There’s a Carnival Today – Paperback

ISBN-13: 978-9386702319

Set in Darjeeling in the 1950s, There’s a Carnival Today is a powerful novel of ambition, politics, family, betrayal, and social change.

Janak, a prominent businessman and local political leader, finds his carefully built life beginning to collapse. His struggling store is burdened by debt, his former friend and business partner Jayabilas has taken him to court, and his political rival Bhudev has defeated him in a bitter leadership struggle. At home, Janak is increasingly troubled by his son Ravi’s involvement in party work among the tea-estate workers—and by his own attraction to Yamuna, the wife of an ailing friend, despite his happy marriage to Sita.

As tensions rise, tea-estate workers protesting the arrest of their comrades march spontaneously into Darjeeling, joined by others along the way. When the peaceful rally ends in a devastating police massacre, Janak is forced to confront his personal failures and decide whether he will remain a bystander or finally take a stand.

Both an intimate portrait of deeply human characters and a sweeping account of post-Independence Darjeeling, There’s a Carnival Today explores questions of class, politics, identity, and belonging that remain relevant today. Brilliantly translated by Manjushree Thapa, this landmark work by one of contemporary Nepali literature’s most important writers is a compelling modern classic.

A memorable choice for readers interested in Indian and Nepali literature, political fiction, Darjeeling’s history, social movements, and richly layered stories of human conflict.

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