New Delhi: One of the greater known histories of globe about Gorkhas will be glorified when writer and author of the book ‘Ayo Gorkhali-A History Of The Gurkhas’ Tim I. Gurung will be seen in conversation with writer and columnist Atul K Thakur on KLF Bhava Samvad. The session is scheduled to take place on Kalinga Literary Festival’s official pages (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube) on 28th November at 6 pm IST.
The book describes of Nepal, 1767. The tiny kingdom of Gorkha is on the ascendant under its ruler Prithvi Narayan Shah. Over the next few decades, his Gorkhali army establishes a mighty kingdom, the borders of which extend from Kangra in the west to the Teesta river in the east. The territory encompasses a large part of present-day Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and almost all of present-day Nepal and Sikkim.
When they are eventually reined in by the mighty British army in 1815, it sparks off a new engagement between the imperial power and Nepal. Impressed by the fighting abilities on display, the British army begins recruiting them. The Gurkhas (the prevalent spelling today) go on to serve with distinction in many theatres of war over the next hundred-odd years, their exploits in World War I and II earning them a number of bravery medals.
With Indian independence in 1947 comes further change: the Gurkhas are now split across three armies: the British, Indian and the Nepalese.
Ayo Gorkhali by Tim I. Gurung, a former British Gurkha, is the first work of history by a member of the community and brings alive the story of a people who have served flags other than their own with honour, even as they have attempted to keep their native warrior traditions alive in letter and spirit.
The history of the Gurkha serviceman is one that goes beyond soldiering and bravery—it is in equal measure a story of the resilient human spirit, and of a tiny community that carved for itself a niche in world history.
Author Tim I. Gurung, was born in 1962 in a Gurung village called Dhampus in mid-western Nepal. He joined the British Gurkhas at the young age of seventeen, as his grandfathers and uncles did before him. He served for thirteen years and retired in 1993 as an Army Corporal, after which he became a businessman and worked in China for the next twenty years. Before his fiftieth birthday, Tim made a life-changing decision and became a full-time writer and has since written fifteen novels.
He currently lives in Hong Kong with his family.
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