Written by: Krishma Thapa - 27005, Grade VIII
Posted on: 24 August, 2022
Niranjan Kunwar, one of my favorite authors, was invited over for a book talk held on Shrawan 30. He was one of the kindest authors in my opinion. I wonder how fast time had gone while listening to him. All about his life, his experience, his struggles we came to know about it within a brief moment of time.
Niranjan Kunwar, author of the novel “Between The Queen and the Cities' ' was over on Monday sharing about his book and his life. Of course it was not easy coming out as gay in the 1900s especially in country like Nepal. We knew a lot through his book but still were excited about meeting him and spending a short period of time with him. I was just so focused about every word he spoke. His life was a chaos according to his experience. His novel teaches us a lot. Niranjan Kunwar, now having a private life, has been going around schools and sharing his experiences. It was fun interacting with him.
Students from grade 5 to 10 had participated in the book talk. The experience was just so good to be with. I felt like it's ok to be who we are and come out as we are. His thoughts were not so similar to other ones his age. In Nepal, even today there are a lot who'll say “eww '' if you come out to be yourself. It's not like we are stuck here but some are. He even shared how teachers of many school were uncomfortable when he shared about his being gay and thought it was inappropriate for students to learn about sexuality. But it's not a thing to hide. Students should get the knowledge about each and everything. It's a part of our life to know everything. His life it was difficult for a while after coming out as gay. His own father thought it was a phase of him.
Now too a lot of us are not comfortable about sharing about sexuality with our parents but Niranjan Kunwar made a lot of them realize they should share about it. It's not wrong to be who you are. Time went by quickly when we were interacting. How comfortable he was and how comfortable he made us feel was just beyond expectation. Book Talk helped us a lot to know about something new and something different.
We had a good time with Niranjan Kunwar. He also talked about his upcoming book. It was truly beautiful to have listened to his stories of wonder and despair. He ended his talk with a smile and left us with memories to rejoice.
