Dhondup Gyal (དོན་རྒུབ་རྒྱལ།) was born in 1953 in Chentsa, Amdo and is widely regarded as the founder of modern Tibetan literature. 'The Narrow Footpath' (རྐང་ལམ་ཕྲ་མོ།), a polemical essay, was published in Light Rain (སྦྲང་ཆར།) in 1984. In his essay Dhondup Gyal explores the urgent need for Tibet to modernize. In 'The Waterfall and Fragrant Flowers', Tsering Shakya writes 'A Narrow Footpath" was published under a pseudonym and was seen by many as an attack on traditional culture, which offended conservative sections of the Tibetan community. Dhondup Gyal reportedly received death threats after its publication. However, he remained undaunted and continued to explore the theme of tradition versus modernity.' 'The Narrow Footpath' has become a set text for students in middle school as well as for Tibetan majors in university. The work has influenced a generation of Tibetan writers and continues to remain relevant today.
Find the original Tibetan here.
I've taken down the translation temporarily. Please email directly with any queries.
Tashi delek,
ReplyDeleteWould you be able to provide me with your English translation of The Narrow Footpath, please? We are doing this Reading event and I want to read this short story. Thanks so much. Hope I can hear from you soon. My email is tenzinkunkey2@gmail.com, please email me.