The Paths We Choose by Monica Rana

The Paths We Choose is a coming-of-age novel about the disparate paths taken by two sisters in times of unrest and revolution. The book opens with Sumnima and Rita running through a mango orchard, looking to steal the first mangoes of the season, striking a note of idyllic innocence. Sumnima and Rita are cousins but as close as siblings, living in the same house with their mothers in Rato Mato, a village nestled in the Himalayan mountain range in Nepal.

Monica Rana tells us this story from the perspective of 14-year-old Rita, the younger, more reticent cousin who follows around the braver, stronger and vivacious Sumnima. Rana establishes the dynamic between the cousins right from the book’s first line,

“It had been Sumnima’s idea to steal the mangoes. Everything of any real consequence always seemed to be Sumnima’s idea.”

The initial chapters give us a glimpse into their daily lives. Their mothers work hard in the fields and at home, while Sumnima and Rita help out with chores in addition to attending school. They lead a simple but hard life with no room for comfort, so much so that Rita wishes for a pair of slippers with thick, rubber soles but knows that they’ll never materialise. Scarcity is an inescapable fact of life for them and yet, they dream of better times.  

The novel picks up pace after Rita finds herself in Kathmandu, separated by strife and circumstances, from Sumnima, her family and the life she’s known. In this new place, Rita discovers courage while manoeuvring splintered loyalties and the forked roads of right and wrong. Accustomed to living in Sumnima’s shadow, Rita is a hesitant heroine. Gradually, and with encouragement from unexpected quarters, she comes into her own, though not without a stumble or two along the way. 

The use of simple yet lyrical language makes The Paths We Choose smooth reading while the use of local Nepalese words lends the writing an earthiness without feeling performatively ethnic. The novel's pacing too keeps the reader engaged.

In terms of imagery, the symbol that is writ largest over this book, quite literally, is that of a parrot. It even made it to the cover! There are multiple references to an allegorical poem ‘Pijarako Suga’, the Caged Parrot penned by Lekhnath Paudyal in 1917. The parrot in the poem is a symbol for the Nepalese people who wanted freedom from hereditary dictatorship.

This symbolic parrot pops up every few pages, in different forms and stands in for the many hues of freedom—political, social and even individual where it refers to recognising one’s own potential and purpose. I only wish the symbolism wasn’t so heavy-handed and expositional.

There are, however, other lovely touches by Rana such as the idea of inanimate objects absorbing history even as they stand by as silent, impartial witnesses to the fleet-footed passage of time and history.

In terms of the novel’s themes, patriarchy is a major one. It's seen most clearly in the pressure exerted on women to carry a load heavier than most men while simultaneously, dismissing women as inferior and wholly dependent on men to have any standing in society. Rana’s characters like Neelam didi, with her ingrained and casual misogyny, proves not just how deep patriarchy runs, but also that its fiercest proponents are often women themselves, justifying their own exploitation and lack of agency.

Caste and the pecking order it creates in any setting—rural or urban—is another thread running through The Paths We Choose. In the novel, the city offers a few opportunities to transcend these barriers through education and work. Not that it’s easy.

In the Kathmandu of The Paths We Choose, class and power create their own pyramid with the reigning Shah dynasty at its top and the Ranas a step or two lower. The government, viewed from Rato Mato, is largely unmindful of the welfare of the underfed, underdeveloped majority in rural Nepal. It is this inequity that the Maoist rebels are fighting against in the novel.

Rana weaves in the Nepalese civil war of the early 2000s and the royal massacre into the story's tapestry, giving a real-world grounding to the choices facing the cousins.

The Paths We Choose shows how the most righteous causes can often become a guise for nefarious dealings. Individuals on both the monarchist and Maoist sides are shown siphoning off money to fund their own lifestyles. The descriptions of violence and harm caused to ordinary people, however, did come across as a bit one-sided with the rebels getting the shorter end of the stick.

All in all, The Paths We Choose is a novel worth reading with a message and perspective most welcome for the times we live in.  If you’re looking to curl up with a quick read over the holidays, I recommend you get your hands on this novel.

P.S To purchase the novel, click here.