A year after the launch of his first novel, Mystica, author Kumar Nagarkoti released his latest offering Ghatmandu—a fusion of fiction and non-fiction musings. The book was made public amid a function at the Shilpee Theatre in the Capital, where the author was joined on stage by a wide array of artists, including artists Erina Tamrakar and Sarita Giri, Musician Avash, film director Nabin Subba and photo journalist Kumar Ale. The launch also saw the author in conversation with journalist Basanta Basnet.

A former literature teacher, Kumar Nagarkoti has created a niche for himself in the Nepali literary landscape with his eccentric stories, unconventional plots and remarkably different style of storytelling.  His collection of short stories Fossil, published in 2013 by Nepalaya Publications, was much appreciated by Nepali readers. Similarly, his play, Coma: A political sex, staged by Shilpee Theatre, was also warmly received. His anthology of short stories, Mokhhsanta: Kathmandu Fever, was published by Ratna Pustak Bhandar in 2014. He also has the book, Aksharganj, to his name.

His previous offering, Mystica, which was released amid an elaborate and eccentric event in 2015, divided opinions among literature enthusiasts—with some hailing his complex and non-linear plot as a breakthrough for Nepali literature, while others deriding it as confusing and for his willingness to pepper his prose with English and other languages. 

A trailblazer in his own rights, Nagarkoti, speaking about his experimental strain of literature, has previously said, “I do love experimenting while writing, for I feel life itself is an experiment. But it doesn’t mean that I have consciously crafted a writing style that people have come to identify me with. Deep down, I just feel that I want to go with the flow, just like a river, without caring whether I end up in a desert or an ocean. I don’t want to follow anything—rather, I want to flow and make my own way.”

Ghatmandu has been published by Book Hill Publication and will hit bookstores around the nation this week.