Sanjeev Pokharel's 'Ek Ani Shunya' Released

'Ek ani Shunya', a book on Western Philosophy by Sanjeev Pokharel was released amidst a small outdoor gathering at Publication Nepalaya today. The book builds upon the ten major philosophical trends that form the basis of western philosophy. The author launched the book by offering it to his daughter, Khushi Pokharel.

"I choose to gift this book to my daughter as a metaphoric gesture of handing it over to the younger generation of readers, who I hope will find joy and meaning in reading it."

Further, the author said, "This book is my attempt to explain some important or key questions in Western Intellectual tradition in simple Nepali language, so that the readers here could understand and connect with these ideas."

Explaining the relevance of Western intellectual tradition for our society, he added, "Many of the structures and ideas that form our contemporary world come from the Western tradition – the Western experiences of nation-building, state-citizen relations and so on. So, I think it is essential that we understand the key concepts of this tradition, so we can understand ourselves better by understanding the West."

Speaking about the book, Bishnu Sapkota, a close friend and a fellow professor, said, "There is no lack of books on Western philosophy. But Sanjeev's book stands out as one of the few comprehensive and candid books written in Nepali. To its credit, the book does the wonderful job of connecting dots between philosophy, politics, literature and aesthetics."

The book is a year-ender for Nepalaya publications.

"For us, it was a very conscious decision to publish this book amidst all odds," says Bhushita Vasistha, the publishing editor at Nepalaya. "In a world where news and information have a tiny life cycle, we also face the threat of a new kind of pandemic – the pandemic of amnesia. Lost amidst the noise of the present world, it is easy to lose sight of the fact that some of the questions which bog us down, have been discussed and dissolved earlier. So, this book helps us to cut unnecessary noises from the contemporary discourse in politics and philosophy."

The book outlines the Western intellectual history of the last three thousand years and shows how the ideas were formed, dismantled and regenerated again. In that sense, it represents the evolution of intellectual history through conjecture and refutations. The title of the book 'Ek ani Shunya' symbolizes this cycle of birth, decay and regeneration of ideas. Every thought that has been expressed must perish and again renew over time.

'Ek Ani Shunya'is priced at Rs 495 for the Nepalese Market and will be available in all leading bookstores of the country. The ebook copy can also be purchased from thuprai.com. It will be available worldwide on Amazon.