Gagan Singh Thapa is a septuagenarian novelist. A resident of Tikapur in Kailali District of Nepali, Thapa has six books to his credit which include his novels Sohra Saugat, Karnaliko Chheuchhau, Mero Madhushala, Purkhako Chitthi, Ujjawali and Mahapralaya, the last name book launched quite recently. Thapa’s novels are characterized by a language, setting and allusions that pertain to the Far Western Region of Nepal. Neelam Karki Niharika of The Gokha Times recently had a conversation with novelist Thapa. Presented herewith is an edited excerpt of the same conversation.
You were into creative writing since a long time. But you seldom cared to publish your works. Why so?
The lack of facilities in the place I lived in was the first reason. Secondly, I was not in a location that had the necessary facilities.
Could you tell us the genre you love the most?
I like literature in general. From around 1978-79, I have been writing. Though I am running quite sick, I have not stopped my pen.
Which are the books you like the most?
I like BP Koirala’s Sumnima, Nayan Raj Pandey’s Ular, Mahesh Bikram Shah’s Sataha, and Krishna Prasad Bhattarai’s Mero Ma the most. Of the writers I love the most, I want to mention BP Koirala, Nayan Raj Pandey and Krishna Dharabasi.
Why do you write?
For me writing is a means to most creatively present to our readers everything we learn from social developments and the energy we get from the society. Through writing, we can bring our learning to limelight in front of the society.
Literature and politics are two aspects of your life. You were in leading fronts during the referendum of 1979, and the political changes of 1989 and 2005-06. There also were a few changes these movements sought to achieve. But in totality, what significance do you see in all these changes?
The changes brought home by these movements, to some extent, have given freedom to our people. Freedom has been guaranteed. People got certain things in part, though not in totality.
What is politics for you?
Politics is about policies that support a nation. We can take example of Pataliputra, in which, the rulers had used its resources only for the development of the kingdom. It’s the philosophy adopted for the development of the country.
Let’s get back to literature. Do you think you have been influenced by someone in writing?
Yes, I have been influenced by the writings of BP Koirala and Nayan Raj Pandey with their styles and choice of subjects.
The literary and political personalities of BP were quite different. When you look at yourself, how much, do you think, have you been able to keep these two personalities distinct?
I am heavily influenced by BP’s literary personality. His books have inspired me a lot. Literature is a creation of the heart. The heart of every individual has literature in it, but only a writer can identify the same. Only he or she can give it an exposure, and launch it to the society. I also tried, to some extent, to bring my creative strength into the public. BP kept writing and politics apart from each other all the time. His writing is progressive, and there are occasions when his writing has assumed political character, but is not strictly political in the sense of the term. Like BP, I have tried my best not to mess up my political experiences with my creations.
How do you select the subject of your fictions?
I write, taking into account the incidents that take place in the society, and weaving them into my narratives. People say, literature is the mirror of a society, but I call it an x-ray of the society, which analyzes its interior, instead of merely reflecting its surface. Instead of choosing histories of victory, I love to pick up histories of loss or suppression, and they become the subjects of my fictions.
We have a history of people, who have been molded as great writers by their life in jail or such inhospitable places and conditions. Could you shed light on your difficult times and challenges that contributed to the shaping of your personality?
I was also in prison for six month. When someone is jailed, the lonely time there allows a myriad of thoughts to come and play in the inmate’s mind. If we can collect the same, great philosophies and literary works can be delivered. Life in prison is, for a writer, a time of great creativity. The life of seclusion in a prison allows us an opportunity to understand the creative tides inside us. We also wrote and contemplated while in jail, but during our days, we didn’t have the environment to publish and launch the writings we did. In other words, we didn’t have the opportunity to do.
Would you tell us something about Mahapralaya, your latest novel?
A tragic incident gave me the seeds of this novel Mahapralaya. A journalist had once asked Albert Einstein: “Father of Atom Bombs! The Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed during the Second World War. Which country will be the target now, during the Third World War?” To this, Einstein had said, “There will be no third world war. But an apocalypse is certain. Nations with hubris, exploitation of nature and the competition for atomic race are certain to invite such apocalypse.” A consideration of all these issues gave me a theme to write Mahapralaya.
What, in your opinion, is life?
Life is a drop of water on an arum leaf. It can roll down any moment. But the same drop glitters, if it is struck by sunlight as long as it is on the leaf.
What are children in your understanding?
Children are our heirs for the future time. They are the ones who shall carry on our family and legacy. They preserve the identity of our clans.
No doubt that you have a long period of dedication. Time, today, is not has difficult as it used to be in the past. What would you say to the new generation willing to enter the field of writing?
I request the upcoming generation to write things that give our society courage, confidence and ideas for progress, instead of writing things that bring about difficulties, discrimination and unrest.
Thank you very much!