Padam Kafle has come to the readers with his first book-sized work ‘Yug Yatra’. The novel, which contains the stories and suffering of Bhutanese Nepali speakers, was launched in Kathmandu by writers Krishna Dharabasi, Shailenduprakash Nepal, Tara Lal Shrestha,  Sanjay Bantawa and Kavita Lama, sociologist Meena Poudel, painter Asmina Ranjit, writer Radheshyam Lekali and journalist Shekhar Kharel.

Writer Dharabasi recalled the past when he raised the issue of Bhutanese Nepali speakers since they were expelled from their homeland and came to eastern Nepal, and said that ‘Yug Yatra’ documented that period in a readable way. ‘The hero of this novel is shown as a small child in the beginning, but as a child who has not been given wisdom,’ he said, ‘When you put the wisdom of an adult in a child, the plot becomes unbelievable, Padamji has not made that mistake. Other details depicted in the novel are similarly credible.’

Associate Professor Tara Lal Shrestha said that ‘Yug Yatra’ covers the joys and sorrows of Bhutanese Nepali-speaking people, from their refugee lives to their resettlement in a third country. ‘However, since the characters and events are real, it seems difficult to distinguish whether this work is a narrative or an autobiography,’ he said. ‘The depiction of the environment is the strong point of this work.’

Sociologist Meena Poudel said that ‘Yug Yatra’ reflects this, noting that Bhutanese Nepali-speaking people have not forgotten their identity, no matter which country they resettle in. ‘The passion for original identity is well shown in this novel,’ she said, ‘It would have been better if the difficult experiences of refugee life and the achievements after resettlement in a third country could have been made gender-balanced.’

Shankar Lamichhane Foundation President Radheshyam Lekali congratulated Padam Kafle for her first work and believed that language and literature can bring any nation to life.

‘There are some things in life that cannot be said directly,’ said journalist Shekhar Kharel, ‘That is why narrative is needed.’

Literary writer  Shailendu Prakash Nepal, whose autobiography can also come in the form of a narrative, believed that creation should be looked at rather than genre. ‘Otherwise, the narrative cannot be said to be realistic,’ he said, ‘The language of this work is fluent, the story is heart-touching. My eyes watered when I read a few of the stories.'