Placard Holder in the Pass

About the Book

Keshav, an itinerant worker, finds himself stranded in a small town in a mountain pass, delivered there accidentally by a truck driver who was a regular there. Locals bring him to the town eatery, where he encounters Aziz, the friendly proprietor of the place. There, he finds a home and a strange calling: standing by the highway and holding a placard advertising the presence of the eatery. Keshav befriends Kili, an inhabitant of the surrounding hills—before reappearing with his stunning bride, Chameli. He also meets a wide variety of people—White, a doctor with an ornithological slant of mind who traverses the pass regularly; his faithful driver, Babu; and Keith, a decaying long-term resident of the pass who tried unsuccessfully to live with Tina, his sister in the UK. The moodiness of the unique weather and topography of the pass remains a constant backdrop as Chameli’s disillusionment with Keshav grows in the presence of other ardent admirers. Keith finds himself battling depression and alcoholism, despite White’s attempts to help him; Kili too suddenly disappears. Gradually the lives of those around Keshav—those who chose the pass as their home, perhaps not as a matter of choice but more due to compulsion—begin to disintegrate. In this novel, a migrant worker builds a new life for himself in a small mountain town, only to see it fall apart amidst love, betrayal, and sorrow.

About the Author

Peeyush Maniyambath received schooling in Delhi prior to completing his medical studies in JIPMER Pondicherry. After spending most of the ’90s working in London, he joined a corporate hospital in Coimbatore as senior consultant in anaesthesia. Currently he runs a pain management centre and lives with his wife, Manveen, a dermatologist, their son, Angad and Danny boy their furry companion.