A few additional comments: 1) READERS EXIST: The obvious commercial success of Narayan's novel must energize the Nepali literary community. For a long time, many writers/novelists have been saying that people just do not buy Nepali novels, let alone read them. The success of 'Palpasa Cafe' must assure all that a large readership (by modest Nepali standards) does exist out there in Nepal. People ARE interested in reading Nepali novels that talk about lives as they are live and are likely to live in contemporary Nepal. 2) MARKETING WORKS: A few weeks ago, writer Kali Prasad Rizal wrote a commentary in Himal, lamenting how poorly Sajha Prakashan books are put together and marketed. Kiran Krishna Shrestha of Nepalaya is a very smart guy, and, given the sales figures of Palpasa Cafe, it's obvgious that he has done an EXCELLENT job publishing and marketing Narayan's novel. Incidentally, this is the FIRST time Kiran has done something like this -- publish and market a novel. To draw an analogy: Just as the arrival of the NEW Jai Nepal Cinema Hall in Kathmandu (through people with no previous background in cinema-hall-ownership) forced the traditional cinema-hall owners (of Ranjana, Biswojyoti, etc) to see new and effective ways of attracting more cinema-goers into the theater, I hope Kiran's arrival as a publisher/marketer in Kathmandu will force the traditional Nepali publishers/marketers to see new and effective ways of marketing novels. 3) BRANDING WORKS: Narayan Wagle is a talented writer. He has established public credibility -- and has established himself as a brand -- by being a long-time writer at Kantipur, where he's now the chief editor. People are interested in what Narayan writes and what he does.I will not be surprised if Narayan writes a screenplay, and that screenplay wsill form the basis of a hit Nepali movie tomorrow. The previous image of Nepali sahitya writers as tortured alcoholic souls (an image that comes to mind when you think of Manu Brajaki) is now being slowly dismantled . . . and that's a good thing. [These days, young Nepali-language writers use laptops, go to the gym to work out and hang out sipping Cafe lattes at Himalayan Java!] Welcome to the emerging world in Nepal where a book, no matter how literary or pop, is just another commodity that can be packaged, branded, marketed and distributed .... and that's a VERY GOOD THING, for it takes a lot of stuffiness and mustiness out of Nepali literature. oohi ashu