*Madan Puraskar Winning Novel* Pagal Basti was awarded the most prestigious Award in Nepali literature, Madan Puraskar. Apart from being very entertaining story the story also unveils a deep philosophical aspect of the characters. Pagal Basti is one of the most popular novels written by Sarubhakta. The story starts with the mention of the narrator being on his journey to Ghandruk, a beautiful place near Pokhara. The book is set in the place, which has now become one of the most popular tourist destinations in Nepal. A lot of people have visited the place after reading this novel.
The novel is divided into two parts. First part is an account of a narrator but, in the second part, the story takes another turn where the narrator seems to have gone out of the story.
Literary pundits say that this form of story telling is experimental. But, when you read the book the plot and the story goes on easily and naturally. A clear indication that the experiment of Sarubhakta has been successful. The use of some English words in the conversation between characters has also made the conversation livelier.
The book describes some of the interesting events and incidents in the lives of the characters in the novel. Readers can sense the deep philosophical aspect of the event leads the readers out of their general perception and social norms. Story Plot: The main characters in the story are Adiguru Prashant and Adimata Martha. The story is about how the mental state of these two characters change over time. Both the characters are not fully satisfied with each other. Both of them are guilty about their past. They had both started a journey of ending their dissatisfaction and facing their guilt.
Prashat had loved Martha before he transformed himself into Adiguru. The transformation had ben led by Martha's refusal to accept him as a lover. Later Martha, realized the value of love and Prashant's proposal. When Martha found Prashant, he had already transformed into Adiguru and was settled among a group of his followers in a remote village, a village he had established himself.
By that time, Prashant was unwilling to accept Martha has his lover. He instead changed Martha into Adimata. The flow of emotions among the two and the events at the village is a very interesting binding story.
The ego that develops as Adiguru might seem deeper than a normal reader could understand. But, it is not so deep that readers can't follow through. Understanding the philosophical aspect of the story makes readers critical and analytical and be part of the story. Instead of simply reading the novel, most of the readers participate in analyzing and interpreting why the events turn out like that. This is one of the reasons the book has been so popular among Nepali readers.
The leading character, Adiguru tries to understand and avoid all the human weaknesses. But, however hard he tries, those weakness just creep in. And there is a character named Premmurti, a true statue of love, as the name suggest.
The character of Prashant is quite unpredictable making the events throughout the novel unpredictable and interesting. The book grips the readers early and leaves them wanting more.
About the Author: SaruBhakta is one of the top literary figure of Nepal. Original name of the writer is Bhakta Raj Shrestha. Details on the writer are availalble in Wikipedia - https: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saru_Bhakt
