Miscellaneous
The higher quest
Shortlisted for the Madan Puraskar, 2072, Ghanashyam Khadka’s Nirvana revisits the question of if spiritual healing could indeed be the ultimate therapyCp Aryal
Plot is people. Human emotions and desires founded on the realities of life, working at cross purposes, getting hotter and fiercer as they strike against each other until finally there’s an explosion—that’s Plot.” American author Leigh Brackett’s summary of what a plot is holds perfectly true for author Ghanashyam Khadka’s debut novel, Nirvana. In Nirvana, its characters’ lives get entwined in the mundanities of everyday life and in the final concluding pages their stories culminate into a catharsis, where the novel offers its readers seminal insights about life, death and everything in between.
Writing a novel on such an overarching concept as Nirvana is naturally a tricky endeavour. Nirvana is the state of ultimate bliss—the bliss every human, cast adrift in this world, dreams of, knowingly or unconsciously; a state where humans attain a higher level of realisation about freeing oneself from the cycle of life and death. Dabbling with a subject matter of such weight, author Khadka succeeds at what he wants to convey, and does it with lucid, compelling prose.
In fact, in order to find out what the novel aims to convey, a reader could skip directly to the last section of about a dozen pages where the protagonist, Bodhi, unlocks a watershed of philosophical realisations. Skimming will, however, come at its cost, for philosophy that is not rooted in genuine applicability might as well be just blowing hot air.
Bodhi, our central character, is a healer and the afflicted who frequent him are suffering from bouts of depression and other psychological ailments. With his deft ability to put himself in their shoes, Bodhi is doing well for himself and is lauded as a dispeller of maladies. His gift, however, is also his bane, as Bodhi is constantly submerged in an ethereal world he creates through his mind. The story thus moves forward.
It should be mentioned that the plot chugs along smoothly right from the very early pages and the author’s imagination and eye for detail is plainly evident. Some of the details in the narrative are so finely-tuned that the book oftentimes feels similar to sitting through a well-drawn out movie. That coupled with some intriguing subplots ensures that the narrative is both engaging, as it is ‘enlightening’.
Throughout the plot, Bodhi’s life crosses path with several characters. The book opens up with an encounter with the mysterious Monica, a beautiful, lonely woman still mourning the death of her parents in a plane crash. A recurring figure, she jumps in and out of the plotline and Bodhi’s psyche throughout the book.
As the plot thickens, the protagonist—dissatisfied with the hectic life in the cities—travels to a far-flung village in search of solace. There he resides for a year-and-a-half and works as a school teacher and finds comfort in the charming personality of Sweta—another of the book’s primary characters. It is also here, through his brush with rustic life, that Bodhi finally understands his true calling—helping and healing others. And having emerged through on the other side—wiser and compassionate—he returns to the city, resolute of dedicating his life to the service of those in suffering, whatever the root of those sufferings maybe.
It would not be wrong to conclude that the plot follows similar motifs (and quest for higher meaning) like western classics like Hesse’s Siddhartha and Robin Sharma’s The Monk who sold his Ferrari. And though author Khadka brings a unique Nepali flair to the tried-and-tested plot trajectory, at times the book does go in dizzying circles and is over dramatised. The author could have also tempered the progression of the plot line—as it feels as though the book is hastening itself towards the conclusion, which in turn can read as a tad too dramatic and premature. Khadka could have definitely developed the depth of the characters and the plot line further.
The writer’s grip in the language is appreciable, nonetheless. Khadka deftly avoids the use of elaborate language for the sake of just usage, which gives the novel a genuine authenticity which makes it immensely readable to readers of any inclination. The witty and thought-provoking one-liners that are peppered through the span of the book enrich the reading experience as well.
Shortlisted for the Madan Puraskar, 2072, all in all, Khadka’s Nirvana revisits the question of if spiritual healing could indeed be the ultimate therapy. Though employing a ‘hackneyed masala’ that has been in use in the world of fiction for a while, the author does just enough to render the book unique to his own voice and context. A great, quick read, laden with profound insights, the novel will undoubtedly serve as a modern-day marker for those who enjoy exploring spiritual themes through fiction, for others it might even come in handy as a lucid self-help book.