Famous businessman, media personality and pilot Captain Rameshwar Thapa has come out with a simple yet riveting account of his involvement as a chopper pilot in the decade-long Mao­ist insurgency. Because the war ended over a decade ago, its viciousness has faded from our memory. But we cannot afford to forget an era that has massively shaped contempo­rary Nepali polity and society. Barud Mathi Uddaa (‘Flying over explosives’) is a note­worthy addition to Nepal’s insurgency-related literature.

The book provides glimpses of the various battles fought between the then Maoist rebels and the state security forces. Although Thapa was a commercial pilot, he was sought after by the security forces to mount rescue oper­ations and send in reinforce­ments. Despite the danger inherent in the work, Thapa was ever ready to fly.

The book also traces Tha­pa’s journey from a poor rural family in Kavre to Rus­sia where he trained to be a helicopter pilot. Thapa then went on to become one of the most successful businessmen in the country. He even had a role to play in bringing top leaders together to reach the 16-point agreement in June 2015, which paved the way for the constitution’s prom­ulgation.

The book will be of inter­est to academics and to gen­eral readers alike. An English translation of the book is also set to hit the shelves within a year.