Parijat: शिरिषको फूल (Blue Mimosa)

The latest addition to my website is Parijat‘s शिरिषको फूल (Blue Mimosa), a novel by an Indian-born, Nepali writer and one of only two of her novels translated into English. Parijat was born in Darjeeling but moved to Nepal when she was seventeen and spent the rest of her life there, suffering from various health problems, but still writing poetry, stories and novels as well as being involved in charitable works. This is a very short novel and tells the story of a Nepali man, who has come back from World War II, empty and unhappy, and who has become an alcoholic. He makes friend with another drinker and, through him, meets the man’s three unmarried sisters. He is attracted to the middle sister, but she is headstrong, difficult and aggressive and things do not go very well, particularly when we learn what really happened to him in the war. Though it has been translated into English, it is sadly very difficult to get hold of in English, even though it was republished. A well-known online bookseller is currently quoting just one copy for sale – at £1000 (=$1500).