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Kitab Publication published two books written by Sudheer Sharma on Sept 15. First, “Monks, Business and Rebellion: Nepal’s Bhot-China Relationship and India”. Second, “The Storm across the Himalayas: The Changing Nepal-China Relationship after the Republic.” After reading both the books here I have attempted to provide a review of the first one. Sharma, a well-known figure in Nepali media, appears to have done deep research for this 376-page book. This book is organized in seven sections including an epilogue. 

Nepal-Tibet relations and Chinese domination

The book begins by chronicling Nepal-Tibet trade relations dating back to the 7th century, noting Nepal’s diplomatic presence in Tibet for over 374 years. Despite ups and downs, the relationship took a pivotal turn in 1856 with the signing of the 10-point ‘Thapathali Treaty’ after Nepal’s invasion of Tibet. This treaty made Tibet a protectorate of Nepal, which raised concerns for China. A tripartite agreement followed, recognizing both Nepal and Tibet as under the Chinese emperor’s authority.

As China increased its military presence in Tibet by 1968, tensions escalated for Nepal. Historical records in the book reveal that China viewed Nepal as a potential part of its sphere of influence, even offering Nepal a place in its union of five ethnic groups (Han, Manchu, Mongol, Tibetan, and Muslim). Sun Yat-sen, the father of the Republic of China, even listed Nepal among China’s ‘lost territories.’ These accounts challenge the popular belief that Nepal was spared from Chinese domination, a sentiment that has lingered in Nepal’s historical narrative.

To counter the Chinese threat, Nepal sought British recognition as an independent nation, formalized in a 1923 treaty. Until the 1950s, Tibet was Nepal’s immediate northern neighbor, with whom it shared deep cultural, economic, and strategic ties. It wasn’t until China annexed Tibet that Nepal found itself facing a new geopolitical reality. While many fear the ‘Sikkimization’ of Nepal following India’s annexation of Sikkim, Sharma’s book argues that China’s annexation of Tibet and its desire to dominate Nepal receive less attention. Through historical evidence, the book sheds light on China’s expansionist approach toward Nepal.

Sharma also explores the influence of Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Nepal during the 1950s. Maoist ideology started spreading in Nepal, and by 2004, Gangalal founded the 'Lal Communist Party,' influenced by Mao’s ideas. Though short-lived, this marked the beginning of communist interest in China within Nepal. By the late 1950s, China became a political shrine for Nepali communist leaders, who were drawn to its propaganda and the spread of the Chinese language, which carried political undertones. The book’s fifth chapter, ‘Circus,’ examines how China used language education as a tool to indoctrinate Nepalis, with the first lessons being “Long live Chairman Mao” and “Down with American imperialism.”

Mahendra’s elusive nationalism

The chapter ‘Mao and Mahendra’ focuses on Nepal-India relations, particularly the controversial 1950 Friendship Treaty. Sharma portrays King Mahendra as having two distinct personas: one as the architect of modern Nepali diplomacy and the other as a ruler who curtailed democracy to consolidate power. His nationalist stance is scrutinized, particularly in relation to India. While Mahendra is credited with removing most of the Indian military camps in Nepal, Sharma questions his motives, suggesting that Mahendra used nationalism to preserve the monarchy rather than genuinely serve Nepal's interests.

Contrasting Mahendra’s nationalism with the actions of Prime Minister BP Koirala, the book highlights Koirala’s balanced foreign policy approach. For example, when Nehru tried to engage Koirala in a united front against China, Koirala resisted, choosing instead to maintain equilibrium between India and China. The book also revisits Mahendra’s controversial decision to cede part of Mount Everest to China, undermining his nationalist image.

Preserving the monarchy

Sharma argues that Mahendra strengthened ties with China not out of ideological alignment but as a strategy to counterbalance India’s influence. The book also shows how Mahendra cultivated relations with the United States to further his geopolitical goals. During his 1960 visit to the US, just months before imposing the Panchayat system, Mahendra received a warm welcome at the White House and secured substantial financial support. Shortly after, he overthrew the democratically elected government, signaling a shift towards authoritarianism.

The sixth chapter, ‘Rajtantra ko Samyawadi Saino,’ discusses how successive Nepali monarchs, including Mahendra, Birendra, and Gyanendra, maintained strong ties with China. Sharma’s analysis suggests that the monarchy strategically used these relationships to preserve its power. Interestingly, despite its title focusing on Nepal’s relations with Tibet, China, and India, the book’s chapter on US involvement, particularly during the Mustang rebellion, leads the reader to feel that “America” should have also been featured in the title.

