Mountains Painted with Turmeric

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. (Jan.)