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.