Love is the only tool that can bring brotherhood, peace, progress and prosperity. It is antidote to terrorism
Have you ever imagined about a school where students are offered courses on love? Creative thinkers think it is possible. Aswini Koirala’s book Premalaya (“School of love”) offers some perspectives.
Love is a matter of exploration. Koirala did some research and tried to find a school or university of love around the world through secondary source of data but he did not find one. Instead, he found that hundreds of such institutions were dedicated to warfare. “If there will be a school of love, all conflicts and war would end,” he told me during a recent conversation.
Hundreds and thousands of wars have been fought in human history, killing billions of people, rendering millions wounded, homeless and loveless. Terrorism has become a new normal. Nearly every day, we hear of bombing and killing. What went wrong with humanity? Is it because we have not taught right meaning of love to our children?
Is it really impossible to forget ‘first’ love?
When I say “I love Nepali cricket team,” I associate it with my country. We tend to undermine other countries by praising ours. Or when we say “I love Hindu religion because it is the best,” the word “best” means that other religions are not as good. I love my girlfriend, I love my husband, I love my kids, we say. We love what is ours and hate what is others’. We are selfish. We are not aware of love because we are not educated on the real meaning of love. It seems we have educated our children to enjoy and love war.
Understanding love
When we really understand true meaning of love, there will be no feeling of superiority and inferiority. There will be no hatred, no domination, no killing in the name of God and terrorism in the name of nation or religion. Love is the only solution to all chaos. Love is a survival tool which evolved to promote long-term relationship, mutual defense and feeling of safety and security. Healthy love is food for the soul.
This is precisely what Aswini Koirala wants to educate through Premalaya. I read his first book Uni which compiles interviews with women from various walks of life. This book represents the life of those women who have inspired others to live life with positive thinking, hope and joy.
His second book Zuckerberg Café appeals to college youths, young professionals and even some older folks. Once you go through the book, you will encounter with matters like love, sex, jealousy, cheating and hatred. Koirala’s stories explore changing nature of romantic relationships and courting rituals in present Nepal.
Wearer only knows where the shoe pinches, goes the saying. Koirala reports like a journalist.
Clever reader can easily predict what will come next. It would not be exaggeration to compare him with Dostoevsky, Chetan Bhagat, Subin Bhattarai, Dhurba Chandra Gautam, Bed Prakash Sharma, Karnal Ranjit among others.
As a student of English literature in Tribhuvan University I had read a number of short stories, poems and novels. With those reading experiences, I can say that short story writing needs ability and talents on the part of author. It is not easy to tell a complete story in 2000 words but it is easy to tell it when you have more than 70,000 words to play with.
A novel must have cumulative effects on readers. Each scene should be inevitably tied to what follows. Every climax should build tension, curiosity, interest and anticipation. The readers should be able to visualize things as they happen in the movies.
Aswini Koirala must have experienced all this as a writer. But I would like to suggest him to work more on short stories than novels.
Koirala’s treatment of love in Premalaya makes great sense. He did his best to educate people through love stories. Love is the only tool that can bring brotherhood, peace, progress and prosperity among the nations. It is the only antidote to terrorism. Let us have love related curriculum in our school and university. Let us have school of love where love is taught as compulsory subject, for love is life, food for our soul, and, as the old saying goes, love is God.
The author is a sociologist and women empowerment Self Defense trainer
girithezorba@gmail.com
