Author of seven books, Hari Adhikary is also known to his readers as a poet and a critic. Recognised for his brutally honest critique, Adhikary’s latest book Pratinayak, an anthology of short stories, received wide acclaim from the readers.

Currently the chairman of Language and Literature Association Nepal, Adhikary in this conversation with the Post’s Samikshya Bhattarai talks about his new book, trends in Nepali literature and more. Excerpts:

What inspired the stories in your latest book, Pratinayak?

Pratinayak is a collection of stories which covers various phases that the Nepali society has gone through. I did not write this book in a single sitting. I wrote the stories over a span of many years. This anthology has stories that range from the ones I wrote when I was just starting out as a writer to ones that I wrote only very recently. In a way, this book sums up my writing journey till date and compiles stories that best describe my style of writing. Hence, I cannot put a finger on a single thing that inspired all the stories. All stories are unique in their own way, and every story is inspired by a different scenario. However, the theme that binds all the stories together is the hardship and struggle of the Nepali people. Our society has gone through various changes over the last few decades. This book is an effort to put light on that evolution and how it has changed lives of the people across the country. 

Your book is based on real stories. Why did you choose to fictionalise them? 

As my focus has always been on the assessment of social issues, I have written and I still do write a lot of non-fiction. However, personally, I am more inclined towards fiction and poetry. I fictionalised real stories because fiction entertains and engages readers in a way that non-fiction fails to. If I want to get a strong opinion across to as many readers as possible, I’d rather choose fiction as my medium. Historical fiction, where I can merge real events with a fictional scenario, is my favourite genre. Fictionalising real life stories sometimes adds more value to writing and has larger impact on the audience. I took the chance, and I have to say it worked. 

Your previous book, based on the life of politician Krishna Prasad Bhattarai, was titled Eklo Nayak. Was it a conscious decision to name your latest book similar to the last? Is there a connection that readers should know about? 

My book Eklo Nayak is a biography-novel inspired by the life of Krishna Prasad Bhattarai. Even though most of it is pure fiction, I have put some historical facts in it. From what I know, Bhattarai was a lonely person throughout his life who fought all his battles alone. Strong headed, he was by himself right till the end of his life. He was a lone hero, an “Eklo Nayak”, hence the name. 

Pratinayak has nothing to do with Eklo Nayak. To say the least, both these books are different starting right from the genre. The title, Pratinayak, comes from one of the stories, which my friends and I agree best represents the book. The story is about a young protagonist who comes to the city in search of opportunity but later turns into an antagonist. The book, all in all, suggests that the society after having undergone so many changes has left us with no heroes but many anti-heroes. 

You are also a literature critic. When you write fiction, do you merge the storyteller and the critic or do you just switch roles? 

The critic and the storyteller are two different characters that live inside me. And one doesn’t intervene when the other is working. When I sit down to write a story, I leave the critic outside the door. If I let the critic in, it will definitely muddle my creativity. The last thing you want while writing a story is for your creativity to be hindered. I don’t blend the critic and the storyteller in me, I just switch roles.  These are two different aspects to my life that never really cross-over. 

You have criticised literary awards such as the Madan Puraskar. Interestingly, your book Pratinayak was short-listed for the same award this year. 

I have never been critical about the honour itself; but I always was and I still am skeptical about the selection process and the end result. I have always felt that Madan Puraskar somehow misses the more deserving candidate. And then there’s the selection process where the jury doesn’t take into account the number of books published in the year, the 

readers’ opinion, and many other important factors that should be considered while choosing a book that deserves the national accolade. Nevertheless, in the last few years, Madan Puraskar has started to announce the shortlist and the number of books submitted. This is a welcome step. Regarding my book being nominated, I appreciate the jury for selecting a book by a writer who has openly criticised their working mechanism. 

As a literary critic, what would you say are the positive and negative aspects of contemporary Nepali literature?

I think the good thing about the current Nepali literature scenario is the growing interest and inclination of readers towards it. The number of readers has gone up significantly. It is also good news that the mainstream media has created space for literature while many organisations are also working to promote the scene. Also, there is a noteworthy increase in the numbers of publishers. 

However, Nepali literature is also falling victim to the very trend of quantity over quality. Along with the rise in publishers, there has been increase in the number of bad books being backed up by good publicity. While rich literature is striving to make it to the shelves of bibliophiles, the poor ones are hitting every other shelf. Besides this, I also feel that the current craze for publishing memoirs and autobiographies is a step backward for the field. A lot of people are spewing lies and over glorifying themselves in the name of literature. 

What new project do you have in the pipeline? 

I am currently working on my next book, a crime thriller, about an international gold smuggling ring. I have been investigating and researching for this book for a few months now and I have also been talking to the police and those convicted to give it more authenticity. The book will try to delve into the mysteries and operations of gold smuggling, its main players and more. It is slated for release next March.