I recently read and loved ‘The Library of Borrowed Hearts’ by Lucy Gilmore. I went to the bookstore to buy ‘The Lonely Hearts Book Club’, which was published before The Library of Borrowed Hearts, immediately after finishing it. I had assumed these were Gilmore’s initial works but was surprised to find out that she has a plethora of novels to her credit. Her writing is sharp and easy to read which makes her books such a breeze. But it can get a little repetitive if you happen to read her books back-to-back. I would still recommend both the books, with a slightly more emphasis on ‘The Library of Borrowed Hearts’.

Both the books have similar premises and I think readers will end up liking whichever they choose to read first more than the one they read next. For me, ‘The Lonely Hearts Book Club’ felt a little off as I had already read something similar by Gilmore. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it. I actually loved the story and the characters, albeit some issues, are nice. We meet Sloane Parker who is a librarian in a small town. She strikes up an unusual friendship with Arthur McLachlan through insults and easy banter. Then one day, he doesn’t show up at the library and Sloane gets worried. She tracks him down, finds out that he had been unwell, and makes it her mission to bring some cheer into his lonely life.

She creates an impromptu book club, much to Arthur’s chagrin. Slowly, people start coming together as they find ways to connect with one another through stories they can relate to or those that give them a sense of peace or closure. Gilmore presents the story from different character’s perspectives, giving you insights that you otherwise wouldn’t have had. It makes for a wholesome and contemplative read.

What I had a problem with was that all the characters lacked spine. They wouldn’t stand up for themselves for the simplest of things and that was annoying. Sloane’s fiancé isn’t unkind but he is constantly putting her down in small ways and she just brushes them off. She finds excuses for his family’s (especially his mother’s) dismissive behavior towards her and never says anything. Arthur is grumpy despite people around him being really nice to him. It made me think who would put up with that day in and day out? When someone repeatedly hurts you, would you put aside your feelings and give your all to help that person? Some things felt really unrealistic. At times, I was shaking my head at the incredulity of it all.

But I would still recommend The Lonely Hearts Book Club if you want to read something light and fun. If you love books about books, then this is a good one. Things sometimes feel a little forced but the characters are interesting and you want to know how they will eventually resolve their personal issues. I’d give it a three out of five stars.

Fiction

The Lonely Hearts Book Club

Lucy Gilmore

Published: 2023

Publisher: Sourcebooks

Pages: 356, Paperback

The title of the book is horrible. The cover design is equally crap. The paper quality feels weird. The font size irritated me when I riffled through the book. So why did I still pick it up? Of late, I have developed a thing for nutrition and diets. I want to understand food better and figure out what works best for my body. I don’t want to necessarily lose weight but I would like to feel agile and nourished. So, I have been reading random books and articles on the subject.

I had bought ‘Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight’ years ago—perhaps a couple of years after it was published. Diwekar came into limelight for helping Kareena Kapoor lose weight and prepare for her role in the Hindi movie ‘Tashan’. This was when she became a ‘size zero’ and everybody was talking about it. The book is endorsed by Kapoor who says Diwekar not just changed her body but also her mind and soul and that she is the best thing to have happened in her life.

If you want to find out how Kapoor, always a proud voluptuous Punjabi, lost so much weight then this book lets you in on those secrets as well. But there are also many other nuggets of wisdom in the book that will help you make positive choices while eating. The content of the book is not limited to what the title suggests. There is actually a lot of information that helps you make good lifestyle decisions. It also breaks many myths about diets, while opening your eyes to why starving yourself is never a good idea.

Diwekar shows you that you need to have a healthy relationship with food. A diet has to be a lifestyle choice rather than a fad and she gives great tips and tricks on how you can make small changes over time to incorporate healthy eating behaviors. What I liked about this book is that it also shows you how you can eat what you want to without becoming too indulgent or, worse, addicted to something. Unlike most diet books I’ve read, Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight isn’t preachy or too strict with the rules. Diwakar wants you to view food as your friend and not your enemy and that includes your favorite ‘mithai’ as well.

Don’t Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight

Rujuta Diwekar

Published: 2009

Publisher: Random House India

Pages: 279, Paperback

“Nhamkha!” The sound of Pema’s voice echoes across the silent mountains but never reaches the motionless Nhamkha covered in snow with an inkling of red. This is a defining moment in Min Bahadur Bham’s cinematic tour de force Shambhala. Pema is truly alone, her red lachha forever woven around Nhamkha’s white fate.

Shambhala is a touching depiction of women’s reality when communal gossip in society becomes her truth. It is also a testimony to the beauty of Nepal, the stunning majestic mountains that peaks seemingly close to the skies.

