As my eyes fell on the piles of the printed copies of my first novel A Rose on The Platform, I noticed another stack of books, which had been printed and brought along with my book for the distribution. The first impression that the title of the book, The Exile, left on my mind was that it might be a political story. Then I noticed that the writer, Bir Singh, was from Nepal. I felt an immediate affinity. Nepal has been almost a second home to me. Not only that I have many relatives over there but also my only sister is married to a Nepali. I have spent some memorable moments in bordering areas of Nepal during my growing up years.
Though from the day one I noticed the book, I wanted to read it, it took me a few months as I had been busy promoting my own book. Now when I have finished reading it, I really feel good that I read this book. It was a refreshing experience. I have read a few books and stories in Nepali but not anything written by a Nepali writer in English.
After knowing that writer was a Nepali, my impression about the book that it might be a political story got more solid as Nepal has been witnessing continuous political turmoil for many years now. But I was wrong.
The story of exile is very simple. It is a love story of two teenagers belonging to two different castes: Ruplal is a lower caste and Keshari is from upper caste. Finding that the guardian of social barriers would never concede their union, they elope from a small hilly village in Surkhet Velly to the largest city and capital of the country, Kathmandu.
What they had thought would be a simple way to start a new life, turns out to be an awful journey. Naïve and simple, as they are, they are cheated and rejected by the clever and dishonest city people. Not only that even to find a house, Ruplal has to struggle a lot. These simple and small incidents have been narrated in such a flawless and lucid manner, it grips readers mind immediately. The writer doesn’t intend to talk big things, he simply concentrates on very mundane and small steps, incidents of our day to day life; how two teenagers unaware of city life, the boy is only high school educated and girl is illiterate, struggle to find a house, to find a job, to deal with people etc. But these simple things underline brutal and tragic aspect of social evils that have been plaguing our societies, particularly Hindu society, for centuries. And even big city like Kathmandu is not an exception.
When I asked the writer whether it was a real story, he responded positively, ‘The story it narrates is realistic. It is based on a few events that occurred in my native village. Such events are almost frequent in our country, Nepal. Some five months ago, in the neighbouring district of Kathmandu they killed a boy of early twenties who being a dalit eloped with a Brahman girl. Situation is still horrible in Nepal.’
Then at the end of the story, after many years of his arrival in Kathmandu, the protagonist of the novel visits his village Gandapani though in the darkness of the night. What he finds there terrifies him. The protectors of caste had not only destroyed his home but also the lives that had nourished him. And Keshari too had lost so many things. He somehow places her letter to her mother at her brother’s house, in which she, who has by now learned to read and write, opens her heart to her mother, the story of her elopement with Ruplal.
The writer believes that writing can change the society. ‘Of course, it does. Writing can bring about a desired change in the society. It pokes the ear of stake holders, politicians and phenomenally the media persons who propagate the issue raised by a writer. When the issue airs around everyone, it creates discussion that definitely finds solution.’
Bir Singh has certainly made a place among emerging writers in Nepal writing in English. By profession, he is a teacher and lives in Kathmandu. Though he started writing long back 1982, this is his first attempt in English, which is certainly remarkable and worth reading, and more so if you (Indians) want to know what is going on in your neighbouring country. His other books are in Nepali, which include Chetana, Pradesi, Abhiyan and Andheri Raat.
About the Book:
Title: The Exile
Writer: Bir Singh (Kathmandhu, Nepal)
Publisher: Mahaveer Publisher, Delhi.
First Edition: 2016
Price: £5.95 $ 7.99
Available on Amazon and Leading book stores in Nepal
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