several stereotypes as she evolves from a timid, submissive and dependent girl to bold and

independent woman. First stereotype that she breaks is the social stereotype; that girls can‘t

travel further from their village. Tsomo travels not only within her own country Bhutan, but also

she pilgrims over several places in India like Kalimpong, Bodhgaya, Himachal Pradesh and

many more. The protagonist embarks a journey to an unknown destinations and this expedition is

not a mere happy voyage, visiting of a places, but it symbolizes Tsomo‘s indepth discovering her

own identity; when Tsomo decides to stop being a dummy in the hands of her husband she

leaves her village and her old life behind. It is later that Tsomo realizes when how oppressed and
Singh 70

unfair life she has led for so long. She initially treats herself as a mere puppet in the hands of

husbands and her karma bearing no power over her own life. Her excursion proves to eye-

opening experience for her which helps her to redeem power over her life.

Tsomo was also able to overcome the sexual politics that was played in education, the right to

education which was limited only to boy. This type of stereotype bared women from learning

and widening their outlook towards the understanding of the world. But Tsomo emerged out of

this convention also and towards the end of the novel, she dedicates her life for religious

practices.

Tsomo achieves self-hood and so she doesn‘t need a husband or brother or any man to support

her. She is independent, in charge of her own life, which is essentially a rejection of the role of

wife and mother, that women are expected to play in a patriarchal society. Instead of depending

on others Tsomo believed that she has “to do something to earn some money” (150) so that she

can be self-reliant. Tsomo nullifies the notion of a man being a bread earner and woman as a

home-maker. After marrying with Lhatu her life gets worse again. She had to weave to earn

money, manage the house hold chores and she the primary care giver of Lhatu. Their financial

sources were dwindling and her husband does not make the slightest effort to do anything to

better the situation she forces Tsomo to tirelessly weave day and night. Through her obstacles

Tsomo emerges as a stronger woman who is handling not only the domestic work but also

working to earn money for living. Finally Tsomo is able to renounce the worldly pleasure to join

Buddhism as a nun. In A Vindication of the Rights of Woman Mary Wollstonecraft says, “I do

not wish them to have power over men; but over themselves” (66). And at the end Tsomo
Singh 71

achieves power over herself; she is finally able to celebrate her being as an individual soul who

need not depend on any man.

Choden‘s novel The Circle of Karma is representative of how women have to tussle to survive in

the male-dominated society. Unless a woman transforms herself into a bold, gallant and self-

reliant person she shall continue to be puppet in the hands of a man. The novel is positive in tone

although the exposition of the novel is quite murky. Tsomo‘s starts a journey in a state when she

has totally lost faith in life, shattered and devastated both physically and psychologically. Her

life kept on testing her patients and perseverance by thrusting her with endless sufferings; two

bad marriages, miscarriage and life long illness. But Tsomo never gave up. She continued to

fight her way back no matter even if the whole world turned against her. Finally her life long

quest fulfills, being religious practitioner, and Tsomo is liberated from the oppression from the

patriarchal society
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