“Life finds a way to connect one with their passion,” says Suresh Badal, a writer and translator. 

From a very young age, Badal was interested in books and literature. He collected books, even discarded and dog-eared ones, and gave them bespoke hand-crafted covers if necessary.

Even though he loved literature, he studied science to become a microbiologist. “I grew up in a society that believed science to be the superior subject,” he says.

Badal did sometimes have the urge to leave the field of science and study humanities, but he never took the step. He got a master's degree in microbiology and started working as a teacher.

By this time, his literary dream was long behind him. But this changed after he was involved in a motorcycle accident in 2012.

Badal fractured his leg in the crash and never quite recovered fully. He was unable to stand for a long period to teach his class. 

“My work became a hindrance to my health,” he says.

Four years after the accident, Badal's condition deteriorated and he was completely bedridden. It was a difficult situation, but also a blessing in disguise.

“My illness gave me the opportunity to connect with my passion,” he says. 

Everyday, Badal spent his time on his laptop, reading and writing. He kept a positive outlook where others might have suffered a mental breakdown. Literature saved him.

“Physically, I was incapacitated; but I was traveling the world through literature,” he says. 

Badal read a lot during those days and also posted his writings on his social media. 

“Cooped up inside my room, I wrote about the outside world,” he says.

Most of his writings were autobiographical in nature to which many people related to. Unbeknownst to him, his work was getting recognized, and soon he got a call from a publisher. 

Badal’s first book Rahar was published in February 2021. It was a compilation of the works that he produced while he was bedridden. Most of the writings were about his childhood experiences. 

The book was well-received by the readers. Badal was then approached by a publisher to translate Hippie, a novel by Brazilian author Paulo Coehlo, into Nepali. The book came out in October 2021. 

“For me, it was an amazing opportunity to share my understanding of the book with other people,” Badal says. “More than work, it was a fun experience.”

Translation, he adds, is “portraying the essence of the book” in a different language. 

Badal enjoys writing and translating with equal measure. He feels lucky that he is getting to follow his passion. 

“Do you have any frustrations about not being able to follow your passion sooner?” I ask him. 

“I would not call it a frustration,” he replies. "I never resented the fact that I studied science. But I do wonder that if I studied humanities, I would also be writing in English.”

Badal writes in Nepali but he is heavily influenced by western literature. 

“I mostly read English books, but I express in Nepali,” he says. "Maybe, this is also one of the reasons why I am fond of translation."

Badal wishes more books from around the world should be translated into Nepali. “Language should not be a barrier to literature,” he says. "There aren’t many genres to explore within Nepali literature. We need literature from around the world and translation can make this possible."

Badal is currently working on a romance novel titled Maya Ka Masina Akshar, which will be out this year.

He plans to continue writing, translating and reading, but he also believes that life and career can change anytime. The motorcycle accident that made him a writer out of a microbiology teacher taught him this  

“I am a believer of destiny. Let’s see what it has prepared for my future,” he says.