Images and ‘soundbites’ from the book signing program that we saw rarely in Nepali book world. Star of the moment was Narayan Wagle, awardwinning writer of debut novel Palpasa Cafe.
As he reached the stall of Educational Book House in the Book Fair at Bhrikutimandap immediately after landing at Kathmandu airport from a week long trip to Finland and Russia, journalist/writer Narayan Wagle was surrounded by a group of fans. Everyone in the crowd had a copy of Wagle’s award winning debut novel Palpasa Café and they wanted the writer to sign the book. They also wanted to share their views of the book with the fiction writer.
Many of the readers present in the Palpasa Café signing ceremony were young and girls. For many of them, Palpasa Café was the first Nepali book (other than those included in school and university course) that they had read. “Oh…there are so many English books that I have read,” Mona Sherpa, who received Narayan Wagle’s autograph in her copy of Palpasa Café, said. “It’s impossible to name all of them now. But this is the first Nepali book I have read and I like it very much.” Continue reading
