Brewing stories in the Himalayas
On a late October morning, a cozy circle of
eight writers at the library of artistic Vajra Hotel share what they have
penned. The rays of the early morning sun fall on them as they read out the
words from the pages of their diaries. The atmosphere is magical as they all
contribute something unique to the group. They are on this incredible journey
to explore themselves and the chaotic and mystical beauty of Kathmandu. They
release all their creative juices and create magic with their words. This is
not a usual workshop but an opportunity to truly immerse oneself and most
probably break the writer’s block. However, these writers do not have a
specific purpose—they are not after producing an output. The leaders of this
tribe of writers place importance on the process and work on it rather than
creating something tangible out of it.
I am the kind of person who is always
trying to achieve the best. I believe I have the power to of the pen and I must
use it to benefit all. And time and again, I need to sharpen my ax or let’s
say refill ink in my pen so that I can write with all my heart and calm mind.
When James Hopkins, Director of Himalayan
Writers Workshop provided me this opportunity to participate in Himalayan
Writers Workshop (HWW), I grabbed it with both hands. The 10-day workshop was
called, “Wild Writing and Calm Mind”. James
who has lived in Nepal for around 15 years now, said he created this workshop
featuring writers mainly to “pull the rug out of writers’ feet” and make them
explore the chaotic yet crackling beauty of the sacred places in Kathmandu. He
mentioned that geography plays an important role in unleashing creativity and
some holy places in Kathmandu ignite that inner creativity. He explained the
valley is a mandala and was our guide for the meditation practice and touring
spiritual shrines such as Swayambhu, Pashupatinath, Boudhanath, and Buddhist
monasteries.
He is a creative poet and writer, however,
there is much more to his personality that meets his eyes. He has worked for
the beggars’ community and helped many of the women and children live a
dignified life through education and entrepreneurship. One evening we visited
the beggars’ camp where we were greeted with enthusiastic ‘Namastes’. It seemed
like he is a Hollywood star and everyone there were his fans. However, this
fanfare doesn’t affect him much and he knows how to set boundaries.
“Write
as poorly as you can,” said Laurie Wagner, our writing coach. She gave us
prompts like, “If you really knew me..” and asked us to write continuously for
10-15 minutes. We would get inspiration to write from the poems she read to us.
Those poems had a dreamlike effect and it brought us something we did not
expect. I unlearned the assumption that we need to be perfect, and write well
before we read out our works to others. Our writings could be raw, simple and
yet it could be quite powerful. Writing poorly gives us the liberty to just be
ourselves. We did not strive for perfection yet we created something that
cracked our hearts open and on most occasions, tears rolled from our eyes when
we read our writings or listened to someone else read their writings. Writing
made us vulnerable and helped us express ourselves in dynamic ways.
Story slices were another interesting
exercise that we practiced during these 10-days workshop. Everyone had to form a story from whatever
topped their mind. This helped me view the world more creatively and openly.
“If you feel you should not write about something, then that is the exact thing
you must write about,” Laurie often told us. We were assigned to take photos of
whatever attracted us on our journeys and write short stories on them.
Apart from the course and the lessons I
learned from Laurie and James, I will always cherish the relationship I build
with my roommate Beverly Hines from Virginia, USA. Zoe Wagner became like a
sister to me and I was fascinated by her rigor to understand Nepal and its
culture. She was quick to pick up Resham firiri, a Nepali folk song and she
also bought a Sarangi which she
carefully wrapped in her shawl and packed in her suitcase. I remember the time
when she beautifully sat in front of a small cottage at Namo Buddha Resort and
wrote in her notebook. She looked quite lovely in that place with yellow
flowers and greenery around her. I stopped to capture that beauty but since I
am not very skilled at doing it, I took a while to get a perfect shot. I could
sense that she was not comfortable with me taking pictures of her. She said, “Hey
Abhilasha, please give me some alone time.” I apologized and walked away. In my
culture, girls her most girls her age would request to take more photos if
someone took photos. However, in western culture privacy, individualism and
alone time is non-negotiable.
The hike with Laurie Hunt from Canada was
another memorable moment for me. Listening to Lisa Choegyal’s extraordinary
stories in her British accent was a treat. I was impressed to know that Jenice
Gharib who lived in New Mexico, USA knew about our culture and tradition.
One of my favorite moments of this workshop
was when we had an interaction with Thuli Basnet, 86 year old woman who lived
in a village in Namo Buddha. She was a simple woman who had seen five
generations and had wisdom about life and living. Holding my hands she said, “I
see my granddaughter in you.”
Being a local of Kathmandu, the places we
visited were not at all new to me. However, I saw Boudhanath stupa and Swayambhu
through their eyes, full of mystery and chaos. I observed the cremation at
Pashupatinath more deeply. The Everest and Langtang Himalayan range that peaked
through the clouds at Namobuddha were familiar to me but now they became more
special since spotting them once was a big deal for Beverly. I don’t take these
shrines or the tradition for granted from now onwards.
Himalayan Writers Workshop is a fortunate
stroke of serendipity for me. I had not imagined I would be writing and
unleashing a wild side of me. I did not expect to be guided into deep
meditation and woken awake by the sound of the singing bells. The whole
experience was like an awakening and liberating –a sign from the universe which
directs me to live a more open and creative life.
