Book Chat: A guide for a traveling mind

Karma is a popular actor and theatre artist who has garnered much appreciation for his skills. In addition to being known for his fabulous acting skills, friends and contemporaries also know him as someone in love with books. Besides reading scripts and dissecting them for his performance, he reads all kinds of books – from tourism to non-fiction. Recently, he was in conversation with The Week's Sachi Mulmi about his lifelong affair with reading. Excerpts:



Why is reading important to you?

Reading is an important part of my job. Whenever I have something to work on, reading the scripts and reading it again and again is essential for me to know more about what I have to deal with as an actor. For me, just reading isn't enough. I have to thoroughly understand the content and what is happening in the story, so it's essential that I fully immerse myself in the book I'm reading.

How important is interacting about the text with others?

I sit down with fellow actors and friends to discuss about the storyline and characters to know it better and it's of paramount importance. You have to be in the same page when you discuss a script, so of course there's a lot of interaction. I ask the director or my teacher for extra information and even read reference texts for that. But if it's a book, I don't have many people to discuss it with. Some don't want to discuss even if they've read the book and that proves to be a problem quite a lot of times. So when I find a friend who reads, I try to match our reading materials so that we can discuss about it.

Has there been any book that surprised you by the time you finished it?

Forget Kathmandu by Manjushree Thapa surprised me. I didn't know what it was about in the beginning and I was very skeptical. But once I read it, I thought, 'Wow, she's amazing.' She talks about reality and has opened up in a way that most people wouldn't. For someone born and brought up in Kathmandu, of course I had to read it. Another surprise was Sachin Tendulkar's 'Playing It My Way'. I thought it didn't live up to the hype it created and was disappointed. By the time I finished, I remember feeling that it could have been about something much more.

So does the experience make you apprehensive about reading new books?

I feel as if I have to explore and see things out there. I feel as if I have to be prepared to read anything and everything. Of course we can analyze a text any way way we like, but I say save your judgments. I think that I should be reading everything that comes my way.

Do you compare yourself with the characters? Are there any that have stuck with you through the years?

I love to relate myself with the characters. It's a huge part of how I prepare myself for the performances. But whenever I do that, I don't wish that I was like a character entirely – there are parts that I agree with and parts that I don't. The protagonist from 'Into The Wild', for example. I wish I had the guts to travel like him, but I don't want to be exactly like him.

Any reading habits you have that irk other people?

Whenever I feel bored, I take out a book and start reading. You never know when that is, it could be in the middle of a conversation or get-together with friends and family, and it irritates them when I do that. I can't help it though. Sometimes, the plot is so interesting that you don't want to put it away, and that's when they complain. Also, I don't like reading e-books so I carry a paperback with me as much as possible.

If you had to choose between reading and traveling, what would it be?

I would pick traveling. And that's because it appeals to my curious nature. Whenever I travel, I find that I'm excited. It makes me feel like a scientist, looking over this and that and wondering about the story and history behind a monument or a place. But one thing that's constant between reading and traveling is that I find myself studying people and places and curious about what's around the corner.

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