Fruits of a Barren Tree

Darjeeling late 1980s. The demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland has taken a violent turn. The Green Party is at war with the Red Party-and with the states security forces. Murder loot terror and arson beset the Himalayan foothills.Fruits of the Barren Tree is a story of that time and of Relling a small village near Darjeeling. In Relling theres Basnet the village shaman and his wife theres Jhuppay their son-incorrigible thief truant and amateur drunk and also Nimma Jhuppays great love whose only desire in life is that he take the path of virtue. Theres Chyaatar too former army man now a militia commander in the Green Party who rules the village with an iron hand. Ever the miscreant nothing Jhuppay does can win Nimmas heart. But when the Red Party hires his loudspeaker for a meeting-the first innocent honest job of his life-it sets Jhuppay Nimma and Chyaatar on a murderous course that fate itself cannot derail.Originally published in Nepali as Phoolange this sharp evocative novel is the story of a failed movement and a cautionary tale of how easily the contagion of violence can infect a community. Intensely visual and imbued with a strong sense of place it is equally a compelling portrait of Darjeeling away from the brochures and the postcards.