Shambhala, in Tibetan, means arising to the land of happiness. The themes in the film include polyandry, patriarchy, self-hood, spirituality, nomadic lifestyle, and loyalty. While we may or may not have seen Pema (played by Thinley Lhamo) reach Shambhala explicitly, the director’s message floated around the cold mountain air of upper Dolpo, letting the audience decide if the film was about Pema’s infidelity or Pema’s journey to self-hood.

Pema is married to three brothers: Tashi (played by Tenzin Dalha), Karma (played by Sonam Topden), and Dawa (played by Karma Wangyal Gurung). The main conflict arises when Pema is accused of having an affair with one of the teachers Ram (played by Karma Shakya) in the village while Tashi is away in Lhasa for trade. This conflict leads Pema to go on a quest to prove her loyalty to her husband Tashi. Throughout the journey, we see character development in both Pema and Karma. While Karma accommodated Pema halfway through, he did not overpower her journey. But, rather we see their shared love for music, Rinpoche, and a subtle chemistry emerge.

The conversation around the film surrounds who the father is, this proves how woman’s loyalty is a societal affair. It distracts us from the other essential symbolic meanings in the film. The slow walk through the cold mountains, itself is a testament to Pema’s resilience. Karma is in the dilemma of being a good husband or following his duties as a monk. When Karma leaves Pema to fulfill his duties at the monastery, she falls asleep on the ground, and upon waking up her horse dies. This was a moment in the film when Pema is truly alone. She marches on to create a reality for herself.

The film displays the contradiction of a society where multiple husbands are the norm, but having multiple lovers is a sin. In one scene, we see Tashi warning Pema to stay away from a woman, reasoning she has multiple lovers. The story at times, towards the middle feels minute as the backdrop of the film takes much of the attention. The visuals of the mountains are stunning and even though the characters speak in Tibetan, both subtitles in English and Nepali are provided which suggests Bham’s vision of the audience not being limited to Nepalese and Tibetan-speaking people. The theme is a striking mise en scène looking at the stunning upper Dolpo while witnessing Pema’s solitude and the journey to the self. The lighting stays low-key from start to finish, indicating it is a sentimental story. As we know, cinema can act as a medium of soft power, it feels like a deliberate choice to let the mountains of Dolpo speak at a glacial pace.

This global exposure and recognition of Shambhala is a way of displaying diverse Nepali values, culture, and customs. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival and also included as a Nepalese submission for the Academy Award For Best International Feature. Thinley Lhamo, who played the protagonist Pema, also won the Boccalino d’Oro Prize For Best Acting Performance at the 77th Locarno International Film Festival in Switzerland. Shambhala raises the standard for Nepali cinema. For a film to be popular, its entertainment value is regarded as high, however, even with its slow-paced static long-form shorts, Shambhala receives an engagement among the mainstream Nepali audience as well.

The film also does a fabulous job of showing polyandry culture the way it is, and the culture of people and its stories that often get overlapped by the mountains. The film pulls you back into nature, you can hear the prayer flags in the background, the grazing of yaks, the sound of running water, and the crunch of ice on Pema’s feet. The filmmakers allow us to look at this film from an objective perspective. There are an infinite number of ways we can interpret the ending: finding salvation in God, the beauty of reincarnation, the power of society, love, and faith. In addition to that, it includes a feminist narrative exploring the interplay of individual agency and societal prejudices as a woman who is subscribed to the traditional rules and customs of society. She explores her agency and does what it takes to prove her loyalty even if it means walking through the cold, pregnant.

This story comes from a place of adversity while going through a deep personal subtle change seeing life in a new way. In the journey, the dream sequences add layers and depth to the story. Although Pema takes this expedition to find and prove her loyalty to her husband Tashi, after the reconnection, the confrontation does not give her the peace she anticipated but rather ends in an archery test to prove her loyalty. Although we are unaware if Pema hit the target, we are transported to an abstract dream-like reality of self-acceptance, or maybe a rebirth is displayed.

In this expedition, Pema explores her identity beyond being a wife and a member of society. The lingering question of ‘what will society say?’ holds weight and shows us the power that society still holds. Living in a society comes with being watched, talked about, and even questioned. The mountainous region has always been enticing, we have seen the lives of the mountain, but not its people. Pema takes us on a journey from a daughter to a wife to the self. However, we see this discovery only through loose dialogue exchange between Pema and Karma, and later with Ram when Pema says ‘Everyone has to choose their path’.

Maybe, Shambhala isn’t for everyone, but it is worth watching and contemplating its meaning, quality, and delivery in the contemporary standard of Nepali cinema. While the slow pace of nature depicted in the film has been critiqued, maybe it is a deliberate attempt to show the life of Pema within the even slower tempo of the mountains.