Shades Of Red

I am not sure if Palpasa Café can be justifiably categorised as fiction, it seems like a literary version of a documentary film to me. At best, I would call it a journalistic novel. Don't get me wrong, Palpasa Café has a story, and a good one at that, but the background of political friction, constant violence among various factions of the Maoists in Nepal, apathy and human rights violation by the law keeping forces , loss of innocent civilian lives are the factors that remain with the reader much after turning the last page. Therefore, the novel brings to the world what is happening within the borders of that country in a more impactful manner than most news reportage. Through the sad love story of the protagonist we learn of the greater tragedy of a beautiful nation and its simple people.

Palpasa Café is written by the acclaimed Nepali journalist, Narayan Wagle. During his journalistic travels he trekked throughout the length and breadth of Nepal, sometimes even the difficult trails to mountains and witnessed first-hand the massacre and horror his beloved country was going through. Much of what he saw was expressed in his reports for Kosilee one of the dailies he corresponded for, but a lot more remained to be told. It is those countless, heart wrenching stories that find expression in this, Narayan's first novel. Palpasa Café brings to fore a sensitive and intuitive Nepali writer from whom readers can expect many such illustrative works in future.  The novel was first published in 2005 in Nepali, was translated into English in 2008 and so made available to a larger audience. Though I have thoroughly enjoyed the book, I suspect that some of its genuine warmth may have been lost in translation, as is often the case, in spite of utmost care.

This is the story of Drishya, a modern Nepali painter and his soul-mate Palpasa, whom he meets during one of his travels. Soon after their destined-to-happen encounter, they realise how much they relate to each other and a pure love begins to bloom. However love's naive banter and the battle towards submission is rudely interrupted when Siddhartha, the artist's college friend and a 'people's revolutionary' whisks him away to the country-side to see what has become of the Nepal he claims to represent in his work. From this point, the novel takes on a dark shade and leaves the reader saddened by the developments.

I would definitely encourage those who have a hunger for information and like slightly unusual books to get hold of this one. The book left me depressed and sad but I learned a lot about the ground-realities of my neighbouring country, or indeed any nation writhing under that clouds of political violence.