Interview
Jugal Bhurtel, a PhD in environmental engineering and management is a widely read political analyst. Bhurtel, who lived in Russia for a long time, has a firsthand experience of Soviet politics and has been reading the country’s history with keen interest. He spoke to Ujjwal Prasai about his interest in non-fiction.
What was the last book that you read?
The last three books I finished reading are all works of fiction--The Help by Kathryn Stockett, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and To Sir with Love by ER Braithwaite. They have enriched my understanding of literature on race and ethnicity. The book I am currently reading is The Democracy Advantage by Morton Halperin, Joe Siegle and Michael Weinstein. It argues how democracies promote prosperity and peace. Using 40 years of empirical data from many countries, the authors offer evidence that poor democracies outperform poor autocracies on many socio-economic fronts busting the myth that democracy and development are incompatible in the Third World.
What is your favorite genre?
Being a student of science, I prefer to read non-fiction. I enjoy reading books on environment, history, politics, economy and autobiographies. For the last couple of years I have been writing on Lenin, the October coup and the brutal regime of Stalin. That requires reading a great deal of Russian history.
Books that have inspired you?
Lekhnath Poudyal’s Tarun Tapasi remains an all time favourite for me. As a student of environment, I am thoroughly inspired by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. Written in 1962, the book is credited to have inspired environmental activism all over the world. Another fascinating book is Our Stolen Future (1996) by Theo Colborn et al. Both books raise a profound question: Are we not threatening our own survival in the name of development? Long Walk to Freedom by Nelson Mandela, Socialism for a Sceptical Age by Ralph Miliband and BP Koirala’s Atmabritanta are equally insightful. Krasnii Terror v Rossii (Red Terror in Russia) by Sergei Melgunov, Rassekrechennii Lenin (Uncovered Lenin) by Anatoly Latishev and Russian historian Nikolai Svanidze’s Istoricheskiye Chroniki (Historical Chronicles) of Russia are other books that have motivated me to write on the dark side of the Soviet experiment. Unfortunately, only the first book is available in English translation.
It is believed that democrats in Nepal read less than the left? Why?
The left vs democrats is a false comparison. I presume, by the ‘left’ you mean ‘true’ disciples of Lenin. Let us consider the case of BP Koirala and Pradeep Giri, prominent social democrats of the past and present. Do you think Giri reads less than the communists? Probably, the communists read more but they often read selective literature to confirm their own dogmatic views, ironically considered as progressive. While Maxim Gorky was hailed as a great writer of the proletariat class, some of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s philosophical works were deemed unsuitable for a New Soviet Man. Mikhail Sholokhov and Vladimir Mayakovsky were good, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Anna Akhmatova were bad. Nepal is not different. Such biased choice of reading breeds ignorance and intolerance, which is reflected in our country’s painful political transition.
Do you think reading helps politicians? How?
The Life of Pi author Yann Martel, who sent one book every two weeks to the Prime Minister of Canada for four years, says “one of the key tools of understanding life is a book. Reading is a way of getting beyond the confines of your own narrow life”. Reading makes you more tolerant, sympathetic and open to new people and ideas. Looking at their speeches and actions, our leaders apparently don’t read much.
Any overrated and underrated books?
There are many, but let me mention only two. Ramesh Bikal’s Abiral Bagdachha Indrawati and Jagadish Ghimire’s Lilam both have similar location and plots. Lilam is powerful in its portrayal, expression, characters; and the agony of the protagonist looks genuine. But when compared to Abiral Bagdachha Indrawati, Lilam somehow remains highly underrated.
Published: The Kathmandu Post, Bookworm Babbles, 1 May 2011
http://epaper.ekantipur.com/ktpost/epaperhome.aspx?issue=152011
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