I come from Mirik, a small town in Darjeeling, but I was privileged enough to have access to a school library that satiated my young mind’s thirst for adventure. My favorites in school were Around the World in Eighty Days, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Through the Looking Glass (Alice in Wonderland), The Little Prince, Heidi amongst others, all of which made more sense to me as an adult. However, growing up, I could not find any Nepali authors from our region in Darjeeling, who wrote simple stories in English. Whilst it existed in other countries and communities, themes like a girl from the Darjeeling hills simply enjoying travel and adventure were far from our imagination then. The fact remains that there is still a lack of Nepali writers in English in this genre, particularly for young readers. So, my endeavour with my book has been to take inspiration from my favourite books and personal stories to not only bridge this gap, but to also inspire and encourage all those who could be in ‘my younger self’s’ position even today. While the book may find relevance to middle-age readers, I think it could be enjoyed by readers of all ages.
There are two major things that have had a great impact on my life so far, and that has strongly inspired me to build my story chapters: Travel and Cats. Travel has been my teacher. The little bit of travelling I did made me realize what a positive and enriching experience it is. As clichéd as it may sound, it has taught me more than what the education system ever did. My family has always had dogs and cats as pets, but I detested cats, until a particular one found me and converted me into a cat lover. It taught me intuition, kindness and compassion (in a very short time), something that needs to be reminded to the world every now and then. It came naturally to me to want to use both of these things to build a story.
The story is about the two main characters, Kanchi and her cat, Chimsi, who both have similar interests and personalities, seeking to fulfill their own goals as they travel around together. Both the characters belong to Darjeeling, but as Kanchi travels to different places around the world for various reasons, Chimsi accompanies her to explore her own insecurities against ‘human disappointments’. It loosely explores human complexities via the ‘human disappointments’ and the human-cat relationship. Further, it is aimed at being a light, recreational read with little chapter nudges on the environment, gratitude, curiosity and intuition, self-reliance and independence.
I completed my first draft during the COVID lockdown, and then followed some months and years in editing, trying to grapple with my understanding of the publishing world, and lots and lots of self-doubt.
But this year, I have received two offers, both from hybrid publishers who are charging around USD 2500 (for the plan that I think I need to market and distribute it globally).
So here I am, requesting you to support not just my goal, but also the wish of having something that others could take inspiration from, back in my little town.
Additionally, I would use the funds raised to hire an illustrator, as I do believe that books with pictures are more enjoyable (even to adults!). I would also like to translate the book into Nepali so that our first language readers also get to enjoy it.
I really wish for my book to be able to inspire reading and writing amongst the current young generation, whilst encouraging exploration without hesitation, not just for recreation or work, but for some of the things one can learn on the road, such as kindness and compassion, gratitude and self-responsibility.
It is not always easy to desire for exploration and dream of ‘being in places’, especially when you come from a small hill-town. I hope my book provides the impetus to those who dare to hope before their young hearts and minds surrender to their cocoons.
And I hope you will earnestly help me make this happen.
*Every donor will get a discount code to purchase the book
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