Khatiwada, after quitting journalism in 1997, joined Vipassana (a type of meditation retreat). He then travelled to various parts of India in search of peace within. In 2001, Khatiwada was diagonised with paranoid schizophrenia. He decided to deal with it on his own, instead of going for medication.

“Fighting with the psychosis and the social stigma attached to it was not easy. But my creative output along with the meditation helped me curb the disease and its manifestations,’’ said Khatiwada.

In his paintings, Surya stands as the symbol of evil existing in Khatiwada’s mind, and the artist represents the element shorn of its brightness: it is depicted as something surreally dim, hazy and grayish. Lilah, on the other hand, representing the artist’s victory over Surya, stands resplendent in bright colours, marking a progress in his mental dimensions.

Refraining from the cliché, Khatiwada’s paintings veer into the abstract. The results of the artist’s prodding into his own subconscious, they pose a challenge for the viewers not used to the artistic rendition of human psyche and its manifestations.

Leading scholars and art critics have regarded his current body of work to be far more polished as compared to his previous works. While veteran journalist Kiran Nepal congratulated Khatiwada for overcoming his psychological impediment, senior artist Kiran Manandhar praised him for all the hard work he’s done to create the paintings.

“While there’re still rooms to work on, some of the painting are superb in terms of creativity, balance of colours and layering”.

The paintings will be displayed for the public after Tihar. The date and venue are yet to be confirmed