The English-language children’s book “Bumpa,” which is based on the actual experiences of blind people in Bhutan, has found a new home in Sri Lanka thanks to a Sinhala-language publisher. Interest in the book and its author, Norwegian humanitarian Gro Holm Rypestøl, who started working in Bhutan in the 1970s, has grown in tandem with the translation. Wang Rana Gurung’s illustrations for Bumpa focus on a 12-year-old boy from the remote village of Rizangpo in eastern Bhutan. Set against the backdrop of Bhutan’s early history, the drama weaves together the struggles, hopes, and modest triumphs of rural life. Bumpa wants to be a skilled farmer and basket weaver, but someone tragically changes his life.
He learns that self-worth is not determined by bad luck as he works through loss and rehabilitation. Despite being fiction, the story’s emotional heart is based on the actual experiences of the blind kids Gro worked with while she was in Bhutan. The Sinhala edition was produced after Jayanta, a Sri Lankan social worker who works with the blind people, heard about Gro in 108 Stories from Women of Bhutan. Wang offers to translate Bumpa’s book for readers in Sri Lanka, emphasising its theme of inclusivity and perseverance, which started as a celebration of the tenacity of blind children.