Mountains Painted with Turmeric

September 10, 2007
Nepali author Chettri’s slender 1957 novel is a descriptive and evocative tale of a young Nepali peasant farmer’s run of bad luck. Dhan “Dhané” Bahadur Basnet, 25, strives to support himself; his wife, Maina; a small son; and his teenage sister, Jhumavati, and buys a buffalo on interest from a moneylender to help plant his family plot. But the buffalo’s calf dies, then the buffalo rampages a neighboring field, leaving Dhané responsible for damages. To pay off the debt, Dhané agrees to work another farmer’s fields and offers his home and land as security. Meanwhile, Jhumavati is seduced by a soldier and gets pregnant; her shame is so overpowering that she imagines the only way out is suicide. Fate continues to mock this humble family when Dhané beats a buffalo to death for trampling his seedlings, and he and his family are cast out of the village. Chettri’s novel is a moving example of social realism, and Hutt’s elegant translation lends it a timeless fable-like tone with a gorgeous rendering of the natural scenery.

November 15, 2007
Chettri, a descendant of Nepalese immigrants, wrote this novel of village life in Nepal in 1957. Its a simple yet thought-provoking tale of Dhane, a young peasant farmer who faces one setback after another as he struggles, Job-like, to provide for his wife, Maina; his young son; and his younger sister, Jhuma. Dhanes escalating debt leads to the loss of his oxenand his discovery of one of the paradoxes of human nature: his neighbors clearly feel sympathy for his plight, yet seem to enjoy the spectacle of his demise. He also realizes something about himselfthat he is too proud to plead for lenience from the village council in whose hands lies his fate. Chettris gift is his ability to convey both the charm of this rural village, and the exploitation of its poorest inhabitants, driven by its conservative communal values. After Jhuma is raped by a soldier and blamed for the crime, the family is banishedthe combination of poverty and shame too great to overcome. A subtle, eye-opening look at Third World mores, and the winnowing of societys weakest links.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)