Rain, Revolution, and a Return to Writing.

Hey Fellow Wanderers,

It’s been a long minute.

How’s the world treating you? Hopefully you’re steering clear of the news cycle, dodging doom-scroll temptations, and letting in only that which nourishes the soul. That’s what I’m trying to do, anyway.

It’s a wet, restless day here in Bhagsu Nag, a little mountain town tucked into the Himalayan foothills in India. I was meant to be at Day Two of a short course on ‘releasing attachment’ at the local dharma centre - but the heavy downpours have kept me away. Instead, I braved the puddles just far enough to reach Magic Tree café, where I’m currently holed up with a latte, and since it’s so cosy, I figured I’d draft a short newsletter.

I left Nepal a little over a week ago. My final days there coincided with scenes straight out of history: government buildings aflame, the airport shut down, the streets thrumming with protests. From my little guesthouse high on the hill above Kathmandu, I could see plumes of black smoke rising across the valley, and at night the horizon burned with several large fires. Yet the chaos was matched by control. One day, young protestors were dismantling a corrupt government; the next, they were sweeping the streets and repairing the damage. It was extraordinary to witness, even from a distance.

At the insistence of a friend, I had started posting short videos on TikTok a few weeks before the protests began. Before long, they’d been viewed over a million times and picked up tens of thousands of likes. What surprised me even more than going semi-viral was the outpouring of messages - I had hundreds of strangers reaching out during the unrest to assure me that I was safe and welcome. That kindness felt like Nepal itself: fierce, kind, generous, unforgettable.

Now, here in India, TikTok is banned, so the steady rush of likes and comments has slowed, giving me time to reconsider. I’ve no interest in being a social media influencer, and in the end, it felt like a distraction from the writing. If it had translated into book sales, maybe it would be different, but a million views doesn’t mean a million readers. It was a fun detour, and maybe I’ll pick it up again when I return to Nepal next year.

So for now, I’m back at work on the next novel, and I’m also revisiting the short fiction I drafted earlier this year. The plan is to give the stories a final polish and send them out to online publishers. With luck, they will find a home, and if not, I’ll eventually share them here on the blog.

Well, I guess that’s about it for this rainy Sunday. Wherever you are, may there be a little sunshine - if not outside, then at least within.

🙏

‘Jay’ Grant

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PS - Here’s a couple of my TikTok videos for your amusement… (no account needed – just tap the speaker icon for sound):

A Little Nepali Message (My attempt at saying thank you in the local lingo)

Farewell Nepal (A quick glimpse of my last day before heading into India.)