The problems incidental to life in society inform all the stories.
Clearly a religious individual, the author’s regard for the divine is evident in many of them. In this sense, they are like a convergence between religion and life as it is actually lived.[break]
In an introductory note, the author says he has written about the realities of life among the middle and lower middle classes and the difficulties that dog them from day to day.
He has tried above all to be realistic, basing himself on real incidents that he has seen for himself. It gives rise in his mind to the question: Why do such things happen?
A religious explanation seems to lurk not far beneath the surface.
His stories go into some psychology, and the secret realities in the lives of men and women.
Some of the stories are first-person narratives, and this suits a retellingAA in fictional guise of things experienced in daily living.
Sadhak is not above offering a message to his readers, and through them to the larger society.
He holds up a mirror to society. But he also suggests what he would like to see in that mirror.
In stories titled Khumba Mela, Anubhuti – which is also the title of the collection – and Footpathko Chiya Pasal, the idea is that corruption reigns no matter what the political system.
Right on!, one would say, in these times of transition in our own purportedly New Nepal.
In some others, the line is that outmoded rites and customs should be reformed, recast. Also in Khumba Mela, a religious story about a longish pilgrimage, there is a dash of sexual psychology, and the question implied is: Should sex be considered a no-no for a religious life?
He clearly subscribes to the view that natural urges should not be repressed.
The late god-man Osho would have agreed wholeheartedly.
Prem Diwas, which has become Nepali for Valentine’s Day, speaks about how changing mores can undermine the harmony of a close-knit nuclear family.
Hajoor Ko Bolnu Bhayeko? is a treatment of the male not sticking to the straight and narrow in matters of the heart. Nadhekhine Ghau goes into the lack of satisfaction felt despite material success. Peace of mind is the key.
Some of the stories show spiritual concern. Rishi Shakti and Lamini Mata touch on religious faith. In Lamini Mata, the author appears to suggest that the Mata or mother figure in question might in fact be the divine feminine force herself.
This might not be everyone’s take on such things, but one may be surprised how widespread an attitude of this sort is. Unseen forces in the form of the diverse deities of the Nepal Valley are portrayed through their impact on the life of a schoolgirl.
Again, not exactly everyone’s cup of tea, but the practice of religion in our midst is partly predicated on precisely this kind of belief.
Speaking of unseen forces, the author leans towards the miraculous in trying to rationalize the world we live in. He says that ours is a Tantric land rich in its legends of Tantric prowess.
This characterization might not jibe with today’s materialistic mindset.
But Tantric does not mean superstitious; rather, it is something that deserves serious research in its own right.
Small things do happen that lend credence to the existence of forces beyond the purely rational, and that do call for exploration.
Or as Shakespeare’s Hamlet might have put it, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
On a stylistic level, the writer seems to have taken poetic license with the conventional story form and has opted for a straightforward journalistic mode.
An almost minimalist approach is the result, whether or not this is deliberate.
There is no self-conscious artistry here.
The stories in this first collection by the author do not spring any surprises at the end in the manner of an O’Henry. There is also a marked simplicity of language.
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