Kathmandu, March 31
Nirala Publications announces the release of Shramatan: A Nepalese Migrant Worker’s Memoir by Nepali author BN Joshi, now translated into English by Arun Budhathoki.
Shramatan is a harrowing ride that millions of Nepalis take every day, a tale of ‘coffin ships’ that take them away from their humble hillside homes to a hostile world of uncertainty and misery, the publisher says.
According to Yuyutsu Sharma, a world-renowned Himalayan poet, “Shramatan is a highly evocative, lived experience that can give its readers sleepless nights.”
This book is a flashback of the author’s life. The author, BN Joshi, says he was inspired to write the book after experiencing the harsh realities of foreign jobs in various countries.
Besides running his company in Kathmandu now, Joshi regularly contributes to national papers raising the issues of youth and labour migration.
Budhathoki’s translation of Shramatan is a masterful work that retains the original’s vividness and power, the publisher says.
Budhathoki, an accomplished poet, fiction writer, journalist, and translator based in Canada, has authored two poetry and two fiction works. His journalistic work has appeared in several newspapers and journals, including Vice, The Guardian, The Financial Times, and Pratik.
“Shramatan is an important work that sheds light on the often-overlooked experiences of Nepali migrant workers,” says Budhathoki. “I translated this powerful book during the early days of the pandemic and it introduced me to the dreary world faced by Nepali people working abroad”.
The book is now available on Amazon and Nirala Publications in paperback format.
