After Reading Broughton Coburn’s Aama in America

A few years ago, Linda Hall* invited Sunil Khanal and me to a Book Discussion Meeting in Omaha. A group of over a dozen women had been conducting such meetings for over thirteen years in Omaha. They picked a book randomly every month, had everyone read it before coming to the meeting, and discussed it critically. They hosted this meeting in rotation, meaning each month there was a new host of the meeting. The reason why Linda had invited us to the meeting was the fact that their pick of the month was a book called ‘Aama in America’ by Broughton Coburn, who had worked and lived in a remote village in Nepal for many years as a peace corps volunteer. We were given plenty of time to read the book, but could hastily finish reading it only just before it was time for the meeting. I knew we would be swarmed by many questions from the ladies, but we were prepared for the situation. We knew we did not have to be worried for many of their curiosities for the fact that we already knew that a lot of the questions would basically be general questions based on our culture and customs.

We were a great (?) resource for the discussion of the book. During the discussion, we heard a lot of expected exclamations such as ‘Wow..’, ‘Is that right?’, ‘Unbelievable..’, ‘Incredible..’, ‘That is so sad!’, and similar other expressions. We were discussing a culture that is relatively primitive to Americans. Sunil and I tried our best to defend it where necessary. We also explained that certain bad aspects of our culture were giving way to modern thinking. Some of them appreciated the simple rustic lifestyle of Nepalese society as opposed to the lifestyle complicated by technological advancement and material prosperity.

It was indeed a fun meeting. We thanked Linda and the group for inviting us to the meeting. They were also very happy to have us in their meeting.

Since then, days passed, so did months. Despite my strong desire to read this book in leisure, I somehow failed to allocate time to read not only this book but also any books outside my course books. My last semester was at the door, and then came the internship, and then it was time for me to immediately leave for Dallas, TX in search of a job. Recently, I wanted to read this book. But, the book was nowhere to be found in my bookshelf. Later I realized that I never brought it with me all the way from Omaha. Fortunately, Sunil had saved his copy. He mailed it to me upon my request.

I read the book with all my enthusiasm.

Imagine that you are an Eighty Four year old lady from a remote village in Nepal, and you have never, in your life, been outside of your surroundings. Imagine that until this age you have not been even to the spring close to your own house to fetch drinking water, and now you are touring from Disney Land to Grand Canyon, from Yosemite to Las Vegas, from Seattle to Montana and Boston. This is what happened to Bishnu Maya, the main character of Broughton’s book Aama in America. But, the book is not about Aama’s luck to be able to visit America despite her old age and poverty. The book unearths a higher level of meaning to the journey she took with Broughton and his girlfriend, Didi.

Broughton and Aama’s relationship (that of an adopted son and an adopted mother) sings the song of a great human spirit in this book. This unique relationship compels Aama not to refuse her Dharma son’s request to tour America, even though she knows her days are numbered and she could pass away any time anywhere. Broughton introduces Aama to air and ground travel, to the wonders of Disney Land and Grand Canyon, to the forests and farm lands of America, and to the culture and civilization that is a little too strange to her. But what is incredible is the way she responds to each of her observations. She is candid, childlike, humorous, and simple but negligibly complaining in most of her responses.

This book truly captures the vivid pictures of hard, poverty-ridden but placid life of rural Nepal. What caught me most pleasantly was the combination of folklore, humor, and religion in the book that are an integral part of our everyday life. Broughton matches even some of a few great Native Nepali authors in offering such rare insight into our culture. When you read the book, no matter what part of the world you reside in, you feel you are in your own village in Nepal, where you were born and raised in, even though most of the writing is about Aama’s experiences in America. That, I think, is incredible.

Aama relates each site she visits in America to holy pilgrim-sites of India and Nepal. Places like Disney Land, Pacific Ocean, and Grand Canyon offer recreational values and natural and geological wonders to the Western world, but Aama finds the presence of Almighty God in these places. Her observations help American readers realize how beautiful America is and also the fact that they should respect their surroundings even more.


There are certain observations from Aama that Coburn puts forth in the book that seem somewhat out of place. Maybe he thought they might be interesting to the Western readers, which I agree with. But a Nepali reader can easily find those observations pretty commonplace, if not boring. Those observations mostly include repeated, inappropriate, and mistimed humors. Also, there are some scenes that seem to be awkwardly constructed. Often, the reader finds Coburn’s commentary a little too heavy-handed, especially when you are expecting a lighthearted writing from him. This book certainly had all the possibilities of becoming a great story. But of course, Coburn is not a major writer of the mainstream American literature. What is more important is that he shares his experiences with us honestly.

The book tells also a sub-story- that of the author and his girlfriend, Didi. Right from the beginning, you become aware and curious of the fact that their duty to take care of Aama, while she travels across America, will affect their relationship adversely. Of course, no relationship in this world is perfect. Both of them falter, make mistakes, mistreat Aama occasionally and try to part to look for new partners. But they manage to come together after Aama’s death.

Though this book does not fall under the list of the finest books I have ever read, it certainly inspires me in some subtle ways, and will stay in my bookshelf for long. I recommend it to all the Nepalese who are abroad and want to refresh the memories of their culture. This sure does not mean the readers, who are in Nepal, are not recommended to read it. But, Coburn’s intended readers are the Non-Nepali readers.

Last but not least, it is not hard to figure out the author’s real motive behind bringing Aama to America, which I think is very nice of him. He obviously wants to lead a life guided by the combination of Hindu and Buddhist belief systems, which have tremendous influence on him and his girlfriend.


Oh, by the way, Eric Valli, who directed the Oscar nominated movie Himalaya, constitutes one of the contributors of the book.
Kanak Mani Dixit , one of the conspicuous Nepali literary figures, has also helped Coburn to get this book out to the readers.

Linda Hall* is Sunil Khanal’s friend Brent Hall’s mother, who lives in Omaha.