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‘Good books are based on thorough research’
Author Jagat Nepal’s latest book, Pahilo Sansad—based on Nepal’s first parliament—explores, among other things, the complex relationship between BP Koirala and king Mahendra. A political journalist for over a decade and a professor at the Tribhuvan University, Nepal has so far penned two other works of non-fiction. In this interview with The Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai, Nepal talks about his latest book, his reading habits and why good research makes good books. Excerpts:Samikshya Bhattarai
Author Jagat Nepal’s latest book, Pahilo Sansad—based on Nepal’s first parliament—explores, among other things, the complex relationship between BP Koirala and king Mahendra. A political journalist for over a decade and a professor at the Tribhuvan University, Nepal has so far penned two other works of non-fiction. In this interview with The Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai, Nepal talks about his latest book, his reading habits and why good research makes good books. Excerpts:
Tell us about your book Pahilo Sansad?
Pahilo Sansad, as the title suggests, is based on Nepal’s first parliamentary meeting that was held almost 55 years ago. This book analyses official documents, the diary of the parliament, parliamentary relations, power and the role of the opposition and parliamentary accountability, among many others. I have been a journalist for more than a decade and was assigned to cover the last election.When I was working on it, I found out that the first parliamentary meeting had been recorded and archived. As I was always interested in politics and history, I thought this would be the perfect piece for me to work on. Then, I took the opportunity to talk to people like Tulsi Giri and Arthav Regmi who were the part of the proceedings at the time, which helped take the narrative forward.
How did you first come to love books?
I come from the generation that grew up during the 1990 People’s Revolution. So, the environment was very political and it really influenced our lives. I developed interest toward politics from a very young age. I began by reading biographies of political leaders. As for writing, I became interested in the prospect while I was working as a journalist. There were so many news and reports that I couldn’t pursue due to various circumstances, so I started keeping records and making diaries. Now, I have diaries that date back to the late 90s, which I treasure. This habit of keeping records of my reportings nudged me eventually to pen books.
What books are on your reading lists?
I plan on reading the biographies on Indian presidents because I am working on the biography of our former president, Ram Baran Yadav.
What books do you recommend as must-reads?
I have always loved BP Koirala’s work. I recommend people to read his biography, as well as his other books. They are all well-written and very inspirational. I also recommend the books by Leo E Rose, as they provide very good insight into the politics of the Nepal. Among recently published books, I loved Prayogshala by Sudheer Sharma.
What is good writing for you? What would you say makes a good writer?
Good writing, especially in non-fiction, comes through good investigation. But you need to invest a lot of time and money which is not always possible here in Nepal, as there is no funding for proper research. So, a large majority of the non-fiction books that you find in the Nepali market only touch upon the surface of a topic. There is lack of in-depth analysis of the subject matter. As for being a good writer, I think that you first need to get to the depth of the subject that you are working on and look at things through many perspectives to come up with good work.
Your advice for general readers?
When I first started reading books, I used to read many things, even those that didn’t have any importance to me. I have heard that Subarna Shamsher Rana used to do the same thing back in the day. He used to read almost all the books that were published, even those about birds and insects that didn’t interest him, as there were so few choices at the time. But now people have many books to choose from so they should read books on the topics that they are interested in. Rather than focusing on what others are reading, they should choose a book according to their own needs and interests.