Finished reading the Rebels of the Mountains by Mr Rajan Prasad Pokharel.

Really
enjoyed reading it . For an expatriate Nepali like me, it is needless to say that the book
transported me through the contours of Nepal via multiple approaches - whereas
throughout the novel, I was able to catch glimpses of the social and political
developments of the last twenty years, the novel took me through the beautiful
landscape of Nepal on many other narrative occasions. It would have been great to see
the depictions of the great Himalayas in the novel, but one can take heart from the fact
that, the novelist, as it were, decided to summarize the eternal Himalayas in the name of
the dynamic protagonist - Himal!!
I understand that the intent of the novelist was to present, in the form of a novel, the
history of political struggle of the Nepalese people. The novel reads more like an
intentional fictional account of the political struggle threaded through the love story of
two human beings than a love story amid the political uprising. The political narrative
predominates over the love story. Since this seems to be the intent of the author, we can
not consider this a shortcoming!
The novel abounds in acute political observations - that the Royal Palace massacre was
catalyzed by the accentuation of the contradictions of the ruling elite, by the
unprecedented intensity of the Maoist revolt. It is sad to read that the leaders of the
struggle, instead of transforming Nepal, got themselves transformed! The novel would
have been more complete if the author had narrated, in a bit more detail and depth, the
betrayal of the people by the so called leaders of the struggle!
At the end of the novel, there is a hint of unceasing struggle - more a promise than
actually a statement of fact - that, until there is a genuine political/social/economic
transformation, Nepal will continue to see agitations, revolts, and political unrest!
Before moving on to talk about the language and style, I must admit that the novel, in a
bit subdued manner, injects the class divisions of Nepal into the narrative. The
difficulties and dread surrounding the audacity of the daughter of a general choosing a
boy from the struggling section of society is quite a universal reality, all over the world,
and while it also is a fact, it is definitely not unique to Nepal.
A bit on the style of narrative - that there is a nice rhythm and flow in the language but
at times the novel appears to hurry through, as if the author had picked up a cue from
the rapid streams, rivers and rivulets of Nepal, that have been hurrying down through

the peaks and valleys, through the flatlands and ravines of Nepal all through the ages!
Having known the author personally, I would like to personally congratulate him for
bringing out the book, as also for bringing out the history of the struggles of the Nepal
people!