Year End Review 2018

Life is like riding a bicycle: you pedal along and try to steer, but first there is mud, then a pothole, then you have a swerve to avoid a sharp stone. But if you stop pedalling, you will fall off. 

We are super busy with our family life, profession and social spree. When the whole year ends specially, we review our past year with some trickles of hope and whole lot of regrets. Personally, I don’t regret on my choices of good works and bad works. However, there are so many things happens just like that which we can’t stop. 

We all try our best to live our life more meaningfully. The question often asked and answered in various perspectives is how can our life be more meaningful? This is a dumb question. There are tons of books written on this topic.  

There are many electronic devices and apps accessible to us today. They are overloaded with tons of information in every milli second. We are distracted everyday by every bits of information. Facebook, viber, twitter, snapchats are at the tip of the finger unless you are holding your stuff for pee. 

I decided to be less distracted from these tiny monsters and stumbled on books most of the time. I love nonfictions. I love travelogues. I love historical fictions and autobiographies. I feel more content and satisfied when I read a good book and realize the absurdity or beauty of the life. Books are the best trustworthy friends forever. They are there; quiet and decent. When you need, they unfold the mystery.  

I read number of books in 2018. I set a target reading five books a month. And those books were not all award winning but heart winning.  

Here, I am going to mention the name of the books I read and actually I liked them. 

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanidhi is one of my favourites. This book gives me more pain then the pleasure making me realize the ultimate fate of human being. Many of the self-help books say that life is in your grip. But how far and what extend? Paul Kalanidhi has reviewed his life through constant struggle and success. Living with immigrant parents in Arizona, he learned life lessons from his parents, studied hard and became a successful neuroscientist at the of 35. But who knows what awaits tomorrow? He had a newly married beautiful wife, a new home, and a good paying job. One day, after working a 24 hrs long surgery of one his patients, he was diagnosed with a Cancer. He has a year due date for the death.   

He started writing this book with his childhood memories, struggles, success, experiences with patients. Due to his death at the middle of his book, his wife Lucy wraps up the last chapter of the book with her tear of separation.  

There is a lot in this book we can read. It makes you realize about the unpredictably of our life. It reminded me the book of Jagdish Ghimire. 

Buddha and the Terrorist: The Story of Angulimala by Satis Kumar is a profound book of teaching. When I first saw the title, I thought that it was a controversial topic. How Buddha and Terrorist go together? As I started unfolding the pages, it was actually the book full of inspiration and lessons about nonviolence. This is a story of Angulimala, who become a terrorist due to the social exclusion created by cast system. To take a revenge, he vowed himself to kill all the people, cut their finger, make a garland of them and wear around the neck. Everyone in the village was terrorized with him until one day Buddha meets him and teaches him what violence does. Buddha teaches him non-violence is only the tool to fight against any kind of injustice. Angulimala changed himself to be the follower of Buddha and becomes the Monk. His sins were forbidden by the King with the participation of the victims' families.  

The Glass Palace by Amitav Gosh is a bulky book which brings down the history of three generation of Burma mostly India, Thailand, Malaya as well. Due to migration from one country to another during British colonization, many families were disintegrated, suffered a loss of loved one because of war, rise and fall of young Indian entrepreneurs. There are stories of love, romance, separation, war, family disintegration and many more. There is, in fact, a lot to know about the impact of colonization in the book.  

The Remains of the Day is a 1989 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author Kazuo Ishiguro. The story is told from a first-person point of view. The narrator, Stevens, a butler, recalls his life in the form of a diary; the action progresses from the mid-1930s through to the present.  

Lord Darlington Hall is the setting of the writers' flashback where he worked as a butler, head steward of the hall. Miss Kenton worked in 1930s and 1940s with Mr Stevens.  

The story begins from the offering of the motoring trip to Stevens by the new employer Mr Farraday. However, the narrator opens with Miss Kentons letter and her interest to come back to Lord Darlington Hall to work with him. 

Then Mr Stevens remembers how he was loyal to his job and ignored the love and romance with Miss Kenton. 

Faraday also regrets for not having a bantering quality which his new boss likes.  

