Murmur of The Lonely Brook by Debashis Dey

Set in the timeless rhythm of life in the hills near Tibet this is a moving tale of life, love and hardship with the sights, sounds and smells that make the people and their hopes, dreams and fears come alive. After marriage Nisha comes to a remote village in the mountainous Tibetan Border to lead a life among a nomadic clan who follow a simple lifestyle with customs and rituals overlapping Hinduism and Buddhism dating back to ancient times. Pravin is a private person by nature and is happy to marry Nisha, the girl of his choice. Nisha is liked by everyone. Nisha loves her husband Pravin but also enjoys the infatuation from his brother. She spends her days happily with a perpetually sad mother-in-law Parvati repenting on her past life sins, a short tempered father-in-law Shevak, a love-stricken sister-in-law Ria, a kid goat munching everything, a lamb with a baritone bleat and her husband’s brother Diwakar lost in dreams. Everything goes well until Nisha’s life is torn apart by a proposal, and assumed betrayal, by the one and only love of her life, her husband Pravin when he suggests common marriage, an ancient tradition still followed in this region in which both brothers share a single wife, Nisha. The family is supportive save Nisha who is horrified by the thought of sharing her love with someone for whom she has a brotherly affection. She cannot protest or disagree as it will make her an outcast and the family will throw her away. Her universe crumbles and she feels humiliated and tormented with the new turn of events. As ancient ways confront modern mores, Nisha will be torn between her values and age old customs in this brilliantly observed novel of ancestral folkways and contemporary families. Will Nisha compromise her values… or will she fight the age-old traditions?