Narayan Wagle comes up with Mayur Times!

Mayur Times is the name of , soon to be launched novel by Narayan Wagle

Palpasa Café writer comes up with his second novel- Mayur Times. Will be released on 10 April (28 Chaitra) in Kathmandu and other parts of Nepal.

Narayan Wagle

Journalist Narayan Wagle is all set to launch his eagerly awaited second book Mayur Times. Written in the backdrop of Nepal’s current conflict, Mayur Times revolves around Nepal’s transitional crisis, according nepa~laya, the publisher who also brought out Palpasa Café. Main protagonists of the novel- Parag and Lisara are both journalists and Mayur Times in the book is a fictional newspaper. It was not immediately clear if both of them work at the same newspaper.

“I know 5 years is a long time, but I wanted to be fully satisfied before coming out with the second book,” shared Narayan. “Nepal’s turmoil has made my second book more engaging.”

Narayan’s first book Palpasa Café was released in 2005 and is still considered as a best seller in Nepal. The book told the story of Nepali conflict through a painter and his US-returnee documentary filmmaker girlfriend- Drishya and Palpasa. Because of its elegant and simple language and modern outlook, the story captured the imagination of hundreds of thousands of youngsters and book-lovers alike. For the urban Nepali youth who went to English-medium schools, Palpasa Café became the first Nepali language book that they read. Narayan’s Facebook Wall is filled with such readers and fans who thank him for writing the book and ask him when the next will arrive. Many were disheartened to learn the tragic demise of Palpasa. Many of those readers want Narayan to revive Palpasa’s character in the next book. Seems like that is not going to happen but it is certain that the book will be received warmly by the market. As the news about the book broke earlier today (and Narayan posted the link on his Wall) his ‘friends’ instantly reacted with happiness and eagerness to grab a copy as soon as the book hits the stores. “All the best for ‘Mayur Times’……. Eagerly waiting !!!” wrote one on the Wall. And a leftist politician wrote: “Thanks a lot! Keep write more. All the best!!” Another comment: “Wow gr8.Eager 2 read it..” Some expected the book to be as good (or better) as the first one: “Palpasa Cafe jastai hos, interesting.”

“As the demand for Wagle’s second book is so high and since advance orders are pouring in, we are printing 10,000 copies in the first print run to fulfill the demand,” shared publisher, Kiran of nepa~laya. “This is the first time we are feeling such pressure from the market. It is amazing.”

Nepa-laya’s Kiran Krishna Shrestha hoped that Mayur Times “will be another turning point in Nepal’s publication history.”

The book will be distributed by Education Book House. Owner of EBH, Anjan Shrestha has particularly flown into Nepal from US, where he resides, to prepare for the launch. “I normally coincide my visit to Nepal with the Book Fair, but this time I would not have come if it was not for Narayan Wagle’s book,” discloses Anjan. “Narayan ji is the best selling author in Nepal and I felt responsibility bound to be here for planning the release,” he added.

Publication nepa~laya and distributor Education Book House is making all possible arrangements to make the book available across the country on the release day itself. The paper back and hard bound edition will be priced at Rs.300 and Rs. 500 respectively.

Meanwhile….

Palpasa Café goes internatinal

The English version of Palpasa Café will soon to be published from Delhi while the Korean version will come out from Seoul. The best selling Nepali book of modern times had also won the most prestigious literary awards in the year of its publication which includes, the Madan Purashkar and Akhyan Puraskar.

The English translation of Palpasa Café was published and released by nepa~laya in 2008. Since then, it has also remained among the most sold translated literature in Nepal. Nepa-laya said the English edition of the book has now been sublicensed for the Indian subcontinent excluding Nepal to Delhi based Random House. It is also being translated and published in Korean language by Seoul based, The Forest of Literature, according to a press release issued by nepa-laya. The Forest of Literature also holds rights of Palpasa Café for the North-east Asian market. Publication nepa~laya will continue publishing the Nepali and English editions for Nepal.

“We have been trying to promote Palpasa Café Internationally since a long time. We are extremely glad to share this news that we have formally entered into contract with Random House India for the Indian subcontinent excluding Nepal, and The Forest of Literature for North-east Asia,” shares Kiran Krishna Shrestha of nepa~laya.

“I am glad to see my book receiving international attention,” said Narayan. “Nepali literature has always lacked proper promotion. I am hopeful these kinds of institutional initiatives will be a stepping stone for other Nepali writers and publishers to get the deserved exposure.”

Talking about how he got to know about Palpasa Café, Seoul based Editor of The Forest of Literature, Kim Hyun-Jee said: “Shiva Ryu who is a poet and a translator, and knows Nepal well recommended Palpasa Café to me. He said that he was extremely impressed by this book. I believe his sense, because he is an outstanding writer.” Emphasizing his confidence on the book he adds, “I am confident in the success of the book in the Korean market because Palpasa Café is a novel of an unacquainted culture to the Korean people.”

Rudrani Sarkar, Publisher of Random House India said: “We were interested in the book first because of its history, that it was a prominent Nepali novel in recent years. Secondly, because Narayan Wagle’s simple and very strong storytelling skill evokes contemporary war-struckNepal so well.”

Both the Korean and Indian publishers will be publishing the book in 2010.

Related posts

1. Narayan Wagle: A Novelist is Born with Palpasa Café (first post)

2. Wagle Guff: Coffee, Café and Palpasa (interview)

3. Narayan Wagle Wins Madan Puraskar (news)

4. Palpasa Cafe and Nepali Book Reading Habit (analysis)

5. Palpasa Cafe: Delightful Reading
(Deepak’s observation)

6. Palpasa Cafe in English (news)

7. Reading Palpasa Café in English (by a Gora)

Other posts:

1. Harry Potter and Reading Culture in Nepal