Lord Darlington hall used to be busy during second world war. Many of the political meetings would take place. As a butler, Steven's main duty was to please the boss by showing his loyalty and hard work. Miss Kenton wanted to draw his attention several times and gave hints of love and romance. Although Mr. Stevens knew it, he would think that it was unethical to have romantic relation with coworkers. But after many years he meets Miss Kenton, flashbacks and regrets about the past.  

1948 by George Orwell is another profoundly written book about dictatorship and its impact on the common citizens. I first read this book couple of years back while in the University. However, that was the reading of book seeking some important paraphrases for the exam. It wasn’t the justice. This book shows how's England look like under the dictatorship.  

Pablo Escobar: My Father is a book about the life of one of the greatest drug-lords of 20th Century from Columbia. Before I read this book, I watched Narcos a documentary drama series in Netflix. Unbelievable feat of a poor village boy into the Narco world, countless people killed ruthlessly, a single man in war with a State and the USA for many years yet an unfathomable loving husband, son and father of his two children. If you hear some saying that he goes from Columbia to Switzerland for birthday cake and stops Paris on the way back for antique wine in his private Jet, do you believe? Do you believe if someone burns twenty million dollars only to keep his daughter warm? Do you believe, more than fifty million is destroyed simply by flood, fire and mice??? If not read the book or watch Narcos. 

This book is written by his own son who now lives in Argentina.  

The Long Walk by Sławomir Rawicz, first published in 1956, an account of a young Polish cavalry officer who was arrested by the Russians, tortured and sentenced to 25 years forced labour camp gulag. Describes his 3-month journey from Moscow to the prison camp in Siberia, his escape with 6 companions and their journey across the Gobi Desert to Tibet and freedom. The writer narrates in a poetic language about the torture, pain, horror, hunger, struggle for freedom and survival and the death from the closer view point. This book is an account of human struggle for survival and freedom. 

Close observation of the death of their fellow friends is a heart-breaking event which compels us to roll the tears while reading. 

While the Gods were sleeping by Elizabeth Enslin is a story of love, devotion, social picture of Nepali rural village near Chitwan. Enslin is an American anthropologist who fell in love with Nepalis student in the university, got married, moved to Nepal and experienced all the hardships in the different culture and geography. As a daughter in law in a high cast Brahmin family with a language barrier and different social practices, she undergoes through tough time in her life. The description of the social scene, human behaviours, perception of the local people on her has been described in such a language that she walks you through the time and places of rural Nepal. 

Furthermore, this book is a social picture of a rural village in Chitwan, painful lives of women, cast system, illiteracy, political transformation and so on. Elsin's sense of humour makes reader smile throughout the book. 

Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour is a simple, beautiful and moving story of a catholic priest Elis Chacour and his contribution to bring peace in Palestinians explaining that the Jews and Palestinians are the Blood brothers as they share the same father Abraham. It represents the balanced view of Isreal- Palestine conflict unlike American bias judgement. The writer describes how Palestinians were forced to leave the land of their ancestors who lived there for hundreds of years and sow the seed of conflict forever. Chacour tries to bring peace through forgiveness, compassion, and cooperation. He has rebuilt villages destroyed by the conflict, established schools and only a college in Jerusalem that accepts Muslims, Christians and Jews students.  

The Artists of the Floating World by Ishiguro, The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Brida by Paulo Coehlo are the novels I really enjoyed reading. 

The Day will Pass Away: Diary of a Gulag Prison Guard 1935-1936 by Ivan Chistyakov and I am Canada; Blood and Iron: Building the Railway by Lee Heen-gwong British columbia,1882 are two most powerful diaries with untold history of the railway workers of the two world's most powerful and longest railways: Trans- Siberian Railway and Transcanada railway. The Day Will Pass Away is an account of the gulag prisoners’ sacrifice while building the trans-Siberian railway and the second is the historical document of the Chinese railway labours and their exploitation, suffering and death while building the TransCanada railway through the Canadian Rockies in a harsh weather and difficult terrain.  It is the diary of the youngest Chinese worker Heen-gwong translated by Paul Yee.  

Along with the English language books, I also read number of Nepali books. Sakhi Ramlal Joshi is a social novel with various stories of poor community and the characters who were born and raised in poverty, discrimination, segregation. These characters represent different aspect of the society. Manav is the central character of the story who was migrated from Doti, a rural village of western Nepal to Dhangadi. As a young child, he was a friend of Sakhi who was a Kamlahari, a servant in his house. He teaches her to study, plays with her. However, when he goes to school, he meets Malati, a daughter of a local king called Chandra Bahadur. Malati used to sit alone in the classroom as per the command of Chandra Bahadur. Chandra Bahadur represents the upper class of the society who exploits the Kamaiya.  The owners of the Kamaiya often rape the women and impregnate them. Those impregnated women are arranged a second marriage with some poor person who agrees to do so with a few bucks. 

Sakhi is a girl who grows up in the Kamaiya family working as a servant. She befriends with Manav. Once Manav escapes the village after his letter to Malati was found by the teacher.  He was also beaten up by the gang of Malati’s brothers. Sakhi is raped by the owner. Then she gets married with a poor man of the village after being pregnant from her owner. After that she marriages with three different people, has three children. But at last she is left alone with three children. She actively participates in a revolutionary movement. She stands in the front line of everyday demonstration. She becomes the headline of every news.  

She again became a scapegoat of a journalist as purposed her to marry. Sakhi gets in relation with him thinking that her marriage with him can be a shelter to her three children. But later a white lady journalist starts relation with her husband and her marriage ends adding one more chapter of tragedy in her life.  

Then she starts working in a hostel as a dishwasher with the help of a teacher. With the help of the teacher she opens shelter to those people who were neglected by the family, mentally sick and homeless. 

Sarsarti Sansar by Jiba Laamichhane is a travelogue. However, more than a travelogue this book is a philosophical understanding of human life in various geopolitical background. Jiba Laamichhane, as a businessman visits multiple countries in Asia, Europe, America, Africa and the Middle east. Not only for the business purpose but in his family tour, Jiba looks the beauty of different countries with the lenses of politician, naturalist, visionary leader and a teacher. He documents a brief political history of the countries and connects with Nepal. Wherever he goes Nepal is always with him and he whines again and again why Nepal could not develop despite its vastness of natural resources and tremendous possibilities. 

Sansar  ek  Paadshala is Bishal Sitaula’s philosophical book in a form of memoir. Bishal Sitaula lived more than 35 years in Norway and worked in one of the reputed universities in Norway for 30 years and visited many countries. He documents his life experiences from different incidents, meetings with different people and places. He briefly touches every part of his life; his childhood, schooling, his dreams and hobbies, spiritual quest and greater meaning of life. This book teaches the art of living to the new generation.  

Baali by Jit Bahadur Katuwal is a novel written on a pauranik character Baali from Ramayana. This book teaches moral lesson from the ancient story of the Ramayana. Baali and Sugriv were brothers loving and trustworthy to each other. Baali becomes the King and Sugriv helps his brother in the palace. Once Hastinapur was attacked by the demons and Balli chased him up to the cave. Sugriv followed him and awaits at the entrance of the cave. When Bali did not return for long time, he assumed that Bali was killed by Demon. Then he blocked the entrance, returned to the palace, became a king and got married with the Queen, his sister in law. Later Bali came back after killing the demon. When he saw Sugriv as a king and his wife as a queen of Sugriv, he thought that it was a conspiracy of Sugriv to become a king. Then he chased Sugriv out of the palace. Sugriv, with the help of Rama, kills Bali in a war. However, Bali realizes his mistake and regrets at the end.  

This story has a lot of moral lessons to be learned by the leader, politicians and the general citizens.  

There are many other books I read in 2018; some of them partially finished and some half way stopped. 

Some movies and TV shows in Netflix were really knowledge worthy.  

Narcos, El Chapo, Kublai Khan, Cathedral of the Sea were the TV shows on Netflix I really liked. Sully, Captain Phillis, Django Unchained, The Way Back are movies made on the real incidents and events. I recommend them.  

I also visited home country Nepal in October, meet family and friends, celebrated Dashain festival, visited relatives in Chitwan, Nepalganj, Butwal, Kathmandu, Galkot, Kharbang and Rakshay. 

My mom's visit to Canada and days with mom for nine months was the most exciting and remarkable in 2018. I will write about this in my next blog. 

Afterall, it was awesome. One year competed with EEDC. I also started a new job with Excel Society as a Relief staff (CSW). I quit the Resident Managers job with Braden Equities.